Setting Intentions

In this week’s message, Leah reflects on singing, performance, being ourselves, and setting aside time for restoration and reconnection, as she will be doing on her summer sabbatical:

“Jesus regularly took time to separate from the group. At times he withdrew by himself. At times he brought his closest followers with him. At times he wanted to pray. Other times it seems that he just needed a break from being ‘on.’ He needed to rest, he needed to eat and drink, and have intimate time with his closest companions. We see this pattern throughout his life, including on the last night before his death. As he prepared for what was to come, Jesus withdrew to the garden, needing to separate from the bigger group, and connect with God and his three closet friends.”

Review Leah’s notes here and listen to or view the teaching below:

The Legacy of the Exile

In this final teaching in the Faith In the Exile series, Leah explores some of the ways that exile made a lasting impact on the exile community and shaped the religion that would be known as Judaism. As we continue our own 2020 exile, some of these adaptations of the ancient exiles might be instructive for us too.

Ordering Our Time

In this teaching, Leah kicks off a new year (and a new decade) considering some habits of health for our life of faith that could be good to revisit, or learn for the first time. Here she focuses on the tradition of Sabbath practice as a means of bringing order to our relationship with time.

Listen to the teaching below or review Leah’s notes here.

Sabbath as Resistance

As we continue our series "Soul Care for Seasons of Stress", Leah takes a look at the Biblical framework of Sabbath, particularly informed by scholar Walter Brueggemann's book Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now. In Brueggemann's words, "Sabbath is a bodily act of testimony to alternative and resistance to pervading values and the assumptions behind those values.” Listen below or read Leah's notes to learn more here.

After Leah's teaching on a Biblical framework for Soul Care, Celia Emmelhainz shares her Soul Care practice of Poetry. She shares how reading and writing poetry have helped manage highs and lows in her life. She points us to other poetry lovers as well, like Abraham Lincoln, and reflects on how their practices shaped them, too. Her portion begins in the audio below at minute 35. Celia's notes are also available here.