RenewalWorks talks a lot about the importance of spiritual practices. Outside of Sunday worship, what do you do during the week to encourage a deeper love of God and neighbor? How are you listening for and seeing God in your daily life?  

Since the pandemic, RenewalWorks data shows that the practice of using time in solitude as a spiritual practice has risen. (Not surprising that all those months alone encouraged us to get used to time alone!) Findings also show that having a dedicated daily spiritual practice can be transformative in deepening relationships with others and with God. As we return to church this fall, why not challenge yourself to try a new practice and go a little deeper in your faith?  

Based on recent church conversations, below are some ideas.

Some of the spring 2025 RenewalWorks cohort explored Bishop Rob Wright’s weekly podcast, For People which they found thought-provoking. These episodes routinely draw on the coming Sunday's lectionary readings to discuss how faith interacts with today's contemporary issues.

We continue to hear that churches enjoy wrapping conversation prompts into church meetings and fellowship opportunities as a way to encourage deeper spiritual sharing and conversations. There are many examples of this type of resource. Jodi Belcher’s recent Building Faith newsletter on Priya Parker’s version called Magical Questions profiled using conversation prompts as a spiritual practice.

Last week RenewalWorks visited Christ Church in Cody, WY to discuss their congregational profile and how it relates to their rector search process. We spent an inspiring morning with a devoted group of parishioners learning about the church's strong prayer culture and deep spiritual connections. We also discussed the need to hold each other up and to model spiritual leadership during the transition. One idea discussed included using the wind (a defining feature of the local Cody climate which experiences frequent warm dry winds that descend from the mountains) as a reminder of the presence of the Holy Spirit or even as a call to prayer.

Lately we are deeply inspired by Jay Sidebotham’s Monday Message, a weekly reflection he writes based on the previous Sunday's Psalms reading. One RenewalWorks church distributes the Monday Message church-wide and uses it as an opening reflection and discussion piece for all weekly church meetings. 

We hope the above inspire you to explore some new spiritual practices this fall. As always we are interested to know what is resonating with you.