Articles on Listening

  • Fifty Years of Longing

    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…

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  • Keep Walking

    One morning about halfway through my pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, as I was standing outside the hotel in my walking gear, a mother with two young children – a boy and a girl – emerged from the hotel. The mother smiled at me and asked if I was walking to Santiago.…

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  • Perfect Imperfection

    As a course name, Heart Longings, perfectly evoked the sense of excitement and possibility I brought to the class. The phrase also conjured in my mind a heart-led journey toward something long-awaited, hoped for, yet never quite obtainable. Those were the images that stirred in my heart and mind when, in 2022, I encountered Shalem’s…

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  • Responding to Divine Initiative

    Responding to Divine Initiative

    “Those of us who were part of the Vision Coalition and worked on Vision 2025: Our Ongoing Hope have been asked to write reflections on the Guiding Principles of Vision 2025. The Guiding Principles are statements that remind us of who we are and who we are becoming — a place where both the present and…

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  • Creative Possibilities

    Creative Possibilities

    Those of us who were part of the Vision Coalition and worked on Vision 2025: Our Ongoing Hope have been asked to write reflections on the Guiding Principles of Vision 2025. The Guiding Principles are statements that remind us of who we are and who we are becoming — a place where both the present and…

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  • Pride

    Pride

    “Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you.” These words of wisdom from writer, speaker, and activist Parker J. Palmer have guided me along my spiritual path since 2012 when a colleague encouraged me to read Let Your Life Speak: Listening for…

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Mission

Our mission is to nurture contemplative living and leadership.

Vision

In 2025, Shalem will be a dynamic and inclusive community, empowered by the Spirit, where seekers engage in transformation of themselves, their communities, and the world through spiritual growth, deep connection, and courageous action.

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