by Hillary Leslie
Liminality in faith is known as an in-between moment experiencing a “thin place,” or a hallowed space and time when heaven and earth for a moment are one. Celtic spirituality describes thin places as “areas in nature where the boundaries between the spirit world and the physical world are less delineated and more permeable.”
During my first Young Adult Volunteer year in Belfast while on retreat in Iona, Scotland, I read the book, “The Year Without A Purchase,” by former Guatemalan YAV Scott Dannemiller. The perfect read for a YAV who has just adhered to a year of simple living, it detailed the challenges and the joys that he and his wife encountered after spending a year free from consumerism. One part that resonated with me was the conversation Scott relayed having with a taxi driver, Alex, who came to the United States after fleeing Somalia during a civil war. Alex said it was faith that kept him going – faith that was made real by the church bringing him and his family to safety overseas. Scott was struck by this encounter, and called it “one of those brief moments where the space between heaven and earth narrows and we catch a glimpse of the divine in another human being” — a thin moment.
Beginning my second year volunteering in New Orleans, I carried Dannemiller’s insight with me. It’s not just the “stuff” in our lives that physically weigh us down, but the emotional weight that comes from being human: anxiety, stress, fear, selfishness and passivity. Scott discovered that the physical things that we hide behind and decorate ourselves with mask the real issues and distract us from what’s important in life: an abundance of gratitude, love and hope strengthened by faith. These thoughts diminish our ability to love ourselves and make it impossible to love others. Learning how to live simply is learning how to love intentionally.
In New Orleans, I’ve taken on the year in the hopes of further learning how simplicity relates to being one with the Spirit of Christ in every context and surrounding. Part of the spiritual journey is to become so sensitized to the presence of the sacred that we can appreciate it in everyday life. What I have discovered working for a nonprofit is that sacred spaces, or thin places, are found outside of church walls, historical abbeys and comfort zones. At the library, the patrons I work with daily as a YMCA Educational Services volunteer tell stories of tragedy, sorrow and pain. But I catch a glimpse of the divine in the hope they reveal during their search for a new start, home, job and changed city. When we learn how to appreciate sensing the ultimate in the common and simple, we are encouraged and energized to love our communities with intentional and wholehearted grace, forgiveness and understanding — all through faith. The divine is found in the secular, and heaven is found on earth. Thin moments are everywhere, if we are open to them.
Hillary Leslie is a second year Young Adult Volunteer currently serving with YMCA Educational Services in New Orleans after a year of church and community volunteering in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She loves music, cooking, reading, exploring new places and experiencing different cultures.
