Articles on Community
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Welcoming Christ, Welcoming Others
Today’s post is by Mary van Balen Stepping out of the parking garage elevator and starting down the walkway to the office building, I stopped to look at the nativity scene that had been placed outside the large windows. All the faces were painted pink-white. Sure, that nativity was probably bought decades ago and spends most…
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Spiritual Awakening and Addiction Recovery
Today’s post is by Tom Adams At lunch at the Gerald May seminar, Compassion of the Mystics, I was at a table where 12-Step meetings and recovery were being discussed. Having been a student and beneficiary of 12-Step groups for over 30 years, my ears perked up. A lunch table friend was describing how someone…
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Cultivating Contemplative Conversations
Article by Margaret Benefiel (December 2018 eNews) In conversations with our “contemplative cousins,” both in follow-up discussions since the August 2017 Snowmass gathering where 20 young contemplatives gathered and in other settings, the question often arises, “What method of prayer does Shalem teach? Contemplative Outreach teaches Centering Prayer, World Community for Christian Meditation teaches the…
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Thoughts on Contemplative Conversations in Congregations
Article by Stuart Higginbotham (November 2018 eNews) Is it possible to be contemplative in our conversations with others? It seems a challenge today in any context—at work, in the home, even at church. When it comes to the experience of contemplative conversations within a parish church, which is where I serve, I think it is…
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Encountering God
Encountering God is… like meeting a friend or loved one. ~Bernard McGinn
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Uselessness and Benefitting Others
Today’s post is by Shirin McArthur I recently read a Buddhist story, shared by Andō, a Zen poet I follow online, about The Useless Tree. In a nutshell (!), the story is that an oak tree grew so twisted and gnarly that its wood was not considered useful, so it was not disturbed. The point…