Episcopal Relief & Development’s 2025 LENTEN Meditation Journey . . . A COMMONPLACE Lent

Silence is neither mute nor talkative. —Peter of Celle, The School of the Cloister

At camp, we swim and boat in a lake. It’s not a big lake, but it is big enough for fishing, canoeing and jumping off a giant floating trampoline we call The Blob. During summer camp, I make it a point to be in the lake during our swimming activity, partly to be another point of safety, helping count heads and watching for signs of distress. And, in part, I go to the lake because I love being in the water. It restores my body and soul to a state of rest that I find hard to achieve on dry land.

This means that during the camp season, on any given afternoon, you might find me suited up in a life jacket, bobbing in Lake Leo, where I spend most of my time slowly turning 360 degrees, round and round, watching all that is happening: on The Blob, on the shoreline, on the dock, in the water. Here, I am free from the distraction of technology: I don’t have my phone, and my walkie-talkie is back on the beach. Most of the camper activity is beyond me, in one direction or another.

Instead, I am simply present. I watch and listen. I watch and listen to what is happening around me and inside me. I listen for the stillness of God resting in my breath, right underneath my
breastbone. I listen for what is emerging and what is fading away. I listen for signs of distress and sounds of joy. I wait to see what will happen next.

For me, Lent is like bobbing in the lake. Christmas is behind me on the shore of what has been, and Easter is ahead, filled with the promise of new adventures and new life. From here in the middle, I sit and listen to the silence within, and I watch for the movement of God—behind, ahead, inside—still and buoyant all at once.

For REFLECTION:

How do you practice silence and listening? If it is not a common practice, how might you begin to fold it into your daily life?

Click here to read the introduction to the 2025 Lenten Meditation “A Commonplace Lent.”

The Lenten Meditations prepared by Episcopal Relief & Development invite readers to deepen their spiritual practice during the season of Lent, the time of preparation leading to Easter. Our 2025 meditations explore the idea of “A Commonplace Lent.” This concept reflects Episcopal Relief & Development’s tagline: “Working Together for Lasting Change.” We share in common the work of advancing lasting change in communities impacted by injustice, poverty, disaster and climate change.

We also share in common spiritual practices that strengthen our faith—prayer, worship, love, grace, service and so much more. The author explores another meaning of common in the  meditations: finding God in the common and ordinary as well as in the extraordinary mountain-top moments. Each day begins with wisdom from desert mothers and fathers, monastics and other spiritual leaders who offer insight into our common path of faithful discipleship and service. Each meditation concludes with a question for deeper reflection.

Episcopal Relief & Development is the compassionate response of The Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. Hearing God’s call to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to respect the dignity of every human being, Episcopal Relief & Development serves to bring together the generosity of Episcopalians and others with the needs of the world.

This Lenten Meditation Journey is provided courtesy of Episcopal Relief & Development and was authored by Jerusalem Jackson Greer, co-executive director and agrarian minister for the Procter Center, an Episcopal farm, camp and retreat center in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. As former manager of evangelism and discipleship for The Episcopal Church under Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, she co-founded the Good News Garden movement and oversaw Way of Love and Evangelism initiatives for the wider church.