How to connect God to leisure

By PAT PASTERNAK- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Does our leisure time give us an "opening to God"? Can playtime be pray-time, too?

Dennis McDonald will answer those questions at Abba House of Prayer in Albany, Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m., as part of a series of talks on "Touching God in Daily Life and People."

Mr. McDonald, dean of Student Affairs at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, hopes to make people aware of how God touches them in their leisure time. He also wants to help people look at what they can do to increase their awareness of the presence of God in their off-hours.

Kicking back

"When I listen to music, am I aware of what the words are telling me? When I am hiking in the mountains, am I attuned to God's presence in the natural world around me? When I read, how is God speaking to me?" Mr. McDonald wondered. "For some people, watching television is leisure time. For others, that is considered time that is not productive. The first step is becoming aware of what leisure time is for each one of us. It differs for everyone."

The second step in the process, he continued, is to show people how to focus on one activity that they do for relaxation and connect that with God.

According to Mr. McDonald, once a person has been able to make that connection, he or she is able to answer the question, "How will I be able to experience God in this leisure time?"

Relaxing

"Over the years, I've come to a better sense of what leisure time means to me," said Mr. McDonald, "I have had to learn that I can't take it for granted. Our lives are very busy, often filled with daily stress and situations where we do not necessarily acknowledge the presence of God in what we are doing.

"One example might be our jobs, where we spend the better part of our day in moment-to-moment situations. When we do have time for personal relaxation, it can be more meaningful if we center ourselves and take a little time to try to see how God is reaching out to us as we relax and enjoy ourselves."

In his own busy life, Mr. McDonald finds time to relax by reading and singing in the choir at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Albany. He also takes long walks with his yellow Labrador retriever, while he and his wife love the theater.

(Dennis McDonald's talk is open to the public. The requested donation to Abba House is $10 per person. For information, call 438-8320.)

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