CREATING SPACE
A Place for Discernment
I've put this together because I trust you as a friend and as someone who can discern with me.
I'm not asking you to evaluate Creating Space or help me decide where it belongs. I'd simply value your perspective on what has taken shape—and what I may be too close to see.
There is no need to work through everything here.
I'd like you to begin by experiencing Come and See.
When you have finished, return to this page and continue below.
AFTER COME AND SEE
Before reading further, you might stay for a moment with whatever you noticed.
There is no particular response you should have had and nothing you need to decide.
When you're ready, the brief orientation below will give you some context for what you just experienced.
CREATING SPACE
A Brief Orientation
Creating Space began with a growing awareness that God is present in the ordinary experiences of our lives. Often we recognize that presence only later, when we have had enough time and space to notice.
At its heart is a simple conviction: God is already here. We do not need to manufacture a spiritual experience. We may need to become more attentive to what is already being given.
Ordinary human stories offered honestly became central to the work. Creating Space calls these stories witnesses. A witness is not used to make a point or teach a lesson.
The witness belongs to the storyteller; the doorway belongs to all.
THE BASIC MOVEMENT
A person's lived experience is received as testimony. Scripture is received as a place of encounter. Prayer, reflection, and silence then allow room to notice what may be stirring in our own lives.
WHAT HAS TAKEN SHAPE
Creating Space has grown into several different expressions. They are not separate programs so much as different ways of entering and remaining with the same invitation.
THE EIGHT-WEEK JOURNEY
The heart of Creating Space
Eight gatherings moving from You Are Loved toward God Has Been Here All Along.
EVENINGS & DAYS OF REFLECTION
More spacious opportunities to remain
Longer spaces for prayer and reflection, including As Life Changes Shape.
COMPANION RESOURCES
Small ways of returning gently to ordinary life
Companion Cards offer something small to carry between gatherings. The Road Home accompanies the return from a Day of Reflection.
FORMATION
For those who accompany—and those who create
Resources for holding a Creating Space experience faithfully—and for learning the contemplative work of creating one.
WHERE CREATING SPACE STANDS
Creating Space is no longer only an idea. Much of the work now exists, and some of it is beginning to be experienced by others.
At the same time, I don't think the fact that much of it now exists means that I know what it should become.
That is probably the larger question I'm carrying now.
What kind of life should Creating Space have beyond its creation?
I don't know the answer.
Creating Space could remain a fairly small offering. It could eventually be carried in relationship with a community or institution. There could be opportunities for careful testing or collaboration. Or there may be possibilities I haven't recognized yet.
I don't want to decide ahead of time where Creating Space is supposed to end up.
What interests me more now is whether there is something here worth carrying forward—and, if so, what kind of stewardship would serve it well.
For now, my task seems simpler: keep creating carefully, let people experience the work, listen to what they notice, and remain open without trying to decide too quickly where all of this should lead.
QUESTIONS I'M CARRYING
I don't expect you to answer all of these. They're simply some of the questions I'm carrying right now. I'm sharing them because I'd value having someone else carry them with me for a while.
What is actually here?
Beneath the recordings, documents, gatherings, and structure, what do you think Creating Space is really about?
What feels alive?
Where do you sense something worth following?
What needs to be protected?
If Creating Space continues to grow, is there something at its heart that could easily be lost?
What am I not seeing?
I've been living with this for a long time. What might I be unable to see because I'm standing too close?
IF YOU'D LIKE TO LOOK MORE DEEPLY
You don't need to read anything else before we talk.
But if you'd like to look behind the experiences themselves, I've included one resource that may help.
Creating Space: The Contemplative Work of Creating
Formation for Creating Contemplative Experiences
This grew out of my attempt to understand what I was learning while creating these experiences—the listening, praying, testing, revising, and releasing that happen before an experience is ready to be offered.
Read as much or as little as interests you.
There is no need to read this before we talk.
EXPLORE SHARED TOMATOES
If you'd like to see the larger place in which Creating Space has been taking shape, you are welcome to visit Shared Tomatoes.