Rituals that include lectio visceralis create spaces where participants can be both critical and creative during prayer. Some other formats in Zoom-based or in-person settings include:
Reflecting more deeply on a text. The leader reads a Psalm, scripture passage, or poem all the way through. Then the leader repeats the reading, broken up this time into a series of pieces. The first piece is read and then repeated, as the listeners create a sculpture based on their thoughts and reactions. The second piece is read, and the listeners reprise their previous sculpture. Then as the leader repeats the second piece, the listeners shift their bodies into a new sculpture, reflecting their thoughts and reactions to this section. The process repeats until all sections have been sculpted.
An embodied “examen.” Participants review their day or their week, creating, resting in, and exploring sculptures of their “high” and “low” moments.
A ritual focused on the experience of embodiment. A series of guided movements builds to a period of spontaneous dancing (mini-“dance party”). Participants then use Image Theatre to reflect on the experience of moving freely together during prayer.
A ritual that enacts solidarity. Participants think of a challenging situation that they experienced; then the group is divided into breakout rooms of four participants and one leader each. Guided by the leader, each participant uses “mirror-sculpting” to shape the other three – and then insert themselves into – an ensemble image that captures their experience. (In mirror-sculpting, one employs one’s own body to show exactly what sculpted pose others should create.) Each ensemble is screenshot and discussed before everyone reconvenes for meditation and song.