Embracing Autumn Transitions With Sacred Wisdom From The Celtic Tradition

In this episode of Holy Shenanigans, Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman offers encouragement and strategies for transitioning from summer to fall. She presents a 'Top 10 Back to School' list and introduces the story of Pelagius, an influential but controversial Celtic theologian. Tara explores the themes of peace, love, and harmony through Pelagius' teachings and concludes with an original poem 'It's Only Just the Dawn,' emphasizing the importance of hope and resilience during times of change. The episode aims to inspire and guide listeners in their autumnal adventures, blending practical advice with spiritual reflection.

Transcript

S5 E22 Embracing Autumn Transitions With Sacred Wisdom From The Celtic Tradition

Tara: [00:00:00] Welcome to Holy Shenanigans. I'm your muse, Tara Lamont Eastman, a pastor, podcaster, and practitioner of Holy Shenanigans. Since September of 2020, I've been sharing stories of sacred everyday experiences.

Thank you for joining me on this always sacred, never stuffy adventure that I like to call Holy Shenanigans. In the U. S., we've turned the corner of Labor Day, and the pace of life is beginning to shift. The season of autumn is just around the corner. Leaves are already beginning to turn red and orange.

Our September calendar is showing signs of fall events ahead. [00:01:00] This week at HSP, I offer you some encouragement, some strategies to help this time of transition, and some inspiration to help with the challenges ahead. So as you're gathering your new school supplies into your backpack and plan out that carpool schedule and in church world, buckle up for an upcoming rally day and program year.

Here is a top 10 back to school list to aid your transition from summer to fall. Number one, take your vitamins. Two, Pack extra snacks. 3. Take patience and your sense of humor with you, especially in the school drop off line. 4. Get the rest you need. 5. Drink lots of water. Look at that shiny new water [00:02:00] bottle.

6. Try something new. You might be surprised by the outcome. 7. You have skills and experiences from the past. 7. To help you meet the challenges of the present. 8. The butterflies in your stomach are your body's way of reminding you that life is full of possibility and promise. 9. Don't let the pigeon drive the bus.

If you need to know more about that, check out the children's book from Mo Willems. And finally, number 10. Have fun! This. This is a new autumn adventure. This week's holy shenanigans story comes from ancient history about a saint of the Celtic Christian church, Pelagius. [00:03:00] His name and his story came up in my daily reading of the Celtic daily prayer from the Northumbria community.

You can find this whole bio in the Kindle digital version of this text. in the Coleman section for August 28th. For daily encouragement and inspiration, I often find it in the pages of my Celtic daily prayer book. This week I was captivated by this seemingly scrappy, determined Celtic man, a man whom some thought to be a heretic.

But for those in the Celtic Christian tradition, fine to be a foundational theologian. When I heard his story, I wondered what wisdom Pelagius could be offering me and us in this upcoming season of change and [00:04:00] perhaps challenge. And so I offer you his story to aid you in your own autumnal wonderings. And turn to the pages of my Celtic Daily Prayer.

Pelagius, 350 418, was chosen to mark the feast day normally assigned to Augustine, who did much to malign Pelagius. Pelagius was a British theologian, teacher, writer, and soul friend who settled in Rome. He was highly spoken of at first, even by Augustine. He taught about the value of soul friendship. He celebrated the fact that the goodness of God cries out through all creation, for narrow shafts of divine light pierce the veil that separates heaven from earth.

But soon he was [00:05:00] criticized for teaching women to read scripture and for believing that the church of God is present in every newborn child and And you know, the Bible says, and I think this is the most important thing, that sex is a God given aspect of our essential creation. He did not deny the reality of evil or its assault on the human soul, or the habitual nature of sin.

As I continued to read about Pelagius, he seemed to be tenacious because over the course of many years, he withstood heresy trials indicted by Augustine in 415 416. In 417, the Bishop of Rome called a synod to consider the conflict between them and declared Pelagius teaching entirely true, and urged the bishops to love peace, prize love, and to seek [00:06:00] after harmony.

But the powers that be ignored this, and in 418 they persuaded the state to intervene and banish him from Rome for disturbing the peace. The church was then obliged to uphold the Emperor's judgment and excommunicated and banished him, though no reasons were made clear. Another opponent of the day, Jerome, criticized him for being a big, enthusiastic man, stupid for eating porridge.

And overconfident in his own strength and for wearing his hair in an inappropriate style. Oh, Pelagius, it sounds like those haters are hatin And so this controversial theologian returned to Wales, but two centuries later his theological [00:07:00] ideas of things like soul friends are still to be found. in Celtic Christianity.

The bio from my prayer book concludes to say this, history is written by the victors. So most reports of what Pelagius said are given from Augustine's viewpoint, not in his own balanced and sensible words. Stories like Pelagius always lead me to ask,

I dug into this history on him to engage in my own curiosity, as well as to wonder how through all these hardships, he kept going. Perhaps it was his theological understanding on free will that each person has the ability to choose to pursue a life of peace, love, and harmony. [00:08:00] That helped him to keep on in his many seasons of transition, conflict, and change.

To help you consider what Pelagius story might have to teach you, I offer a few questions to aid your theological wondering. One, what does love, peace, and harmony have to offer us in this season of new learning, new relationships, and new school supplies? Second, how might Pelagius example help us in the days to come, when we face challenges, conflicts, or even a mean word about our hairstyle?

When Holy Shenanigans podcast began in 2020, a foundational element of each episode was a piece of poetry or prose. This [00:09:00] week, as we walk into a new fall season, it is my intention to re engage with a poetic element to inspire and encourage us in our ongoing holy shenanigans. This week's poem is from yours truly, and is titled, It's Only Just the Dawn.

It was originally written for my blog, Uphill Idealist, in the autumn of 2009. Recently, I unearthed this poem to share it as part of a homily for a memorial service. The message that day focused on the love of God meeting us in the dark night of the soul. That even in times of grief and great change or challenge, that God's love is with us.

So in light of this week's call for us to shift gears into fall, and this introduction to [00:10:00] Tenacious Pelagius. Who kept keeping on in his own theological holy shenanigans in the name of love. I offer you this poem. It's only just the dawn. Autumn's chill is falling, fog is rolling and crickets sigh. A train is on track clacking in the mid of night leading to morning's light.

There's always something moving, even a drowsy lark. There's always changes coming. Even in the deepest, true mercy can't be kept apart from the shadows of life and love. Mercy stretches her arms to embrace the whole sad world and breach the great divide. There's always someone walking in the sweaty heat of life.[00:11:00] 

There's always someone moving, shifting between dark and bright. Wandering souls aren't lost. When they remember their cause, they hold tight to hope in the darkest night or the cold of an early frost. Yes, there's always someone trying to tell you what you've done. There's always someone saying, you've lost.

It can't be won. But there's a train that travels in mercy and fills the world with grace. On this train, all are welcome. It's no matter of beauty, wealth, or place. But there is one who says you're accepted. There is one who stays through all the night. This one [00:12:00] banishes the darkness and ushers in the morning light.

Don't heed those words of worry. Don't let them hold you down. Wait for the morning's promise and find your standing. In the sun. Look to the east. Keep on walking. You're walking in the sun. There's always something moving, even a drowsy lark. There's always mercy coming, even in the deepest dark. The journey's not yet over.

It's only just the start. I am your [00:13:00] holy shenanigans muse, Tara Lamont Eastman. Thank you for joining us this week for holy shenanigans that surprise, encourage, redirect, and turn life upside down, all in the name of love. This is an unpredictable spiritual adventure that is always sacred and never stuffy.

Thanks to Ian Eastman for sound production and editing. You can help the Holy Shenanigans continue by supporting us at www. buymeacoffee. com backslash Tara L. Eastman. As we turn the page from summer into autumn, please know that you are not alone in this time of transition, that as those leaves fall and as those piles grow deep, it's time for all of us to take a giant leap.

Autumn. [00:14:00] Until next time, may you be well, may you be at peace, and know that you are always beloved.