Learning to See

A JOURNEY INTO JUBILEE

It is important to recognize the power of place. Our lives are lived in place (or, as is more the norm today, places). It is important to take time to reflect on our relationship with the place (or places) that we occupy.

How do we see the place in which we are spending time? And how do we occupy (hear the word 'impact' included here) the place? Do we see ourselves as somehow seperate from or indifferent to the place we occupy?

These questions are important, for as Wendell Berry once wrote: "There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places." How we live in a place makes all the difference.

The places we live not only consist of earth and sky, but also people: other people, equally capable of impacting our place for either better or worse. These people make up our community.

One cannot help but live in community; we are interdependent beings. So, it is not a question of if we will rely on others, but to what extent we will recognize our dependency on others and live into it well.

Scripturally, God gathers a people (referred to by Peter as a 'peculiar people') who are to live out their lives among others in such a way that the place and its people are esteemed as sacred. Everyone matters.

At times our thoughts are moved toward what comes next: what will heaven be like? we ask with hopes that it will be better than here. This can lead to us merely bidding our time with amusements till the train pulls into the station.

But what if there is something to the words of Jesus concerning the Kingdom of God being at hand? Is it possible to dip our toes in paradise today? Could we too be "not far from the Kingdom of God" (Mark 12:34)?

We are invited to live out in the place we find ourselves, among the people we find ourselves, the wonders of the Kingdom of God. We are invited to pursue paradise here and now.

Richard Hovey

Richard is the Education Director for Renovaré Canada, oversees our Consumed Program, and provides leadership to the Empey Centre. He will be facilitating this Online Renewal Group.

2027

Learning to See: A Journey into Jubilee

This is a 12 week journey of faith into the restorative work of jubilee; this means learning what it is to live our lives in harmony with sacred place and people where God has positioned us. We will journey through three themes:

The Power of Place

The Place of People

The People of Paradise

There will be times of private reading and reflection, and of joining with others in conversation around material provided; group conversation will be online via Zoom on Wednesdays (from April 7 to June 23 2027).

(COST: $35 registration fee)

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I am interested in joining a Learning to See Online Renewal Group

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7pm Eastern Time

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