2025 Shalem Picks for Contemplative Resources

Active Hope by Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone
I returned to this book this year for hope in the midst of chaos. Macy and Johnstone offer practices and vision for choosing hope when everything looks hopeless.
-Margaret Benefiel, Executive Director

Aflame: Learning from Silence by Pico Iyer
Iyer provides a rich exploration of the clarity and calm that can arise in quiet retreat.
-Phillip Stephens, Program Director of Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program

“For When People Ask” from All the Honey by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
This poem came at just the right time for me and continues to speak to my heart, and for my heart.
-Anita Davidson, Nurturing the Call: Spiritual Guidance Program staff

Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You’d Rather Cancel by Loretta J. Ross
As contemplatives who strive to live out of the compassionate heart, the political divides of our present time can be bewildering and even painful. Writing from the perspective of over sixty years in the trenches working for justice and reconciliation, Professor Ross uses examples from her own life to show how to rise above the cancel culture and build bridges with others, calling them and us, into relationship. As Shalem engages in strengthening the equity within our community, this book offers practical ways to engage in this essential work of building community.
-Jeff Ross, Board of Directors

The Conference of the Birds by Attar
Spirit sent me a most delicious summer read, The Conference of the Birds, written by Sufi mystic and poet, Attar (trans. Iranian American poet, Shóleh Wolpë). This collection of allegorical poems and parables is a wisdom-packed gem. The birds reflect on the personal excuses (e.g. insecurity, weakness) and idols (I.e., pursuit of recognition, power, wealth) that prevent them from pursuing the Path to God. Read this delightful book and you will discover what kind of bird you are and if you are ready and willing to commit fully to the journey to God.
-Lerita Coleman Brown, program staff

Crossing the Line: Challenging the Barriers of Race, Religion and Relationships by Dorcas Horst Cyster
In Crossing the Line, Dorcas Cyster offers a spiritually grounded memoir that confronts systemic injustice and traces her white racial identity and cross-racial relationships across church, family, education, friendships, and vocation. With honesty and grace, she explores her internalized oppression shaped by her Mennonite upbringing, the toll of justice work, and the complexity of love in the midst of suffering. It’s a stirring testimony to endurance, transformation, and spiritual resilience spanning the U.S. and South Africa.
-Althea Banda-Hansmann, Co-Leader of Soul of Leadership: South Africa

Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations by Richard Wagamese
In April of 2023, I took a sabbatical in New Mexico to learn more of Native American spirituality. In preparation for my sabbatical, I came across the writings of Richard Wagamese. Richard’s Native name is Mushkotay Beezheekee Anakwat (Buffalo Cloud). He was an Ojibwe Canadian author and journalist from the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations in Northwestern Ontario. He was best known for his novel Indian Horse, but it is his other books that have had such a profound impact on my life. Richard’s book, Embers, was the first book I read by him. Embers is filled with everyday reflections. I personally read one selection a day and as I read the book in my lap, I also listened to the audio version. The reader’s soothing voice pairs nicely with the calming words. Richard’s everyday wisdom in Embers holds much peace and hope. Richard explores the manifestations of grief, joy, beauty, gratitude, physicality and spirituality. He shows how to find joy in the everyday things. It is his Indigenous perspective that I find most hope filled. I would also recommend What Comes from Spirit and One Native Life. In a world that is ever changing, Richard’s Indigenous wisdom has truly calmed my soul and grounded me. I recommend it to anyone looking for more grounding from that still quiet place within.
-Rev. Emily J. Kellar, Co-Director of Going Deeper: Clergy Life and Leadership

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
While on my pilgrimage to Spain I read I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger. Through gorgeously rendered language that finds light in darkness, Enger tells the story of Rainy’s water-bound quest across Lake Superior, where personal tragedy propels him into a larger battle against sinister forces while revealing the enduring power of love and music to sustain the human spirit.
-Julie Pennington-Russell, Co-Director of Going Deeper: Clergy Life & Leadership

Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The beauty, simplicity and timeless, mystical truths in this beloved classic continue to touch my heart. “…It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
-Carole Crumley, Going Deeper: Clergy Life & Leadership & pilgrimage program staff

The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Iain McGilchrist
This British psychiatrist and philosopher writes about how culture and perceptions have been constrained by privileging certain ways of perceiving and thinking. (I’ve had to persist in reading it, but worth it!)
-Beverly Gibson, Board of Directors

Meditations and Mandalas: Simple Songs for the Spiritual Life by Nan C. Merrill
The words of Nan Merrill are a consistent source of inspiration and solace for me. For decades, her words have reminded me to return to the inner source of strength and comfort. In times like these, her gentle reminders are even more important.
-Patricia Franklin, Board of Directors

Revolutionary Love Project Website
I recommend the website revolutionarylove.org. The Revolutionary Love Project, founded by Valarie Kaur, is an amazing resource for inspiring and equipping people to build the beloved community. The website is full of offerings that teach love of self, others and one’s opponents. I keep returning to offerings from this organization and feel empowered and recharged each time I engage.
-Patience Robbins, Leader, “Prayer for the World”

Taoist Peace Prayer by Lao Tse
Here is one of my favorite poems that I have hanging up on my wall in my office. It is always a great reminder. I don’t know the title, but it is attributed to Lao Tse, Chinese philosopher, 6th century bce.
-Stacy Rancourt, Bookkeeper

A Teachable Spirit: The Virtue of Learning from Strangers, Enemies, and Absolutely Anyone by AJ Swoboda
This is a profoundly accessible and humble book, as it names both our ongoing need for learning and the deep shame that rises up within us as an obstacle. I highly recommend this book to anyone who welcomes a shift in perspective, or who longs to become a student of wisdom.
-Sarah Forti, Co-Director of Crossing the Threshold: Contemplative Foundations for Emerging Leaders

True Awakening: The Highs, Lows and Mess of Spiritual Transformation by Kerra Becker English
Kerra Becker English, an ordained Presbyterian minister and spiritual director, offers a candid rendering of the spiritual journey in the 21st century. In True Awakening: The Highs, Lows and Mess of Spiritual Transformation, Kerra shares some of her own existential and spiritual challenges, and beckons us to embrace the spiritual path by waking up, following our curiosity, asking questions, and choosing and losing a religious lane. In the process, she calls us to awaken to the hypocrisy of a religion that promises comfort of heaven at the price of ignoring our relationships in the here and now. She reminds us that spiritual maturity goes hand-in-hand with prophetic proclamation and action. “Mystics, prophets, artists, poets, and spiritual practitioners of every kind have a couple of things in common: They are racial realists, and they are fiercely hopeful.” In the mess of spiritual transformation, Kerra points to the mystics for wisdom to deal with the suffering of life. The final quotation in the book by St. Teresa of Avila has been my prayer-on-the-go since 1986. I say it in Spanish. Kerra cites it in English. God knows all languages. Nada te turbe. Nada te espante. Todo se pasa. Dios no se muda. La paciencia todo lo alcanza. Quien a Dios tiene, nada le falta. Solo Dios basta.
-Lydia Mercado, Board of Directors