Karen Brennan

Spiritual and Religious Life understands prayer to be many different things for the members of our community. In all times and traditions, it is a way of being in the moment, being present, and opening your heart, soul, and mind to connection.

A temporary “prayer wall” will be placed in Warch campus center the week of November 2nd. You are invited to place your intentions, wishes, hopes, thanksgiving, fears, confessions, questions, or prayers into the “wall” regardless of background or beliefs.

In times of anxiety, stress, or fear – a natural response is to close; close our hearts, our emotions, and our relationships. Without a doubt this season is stressful, anxiety producing and frightening regardless of your religious tradition or political persuasion. 

On Saturday, November 15^th we will dismantle the wall and collect the prayers. They will be released, unopened, to the universe through burning.  Watch for more information.   

Borrowing from Tibetan prayer flags, the Center for Spiritual and Religious Life invites you to express what you are grateful for by creating and contributing a flag to a living, breathing kinetic journal of our thanks, appreciations and hopes. 

Tibetan prayer flags typically carry mantras (sacred words) for peace, compassion, good fortune, strength or wisdom. They are an essential part of Tibetan  Buddhism and can be found over mountain passes and along mountain ridges.

We hope each flag will be created in the artists own style, then hung outside in our new garden space, its words and sentiment dissolving into the wind and being spread to all whom the wind touches.  

On campus students, faculty and staff – Materials and instructions to create and hang your flag will be provided in the Sabin House Kitchen/Community Room. Your ID will grant you access to the building 9-9 M-F & 9-12 on weekends.  

Remote students, faculty and staff – Feel free to share what you are grateful for through this form (written words, poetry, lyrics, images, drawings), and a staff member will transfer to a flag to hang in community with the collaborative piece.

Reminder that the Center is open with safety measurements in place so we can all honor the pledge. Masks are required and capacity limits posted in each room.

?Listen to the sound of leaves scrunching under your feet. Listen to the sounds of the city. Listen to the sounds of the water. Listen to your own footsteps. ? Feel what’s under your feet. Feel the temperature around you. Feel the texture of trees or buildings. Feel the water or ground. ? Look at the different colors around you. Look for what changed this season. Look at neighborhood murals or light on the water. ? Smell the air around you. Smell pine trees. Smell the water. Smell fires in the area.? Taste the air as you breathe in and out. Taste a beverage when you return home.

1) Locate an area to explore. This can be a path, a park, a place near a river, lake or ocean, or just around the neighborhood.
2) Distance with a friend. For both community and safety you might want to bring a friend on this adventure, or at least tell someone what you’re doing and where you’re headed.
3) Engage your senses. See examples of ways to engage your senses.
4) Share with others. Post on the LU Spirit Space Facebook or Instagram page about how you engaged in the sensory walk.

Losing a family member is so hard at any stage of life.  Making the journey alone can be even more challenging. Resources for capturing memories, reflecting on your relationship and the impact of the loss, and developing skills to navigate the experience are available to you. If you have lost a loved one, you are invited to join other students and Dean Linda Morgan-Clement for the Fall 2020 grief group.

Join us virtually. Tuesdays at 11:30 am. Weeks 4 – 6. 

Please contact the office of Spiritual and Religious Life to request the Zoom link.

When you don’t know the destination – or it has yet to reveal itself, walking a winding path can feel like meandering without a purpose. Or, it can feel relaxing if you choose to walk for the sake of walking, for the sake of the journey itself.

The (perhaps not so) long and winding road leads you to Lawrence, to your center, to yourself. Labyrinth walking is designed to move across a structured path to a specific center – your center.  Take your time and make the walk worthwhile. 

Walk with Linda Morgan-Clement at the Labyrinth at First Congregational UCC right here in Appleton, just steps from campus on the south side of the Fox River. Or, journey on your own in real time at this exceptional non-virtual place. Find how your own meandering can bring you more clearly to center.

Find additional resources for centering yourself at the landing page for Spiritual and Religious Life at Lawrence or via our Facebook page.