Articles on Prayer

  • Holy Whisper

    It was an exciting day! I woke up that morning in Avila, Spain, knowing we were going to tread some hallowed ground. Our group of pilgrims headed out the door and onto the ancient cobblestone streets of this walled city. The same streets that Teresa of Avila walked as a child, a young woman, and…

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  • Ongoing Hope for Better Days

    One of my favorite Christmas songs is one that rarely is noticed as such.  In “Better Days” the Goo Goo Dolls sing about forgiveness and renewal, and how Christmas Eve is “the night the world begins again.” I think it’s safe to say that it’s been a turbulent year for our country and world.  It…

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  • Let Your Heartbreak Be Your Guide

    Excerpt from Adam Bucko’s book “Let Your Heartbreak Be Your Guide: Lessons in Engaged Contemplation” pages 34-38. (Used with permission of the publisher, Orbis Books) A few years ago, I was invited to give a talk at an old church in London. This particular church had a very intriguing modern history: in the 1990s, it…

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  • Spiritual Guidance as Love Activism

    In the Northern Hemisphere where I live, we’ve passed the autumnal equinox and are entering one of my favorite seasons – fall. As the days become shorter and the nights lengthen, we’re invited to lean back and settle into this fecund, pregnant, obscure season heading towards winter. During fall our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrate…

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  • Prayers for Hope & Healing During an Election Year

    “To reinvent your country you need a great deal of hope.”-Jurgen Moltmann Over the past year or so that I have been sharing the hosting of Shalem’s Prayers for Hope and Healing, I often reflect on the audacity of it all. A gathering of Shalem-inspired folk populating the assembled squares of a Zoom screen; thirty…

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  • Deepening Community

    I recognized the growing niggles of anxiety that I had pushed to the furthest corner of my consciousness were growing more frequent. After several years of change and transition, bearing witness to individual and collective trauma and a growing concern for local and global justice – the dashboard of my life was full of flashing…

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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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