As you can see, there were screens, which are ubiquitous these days. But we got to watch an artist, Vonda Drees, respond to the Bible study. Here's a close up:
And then came the Lectio Divina portion. We had a slow reading, with long spaces between verses. But it wasn't quiet, because Bishop Mike began life as a musician, so he played the piano, and Vonda continued drawing. We could meditate, take notes, and/or draw.
On day 2, we had a more traditional Lectio Divina, although still with music and art appearing on the screen. We had three readings, and we were asked to contemplate these things. After reading 1: what word or phrase leaps out at me? After reading 2: what is God saying? After reading 3: what is being asked of me, if I take it seriously?
I found it wonderful to have something beyond the Bible passage to help focus my thoughts. The music was grand and swelling, but based on hymns (mainly old spirituals) that I recognized. The art
made me itch to pick up my own markers--I liked that it was a mix of image and word.
Did I have deeper insights? I think that I did. And if I didn't have deeper insights, I did find it easier to stay focused on the text for longer than I would if the words had floated by me and then I had silence.
I wonder how I could incorporate these elements more often--something worth thinking about!
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