Centering (5 minutes)

This is a time to make the transition from the busy world to the group experience. A member of the group may read these words from Genesis:

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

Check-in (10 to 25 minutes)

Each person in the group has the opportunity to share something about his or her life. What significant events have taken place recently in your life? Have you accomplished something meaningful to you? Have you experienced any losses or setbacks? Have you had any insights or new ideas?

Group Discussion (45 to 70 minutes)

Our spiritual theme for this month is Sabbath. Leonardo da Vinci said: “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation. For when you come back to work, your judgment will be surer, since to remain constantly at work, you lose power of judgment. Go some distance away, because then the work appears smaller, and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and a lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen.” The Book of Genesis called for one day each week to be set aside for spiritual reflection and renewal and thus created the Sabbath. The labor movement called for an additional day of rest and thus created the weekend. Do you consciously plan for adequate rest, renewal, and reflection in your life?

For group discussion, please consider the questions associated with one or more of the following numbered sections. You need not address all of these sections, and you need not address them in this order.

1. What do you do to achieve a healthy balance between meaningful, productive activity and adequate rest, renewal, and reflection?

2. Would you say that time with your covenant group is like a Sabbath?

3. Maya Angelou wrote, “Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. We need hours of aimless wandering or spates of time sitting on park benches, observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of treetops. If we step away for a time, we are not, as many think and some will accuse, being irresponsible, but rather we are preparing ourselves to more ably perform our duties and discharge our obligations. When I return home, I am always surprised to find some questions I sought to evade had been answered and some entanglements I had hoped to flee had become unraveled in my absence. A day away acts as a spring tonic. It can dispel rancor, transform indecision, and renew the spirit.”

Does this observation match your experience?

4. Leonardo da Vinci said: “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation. For when you come back to work, your judgment will be surer, since to remain constantly at work, you lose power of judgment. Go some distance away, because then the work appears smaller, and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and a lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen.”

Does this observation match your experience?

5. Henry David Thoreau said, “Nature is as well adapted to our weakness as to our strength. The incessant anxiety and strain of some is a well-nigh incurable form of disease. We are made to exaggerate the importance of what work we do; and yet how much is not done by us! or, what if we had been taken sick? How vigilant we are! determined not to live by faith if we can avoid it; all the day long on the alert, at night we unwillingly say our prayers and commit ourselves to uncertainties.”

Would you say that you have a healthy, life-affirming relationship with your work? If so, did this come about because of conscious decisions and intentions on your part? If not, what holds you back from having a healthier relationship with your work?

Conclusion (5 to 10 minutes)

What will you take away from this discussion? What would have made this time together more meaningful or satisfying to you? What did you enjoy? A group member may share these words from Wendell Berry:

The love and the work of friends and lovers belong to the task and are its health.
Rest and rejoicing belong to the task, and are its grace.
Let tomorrow come tomorrow.
Not by your will is the house carried through the night.