Thoughts on a Contemplative Reformation
At the Intersection of Contemplative Practice, Poetic Imagination, and Congregational Ministry
A few weeks ago, we launched our Bicentennial Capital Campaign at Grace, leaning into these next few years of intentional prayer, discernment, and growth. A vital piece of this was our shared desire to ground ourselves in a shared practice of contemplative prayer. We recognized that any capital campaign is filled with details--financial, construction, legal,... Continue Reading →
Elements of a Contemplative Reformation Essay #5 Full Resonant Harmony: How Christian Meditation Continues to Transform My Heart Stuart Higginbotham This essay is the fifth in a series of reflections on key Elements of a Contemplative Reformation. We have shared a series of conversations, exploring dynamics of an egoic posture, our tendency to grasp out... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Proper 21, Year B Mark 9:38-50 September 30, 2018 The ego does not yield easily My first week of undergrad, at Lyon College, the Residence Life Staff gathered the hundred new first-years in a science building seminar room for part of our introduction to campus life. When we arrived,... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Proper 20 Year B James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a, Mark 9:30-37 September 23, 2018 Draw Near to God A few weeks ago, something surprised me during the Eucharistic Prayer. At the 10:45 service, we reached the portion where we share in the Lord’s Prayer, and we all started in... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Proper 18, Year B September 9, 2018 The Path of Descent is the Path of Transformation: A Deeper Reflection on “The Poor” Last weekend, I was in Albuquerque for the 6th Conspire Conference, with the Center for Action and Contemplation. Over a thousand folks gathered from all over the... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Proper 16, Year B Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18; St. John 6:56-69 August 26, 2018 We’ve had it backwards all this time: Reflections on worship and prayer When I was a little kid in Arkansas, back at Egypt Missionary Baptist Church, our little church had a tradition—one that I wonder would... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Proper 14, Year B I Kings 19:4-8; John 6:35, 41-51 August 12, 2018 You Are What You Eat: Further Reflections on the Church as a School of Divine Union The angel of the Lord came a second time to Elijah, touched him, and said, “Get up and... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Proper 12, Year B Ephesians 3:14-21; St. John 6:1-21 July 29, 2018 There is Enough: Breadth, Length, Height, and Depth While finishing the latest edit on my chapter for the upcoming book, I went back to the one book that launched my entire exploration of contemplative prayer. Some 16... Continue Reading →
These are wonderfully helpful video reflections by Fr. Laurence, as he discusses the basic understanding of meditation; the necessity of the development of awareness; and how we understand Jesus as a teacher of meditation, of an awareness of God's presence in life. https://youtu.be/8NK1jQM-Gwk https://youtu.be/Vb9-usvEKUU https://youtu.be/4ZYxN6dK-ZM
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Proper 10, Year B Mark 6:14-29 July 15, 2018 There is no “other:” Full, Resonant Harmony Sermon 3 of 3 Previously on Sermons: We have explored a core quality of our existence, with the realization that, in God’s vision for life, there is no “other,” that all is held... Continue Reading →
Thoughts on a Contemplative Reformation 