Leanne Shawler, Artist

For at least a month, I had the idea of to write about the souls of churches, but just never got around to it. And that turns out to be a good thing, because since COVID-19 cast its shadow of my city and my state, the idea of church has radically changed. I was going to write about walking into a church in Venice and knowing at once what kind of congregation inhabited it. There was a warmth and friendliness in the dark church of San Zulian, the nearest church to where I stayed. San Pantalon, which was three times the size, also had that warmth. It felt good to put in the requested Euros to light the ceiling. It felt like I was supporting the congregation.    There was an air of sorrow at this tiny church on the Guidecca canal. The Chiesa di Santa Maria della Visitazione was being used by the Biennale to showcase this large sculptural room but when I looked up — there were faces painted into the ceiling that looked like it was done in the 1500s. I felt like they were m...

It seems to be the thing: memorizing Scripture. Last year, Ann Voskamp led an online group and her family in memorizing Romans, an important book of the New Testament for her, and is currently leading another scripture memorizing group. I didn't get it. Didn't do it. But Leanne, you say, the title of this post? See, if you put music to it, I'll memorize it. I have practically all of the First Song of Isaiah memorized because of this. ( "Surely it is God who saves me, I will trust in Him and not be afraid... " everybody now! " for the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense and He will be my Savior..." ) But I know that one because it was a popular song choice at my church until fairly recently. I've memorized bits of the psalms, ditto ditto. Either through their use as a song in church or through chanting them. Heck, I almost fell over (if I wasn't already sitting down) when meditating on Jesus being anointed by the woman in Matthew...

This was originally part of all the 31 Days of Encountering Judaism (see  here ). But then I came up with too many posts, so I've saved it for a Faith Friday. This isn't a current Jewish practice that I know of, but did you know that converts to Judaism went through a baptism to cleanse them of all things pagan? And that the early Christians borrowed the practice for their converts? (Source: In the Shadow of the Temple) Neat, huh. Water is still used in parts of Judaism for spiritual cleansing. If you remember, Leviticus is squicked out my menstrual blood and childbirth. Giving birth to new life is also considered holy, so the mikveh is used, the woman immersing herself in living water. Many Christian groups have moved from a baptism by immersion to sprinkling water on the head so in this the two faith traditions today have largely moved away from this commonality. I'm still geeked about it as a (to me) discovery.

The High Holy Days were a turning point for me. I wrote about that here . (Can I treat that as a bonus post for our 31 Days?? The list of 31 Days posts can be found here. ) I also put together an art journal spread .... I made this journal in my first Mary Ann Moss class "Full Tilt Boogie" (and let me go off message to say her journal-making classes are on sale until October 12 . I've done two of the four and highly recommend them). So on one side is vintage wallpaper (with the roses) and on the other is scrapbook paper. In the rose envelope are strips of cardboard -- High Holy Day ticket stubs actually -- that have brief memories of those two weeks. This is part of a napkin that one of the Beth Israel members brought in (along with some delicious yummies). It was a much-needed laugh amidst the stress of getting ready for the High Holy Days (which is the only reason I'm glad it's over). So of course I had to put it in!

Yom Kippur is a time for confession, and okay it was last week but I didn't have a spare brain cell between the High Holy Days, chairing my church's Worship committee, and getting smacked down by a brute of a cold. I wanted time to reflect on these words before posting them, unlike my hasty High Holy Days impressions posted on Facebook. At some point during the Rosh Hashanah first day services, I looked out at the Beth Israel congregation from my side podium. it all felt strangely familiar and I realized: This is my community. This is home. The memory of this is bright in my mind, I can picture it exactly, but I cannot tell you when. It was like a moment out of time. It felt the same as when I look from the choir stalls into the Good Sam congregation and they are: My community, my home. Neither is lessened by the other. I feel the same way when I stay at Mt. Calvary monastery in Santa Barbara: another home for me. These aren't just momen...

Today is the second day of Rosh Hashanah. This post was written a couple of weeks ago. This is my first chance to post it. The first time I heard Torah chanted was by a young girl who practiced for me before going in for her formal practice. I recognized a few Hebrew words so I had to ask her what it was in English. She said a few lines and I knew it for Deuteronomy. In the few months I've been working at the synagogue, I saw her grow from a shy young teen to a new confidence as her 13th birthday neared. It felt right that her Bat Mitzvah should be my first.  First impressions: So much music! The prayers are chanted, so are the readings (one from Torah one from prophets) and it's good music -- even the readings which I think the tropes make it a bit random tune-wise. Most of it was in Hebrew (an possibly Aramaic, I can't tell the difference) so I was grateful for the little bit of reading I'd already done: I could sing along the beginning of all ...

Working at a synagogue has opened a fresh interest in my faith's "parent" religion, and I've come to realize that there's more than one side to the Christian story. This fresh awareness has prompted mutterings of "Jesus didn't come up with that idea, the prophets before him did" (not to mention the sage Hillel) and other similar mumbles. I recently finished reading When Christians Were Jews (That Is, Now): Recovering the Lost Jewishness of Christianity with the Gospel of Mark  by Wayne-Daniel Berard and while the book has some issues (the fondness for a few crackpot theories which are contested in scholastic circles), I got some fresh insights into the earliest Gospel and the Christian faith.  May my Jewish friends forgive and correct me if I get any of this wrong. I am still very new into my studies and the more I read, the more I find what I first felt was authoritative to be less so. That was the case with this first book, although it has...

On Friday, this is how the Jewish congregation I work for greet and farewell each other. On other days it is Shalom, peace. Shalom was the first "oh wow" moment for me working at the synagogue.  Imagine beginning each conversation with peace and ending it with peace. It's like a subtle mood adjuster. How after declaring peace can you then be at odds? This is such a beautiful and meaningful thing to say. Shalom. Peace. Peace be with you is what we say to each other in the middle of our Christian services. What an awesome wish for another. It's not just an olde fashioned greeting but an attitude, one we should not say to remember the good old days but to truly wish for each other now. Peace. Peace be with you. Shalom. Given that Christians were once Jewish, there has to be some sort of connection there but I don't know what it is. (Will research and get back to you.) I answer the phones at work with "Shalom". I am thinking ...

Since coming back from the monastery in Santa Barbara, I've been doing the Daily Office (well, morning and evening prayer, slightly modified from the lectionary because hey, when have I ever followed the rules?) ... But since coming back from Washington DC and seeing the Tibetan Shrine , I've been inspired to take the Marvellous Madonnas from last year's Silver Bella and do something like that (but not a whole room obviously). I need to lay out the pieces on the dining room table to figure out layout, but I also need to figure out where to put it. In researching online, I also rather liked this Eastern Orthodox icon corner. (Not sure if the blogger is Eastern Orthodox, might be Russian Orthodox.) Right now I pray the morning office either on the couch in our master bedroom, or sitting cross-legged on the bed. The evening office is always on the bed. I have the bible my great-grandparents gave me, the Anglican Church of Australia's prayer book, and the Episcopal Chur...

So I thought I would do something called "Faith Fridays". For the first few, I'm going to use some things that leapt out of my during my devotional readings during my 25 Days of Birthday. (Hmm, I'm sure I could have written that more succinctly.) It's called "Woman of God: Moments of Grace, 25 Devotions" by Diane Graham and Julie Norris. Psalm 23. "The Lord is my Shepherd...." It's a favorite at funerals. It's a psalm of comfort. So it surprised me when the authors used it to encourage the reader to find peace and quiet despite mountainous to-do lists. He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul -Psalm 23:3 The Benedictines teach balance and so this reminded me (yet again) to take time to rest. That every minute doesn't need to be filled with doing. And the best part? A resting time is a good time to listen. If you'd like to join in with Faith Fridays (and I'm assuming somebody else hasn't already come up w...