The Mindfulness in Parish Life Program began recently with an initial retreat at the Norbertine Center for Spirituality in Green Bay.  Now participants will continue for the next eight weeks to practice what we began on those cold winter days in that great vaulted place that is St. Norbert Abbey. The abbey is one of those uncommon places on the planet where people can gather to step away for the kind of Sabbath rest that is so rare in our 24-7 world of work. 

The Mindfulness in Parish Life program of The Sabbath Project is grounded in the work of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society.  The center’s work over the past 30 years has helped establish Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as a clinical intervention which has shown to be an effective complementary form of behavioral medicine.  A cursory glance at the National Institutes of Health website will uncover over 400 references to the application of mindfulness to health conditions ranging from stress to cardio-vascular disease, and from fibromyalgia to chronic back pain.  Over 240 health care centers world-wide offer courses in MBSR, including the Mayo Clinic and the Universities of Wisconsin and Michigan.  At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Dr. Richard Davidson has recently been awarded a six million dollar grant to continue groundbreaking research in the effect of meditation on the brain and immune system. 

Meanwhile, here in the Northern Great Lakes Synod, far from the major medical centers and research grants we are doing our own pioneering work.  A handful of clergy has begun to explore how mindfulness -  the practice of moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness -  can foster our own well-being, reduce stress reactivity and enhance our own compassionate living, for the sake of our holy calling as leaders in Christ’s church.

Watch for more opportunities to learn about mindfulness practice as it unfolds in our church and in the mainstream of medicine.

Peace to all of you sisters and brothers in this season of light,

Pastor Lee Goodwin +