Examen Prayer: 4th of July Weekend

Vision Sundays invite us to reconnect with our shared mission: joining God in the restoration of all things through worship, reconciliation, and neighborhood development. This week we are focusing on our value of reconciliation. Reconciliation is a journey and invitation from God for a community to embody shalom in holistic ways that disrupt, re-shape and inform structures and everyday patterns of relating so that all people and creation may flourish.

We’re wrapping up the Practicing Our Faith summer series today. This series has highlighted voices from within our community, sharing how each of us embodies spiritual practices in everyday life. Spiritual Practices are concrete activities to engage in to open ourselves to the transforming presence of God. This week’s spiritual practice is Community, which is expressing and experiencing God's love through connection. It resists isolation and individualism by inviting us to share life with others beyond tasks and obligations. In community, we grow through caring for one another and allowing ourselves to be cared for, reflecting the love and belonging God intends for us. Born in El Salvador and re-rooted in Iowa through adoption at age eight, Ana Clymer has built a life grounded in faith, advocacy, and service. A University of Iowa social work graduate, she has served through nonprofit work and now works in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. In 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, Ana became one of four co-founders of the Marion Alliance for Racial Equity, working with local partners to address systemic inequities. Ana and her husband, Brian, whose family has deep Wellington Heights roots, are raising their daughters, Briana and Alexa, with a shared commitment to love, care, and leadership. Her life reminds us that commUnity is not simply inherited—it is something we actively seek, nurture, and create. Please welcome Ana Clymer.

We’re close to wrapping up our series: Practicing Our Faith. This series has highlighted voices from within our community, sharing how each of us embodies spiritual practices in everyday life. This week is the spiritual Practice of worship through creativity and music as a way of paying attention to God’s presence. This practice is not about skill or performance. It is about turning our attention toward God. Whether we are singing in a gathered community, listening alone, or creating melody, worship through music invites us to respond to God with honesty and openness. Jeff Bartlett is a guitar teacher who lives in Marion, Iowa with his lovely wife Sarah, and their dog Ellie. He is a proud father of Kara and Kevin, proud step father of Leah and Elijah, and has four beautiful grandkids that are the light of his life. He loves the outdoors, canoeing, kayaking, reading, biking, lifting weights, spending time with his wife, teaching, and of course, making music.

We are in the midst of the Practicing our Faith Sermon Series. This series highlights voices from within our community, sharing how each of us embodies spiritual practices in everyday life. Spiritual Practices are concrete activities to engage in to open ourselves to the transforming presence of God.  Our Embodiment Sundays offer guided ways to step into the practice together.Hospitality is the practice of making room for others and welcoming them as they are. More than entertaining guests, it is participating in God's welcome by extending care, presence, and belonging to neighbors, strangers, friends, and even those who challenge us. Rachel Kongshaug, PT, MPT, PCS is a pediatric physical therapist and healthcare leader with more than 20 years of experience serving children and families. She currently serves as Director of Clinical Services for Eastern Iowa at ChildServe, where she oversees rehabilitation therapies, behavioral health, and clinical programs.Rachel is passionate about helping people flourish through compassionate care, both professionally and personally. She and her husband live in Cedar Rapids with their five children and are active members of Wellington Heights Community Church, where she volunteers in children’s ministry. In her free time, Rachel enjoys reading, knitting, and coaching volleyball.

We’re continuing our series: Practicing Our Faith. This series highlights voices from within our community, sharing how each of us embodies spiritual practices in everyday life. Our Embodiment Sundays also offer guided ways to step into and practice each rhythm together.Rest is a gift from God. The practice of Sabbath began with God, who rested after creating the heavens, the earth, and all that is in them. In the same way, God invites us to pause from our work and responsibilities to rest, renew our souls, and remember that our lives are sustained by God's grace, not our constant striving. Anne Harris Carter is the newly appointed executive director of the African American Museum of Iowa. A graduate of Yale University, Anne had an extensive career in corporate leadership before joining Linn County Public Health in 2022 to launch the Office of Health Equity. She was born and raised in Cedar Rapids and lived mostly east of the Mississippi river before returning to her hometown. Anne is a life-long community advocate, enjoys playing violin, and is exceedingly grateful for her three adult children and three granddaughters.

Meditation is the prayerful practice of attending to God with the heart through Scripture, silence, or sacred words, not to gain information but to be present. Listen in to be guided into an intentional posture of attentiveness to God’s presence with Psalm 46:10.

Meditation is a way of attending to God with the heart, not merely the mind. It is a slow, deliberate turning toward Scripture, silence, or sacred words so that we might notice how God is already present and at work. Rather than striving to master a passage or produce insight, meditation invites us to linger, to listen, to receive.In a culture that rewards speed and productivity, meditation forms in us a different posture. We come not to accomplish, but to be, and to be with. We allow words of Scripture to echo within us, noticing what stirs, what resists, what invites. We consent to God’s presence, trusting that transformation often happens quietly, beneath the surface.Jessica Thomas, is a Licensed Esthetician, Registered Yoga Teacher, certified Peter Hess® Sound Massage Therapist, and has worked as a Radiology Technologist for over 28 years. Her work at ROOTSPACE Wellness is rooted in presence, compassion, slowing down, and helping people listen to what their bodies and spirits are carrying.

This Embodiment Sunday, we will engage the practice of the Prayer of Examen as a way of creating space to honor the complexity of the 4th of July weekend. Through the Prayer of Examen, we will notice where gratitude, lament, confession, hope, and faithful action are stirring within us as we gather separate, yet together in spirit.

This summer, we’re launching a new series: Practicing Our Faith. This series will highlight voices from within our community, sharing how each of us embodies spiritual practices in everyday life. Spiritual Practices are concrete activities to engage in to open ourselves to the transforming presence of God, and Embodiment Sundays will offer guided ways to step into the practice together. Embodiment Sunday guides are available on the digital newsletter. Sign up by scanning the QR code at the back table.Gratitude is more than a response to good circumstances; it is a way of seeing and being that helps us hold sorrow and goodness together, trusting that God is present even here. As a spiritual practice, gratitude slows us down, helping us notice glimmers of hope without denying pain or injustice. Jenna Jandik is a former first-grade teacher, current substitute teacher, and child mindfulness educator. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Cody. They met coaching soccer and continue to spend many hours on the soccer field cheering on their two sons. Jenna is a southeast Cedar Rapids native and enjoys being outside, creating at the ceramic studio, and loving on her people.

We’ve launched a new series as a spin-off of Stories Among Us with a focused theme: Practicing Our Faith. This series will highlight voices from within our community, sharing how each of us embodies spiritual practices in everyday life. Spiritual Practices are concrete activities to engage in to open ourselves to the transforming presence of God. Our Embodiment Sundays will offer guided ways to step into the practice together.Spiritual Practice Definition: Prayer WalkingPrayer Walking is the practice of praying while walking and intentionally being present with God in a specific place. As we move through a neighborhood, street, or community space, we keep our eyes open to what God is doing, allowing what we see and experience to shape our prayers. Rather than focusing only on our own needs, prayer walking invites us to join God’s care and concern for the people and places around us. It is a way of paying attention, listening for the Spirit’s leading, and praying with greater awareness right where we are. Kyrah Nitz is an Elementary Education student at the University of Northern Iowa. She is currently the Children’s Ministry Coordinator here at Wellington Heights Community Church and loves working with children and families. Kyrah grew up in Cedar Rapids and Marion and now lives in Independence, IA. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, listening to music, and cooking.