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The Creation of Sacred Space

"The cup of sorrow and joy, when lifted for others to see and celebrate, becomes a cup to life.  It is so easy for us to live truncated lives because of hard things that have happened in our past, which we prefer not to remember.  Often the burdens of our own past seem too heavy for us to carry alone.  Shame and guilt make us hide part of ourselves and thus make us live half lives. We truly need each other to claim all of our lives and so live them to the fullest…. Mostly we are willing to look back at our lives and say: 'I am grateful for the good things that brought me to this place.'  But when we lift our cup to life, we must dare to say: 'I am grateful for all that has happened to me and led me to this moment.'  This gratitude which embraces all of our past is what makes our life a true gift for others, because this gratitude erases bitterness, resentments, regret, and revenge as well as all jealousies and rivalries.  It transforms our past into a fruitful gift for the future, and makes our life, all of it, into a life that gives life." Henri Nouwen, Can You Lift the Cup, 74-75.

Parker Palmer in To Know as We are Known lays down guidelines for teaching and learning in the congregation.  I want to adapt some of his ideas to the pastor as artist, especially the idea of sacred space because it exemplifies the pastor as artist approach.  I think that the creation of sacred space is one of the primary functions of the pastor as artist, because it is the main arena in which the preparatory work of seeing, listening, and paying attention take place.

People live lives in their social boxes.  We all do it; it's not a bad thing, just a real thing.  Every day they go through "the" routine, whatever that happens to be for them.  Everyday, they face old and new challenges.  The constant hum of this thing called "everyday living" can act as white noise when it comes to listening for the voice of God in our lives.  Sacred space opens the doors to encounter God in several ways.

First, it offers a "safe" space.  People have the opportunity to explore who they are and who they are becoming.  They have the opportunity to tell their stories, draw out their voices, talk about their relationship with God.  And because they know that this is a "safe" space, they know that they can get feedback from others who will respect them.  Too often I hear Christians (rightly or wrongly) complaining about how belligerent American society is becoming toward the Christian faith.  Sacred space allows people to enter an arena where their faith walk is not only respected, but encouraged and nurtured.

Lord, I've really been real stressed/"down and out, loosing ground… …I know you're supposed to be my steering wheel/not just my spare tire…home./To be my guiding force and truth…home./for some strange reason it had to be …home./He guided me to Tennessee…home./ Take me to another place Take me to another land Make me forget all that hurts me let me understand your plan. Arrested Development, "Tennessee," on 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of….

Within this context, they are able to explore their identities and reinterpret their own narratives.  People have histories, and God is at work in them.  But the chaos of life gives need for the opportunity to step back and to discern.

This is perhaps the greatest area of danger for the pastor as artist.  One of my great artistic faults is that I very often do not know when to stop.  I do not know how many pictures I have gone through where my friends had to remind me of that.  How much more excellent would the work of art had been had I done what I needed to do, and then left well enough alone.  I believe that this is also the case with pastoral artistic care.  It is a good and holy thing to want to help parishioners pull their lives back together a little bit more.  But there is always the danger of doing too much.  Pastor-Artists must know when to stop.  Otherwise, their creative endeavors will move dangerously beyond the work of the Holy Spirit.

Pastor-Artists must be careful not to impose their own narratives on their parishioners.  I believe that when people are open, as is especially the case in sacred space, they are exceptionally vulnerable to what cognitive psychology calls "overwriting," the rewriting of one's memory of personal history.  Hence, pastor-artists must respect the sacred space by remembering that in sacred space it is Christ's dominion that is proclaimed, not the pastor's.  Sacred boundaries must be respected.  They are there to protect the integrity of the parishioners' spiritual narratives, even from their pastor.

Once the pastor has been exposed to the narratives revealed in the sacred space, the stage is set to work with the Spirit co-creatively.  He or she is in position to paint the bigger picture of how the Spirit is at work in the community by telling the corporate story and anticipating its future.  If the product connects with the previous working of the Holy Spirit, then people will be drawn to the work of art, thus validating its beauty and depth.  As they embrace the vision and pool their resources to fuel it, they can move further on the path toward their corporate destiny.

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