Thoughts on a Contemplative Reformation
At the Intersection of Contemplative Practice, Poetic Imagination, and Congregational Ministry
One month in This morning I took stock of a settling within my soul, more sure-footed so that I can pivot to where my heart is calling me to pay attention and be present. I do not claim to know any overarching lesson that these days are teaching us. The roses blooming on... Continue Reading →
If then, Easter A violet clematis bloomed last night, yesterday’s bulging bud that caught my eye now totally transformed and stretching wide, sheathed in luscious color on a Spring morning. The cardinal pair who stay close to our home, grateful for the sunflower seed in the feeders, tend their nest, hidden somewhere in... Continue Reading →
A Good Friday Homily The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham I may have told you all this story from my childhood, so forgive me, but I want to look at a slightly different angle of the experience. Late one Christmas Eve, when I must have been around eight or nine, I snuck out of my bedroom... Continue Reading →
Traveling Companions Today, while on a walk I saw grief and imagination ahead of me, at a steady pace, holding hands. I never knew they had even met but obviously they had with the stories they were telling each other. As I approached, they invited me to walk with them as we made another... Continue Reading →
A Litany of Embodied Solitude A Poem with the Prayers of Holy Week Stuart Higginbotham How do we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? By opening our hearts before we open our mouths and giving thanks for God’s pervasive presence in glimpses of truth, that we are being held. Let the same... Continue Reading →
Nine Lessons I am Learning on this Thursday Stuart Higginbotham We will resist important lessons with every ounce of our being if they make us feel like we are losing power. Remember every time you fought to get your child to clean their room. What if the trashed room made them feel more powerful? Now... Continue Reading →
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLrzaesbvjc The prophets of these days Perhaps you are the prophets of these days-- and why not?-- women and men calling us to remember the command to love our neighbor. Do no harm. Teach our children. Love your neighbor as yourself. We are being shaken out of our stupor. Perhaps in your dedication we... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Morning Prayer Reflection March 22, 2020 All About Vision Today’s appointed texts are all about vision: who can see, who cannot see, who is healed of sight, who can’t believe that sight has been gained. They are deeply human stories on one hand, and they are stories of the... Continue Reading →
We have but taken the first steps Last night I couldn’t sleep because I realized we have but taken the first steps. The first. Many more will follow. The impulse is always to grasp, to understand --now-- to get a handle on the significance of this surreal experience. All of it. While my mind... Continue Reading →
Deep Lent We had gotten so accustomed to setting out our usual things: the purple vestments with the wooden candlesticks, pebbles in the font, sticks and vines on the chancel. Then Deep Lent began and we found ourselves taken to a place we had not chosen for ourselves. We looked around with confusion, ... Continue Reading →
Thoughts on a Contemplative Reformation 