• Minding the Gaps

    Minding the Gaps

    Each season offers gifts all its own. January’s spare beauty seems fitting after the extravagance of the holidays. Trees have shed every outer expression of the living sap within. Icy streams conceal mottled fish resting below. Snow blankets the fields’ ridges, gullies, and rocks. Winter, in her unparalleled way, changes the view. What was once…

    read more


  • Prayer Circles for Peace

    Prayer Circles for Peace

    “I am a cosmic citizen, a planetary being who lives in the Americas in the United States.” This was a line shared by a teacher I had one summer. It sure blows open any narrow attachment to a certain country or geographical place and calls forth a whole new perspective on who I am related…

    read more


  • Seeing When It’s Not Pretty

    Seeing When It’s Not Pretty

    It is his feet I notice first. My mind right away says, homeless. It is uncomfortable to see, but something in me says don’t turn away, stay with your feelings, don’t opt out. I am on the Metro early this November morning on my way to catch an Amtrak train from DC to NC to…

    read more


  • When Earth and Heaven Meet

    When Earth and Heaven Meet

    We gathered mid-morning in the backyard of our host. The sun was already up and warmed us as we sat on the lush green lawn. The autumn air was cool while its gentle breeze reminded us of the dryness typical of the high desert plains of Denver. We began by lighting a candle and burning…

    read more


  • Your deepest gladness, the world’s deep hunger

    The place God calls you is where your deepest gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

    read more


  • Grace in the Struggle

    Grace in the Struggle

    Today’s post is by Carl McColman I have a confession to make. I’m a natural-born kicker and a screamer. “Some people embrace the spiritual life with grace and ease,” my first spiritual director, Lin Ludy, told me one day in the mid-1980s. “Others, however, are dragged into heaven kicking and screaming. You, Carl, are a…

    read more


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.

Cancel