A Pastor’s Thoughts: ‘Six Streams’ of Spirituality

[By Pastors Carolyn and Bruce Gillette]

There’s a group that teaches Christian spirituality (renovare.org) that describes six “streams” of spirituality. These “streams” all come together to form the river that is our faith. At various times in our lives, we find ourselves emphasizing one stream or another, depending on our current experiences and what’s happening in the world around us. Which one is most important to you right now?

A prayer-filled life turns our attention to God by emphasizing an intimate sharing with God through prayer, meditation, silence, and solitude. Teresa of Avila described an “intimate sharing between friends.” When and how do you take the time to pray?

A virtuous life focuses on right living, holy habits, and doing the “right thing” (which in faith terms is the “loving thing”). It’s about making good, moral, ethical choices and trying to improve ourselves by the grace of God. When have you taken on a holy habit as a way of growing closer to God?

A Spirit-empowered life focuses on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit working through us to build communities of love. When have you been open to God’s Spirit working in you and others to build a loving, forgiving community that welcomes others in?

A word-centered life emphasizes sharing the good news: God’s great message of love embodied in Jesus Christ. This faith stream sees the crying need of people to see and hear the good news. How have you shared your faith with others recently, in words and deeds?

A sacramental life emphasizes the connections between “invisible spirit and physical reality.” We see God in material things: water, bread, and wine; and also in work, volunteering, conversations, and the world of nature around us.  When have you seen these important connections?

Finally, a compassionate life emphasizes loving our neighbors. It’s more than just “doing charity.” It’s also working for justice, compassion, and peace in the world around us. A compassionate life invites us to have a new vision for the way God wants the world to be. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). How have you worked for peace and justice as a way of loving God’s world?

We need all of these parts of our faith.  Right now, looking around the world, there seems to be a strong need for people of faith to pursue the compassionate life. It has been said that our society is moving away from empathy, moving away from people seeking to understand and care for one another. Empathy is the beginning of peacemaking: in homes, schools, churches, communities, our nation, and our world.  A big part of our faith is listening to one another and respecting one another.

Right now, we are a nation at war. It can be difficult to talk about issues of war and peace in the context of faith.  Maybe we say, “That’s too political” to talk about. Yet deep down, we know that war hurts us all, starting with the children and vulnerable people that God calls us to love and protect.

A compassionate life, by its very nature, leads us to be peacemakers. When we live a compassionate life of faith, we hear Jesus blessing the peacemakers. We hear Jesus teaching us to love our enemies and to welcome people who are different from ourselves. A compassionate life of peacemaking leads us to take action, to write letters to an immigrant in detention, to call Congresspeople to express concern about war, to make sure we are registered to vote for the common good, and to take action against vengeance and cruelty. 

In a time when the world is stressed, how can these six streams of faith help you grow toward loving God and loving your neighbor, as Jesus said to do? And, in a time when we are too often encouraged to embrace hate or at least to look the other way, what can you do to actively build compassion, empathy, peace, and justice in this hurting world?

God bless you in this holy season.

Carolyn and Bruce Gillette started serving as the pastors for the First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego, N.Y. in 2018.