Belonging Together: Connecting Circles at St. Mark's Cathedral

Saint Mark’s recently completed their Wednesday evenings series called Connecting Circles. The purpose was to respond to the gracious pull to becoming a Beloved Community. Last year we explored together “what does the Lord ask of us?” and found answers in Micah 6: 8: “To act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with our God.”

In The Call to Serve program, we seek to create authentic relationships both within Saint Mark’s and in our neighborhood with special concern for those marginalized because of ethnicity, class, race, and gender identity. Our fall focus was food insecurity; our winter focus was homelessness and housing insecurity.

Each Sunday forum was followed by a Wednesday evening Connecting Circle. Bishop Loya reminded us that, “…in Jesus, none of us gets to be alone. In the face of suffering and injustice we belong to one another, gently and tenderly holding one another.” The Circles were intended as a time to “Pray….Listen….Share”. No homework was necessary. Our opening prayers and readings offered contemporary voices like Steven Charleston, Richard Rohr, Desmond Tutu and Nadia Boltz-Weber. We ended with a circle prayer which nudges us to take what we have learned and respond with loving service (below).

The topics were varied according to the agency being highlighted. We spoke about mercy. We heard from a 24-year-old woman who had been living homeless with heroin addiction that began at age thirteen. We talked about issues faced by newly released prisoners with one of the case managers. During the month of Connecting Circles, we were a time and place to talk about our spirituality needs during the government upheaval. For our last gathering, the topic was "What it means to Pray without Ceasing...an Impossible Ask" by Nadia Boltz-Weber. This deep dive into our prayer life helped to bind us together as a connected small group going forward.

We now have grown to be a group of 45 individuals who are committed to loving our neighbors. We delivered 30 laundry baskets filled with complete sets of bedding and blankets to a 72 apartment facility for recently incarcerated men. Eight new people joined the calling list to advocate for housing at the Capitol. A team of St. Markans volunteered to march downtown to support funding for the homeless. One Sunday morning between services, 30 St. Markans put together 135 snack packs for the homeless with a message of welcome and love.

The Holy Spirit came to our Circles and lightened the darkness around us. As our final prayer says, “…Don’t just pray for someone to do something; be someone who does something….Amen”

Final prayer at all meetings prayed in a circle:

Get up off your knees.
Come out of your churches, your mosques, your temples.
God can hear your prayers for peace, justice, and hope in this broken world just fine,
while you’re out creating peace, working for justice, and giving hope to this broken
world.
When are we finally going to realize that humanity is the solution to inhumanity?
When will we finally understand that we are all drops of the same ocean,
hurting together, healing together, hoping together?
So don’t just pray for hands to heal the hurting; pray with hands that are healing the
hurting.
Don’t just pray for arms to help the helpless; pray with arms that are helping the
helpless.
Don’t just pray for someone to do something; be someone who does something.
Don’t just pray for answers.
Be the answer. AMEN. (L.R. Knost)