At this week’s end, spurred by the presidential inauguration held just two day ago, we may sense a deeper awareness to commit to our personal and communal inaugurations. As we each attune to shifting energies, we offer you this beautiful song and prayer compelling us all to intentionally step forward, reach across personal and communal…
Yesterday, as I watched the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as the 46th president of the United States, I cried ugly tears. I wiped every bit of makeup off my face as I cried tears of fear, tears of relief, tears of joy. I listened as Biden declared that “we must end this uncivil…
I love Prairiewoods’ mission to be “a sacred space where people of all faiths and cultures are invited to explore and nurture their relationships with the Source of all being, Earth, self and others with an increasing awareness of the story of the Universe.” The story of the Universe. From our website: As theologian Elizabeth…
Trees are on my mind these days. This Saturday, we’ll have a Women in Interfaith Dialogue conversation about the trees we’ve known and loved throughout our lives, as well as our spiritual connection with trees personally and within our faith traditions. Then next week (Jan. 25–29) we have a wonderful series of Treasuring Our Trees…
An essay published in Christian Century by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1957, “Nonviolence and Racial Justice,” echoes afresh in light of current events (Christian Century 74, Feb. 6, 1957: 165–67). In the era of “Black Lives Matter” and the most recent violent foment on Jan. 6 committed at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., so many of us find…
In the midst of seemingly contrasting energies in this country and throughout the world, we may be challenged to know what and how to pray. Nan C. Merrill, Psalm scholar and author of Lumen Christi … Holy Wisdom and Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness, encourages prayerful meditation of the challenge to continue to…
This—as much as any other period in recent history—feels like a time of violence, a time of open hostility and conflict. The world seems dichotomous, as though half of our family and friends are in a completely different world than where we find ourselves. Because of that division, I’m called to the words of Jan…
“We should not be ashamed of anger. It’s a very good and a very powerful thing that motivates us. But what we need to be ashamed of is the way we abuse it.” —Mahatma Ghandi Yesterday, I happened upon one of those parody songs that have been proliferating on social media since the start of…
I am listening to the winter season Watching the sunrises and sunsets Marveling at icy fog in the mornings Noticing the beauty of animal tracks in the snow Feeling the pull of the frozen river Meeting sun dogs in the cold My eye following eagles as they disappear in the sun And praying, praying for…
When it’s heartfelt, it feels good to say and it certainly feels good to hear! But sometimes the abundance of our lives seems to drain us. Sometimes we’re sad. Sometimes we’re distracted. It’s hard in those moments to remember to take this natural medicine. But it helps to know how gratitude impacts our brains on…