Reclaiming Sacred Spaces

Last updated on: June 20, 2016 at 6:35 am by Jason M. Brown

Reclaiming Sacred Spaces 2016-06-20T06:35:06-08:00 Jason M. Brown

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Today I went to Mass as I often do on Sundays. It was an expected ritual, in an expected space. I always leave just a little lighter than when I enter. But two other stops today made me think about the nature of space and how contemporary culture is yearning to reclaim everyday spaces.

People watch a band perform from the center median on Main and 12th.

It is no secret that many in the rising generation have no interest in attending traditional sacred spaces like church. Today I attended two events that are seeking to reclaim mundane space. First I went to the “Car Free Day” on Main Street here in Vancouver, where from Broadway to 33rd Ave. cars were prohibited, buses rerouted, and each block had a different musical act performing. There were booths, outdoor vendors and community organizations. What struck me most was how different a street that I have spent plenty of time on as a pedestrian, felt very different without any cars.

Dancers pull audience members into the dance at Mountain View Cemetery Solstice Gathering

The second event I went to was a Summer Solstice performance at the Mountain View Cemetery on Fraser and 41st Ave., put on my the Little Chamber Music Series. The performance featured about 20 women in white, dancing to the music of a stringed quartet. The dance was interpretive of the cycles of life, death and sickness we are all subject to as human beings. At the end they invited the audience to join the dancing to celebratory and up beat music. It was as if the dead had reached through the veil to comfort the living.

And while I love attending mass–set aside from the day to day activities of life–participating in two mundane spaces near the longest day of the year and the full moon, made sacred through music and dance, bore witness to the potential sacredness of each place in each moment. Attending religious services should not lead us to assume any simple dichotomies between sacred and profane, as if one space were closer to the Divine. Spending time in sacred places should help us practice the kind of presence we should take into each moment and each place.

Previous Post

June 14, 2016

Mass Shootings and Ramadan

Next Post

June 27, 2016 Labyrinths within Labyrinths

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anthropocene Camino de Santiago Catholicism Film Holyscapes Homily Liturgy Monk Nature New Monasticism New Story Pilgrimage Poetry Politics Prayer Religion and Spirituality Silence Spiritual Ecology Spring Spriritual Ecology Theology Uncategorized Walking Writing

Select a Month June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian denomination is most common in Russia?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Eastern Orthodox Baptist Methodist Catholic