As a dance movement therapist and former professional dancer, Rachel Michael has had a strong sense of calling to offer her skills in movement and dance to help others in their Christian spirituality. Joining the CCX Pioneer School and meeting others called to do something new has encouraged her, strengthened her calling and equipped her to take the next steps in her ministry.
By Catherine EllerbySeptember 2024
For Rachel Michael, discovering and experiencing Pioneer School felt like an ‘oasis’ after many years of feeling that she didn’t ‘fit in’ and that was ‘operating on the margins’.
The Pioneering journey she describes has been a long and sometimes challenging one, faithfully exploring a calling God had placed on her heart. Six years into a professional dancing career which took her abroad to Europe, Canada and USA, Rachel realised that she needed to make a change.
‘I felt that there was more to me as a person than I could express through professional ballet and that I had gone as far as I could in that field,’ she says.
With a Christian faith and a continued strong sense of calling, she trained in dance and movement therapy, noticing the potential for how movement could enrich Christian spirituality. Her course emphasised the link between movement and a person’s inner life – how being in touch with the body through dance and movement can help people become more in touch with their heart.
‘I felt there was a lack of anything like this within the mainstream Christian tradition, that it was an unexplored area and that there was an opportunity here,’ Rachel explains. ‘So, I started to experiment, offering workshops at my local church and to a few other groups. This was a big journey for me personally, as I was going from being a highly skilled performer to helping people with no experience of dance or movement at all.
‘It was like that for a long time, taking up occasional opportunities including workshops at a theological college, for the London Centre for Spiritual Direction and at a Catholic religious community. These were very well received but I really had to work at it – opportunities didn’t come easily! I also had to earn a living, while holding on to my calling – believing that it was in there somewhere!’
Then Rachel heard about Pioneer School, joining the cohort which began in September 2020.
‘I hadn’t heard about pioneering – I was just doing what I thought God was wanting me to do, but I knew that what I had to offer wasn’t mainstream. Along the way it had been difficult, slow, quite lonely, with not much to show for it sometimes but when I heard about Pioneer School, I thought this sounded like something that could be for me.’
When reflecting on her experience of the course, Rachel speaks positively:
‘I really enjoyed it. We were online, due to the pandemic, about 12 – 15 of us with Phil Hoyle, Idina Dunmore and Mark Bishop leading and teaching us. It was wonderful to meet each other in person at our graduation!
The mix of teaching, coaching and learning circles helped Rachel, and apart from the content of the course, she speaks movingly about what the Pioneer School community offered her:
‘I found it so helpful to connect with a group of people who identify with the idea of not fitting in. In my calling I’ve felt like that quite a lot. Being in Pioneer School and with those who feel similarly, helped me to see the positive side of that – really honouring what you feel called to do, being true to yourself and recognising the creative side of having something different to offer.
‘Doing Pioneer School was great and strengthened not only my sense of calling but also my courage to step out a bit more than I had done before.’
Rachel had always known the direction of her calling, introducing people to embodied spirituality grounded in a Christian worldview, but didn’t know what form it would take. Through doing Pioneer School, her thoughts began to crystallise around a project called ‘Embodied Perspective’.
‘I describe it as sensing, breathing and moving in prayer, reflection and healing. It’s about helping people to connect with their bodies in the context of their spiritual journey.’
Since graduating, Rachel says things have evolved in her ministry – she is keen for it to remain fluid and to evolve organically, allowing her to sense the Holy Spirit leading her from one thing to the next, and in this way, seeing how things might develop.
For two years now, she has offered half-hour embodied prayer sessions online during Advent, Lent and Pentecost (so, 14 in all each year). She now has a mailing list of about 60 people with 10 – 20 people joining each time.
‘People have really enjoyed it,’ she says, ‘and I’ve had lots of good feedback. This has led to other things, including invitations to develop some continuing ministry education in embodying self-care and embodied listening, and some one-to-one sessions.’
A Grove booklet, Embodied Prayer as Mission is her latest project. The idea for it came from a colleague suggesting they write a booklet together on embodied spirituality but after attending a conference, Rachel felt very strongly that it was the mission side of her ministry that motivated her to write.
‘I put together a proposal and it was accepted,’ she recalls. ‘Writing with the Grove team was challenging as I had to spell out why embodied prayer is relevant to mission – to people who may not have had any prior knowledge or experience of it. Now it feels like a real privilege to articulate something which is so close to my heart in a mainstream context. My hope and prayer is that the booklet will enable people who care about ministry and mission to reach out in a new and meaningful way to others.
‘What would I say to anyone thinking of doing Pioneer School? I’d say give it a go – we’ve only got one life. If there’s something on your heart don’t dismiss it if God is calling you to explore something, and don’t be afraid to start small.
‘There are times when what we’re doing feels quite fragile, tentative, perhaps and uncertain – at these times it’s good to have people around you who understand that. Sometimes you may not see much to show for the commitment you’re putting in but we just have to trust don’t we?’
For more information on Pioneer School and apply to the next cohort.
Find out more information about Rachel’s ministry.
Embodied Prayer as Mission is now available, published by Grove Books. You can buy the printed and e-version of the booklet here: Embodied Prayer as Mission.
Photo acknowledgements: David Michael (portrait of Rachel Michael); Gareth Haze (praying hands).
