Reginald Bibby revealed in his recent book, that 54 per cent of 91原创s who say they have 鈥渘o religion鈥� nevertheless acknowledge they have 鈥渟piritual needs.鈥� The polls don鈥檛 indicate how they nurture those needs.听
Being what may be called one of those 鈥減eculiar鈥� people (in both the old and the more recent meaning of the word), I find the most dependable source of a nurturing spiritual experience is often to be found in a听Sunday听worship service. 听
That is not to say it鈥檚 guaranteed! And it鈥檚 not to say that is the only source of a personal spiritual experience. I experience a needed spiritual uplift when I hear of incidents that reveal the mystery of human goodness. 听Also surprisingly, I count it as a spiritual experience when hearing of individuals where life has treated them grossly unfairly. 听One is left to contemplate the humbling mystery of 鈥渨hy not me?鈥� 听
Also writers who have a creative gift of words can give me a 鈥渞eligious鈥� experience. 听听It was said of Anne Michaels that she writes and reads 鈥渋n order to hold another human being close.鈥� 听Writers are a mutual gift to the human spirit!
But for me it鈥檚 still the听Sunday听worship service which is the most dependable and regular source of a spiritual experience. 听Peculiarly for me it鈥檚 not what some would assume to be the 鈥渞eligious鈥� part of the worship--the readings, the music, the prayers and the message. 听It is true they do provide a setting for contemplation and a re-evaluation of one鈥檚 life. 听听But my most personal spiritual experience during the worship service occurs when I see the variety of people coming forward for the sacrament of the meal鈥攁ll of whom are experiencing their own personal life transitions known and unknown by me. 听听They鈥檙e not part of my family in the narrow sense of the word, but we鈥檙e knit together by a special spiritual and human bond. 听
And there is one other source of a spiritual experience during the worship time that may be peculiar to me. 听Our sanctuary has a window, where during the service one can look out and see the sky, the clouds and the trees responding to the wind and to the seasons. 听It is significant that the Old Testament Hebrew word for wind is the same word as spirit鈥攏either can be seen, but sometimes they can be felt or their effect can be seen. 听With the view from the window, even in the midst of communal worship, one can be alone with one鈥檚 thoughts.
Most of us have had a special, mountain-top spiritual experience. 听听听I find it equally special to have what is for me the gift of a weekly spiritual experience.
(I鈥檓 mindful that my quiet contemplation during the worship time is only possible because of many people working behind and within the scene鈥攇ifts of the unseen spirit.)
Gerald Mitchinson: 听former pilot, former teacher and now a retired Lutheran pastor going through a new transition鈥攁ging
You can read more articles from our multi-faith blog Spiritually Speaking
*This article was first published in the print edition of the Times 91原创 on Saturday Oct 19. 2013
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