I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
“The Summer Day,” by Mary Oliver
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
How do we plan to spend this precious human existence?
Each of us must find our own answers. We each have our own journey to walk, and no one can step out on the path for anyone else. But as a community, the people of St. Christopher’s support one another in ways large and small as we ask these questions.
We will have days “idle and blessed’ in the meadows and forests of Leelanau County. We will face days when loved ones are ill and dying. We will face our own losses and eventually look upon our own mortality.
And in each of these things lies the opportunity to grow — as people, as a community, and as the body of Christ.
This human existence, the presence of God, the miracle of life on this tiny planet on the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy — these things are Mysteries. We may not understand them, but growing in relation to these mysteries is an opportunity.
As a recent reading selection in our Book Group noted, “There is no way. The way is made by walking.”
Step out onto the path with us, and find the right steps for your feet and your own precious soul:
- We gather to discuss intriguing and challenging books in our Book Group.
- Our friends at Bethany Lutheran Church have made a Prayer Walk on their property, and members and friends of St. Christopher’s are welcome to enjoy it. Or follow these guidelines for adults
or this alternate set of guidelines for kids. - Not all prayer has to be verbal. Some members of St. Christopher’s have developed a deep relationship with silent prayer.
- We seek to serve Christ in Leelanau County through various community outreach programs.