Articles on Nature
-
A Journey of the Heart
When I heard about a ZOOM Pilgrimage to Assisi, I almost spit out my coffee. In disdain. A ZOOM Pilgrimage seemed an oxymoron of the highest order. Nothing could compare to being physically present in Assisi. Nothing could come close to a real Shalem Pilgrimage. After all, on a Newfoundland Pilgrimage, I kissed a cod…
-
Greening Nature and Spirits
One spring morning, sitting at the table sipping tea, I saw green buds on tree branches hanging over the yard just outside the picture window. Those small fists of summer, clenched tight, must have been there for a while, but I hadn’t noticed. Seemingly overnight, the greening buds had swelled and stretched up and out,…
-
Life Goes Wide Within Me
My Lenten roses (hellebores) are in full bloom now in what I lovingly call my “anti-depressant garden.” All the flowers in this garden bloom early, usually starting right after Christmas. During the pandemic, my garden has sustained and still sustains me—anything that would grow was a friend, and almost every petunia or geranium, plants usually…
-
The Rainbow Connection
God said [to Noah]: “This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, and the…
-
Fill Your Heart with Joy: The Journey of Pilgrimage at Home
This article is by Chuck McCorkle, Jackson Droney, and Margaret Benefiel A pilgrimage is a journey, of experience if not of geography, into new and seemingly uncharted territory. . . With vision somewhat more clear as a result of the journey, one can discover a richness within one’s own heritage which had previously been overlooked.…
-
The Sacredness of Time
As 2020 draws to a close and a new year opens before us, I’d like to offer some words that invite us to reflect on the sacredness of time. This year has been so hard, in ways unimaginable to us at the start of it: deepening climate crisis with both drenching rains and severe drought…