Nijana: The Horse of Lindisfarne
In 2001, I joined Shalem’s Celtic pilgrimage to the islands of Lindisfarne and Iona. Each morning, our pilgrim group gathered outdoors to welcome the day with morning prayers. On Lindisfarne we walked down a flower-lined lane in front of the nearly 1000-year-old parish church that stands before the ruined medieval priory. Then we turned away […]
The Power of Place
Article by Bryan Berghoef, June 2019 eNews Sitting in my new backyard office shed, I hear the birds chirping around me and look out over the misty flower fields out my window, and I feel a sense of peace. The spaces and places we spend our time in matter. It is an old small barn […]
Resting Through Our Work
Today’s post is by Tilden Edwards At one point in a workshop, I asked people to be in touch with their desires. Afterward, two pastors came up and said the first desire that spontaneously came to each of them was for rest. You don’t have to be a pastor for that desire to show up […]
Evening Visitor
by Bryan Berghoef “Meow, meow, me-ooow,” came the sad call from outside my window. A farm cat had wandered over the neighboring field and was now circling my backyard office shed. It was a forlorn call, and he was right underneath the window where I was holding a pre-marital counseling session with a young couple. […]
Meditation Club
Today’s post is by Bryan Berghoef I recently gathered with some friends for a time of silence at what we are calling, “Meditation Club.” There’s no big agenda. No expected outcomes. Simply the chance to come and meet in the quiet. I try to take time to meditate on my own regularly, but I have […]
Conscious Leadership as a Spiritual Journey
Article by Margaret Benefiel (May 2019 eNews) What is conscious leadership? When I received the annual Elks leadership award my senior year in high school for my leadership in the Elma Sunshine Makers 4-H Club in Elma, Washington, I thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know about leadership. After all, I had […]
Seeing Clearly
Today’s post is by Bryan Berghoef All of my life I’ve had great vision, never needed glasses, and always breezed through the letter charts during eye tests. But in recent months I began to realize things were changing. I could no longer read text on the television when seated on the couch. Driving at night […]
Nature’s Healing
Today’s post is from the writings of the late Gerald May …Nature’s teaching is also a healing. And though we must indeed be taught, it is the healing that we need most. We have been fractured. We have been broken off from the nature of the world, broken away from the nature of one another, broken […]
Wake Up Call
Article by Rose Mary Dougherty (April 2019 eNews) Several weeks ago, I was staying in one of my favorite places—Bon Secours Spiritual Center. It had been a long day, and I was sleeping soundly. At 3:40 am, I awoke with a start to the sound of someone hammering at my door. I could hear a […]
Into Spring and Beyond
Pulling in to the monastery, the snow was piled high on the abbey grounds. The walkways were cleared, as the monks had fastidiously kept the paths open for themselves and any guests who would take advantage of their hospitality. I arrived on a chilly day that began less than 10 degrees Fahrenheit—one of several guests seeking a quiet retreat. It had been a long snowy season, and this cold morning was perhaps one last, serious squeeze from old man winter.