Articles on Community
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Stepping Out…to Step in More Deeply
Why does a person participate in a spiritual pilgrimage? Is it a desire for knowledge… or a vacation with friends? My heart has been drawn to pilgrimage for a long time. Choosing to travel for the purpose of drawing closer to God is quite different than being in a “tour group” or on a “vacation…
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A Sense of Belonging
Several years ago, during a difficult time in my life, I found comfort in reading books that introduced me to a new way of experiencing God that was different from the AME church I attended as a child, and was different from the Baptist, Methodist and non-denominational churches I found myself cycling through as an…
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Signs Along the Way
“Pay Attention to the Signs” is on a placard at the entrance of a local farm/event venue, directing people to their gathering location. A good reminder. I know that I need to look at the signs to see God, whether it be in a little sign (the whisper– like Elijah’s) or a big one. And…
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She Weeps: Leaning into the Spiritual Guidance Program
John 11:32b-35: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping,he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.“Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. I am a new associate of the…
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50th Anniversary of Shalem – 50-Hour Vigil of Prayer
How often do we have the opportunity to be connected in Holy Silence for fifty hours, joining our prayers and offering them to one another? How often are we invited into deeper presence with the Divine from which we may, with compassion and courage, faithfully live God’s dream into the world, into all of creation?…
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Fifty Years of Longing
Fifty years ago, Tilden Edwards gathered a small group of people who longed to go deeper in prayer, seeking to recover the Christian contemplative tradition. As they met and prayed, they discovered that God longed for them as much as they longed for God. They were drawn deep into the heart of God. As they…