2021 Theme: Arise

Announcing our summer 2021 spiritual program theme! Drumroll, please…this year’s spiritual discussions will be centered around the theme ‘Arise.’

As we reflect on the last year and what may come next, we are reminded resurrection can be found everywhere. It doesn’t just happen once, but is always happening, and is always needed. As we see through the sustained movements of the sun and other celestial bodies, “rising” is constantly happening, but witnessing it is relative to one’s own perspective and vantage point.

“Resurrection can be found everywhere. It doesn’t just happen once, but is always happening, and is always needed.”

After a year of feeling stuck, our world is starting to experience a little hope again with a more comprehensive vaccine rollout. As we move toward ways to safely begin gathering in person, we will have new opportunities to improve access and equity across communities with varying needs. We have hope that together, we can ‘Arise’ in solidarity.

“We have hope that together, we can ‘Arise’ in solidarity”

Just as Jesus’ resurrection allows us to imagine a transformed world after – and amidst – hardship, it also empowers us to enact change, bringing about the world we hope for.

‘Arise’ Daily Themes

Each year, SSP Spiritual Life Coordinators lead participants through a week unpacking the overall program using daily themes. For our summer 2021 Arise program, the daily themes include:

• Monday: Arise WITH

  • Mondays in our online program this summer, we will be exploring what it means to Arise WITH (one another, the stories of our lives, and the contexts we come from). Day one of SSP, we will identify how we exist and move in relation to ourselves and our communities. Through identifying our contexts and where we come from, we can better understand where we want to go. In understanding where we are on the journey, we can begin to envision what transformation might have in store for us.

• Tuesday: Arise FROM

  • Tuesdays, we will explore what it means to Arise FROM (hardship, transitions, and endings of any kind). Arising FROM something means naming what needs to conclude, end, or transition in ourselves and the systems in which we move – and, of course, why. Together we will build resilience by acknowledging that things dying or ending is a natural part of our universe and cycle.

• Wednesday: Arise THROUGH

  • Wednesdays, we will explore what it means to Arise THROUGH the waiting periods that are inevitable in the transition between ending and beginning. Arising THROUGH means developing comfort with, or tools to navigate, the waiting period between endings and new life becoming manifest. In the midst of transformation, there is quiet. In this quiet, we remember what is being left behind, as well as look ahead to what shape new life will take.

• Thursday: Arise INTO

  • Thursdays, we will explore what it means to Arise INTO new life and the seasons that come after a transition. Arising INTO means intentional awareness and reflection as we enter new stages of community, personal growth, and new life. We can look around us and within ourselves, acknowledging what it may be time to let go of, and celebrating beginnings that can grow into something new and fulfilling.

• Friday: Arise TOWARD

  • Fridays, we will explore what it means to Arise TOWARD a better world. Arising TOWARD means recognizing where we are called to inspire transformation and enact change – both in ourselves and our communities. We will celebrate walking into new life together and find ways to share our growth, observations, and reflections with others in our orbit.

As we explore the Arise theme, we will imagine the potential for transformation to be everywhere and in everything, and witness both endings and beginnings as the very world we live in resurrects and takes new shape.

Join us this summer on your own unique journey of ‘arising’ within yourself, in your relationship with the divine, and in relation to the communities you are a part of.

How do you envision yourself ‘arising’ into the beginning of a new thing?

Editor’s Note: Explore how ‘Arising’ is constantly happening around us by signing your group up for SSP’s 2021 online summer program. All participants will receive an ‘Arise’ T-shirt and journal through their SSP-in-a-Box (along with other fun goodies)! If you or your group can’t participate this summer, anyone can still go on the ‘Arise’ journey with us by purchasing a T-shirt and journal from SSP’s online store.

Thank you to our program planning team who are putting their heads, hearts, and souls into envisioning just how we can embrace the hope of resurrection this summer: Lea Booth, Kristen Reksc, Eric Scott, Shelby LaRue, Everest Harvey, & Maggie Guekguezian.