philoxenia - our story (part 2)
philoxenia life?
We have experienced authentic hospitality (philoxenia), the healing power of connecting with God's creation (viriditas--latin), and the enlightening process of engaging the creative Spirit within us (meraki). Philoxenia life is our response to these gifts and an invitation for others to join us in this journey.
As a young girl growing up in Long Island, New York in my 6th grade year, I would walk to catch my bus early in the morning. My sisters and friends all attended a different school and the familiar walk with others was different that year. It started with my morning routine—I did not need to fight over the bathroom, nor was there a feeling that I needed to rush out the door to catch the bus. I missed the conversations, the goofing around and waiting with others. At first the walk seemed void of life—no traffic, no people, and sometimes dark.
In the silence I became keenly aware of the melodic sounds of the birds- mourning doves, sparrows, blue jays, and robins accompanied me on this short journey. These beautiful companions offered me comfort and connection to other living beings. I am no Dr. Doolittle or St. Francis of Assisi but as an 11-year-old I felt a deep connection to nature—signing with the birds and listening to the gift of this season.
In the years to follow, I continued to cultivate my connection with nature. Long Island offers vast opportunities for exploration of wildlife and biodiversity year-round. Rachel Carson, as many of my Pittsburgh friends know, was a groundbreaking environmentalist, marine biologist. She had an incredible impact on Pittsburgh and the surrounding area. But did you know, Rachel played a role in influencing Long Island’s ecological policy? Over the years, I learned to tend, nurture, cultivate, advocate, and listen to nature.
Caring for the earth was also instilled in me from my parents—my mother took being a girl scout seriously— “a love for nature and advocacy for environmental conservation.” My father raised in Ikaria, Greece grew up living off the land, raising goats, learning to pay attention to weather patterns. Ikaria’s deep perspective on communal ownership, coupled with my mother’s stewardship practices lead us to neighborhood clean-ups of parks, beaches, and unattended wooded properties. The freedom that teachers at William Floyd High School gave students to create the “Environmental Defense Club” nurtured my passion for communal efforts to develop a healthier and cared for environment. Being able to offer educational resources and participating in “adopt-a-highway” brought my awareness and connection with nature to a deeper place. In college and in the years that followed, while working with college students, earth care advocacy led to advising students, sending letters to our government officials and continued education for myself and others about the importance of caring for and connecting with God though his creation.
When Kevin and I got married, we chose to attend the Open Door Presbyterian Church, which was a church plant from Bellefield Presbyterian Church where I was employed through the Coalition of Christian Outreach (CCO). Although we were involved in the Open Door from the beginning, our decision to stay and to raise our family at the Open Door was largely influenced by the church’s connection with the Garfield Community Farm (GCF). GCF is a three-acre permaculture farm located in the Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh that was established and exists as a ministry of the Open Door. The mission of GCF is to provide fresh produce and educational opportunities with their neighbors and volunteers and seek to demonstrate God’s restoration of creation through urban agriculture in the Garfield Community. As a family, this mission has become deeply embedding into our identity. We have spent countless hours at GCF weeding, planting, watering, building, making pizzas, and simply spending time with our neighbors and with God in the green oasis in the middle of the city. Our connection with GCF also offered me the opportunity to learn about the principles of Permaculture Design (earth care, people care, and fair share) and ultimately to become a certified Permaculture Designer.
The area that has been most central and influential to my families’ communal experience at GCF is the Sensory Peace Labyrinth. My vision for the Labyrinth was realized with the support of an Earth Monastery Grant through the Abbey of the Arts and significant volunteer effort from the Open Door Church community. The space at the farm that is now home to the Labyrinth, was originally an herb garden. During a very difficult time in my life, I would spend hours with God up at the farm sitting on the outside of the herb garden. I felt a deep desire to sit in the middle of the herbs and be held by their embrace. This yearning was the inspiration for the transformation of the space into the Sensory Peace Labyrinth. The beauty of a Labyrinth is that there is only one path to the center and back out. As you walk along the spiral path you are invited to smell, touch, and taste the herbs and their essence can transport your mind and Spirit to another time and place and draw you into a deeper connection with the Creator.
Our journey with the Abbey of the Arts continued in 2018 when we participated in an Earth Monastery Retreat in Scotland. The retreat was led by Christine Valters Paintner, who has written several books connecting the arts and nature with spiritual direction. In many ways, her writings, were the original inspiration for me integrating art and nature into my own Spiritual Direction practice. The process of reconnecting with the inner creative spirit or the “greening force” within you and the world around you can be helpful for directees and retreatants as they discern the movement of the Spirit in their lives. It was during the Earth Monastery Retreat, that we laid the groundwork for Philoxenia Life. The workshops and retreats offered through Philoxenia Life are designed to offer wholistic restoration for families & communities to reengage with their inner creative spirit.