Join us to sing Psalms together before worship on Sunday mornings. We gather at 9:35 a.m. in Memorial Chapel (the side chapel off the sanctuary), where we sing and pray together for ten minutes each week. Feel free to arrive a few minutes early for quiet centering prayer. Please contact me at [email protected] if any questions.
Week One
I invite you to read a Psalm at home at some point during the week. Find a time in your schedule when you can sit down for a few minutes and meditate on a Psalm you love dearly. Psalm 27 is a favorite of mine.
Read through it slowly. Then read it again. What surprised you? What detail have you never noticed before?
Week Two
As we pray the Psalms, we remember that they are entering our whole bodies. I invite you to sit down this week with a Psalm you’d like to read on the table in front of you. Psalm 23 is always a good one.
Before you start reading, sit on your chair and breathe at your own pace. There’s no hurry. As you’re breathing, begin reading. Read slowly, letting air fill your lungs from top to bottom. Read the Psalm again.
What do you notice? What surprises you?
Week Three
As we rest our busy hearts, God’s spirit can fill us from top to bottom. If you haven’t already chosen a Psalm, I’d suggest Psalm 46.
As you sit with your Psalm this week, As you sit with your Psalm this week, rest on your chair and breathe God’s spirit in all the way down to the bottom of your belly. Relax your belly, releasing all of the stress from the week. Let your belly spill out over your lap. As you release that tension, you’re allowing the spirit to enter your body all the way to the very bottom.
Now begin reading your Psalm as you continue to breathe. Relax your belly and trust that air is flowing in. Keep breathing as you read your Psalm today.
What jumps out at you? Does God do something in this Psalm you didn’t expect God to do?
Week Four
God has built our bodies in ways that we can release the tension of the week. Go ahead and choose your Psalm and leave it open on the table. Psalm 136 is a favorite of mine.
As you sit on your chair and breathe, notice your backbone. The “backbone” is actually made up of a bunch of bones stacked on top of each other. You may wish to explore these bones working by letting your body spill forward, letting your torso and your head falling between your legs, relaxing all of your muscles as you continue to breathe. Then you can imagine those bones stacking themselves up on top of each other one at a time as you slowly rise into a sitting position. As you continue to breathe, notice that your *backbones* are holding you up. You can relax your back muscles and your belly muscles.
Breathe all the way down to the bottom of your backbones, spilling your belly onto the floor, as you begin to read your Psalm today.
Have you ever read this Psalm before? Is it telling a story? Who is acting? What is God doing?