Emma shares thoughts on how to move together, learning to be more in step with God. (This piece was originally published in the Presbyterian Herald magazine; republished here with permission.)
Have you ever had the opportunity to see unabashed joy on display? Years ago my husband and I spend some time in Malawi working alongside people in the Lilongwe area with Habitat for Humanity. Towards the end of our visit, when the houses were complete, the community got together to celebrate in a way that took us by surprise — spontaneous dancing! And what struck us at the time was the power of their dance. The dancers’ composed movements invited everyone present share in their triumph — power harnessed, refined, and offered to those who watched.
I first became interested in dance during sixth form when studying A Level art. The theme for our final exam was simply “power”. It became an invitation to explore the strength and potential of the human body at full stretch. I wanted to see whether the controlled power of a dancer could be conveyed through mixed media — the lines of movement, the controlled positions, the turnout that opens the dancer’s body towards the audience. Even then, that outward turning seemed to say something about offering oneself beyond the self.
All of this came back to me recently when I heard Silas Farley, an acclaimed dancer and choreographer who worships at Redeemer NYC, speak about ballet. His enthusiasm was palpable, but it wasn’t only his expertise that captured my attention. I became truly intrigued when he likened ballet to the Christan life.
The body of a dancer is turned out, he explained, inviting those watching into an encounter beyond themselves. A dancer opens their body towards others — chest lifted, arms extended, feet rotated outward — offering an invitation to share a moment of beauty that is larger than any single person. Farley described this as a mirror of the soul. When we follow God, he suggested, something similar happens: our lives open out, helping others meet their Maker.
Rather than curving in on itself, the spiritually awakened life is generously opened. In dance, turnout has a technically correct form. Spiritually, the analogy runs deeper. Farley commented, “Our walk with God is that he is defining us so that we are becoming open. We are open to him. We are open to receive his love. We are open to be vessels of his love. Holiness or wholeness in God opens us up”.
As I listened, my own body responded, a smile stretching from ear to ear. The beauty of a life lived in harmony with God quite literally opened my face! His words prompted reflection on what it means to be spiritually “turned out”. How we can be more attuned to God’s rhythms so that our lives can help others encounter the God who loves them?
Surely it must begin with this opening beyond ourselves. Here, the invitation to join the global Church becomes wonderfully hopeful. If we are willing to look outwards — beyond the confines of our own place and perspective — we discover that God has already choreographed a much larger dance than the one we have known. We learn new steps as we move in community. We find new rhythms as we let others set the pace. We are offered opportunities to be re-formed, stretched, and trained in the company of believers whose experiences differ from our own. This, too, is God’s generous gift: to be part of a pattern richer than anything we can imagine alone.
Until relatively recently, this island was insulated from the wider world. If we only encountered different cultures on holiday, how could we appreciate the breadth of God’s family? But things have changed. Many reading this will now be enjoying the blessing of worshipping alongside people from many nations. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is becoming increasingly multicultural — intercultural, in fact — as brothers and sisters from the global Church join in worship each Sunday.
Their sharing in God’s good gifts enriches us. Their varied experiences bring wisdom, depth, and fresh perspective. They help us encounter God in new ways here in Ireland, widening our understanding of what God is doing in his world. In their presence, we are invited to become more spiritually turned out — more open to God, more open to one another, and more open to the beauty that forms when the people of God move together in grace.
My hope in the days ahead is that we might accept this invitation to the divine dance. What a powerful witness it would be if our shared life reflected the beauty of God’s goodness — a dance of generosity, welcome, and joy. And what hope it might offer our neighbours if they could see in us lives lived in harmony with God and with one another: lives spiritually, beautifully, turned out.