Staff Picks

St. John’s Staff shares practices that help them stay grounded

In almost every bookstore, there’s a shelf of “Staff Picks”—books read and recommended by the bookstore staff. You can usually find some treasures there, because these are people, after all, who spend their lives around books. The members of the St. John’s staff likewise spend their lives around spiritual practices—engaging them, finding new ones, exploring, trying on, savoring. They were asked, “What books, prayers, apps, practices, attitudes, perspectives, activities, mantras, etc. (in addition to cherished walks outside!) are proving helpful to you in staying grounded or centered right now?” Here they offer you their answers to that question—their tips for staying centered, grounded, and balanced during the shutdown necessitated by the pandemic. With thanks to the staff for sharing them, we hope you find them helpful. They are listed in alphabetical order, by staff member last name.

Tom Brewster, Chief Verger Emeritus       

As much as possible, Tom is keeping to his pre-pandemic morning schedule of reading the news and dog-walking. He notes that his coonhound, Jack, grows very depressed if he is not able to use his considerable nose at least once a day. Tom is keeping his mind active by reading: Mother Barbara Crafton’s The Alsolife; Julia Cameron’s Answered Prayers; and Cathedral Meditations, a compilation from the Washington National Cathedral. He’s also chipping his way through the Confession of St. Patrick, and David Limbaugh’s Jesus is Risen, a study of Paul’s ministry to bring Christianity to the Gentiles.

Tom offers you this timely piece from Cathedral Meditations:

"Something about accepting the loss of life, something about looking death in the eye, something about that sets us free. We know we're going there. But we're here now. And if now is what we have, then now is going to count. If the time in which we can walk in love as Christ loved us is limited, we better walk in love and walk tall.... Use the strength we have, for we will not always have it. Feel the joy we feel, for we will not always feel it. Live the love that is in us and live it with all our strength, for it is here now."

The Most Reverend Edmond L. Browning, 24th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, in observation of a National Day of Prayer for AIDS.  October 15, 1989. Copied from Washington National Cathedral - Cathedral Meditations. meditations and prayers from Washington National Cathedral. 1994.

The Rev. Deacon Jan Dewlen, Deacon       

Jan draws daily inspiration from some words of Bishop Kym Lucas: “The Lord is our shepherd, it is all we shall want.” For Jan these words have become a kind of mantra, and she prays them often, combining the words with breathing techniques from her practice of yoga. Jan is also finding joy and grounding in her practice of art. To create art allows her to lose herself, and in so doing, to find God.

Heather Dudok, Parish Administrator       

Every morning at sunrise—about 5:30 or 6 a.m.—Heather and her husband Eli visit the garden they are building in their front yard. They notice the changes and the growth in the tiny plants just beginning to push up through the soil. At night, before bed, they listen, release the day, and relax to recorded Yoga Nidra meditations. On the Nextdoor app, Heather is learning about her neighborhood and her neighbors and is joining good efforts like driving by a birthday child’s house and honking, since the need to social distance made it impossible for him to have a party.

Alex Goodman, Parish Assistant

For Alex, in these days when the order of life is profoundly changed, she is finding that simple tasks like making her bed each morning provide a sense of structure and order, and a sense of accomplishment. Taking care to do these things, to establish some kind of framework for her day, goes a long way to set a tone of productivity for the day ahead.

The Rev. Ted Howard, Associate Rector       

After Easter, Fr. Ted looks forward to carving out more time and space for self-care which he views as a spiritual practice. At present, he keeps up most days with his practice of centering prayer and praying for those petitions and people on his prayer lists. He’s currently reading Michelle Obama’s autobiography Becoming, and is reading digital versions of The Washington Post and The New York Times to stay in touch with current affairs. He also reads or listens to talks, reflections, and meditations from Richard Rohr, James Finley and Ilia Delio, and others.  He walks daily with his two dogs (and sometimes without them!) at nearby McIntosh Lake/Dawson Park or just around the neighborhood. He joins some family members on a weekly Zoom call, stays in touch with others by phone, and has a weekly Zoom gathering with close friends. Evenings might find him listening to classical music, or watching documentaries or movies. He’s keeping up his schedule of appointments for spiritual direction, clergy wellness, and grief counseling. He notes that cooking and taking care of the house and grounds can be viewed as spiritual practices as well. 

Dr. Joyce Kull, Principal Organist           

Joyce has created a solid framework of reading, exercise, music, and prayer to guide her days. She’s using this time to explore the entirety of The Book of Common Prayer and in particular is drawn to the service of Compline. She’s reading from the Gospel of John, Mother Barbara Crafton’s Living Lent, and Margaret Guenther’s The Practice of Prayer.

Combining some PT exercises with the fruits of her online searches, she has put together an exercise program using light weights, balance training, facial exercises, and deep breathing. It should come as no surprise that she’s spending time practicing the organ, and she’s listening to organ pieces, harpsichord pieces, piano pieces, and choral works. Joyce has an organ, a harpsichord, and a piano in her home studio. Composers she’s listening to and playing right now include Bach, Debussy, Mozart, Widor, Beethoven, and Brahms. If you’d like a copy of her listening list, she’ll be happy to share some suggestions with you. Just send her an email.

One of Joyce’s favorite music endeavors these days is giving FaceTime piano lessons to her two youngest grandchildren and hearing about their day.

The Rev. Amy Lythgoe, Associate Priest for Family Ministry   

Mother Amy has amassed a small library of helpful apps and podcasts that attend her as she walks, sits on her front porch in the evenings, or begins and ends her day. Here are some:

Tom Morgan, Music Director               

Tom is centering himself through music (no surprise!)—in particular, exploring new pieces of music, and unfamiliar genres. Presently he is listening to YouTube recordings by CU Boulder Professor of Piano David Korevaar, as Korevaar plays daily recitals of Beethoven piano sonatas. Tom finds the score of each piece online and follows along as he listens. He observes that Professor Korevaar is offering a real gift to the community, preparing as he does for a live recital every day. You can find a number of videos on his YouTube channel or by searching for his name.

The Rev. Susan Springer, Rector           

Pastor Susan re-grounds (literally!) by plunging her hands into the dirt of her garden. Weather permitting, in the late afternoons she attends to one gardening task each day. For her, pruning, weeding, planting seeds, cleaning out beds and pots, provide a quiet time of gratitude with God and a necessary counterpoint to the increased computer screen time arising from doing more of the church’s ministry online. Susan is also enjoying the simple pleasure of using colored chalk to decorate sidewalks in her neighborhood. She finds the temporary nature of this art form a good reminder to live in the present moment and to “go with the flow.” Susan is finding joy and learning in reading, in particular her exploration of Sharon Salzburg’s Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. In it, she is noticing countless parallels with the words of Jesus. Which of course she is annotating in the margins!

Tom Stumb, Caretaker                   

Tom is the only staff member who leaves his home to go to work each day. He assures our campus is clean and secure and that all mechanical systems are running smoothly. His best practices for staying grounded take place in the mornings and evenings: he watches the news but resists the urge to follow it too closely, lest the weightiness of it all overwhelm him. Instead, he listens to music, reads Forward Day by Day each day, and walks a lot, watching for the small and welcome signs of the emerging spring.