In the community where I live, we are over two weeks into a period of social isolation. My church community has rather quickly adjusted to virtual worship, meetings and gatherings. We are using a platform technology which allows us to see each other's faces and...
Collectively, we are experiencing a dramatic shift in our assumptions and routines. It's safe to say that our attention has been grabbed by this moment as we watch wealth dissolve and our usual movements curtailed. Like most pastors, I am adjusting to virtual worship, meetings,...
The title for this blog comes from the work of Richard Rohr who communicates powerful spiritual truths in ways that are easy to grasp. The process of spiritual growth often requires a period in which we move out from a comfortable sense of order into...
In the past few days, the distress which comes with this pandemic has come to our country. Major social events have been cancelled or postponed. The stock market is in dramatic downfall. Our routines are being impacted. There is the fear which comes with uncertainty...
The Christ-focus of Benedictine spirituality is immense. The practice of Benedict's Rule is to always bring the attention to Christ. This focus is woven into the pattern of each day with periods of worship and study punctuating the daily routines of work, service and self-care. ...
I was raised Catholic and went to a Catholic school as a child. Receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday was part of my formation as a Christ-follower. On the surface, it seems like a strange ritual for children. Going forward to a priest, receiving a smudge...
For the past four years, a group of daring souls have been meeting on Wednesday nights to explore a contemplative form of Christianity. We have used patterns for gathering based on the wisdom teachings of Cynthia Bourgeault and The Living School of the Center for...
Tonight, our weekly wisdom group will meditate on Benedict's teaching and Joan Chittister's commentary on three of the earliest chapters in The Rule of Benedict. The topics of the three chapters are obedience, restraint of speech and humility. I wonder what the response will be. ...
A group in our congregation has started examining The Rule of Benedict as a source for our personal growth and for the renewal of our church. We are using Joan Chittister's book, The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century. In the book, Chittister provides...
The final stage in Erik Erickson's psychosocial development is integrity versus despair. In short, what this means is that people who have worked hard at developing a life of integrity will have the capacity, as they near the end of life, to enjoy a sense...