My name has two meanings to me. Three actually. First, it is a version of Anita which according to random name lists means Grace or Gift of God. Second, I was named after Anitra’s Dance from Peer Gynt written by Edvard Grieg. My optician used to whistle the music rather than call my name when it time for my examination. It turns out that my name comes with a theme song. The third meaning is that hardly anyone else has this name. Did that make me special or did it just subject me to years of misspelled grocery store birthday cakes and assorted official documents?
The name of this blog and my private email address, Grace Dancer, is what I think of when I think of my life long relationship with God. We’re dancing. God dances. God invites me to dance with God because God enjoys me. Well, all of us. God enjoys all of us and each of us.
I imagine God’s invitation to dance is a gift of grace itself and in receiving that gift, I dance too. I dance as a writer, poet, musician, preacher, chaplain, reader, traveler, reluctant housekeeper, garden tender, podcaster, weaver, spinner, and constant screw up. I’m good at making mistakes, jumping into the wrong decision, forgetting to remember something, and not learning new languages quickly. Which is why I’m grateful that God loves to dance. It appears that God is not overly picky about who God chooses to dance with.
This space is a professional space as much as what I do is professional. Sermons, published essays and news stories, an occasional poem. It is also intended to be a space for a collection of writings, meditations, photographs, and random observations about God, Celtic Christianity, and life. Also dancing with two left feet.
I think God dances. I think God dances in Perichoretic movement with Christ and with the Holy Spirit each generously making room not only for each other but also for you and me. Perichoretic is a Greek word for rotation. It is often used to explain how the Trinity works – that God, Christ, and Spirit make room for each other in gentle, loving, and gracious ways. No single expression of the Trinity dominates the other two. Grace Dancing means making room in joy and love for each other because room has been made for us.
– Anitra Kitts