Introducing Anam Cara Sojourners
An Invitation to Explore God Through Celtic Spirituality
There is a yearning for experiences beyond formal church and a hunger for practices that help us in our busy and loud world. Representatives from three parishes, St. James Episcopal, Essex Junction, Trinity Episcopal, Shelburne, and Christ Church Presbyterian, Burlington, including their clergy and lay representatives, are beginning a new collaboration. An introductory event was held July 29. The stance of this collaboration is to approach spiritual questions from a place of curiosity rather than suspicion in order to explore what might be helpful to our spirits in the context of 21st century culture. We seek to develop an awareness of life, fully engaged with the world around us.
The term Anam Cara or anamchara, popularized by Irish author John O’Donohue in his 1997 book Anam Ċara about Celtic spirituality, is old Gaelic meaning “soul friend.” Our vision is to build a collaboration of people from various faith traditions, interested in exploring ways of experiencing God though the lens of Celtic spirituality in the following ways, and possibly others:
- Celtic-themed worship in a contemplative pattern
- Day or 1/2-day retreats exploring principles of Celtic spirituality
- Learning opportunities such book groups, dialogs/conversations, and online sharing
- Holy Hikes: worship in the context of nature (already happening)
- Pilgrimages: such as to Celtic lands but also perhaps locally (already happening)
Such activities are not meant to conflict with or take away from regular church participation and attendance, rather to offer helpful tools for those who feel called beyond Sunday morning experiences, as well as those outside the church, to explore spirituality in less formal ways and connect with God using Celtic spirituality in their practices.
We invite you to consider joining us as sojourners. If interested, please contact the Rev. Kim Hardy, founder, at ammakim@stjamesvt.org.
Featured Image: Cover of the book Anam Cara by John O’Donohue.
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