Eden Prairie United Methodist Church
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Weekly Memo: Outdoor Spiritual Practice

8/6/2020

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Dear Friends,
 
In the middle of our pandemic, being outside is one of the most delightful and “normal” experiences possible, it seems to me.  Lately I have been spending as much time outside as I can. Golf has been a place of refuge from mask-wearing and indoor confinement.  Nearly my entire vacation was spent doing something outside every day. Our new cornhole game arrives today so we can spend some evenings outside doing something fun together. I have begun doing pastoral visits in people’s yards or in the yard at the church. My daily walk fills my soul deeply.
 
Are you having the same experience? Are you finding ways to be outside and enjoy God’s creation and the relative normalcy of outside? Are you spending more time in the back yard with the kids? Are you enjoying your trip to the mailbox more than you used to? Are you looking for ways to connect with God through the gift of being outside?
 
Eden Prairie is blessed to have a labyrinth. A labyrinth is a walking meditation to quiet the mind, open the heart to God and ground the body in the holy presence of God. The labyrinth is a designated path that leads from the outer edge in a circular way until you reach the center, pausing to meditate and pray at the center, before following the path that leads you back out.  It is unlike a maze in that you cannot lose your way, there are no tricks, and the path will guide you in and back out again. On the path you are invited to pray about and release whatever God is calling you to release. At the center you pause to receive whatever God is pouring into you as gift. As you journey out, you are taking back into the world the gift which you have received. More information and guidance are available: click attached document.
 
A friend of EPUMC, Steve Sopoci, maintains the labyrinth so it is available for your use for a time of worship and meditation.  The labyrinth is on the north side of the church (to the right of the front door) in the grass. We have a few months left of weather that makes walking the labyrinth a blessing. I invite you to come to the church and walk the labyrinth as one of your spiritual habits. If someone else is on the labyrinth when you arrive, thank you for practicing safe distancing by waiting until they are finished.
 
Some of you may not be able or be ready to actually “walk” the labyrinth. When you click attached document, there is also a labyrinth you could use to “walk” the labyrinth by following the path with your finger and using the same spiritual guidance listed in the brochure. Just print the page out or use your screen to follow the path.
 
I invite you to this spiritual practice to connect with God.  May it bless you deeply.
 
Pastor Becky Jo Messenbrink
 



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office@prairiechurch.org
(952) 937-8781

15050 Scenic Heights Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
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