Sunday Rituals
March 13, 2010
Usually when we talk about ritual in Transmission, we take it pretty seriously. We talk about it in a formal sense, as a performance that transforms someone or something from one state to another, as a space that creates community, as a moment where the usual boundaries can break down. It’s big and dramatic. It’s a wedding, a communion, a house blessing. It isn’t brushing your teeth. That, we like to say, is a habit and not a ritual.
And yet, I find myself thinking a lot these days about that habitual kind of “ritual.” The small and homely kind. Brushing your teeth, reading the paper, kissing someone good night and good morning. It seems to me that these things that we repeat – week by week, month by month, year by year – transform us too. They give shape and order to our lives. They make us into the people that we are becoming.
As the calendar rolled over to 2010, my brother and his girlfriend stayed with me for a couple of days. On Sunday morning over a leisurely breakfast, they pulled up their Sunday websites to share with me: PostSecret and the New York Times Weddings & Celebrations. As we looked over shoulders, the silence was punctuated by sighs, laughter, and the occasional groan. I was moved and surprised. My brother and his girlfriend are completely secular people, and yet their Sunday rituals still carry a sense of setting time aside for something special, sacred even. They bear witness to other people’s secrets. They share in other couples’ joy.
It made me think about my own habitual rituals. Are mine transforming me into a person of empathy, compassion, and joy? Do they shape me into the person that I would like to become? I’ve joined my brother and his girlfriend in reading secrets over Sunday breakfast, and added a dose of dance and poetry. Then I go to church, for the healing of the ritual and the shaping of the habit.
Upcoming Events
February 9, 2010
Lent is fast approaching
and Transmission has it covered. See below for our current plans for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter.
Wed Feb 17: host-Caleb, cook-Caleb, ritual-Katie. This Ash Wednesday, we will be making ashy soap for use throughout Lent. See our post from last year for more details.
Sat Feb 27: Planning meeting at a cafe TBA
Wed Mar 3: host-Mabel, cook-Katie, ritual-Johannes
Wed Mar 17: host-Elaine, cook-Dan, ritual-Isaac. We will be blessing Elaine’s new home and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
Sat Mar 27: Planning meeting at cafe TBA
Wed Mar 31: Planning meeting at cafe TBA
Thurs Apr 1: Maundy Thursday with St. Lydia’s?
маси и столовеFri Apr 2: Stations of the Cross around NYC?
Sat Apr 3 – Sun Apr 4: Easter Vigil? We had a very successful vigil last year, and we are searching for a space for our Easter ritual redux. Let us know if you have ideas about churches that might be willing to host an 8-hour Easter Vigil.
Wed Apr 7: game night, host-Mabel, cook TBA
Wed Apr 21: host, cook, ritual TBA
If you would like to come to any of these events, get on our mailing list by clicking on the Contact link. We hope to see you soon!
Advent celebration tonight
December 2, 2009
Transmission begins our celebration of Advent tonight. In this season of pregnant women, Isaac will be leading a ritual to explore our understanding of Mary, the mother of Jesus. We’ll be meeting at Patrick’s place and Mabel will be cooking. If you need directions, please contact us.
suffering and grace
April 29, 2009
This Friday, we’re headed to Paul’s house from 7-9pm for a ritual reflection on sickness, suffering, and grace. Dan is the leading the ritual and he says:
The theme I wanted to touch on this week was that of happiness within suffering.¬† As I’ve been sick this week, I’ve at the same time been reading very humorous e-mails from someone else who was sick, a friend of mine in DC.¬† And it struck me that she seems to have a much better attitude about sickness than I: I tend to get very downcast and gloom n’ doomy when I get ill.¬† How is it that certain people are able to handle illness and other kinds of suffering with grace, while others find only anger and sadness? I invite people to bring in a story of what got them through one of the sickest times in their lives, and the memory of something that got them through it.¬† Any personal items (a book you read while you were sick, a poem, a song you wrote, etc.) that remind you of how you stayed above the suffering would also be helpful.¬† I’ll also bring in some philosophical and Gospel wisdom on the subject.
Email for directions. Hope to see you there!
It’s a Ritual Revue
April 24, 2009
At our retreat on Holy Saturday, Transmissioners decided to begin having an organizational meeting once a month to review the rituals from the month. Tomorrow, Saturday, April 25, is our first meeting. If all goes well, we will be having this review and planning meeting on the last Saturday of every month from 2-4pm. Our Transmission rituals will remain on the first and third Friday of each month from 7-9pm.
If you’d like to take a look behind the scenes and learn more about planning rituals, reflect on your liturgical experiences, or debrief and decompress from the month, please join us. Email for directions! Hope to see you there.
Easter recovery tomorrow
April 16, 2009
Happy Easter! Most of our Transmissioners are all ritualed out after our 8 hour Easter vigil. We’re recovering with a movie night at Dan’s house tomorrow, April 17, at 7pm (email for directions).¬† Come for food and fun. See you there!