Macon Magazine

84 maconmagazine.com | DECEMBER 2023/JANUARY 2024 Rev. Ted Goshorn, Pastor of Mulberry Street United Methodist Church, looks toward sabbath-keeping to find joy. He seeks time "free of work and obligation. We do that as a family every Saturday. Together, we rest, we adventure, we play games, we make food together, we find ways to celebrate each other." Imam Adam Fofana, of the Islamic Center of Middle Georgia, challenges that we must cultivate joy practices. "The most important one is prayer and meditation, connecting with something bigger than myself and feeling the presence of that within me is a powerful source of joy," he said. "Muslim prayer is limitless, timeless, and borderless. It is because of that, I feel and cultivate joy always in prayer, whether it is done for self or someone else." A posture of prayer rather than guardedness feels risky these days. Yet, "joy is a revolutionary force. We need it as much as we need anger because it is joy that will help keep us in these bodies long enough to enact justice," says author Evette Dionne. How can we embrace joy? The Women's Interfaith Alliance of Central Georgia is a group that gathers monthly. Women from churches, temples, mosques, and communities gather to share lunch and conversation. Sometimes, they even learn a traditional dance. Sometimes the most wholehearted exchange is to eat, laugh, and dance. Debbie Krafft, a leader of the WIA, says that joy is a river running deep in the soul. It is "always there, always accessible. Hall holds her joyful son. Candles, yes. The light streaming through a stained glass window or the sound of children laughing might do it. Joy is not fleeting or shallow. It might be fueled by attending to delights and leaning into lightheartedness, but there is more. Joy that abides is something we grasp and hold onto, despite and perhaps because of our circumstances. Holding joy invites us to guard a deep gladness. It has been said that joy is an act of resistance. Joy claims that we are beloved and worthy of delight, rest, and wholeness. Choosing joy resists the claim that we are only what we consume or produce. We can lean into freeing moments of laughter and gladness. Welcome to Macon Magazine's newest column, curated by Rev. Dr. Erin Robinson Hall, a believer, preacher, podcaster, retreat leader, resource developer, and ministry consultant. She says: In our city of over 200 churches, it's common to hear, "Where do you go to church?" Your answer is supposed to offer up a clue about your Macon identity. Introductions that begin with assumptions can be wearying exchanges. How can we acknowledge the ways that faith impacts both our individual practices and our collective life as a community? Perhaps we begin with the idea from On Being podcast host Krista Tippet. "Religion is as cup; spirituality is as water." Our cups can be beautiful, sturdy, or fragile. Some of us hold tightly, and are nourished only by our trusted cups. Some of us have set down the cups altogether. Water is something that nourishes all of us. We seek water; we need water. How can we honor the cups, and seek the stories of the water? Each installment of Cups and Water will explore these ideas. Today, we will explore how to find and hold joy, even in difficult circumstances. C U P S A N D W A T E R

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