*”Proposals Due” dates listed below apply to writers whose works have been published in Weavings. Other writers need to submit a complete manuscript labeled with the theme for which they are submitting.
Times of Change, Times of Challenge
Change is happening at a lightning pace in our world, and the speed of transition jars us internally. Elaine Prevallet, S.L., aptly describes the pace of change: “The world around me seems to fluctuate like a kaleidoscope incontinual motion. One can’t get a stable, steady picture of how it is because the pieces keep shifting and regrouping, reconfiguring even as we watch. How can one find a stable self in a continually shifting world?”1
Indeed, how do we stay grounded in such times of change and challenge? We must examine the way we perceive and frame these changes. We propose a year of looking through these lenses: the lens of community—how does our connectedness influence the way we navigate times of change? The lens of resilience—how and from where do we garner the ability to adjust to (or recover from) rapid change? The lens of diversity—how do we negotiate the challenge of differing faiths, cultures, and worldviews in ever-changing local and global environments? The lens of maturity—how does the vantage point of the autumn/winter of life inform a perspective on life’s challenging and changing nature? Through meditations, essays, poetry, prayers, and stories, our writers will help us explore various facets and ways of framing the times of change and times of challenge in which we are living.
Vol. XXVIII, No. 1 (Nov/Dec 2012/Jan 2013)
*Proposals/manuscripts due 03/31/12
Selections made by 04/06/12
Copy for selected proposals due 06/06/12
“All who believed were together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44). This brief scripture captures a snapshot of the early church and an ideal image of community that many people desire in these times. Much research has shown that people who are connected to others can face the vicissitudes of life with more strength than those who are not. For some, community is found in the church they attend. Yet churches themselves are in the throes of change; where are people finding and recreating community, both within and outside of the church? What is the effect of social media on community? What is the impact of a mobile society on community? How does the new monasticism speak to a new vision of community that many are looking for? Our sense of connectedness influences the way we navigate times of change. During this season of Advent, when we often gather with those with whom we find a sense of community, what do the Advent themes of anticipation and hope have to say to us about facing and “doing” life together in times of change and challenge?
Vol. XXVIII, No. 2 (Feb/Mar/Apr)
*Proposals/manuscripts due 04/15/12
Selections made 05/04/12
Copy for selected proposals due 08/01/12
Merriam-Webster defines resilience as “1) the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress, and 2) an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” The words in this very definition describe aspects of living in a culture of rapid change: strained, recover, deformation, stress. In times of change and challenge, what are the factors and practices that help to form in us the nature and image of Christ (Gal. 4:19) rather than being “conformed to this world” (Rom. 12:2)? How and from where do we garner the ability to adjust to (or recover from) rapid change? What are some examples of resilience related to change and/or challenge? In this issue that spans the season of Lent, how can our spiritual practices during this set-aside time help us recover from the deformation that can happen as a result of the “compressive stress” of rapid change?
Vol. XXVIII, No. 3 (May/Jun/Jul)
*Proposals/manuscripts due 06/01/12
Selections made by 07/09/12
Copy for selected proposals due 10/01/12
As our world becomes even smaller and flatter, the changes and challenges of diversity come ever closer to each one of us. From diversity of faiths to diversity of cultures to diversity within our own streams of faith, the challenges of diversity present themselves with increasing frequency. How do we negotiate the challenge of differing faiths, cultures, and worldviews in ever-changing local and global environments? What spiritual practices help us cultivate a spirit of Namaste with those whom we may not understand or agree with? Scripture advises us that “to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7); how might we apply this thought to a larger context?
Vol. XXVIII, No. 4 (Aug/Sep/Oct)
*Proposals/manuscripts due 08/01/12
Selections made by 09/07/12
Copy for selected proposals due 01/21/13
As we grow older, we can find the change and challenges of life to be more difficult to navigate, yet we cannot overlook the fact that the gift of years can both aid and ground our perception of life’s challenges—for ourselves and for the community around us. The Psalmist says, “In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap” (Psalm 92:14). In what ways can older adulthood be a time of great fruitfulness? What are the some of the challenges as well as the invitations of aging? How might older age be a sort of “natural monastery,” a time of cloistering that can provide a rich time of prayer and intimacy with God? What does “aging with grace” entail? What can older people and younger people learn from one another? How does the vantage point of being older grant a perspective on life’s challenges that no other age possesses?
1 From “Minding the Call,” Elaine M. Prevallet, S. L., Reprinted from Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life, Vol. XI, No. 3 (May/June 1996). Copyright © 1996 by The Upper Room.
