Theology by the Glass

“receiving and giving attention”

Our second topic for Theology by the Glass this season will be from mystic, activist, and philosopher, Simone Weil. Her essay, Reflection on the right Use of School Studies with a View to the love of God, is a captivating piece on, yes, school studies, but also prayer. 

A few questions/ideas to consider when reading:

Receiving Attention

• Reflect on a time you received someone’s undivided attention when you most needed it.

• Now imagine how your life might be different if you hadn’t received this attention.

• How might your community change if everyone practiced Weil’s model of attention towards the other? 

Giving Attention

• Have you ever been so attentive to another person you felt your “soul [empty] itself of all its own contents” to see “the being it is looking at”?

• If so, when and with whom? If not, what do you imagine holds you back from attention this pure?

What is one thing outside of yourself you might practice attention to today? Is there another person you might practice such attentiveness with?

Read Simone Weil’s essay here

“time, mortality, forgiveness, and masculinity”

Our first topic for the 2026 season was on the genre bending meditations of Stan Grant on time, mortality, forgiveness, and masculinity. Grant is an Australian, Wiradjuri, Kamilario, and Dharawal man who has had a long career as a journalist and public intellectual/theologian. His work blends many topics but all converge at “faith as a lived experience rather than abstraction.” In the link you can find a fuller summary of the podcast episode, the recording, and transcript.

Listen and read here

Article: Laura Jean Truman: “The Enoughness of Showing Up”

Questions to consider:

• What does this article have to do with Ordinary Time, a time with no particular focus or feast?

• What does it mean to “bring what you have” to the table, even when it doesn’t feel like much?

• What does grace look like in everyday life — not in theory, but in practice?

• What does it mean to you to be faithful in small things?

There are two articles to read for July’s Theology by the Glass. The first article by Vince Gambuto is “My Word for 2022: Wait”. The second article by Rakia Sassi takes a close look at how the Gambuto article demonstrates a contemplative style of writing.

While these are not religious articles, they offer a good starting point on how we can engage with writing as a tool to work through and develop our own life of faith.

Ian Mowat will be leading the event. We'll begin with a discussion on some of our own individual faith practices, followed by a two-part exercise. The first part of the exercise will start with a brief contemplative breath meditation, followed by a writing session that mirrors the breath meditation.

Before the event, please read these two articles:

• Julio Vincent Gambuto: “My Word for 2022: Wait”

• Rakia Ben Sassi: “Hands-on Contemplative Writing: A Lesson from Julio Vincent Gambuto
  Examining the contemplative writing patterns in the piece ‘My Word for 2022: Wait’”