A liminal space is one in-between: between the conscious and the unconscious, between the seen and unseen, a time when we feel out of time. Liminal spaces are created when we are wholly present and time and space become irrelevant: there is only here and now.
At Con on Saturday night, we set up the bridging ceremony to be different from the past. The main part of Camp Collins is flat, but there is also a steep hill (“Cardiac Hill”) that goes down to the Sandy River and an amphitheater with a fire pit. For the bridging ceremony, we set up luminaries from the worship area all the way down the hill to the amphitheater. As worship began, our 240 participants walked from the worship area to the amphitheater in pairs carrying lit candles.
As they reached the hill’s edge, luminaries lighted the way down through the forest; people began singing, “This Little Light of Mine”. The reverence of the moment was breathtaking.
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| Around the Campfire, preparing for Bridging |
After a stop at the fire, the bridgers walked through a hug line of their peers. When they reached the end, they received a candle:
In joining our community, you shared your light with us.
As you leave our community, we share our light with you.
The bridgers then walked back up the path, passing through the sponsors as they moved from youth into young adulthood.
Afterwards, people talked about the other-worldliness of the beauty and the energy that was present. It was a liminal space, a moment where all that existed was us. Even the rain waited until we were done.
As an adult who works with many of these youth, each year I say goodbye to people I’ve come to know and appreciate. This year’s bridging gave me the chance to say “welcome”.
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| PNWD YRUU Class of 2011 |
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