I don’t know much about sacraments, I know very little in fact. Some of what I know is basically that sacraments are things that religious folks (particularly some Christian denominations) are into, to varying degrees. Sacraments are ‘special’ things and events, stuff like baptism and communion. I wasn’t sure of what I thought about the concept, but I liked one of my profs views back in college, Quakers believe everything is a sacrament.
From Wikipedia on Sacraments:
The Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) do not practice formal sacraments, believing that all activities should be considered holy. Rather, they are focused on an inward transformation of one’s whole life. The Quakers use the words “Baptism” and “Communion” to describe the experience of Christ’s presence and his ministry in worship.
So, the point of this topic, was just that I was thinking about ‘special’ moments in my life, and more or less, religious/spiritual experiences. We haven’t gone through the birth of our baby yet, but we’ve had 9 months of pregnancy and we are eagerly anticipating this amazing event of bringing another human life into the world. If anything is considered ‘sacred’ and ‘sacramental,’ I think birth should be on the list. Of course I don’t know enough of about the theology or religious tradition, but I figured bringing it up would give others a chance to chime in on that.
Birth should definately be on the list. 🙂
My youngest daughter (who is almost 2 years old now) was born underwater during a midwife-assisted water birth, and the first hands that caught her were her Daddy’s…born into his loving arms and then laid directly onto my stomach. What a beautiful entry into this world! I definately look back on that moment as sacred and blessed.
Peace,
Jamie
You have no idea how thrilled I am to see this subject come up.
Christianity is an incarnational faith and the sacraments reflect that. They are physical, tangible means in which God communicates grace to his people. Just as God used a human body to mediate his grace in the person of Jesus, the Spirit communicates God’s grace to us through such physical elements as water, wine, oil and bread. The Orthodox have traditionally called the sacraments mysteries and although they specifically accept the same seven that the Catholic church accepts, they have never limited them to the Catholic seven. (Or two for Protestants. Anglicans/Episcopalians call the others “sacramental rites”.) I personally think that the Orthodox understanding is more accurate than the Quaker one.
I agree that God does not only work sacramentally through the sacraments initiated by Christ and/or accepted by the Church. My birth experiences (especially the second) have been profoundly spiritual and I do believe that they were a means of grace. Unfortunately most Christians in our culture will never experience birth in this way. I’m impressed that you and Mindy are thinking about birth in this way and I think that it will aid you both greatly during the birth. (I think you’ll find that most people who experience birth as a sacrament use midwives as their caregivers).
I like what Indie says about midwives as caregivers. Definately the way to go!
Giving birth completely drug-free without any medical intervention is *such* a powerful experience. It’s the way our creator designed us to give birth, and it is not only empowering for the woman involved, but also for the husband if he is there to take an active part in the experience. It connects the husband and wife as a couple, and strengthens the ties that bind the entire family.
The births of our children were such wonderful, spiritual events in our lives, and gave us a special glimpse of God and the miraculous creation of life that we would never have experienced otherwise.
Most women (at least here in America) seem to “tolerate” the birth experience as something they have to muddle through in order to bring their child into the world. But it was the most divine part of the pregnancy experience for me! I actually looked forward to and joyfully anticipated the onset of labor with my second child…and thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.
Honestly I can’t wait to do it again. 🙂 SUCH a blessing!
Peace,
Jamie
thank you two for sharing.
Responded to your post at my blog, http://thesacredpage.blogspot.com. Thanks for the inspiration.
Oops, that’s http://thesacredpage.blogspot.com
I’m Quaker and I believe birth is a sacrament–maybe that’s a contradiction, but I don’t think it has to be. I do believe that every moment is holy, and that in our striving toward the Light we are striving to grasp and hold the holiness of every moment. That is one reason that we spend most of our worship time in silence–in order to focus on the present moment and try to understand the holiness of the presence of God at every moment.
But I also believe that as humans, we pick out individual moments that become focal points for our spiritual experience, and I’m okay with that, as long as it doesn’t interfere with our striving to feel the every-day holiness too. I think originally, the reaction against “sacraments” per se in the Quaker faith had to do with the fact that those “sacraments” were “owned” by an official church and its priesthood, and the early Quakers were striving for a spiritual experience that could be “owned” by individuals.
So, yes, I believe birth is a sacrament. I happened upon your blog because I am seeking a Quaker frame of reference for a pre-birth blessing worship “ceremony” that might offer the same spiritual support as the “blessingway” many earth-based religions offer to women who are preparing to birth. It is a beautiful and powerful ceremony that I think validates the power of the woman and her baby, and the specialness (in human terms) of the experience of birth. It is definitely more “holy” (in my perhaps non-Quakerly opinion) than today’s modern “baby shower” with its focus on consumerism.
One of the things, I believe, that makes birth so holy (besides the obvious fact of it’s being a baby’s introduction to our world), is how an unhampered mother naturally enters her own state of worship. It is unavoidable–an altered state of mind that at once makes her incredibly vulnerable and at the same time unbelievably strong. The question, in our society, is whether those attending her during this vulnerable/powerful time are able and willing to enter into communion with her state of worship (or meditation, or altered state of mind, or however you want to name it) and to assist rather than hinder it. In most medicalized births, this simply cannot happen–the doctors, nurses, even the family, become focused on the machines, the read-outs, the potential for problems, the stark, brightly-lit “realities” of the event that they are simply not capable of being gathered in to the experience. All of this has the opposite effect desired on the sacrament of birth, working to draw the mother *out* of her state of worship, rather than drawing the attendants *in* to it.
In contrast, a birth that is treated as a sacrament allows the attendants to be both present *for* the mother by taking care of the “realities,” but also to be gathered into the worshipful state that she enters. Usually it is characterized by quiet voices (except the mother and child, whose yelling–when it occurs–is accepted, natural, and an integral part of the experience), dim lights, and a general attitude of attentiveness to the moment. It also means that the attendants can help guide the mother back into that meditative state when the experience of birth threatens to overwhelm her.
Anyway, I realize I’ve just written half a book, but since you mentioned Quakers and sacraments, and since I’m getting ready for my own (third) birth in about three months, it is a matter close to my heart. (“It speaks to me” we Quakers might say. :D)
Thanks for your great blog post, and many blessings on your newly expanding family!