I've talked to a few people the last couple of weeks, and it sounds like a lot of us are being forced to deal with self-isolation in one way or another. For every person who is using this period as a time to binge their way through their streaming service backlog, there's someone else who's one “are you still watching?” away from going cabin-fever crazy.
The most surprising to me has been the reaction to the enforced order of work from home. People are struggling with it. Of course, some people, like contractors and auto mechanics, can't do their jobs at all unless they're on site. But those who can work from home are still finding problems. Sometimes it's frustratingly physical, like someone trying to oversee a cleaning crew from their kitchen table. Other times it's psychological, like someone who has discovered their workspace has invaded the sanctuary that used to be their home.
For me, the problem has been both spiritual and practical. How do you tend to your work at home when you work at a church? I approached solving this like a philosophical paradox, and I think I've come up with a solution.
A church is many things. It is a space to process life changing events, a source of moral education, a community center, and a place to be fed in soul and body. We often associate all of those things with a building, one that has a chapel, a classroom, a rec room and a kitchen. There have been some beautiful buildings that have had those rooms and provided those services. But at its core, a church is a group of people who share a metaphysical vision and a quest for the truth. A church can be found within the seekers inside the building, as well as within the building itself.
With that in mind, The Christian Institute is excited to launch an email newsletter: Light Reading. The phrase “light reading” has gotten a bad rap. Merriam-Webster defines it as: “something that is easy to read.” While this is no doubt based on the idea of light as something “having little weight” or “of little importance,” there are other understandings of the word.
Light can be something that brightens. We can always use a little more positivity, something that brightens the day, especially in dark times. For this reason, Light Reading will share news that uplifts while it informs, that does not stoke fear or harbor hatred, that is both psychologically and spiritually satisfying.
At the same time, Light Reading won't lack substance. Light is not about ignoring darkness. It's about illuminating it. After all, another understanding of light is that which erases darkness. In Plato's allegory of the cave, it was the light of the surface that, while initially blinding, gave the freed prisoner the ability to see what truly is. We want to shed light on the issues that matter the most: the eternal and the internal, the human and the divine.
That's what we want to do with Light Reading. We want to offer light that brightens and illuminates, spiritual light that lifts us through the week and gives us something to think about. If that sounds like what you'd like to read, reach out on our contact page and we'll be happy to add you to our email list. There is no more appropriate time of year to begin a study in light than Holy Week, and it will give us all something to look at while we're waiting to see each other again.
