"Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary."(quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi)

"Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ."Ephesians 5:21

How would you describe your spiritual journey? When was the last time you gave some thought to the concept of spirituality? For many, spirituality is confined to and expressed through our church experience. Church becomes the place through which we become acquainted with our spiritual selves, the place where we seek our connection with the sacred, the unknown, and the unexplained. Our spirituality enables us to feel connected to that which is much bigger than us, to God. Church provides the community in which to experience, talk about, and wrestle with the big questions along our spiritual journey.

For some, the spiritual journey has an added dimension: engagement. With the grounding of our church or religious community, engaged spirituality offers us a way to interact with the world around us: our neighborhood or even a community half a world away. Engaged spirituality allows us bring the Word alive in the most human way. Our engagement can be simple or complex: greeting newcomers to our church building, leading a Sunday school class, or organizing a work trip in the Gulf Coast or El Salvador, or providing a meal to a hungry person.

What is engaged spirituality?

Engaged spirituality? What does it mean? Janet Parachin, an ordained Disciple and assistant professor of Education and Spirituality at Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa, Okla., said engaged spirituality "is demonstrated by all those persons who find within their faith tradition the resources that nurture their being and enable them to engage in activities that move the world toward peace, justice, greater compassion, and wholeness."

The concept of engaged spirituality has its roots in the teachings and actions of Vietnamese Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Hahn, through what he called "engaged Buddhism,"a concept he introduced to the Western hemisphere in the 1950s. Hahn said, "Meditation is not to escape from society, but to come back to ourselves and see what is going on. Once there is seeing, there must be acting. With mindfulness, we know what to do and what not to do to help."What does the  concept of engaged spirituality mean for us? Stop. Pay attention. Be present. Only then, take the appropriate action. No one can tell you what the right action is: you will know in your heart what action to take.

What action can we take?

We can walk the path of engaged spirituality with grounding in our church life. More simply stated, we can "Walk the Word."Jesus' teachings and actions provide some of the best examples of walking the Word. Indeed, it was Jesus who taught, "… just as you did it to one of the least of these … you did it to me."

Take a moment, then, to stop, pay attention, be present, and then take the appropriate action. Taking that action, you will realize, was the most important thing you could have done in that moment. And in taking that action, you will have given form to your spiritual life and offered hope to a world in need. You will find that walking the Word happens one step at a time.

Angela Herrmann, director of Web site development, is an Indiana native and member of Central Christian Church, Indianapolis.