Pioneer’s new book on embodied prayer as mission

London Pioneer School experience bears fruit in new publication

I was one of the cohort of London Pioneer School run by CMS and CCX in 2020.

It was my first experience of online learning and worked well, but it was great to meet other participants in person at the graduation ceremony.

Apart from providing a helpful focus and source of community during lockdown, the course enabled me to see the positive side of ‘not fitting in’ and what that can open up in terms of creativity and innovation.

It was also helpful to connect with like-minded people sharing a similar journey of discipleship who understand the challenges of operating on the margins and remaining committed to something that is not prioritised by the mainstream.

“People find it liberating to be given the opportunity to affirm their body…”

Embodied Prayer as Mission: A Response to Cultural Change, by Rachel Michael is available from Grove Books as either a download or paperback.

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Dance of the body and spirit

My background is in dance. I trained at a vocational ballet school and danced professionally for several years. Subsequently I trained in dance movement therapy (the psychotherapeutic use of movement and dance).

This introduced me to the connections between movement expression and the inner life, and I felt called to explore how this could be applied in the context of Christian spirituality and prayer.

I’ve been ministering in this field for a long time now (before I knew anything about pioneering) but things have begun to consolidate for me in the last couple of years.

Embodied spiritual practice

Towards the end of 2022 I started a project called ‘Embodied Perspective: Sensing, Breathing and Moving in Prayer, Reflection and Healing’.

It’s really about helping people to connect with the body and movement in simple ways as an expression of heart, soul and spirit.

During Advent, Lent and after Pentecost I’ve been leading short online sessions of guided embodied prayer.

There are many ways of praying through the body, but my approach is a synthesis of mindful body awareness, dance movement therapy and Christian contemplative prayer.

Freedom through movement

I’ve been encouraged to see that people who take part find it liberating to be given the opportunity to affirm their body and to move freely and prayerfully without fear of judgement or misinterpretation.

Many people in our day are drawn to embodied forms of spiritual practice, but in the Western Church this tends to be a neglected area. I believe this creates significant challenges and opportunities for Christian mission.

Over the past year I’ve been collaborating with Grove Books to highlight this issue in a new booklet called Embodied Prayer as Mission: A Response to Cultural Change, which was published in September.

Stimulating reflection

Without pioneer school I wouldn’t have had the courage to write this booklet.

The training gave me resources that enabled me to reflect critically and theologically on the interconnection of mission, spirituality, culture and context. It also strengthened my sense of calling so that I could step out in faith.

I hope and pray that this new Grove booklet will help to stimulate discussion and reflection on the topic of embodied spirituality, and encourage wider engagement with embodied forms of prayer within the church.

Embodied Prayer as Mission: A Response to Cultural Change, by Rachel Michael is available from Grove Books as either a download or paperback.

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