Thoughts on a Contemplative Reformation
At the Intersection of Contemplative Practice and Congregational Ministry
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham The Fourth Sunday of Easter, 2021 I John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18 April 25, 2021 A Sabbatical Manifesto Today is the last Sunday before I begin my sabbatical this coming Thursday. I am very aware that sabbaticals are incredible privileges, and I am very aware that I really need one. I... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham The Second Sunday of Easter, Year B Acts 4:32-35; John 20:19-31 April 11, 2021 One Heart and Soul I think we should pay attention that the texts appointed for this day, the Second Sunday of Easter, focus our attention on the importance of sharing, something that many struggle with as... Continue Reading →
Gathering Stones Together Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’ (Luke 19:39-40) This year’s Easter sermon may be the strangest I have ever written, but given the times we are in, that... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Lent 5, Year B March 21, 2021 John 12:20-33 On a walk in the forest behind our house...a birds nest Prayer as Trust in the Spirit Today is the Fifth Sunday in Lent, and, as we look toward beginning Holy Week with Palm Sunday next Sunday, this is the last... Continue Reading →
Daddar and Evelyn on his back patio The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Lent 3, Year B (2021) Exodus 20:1-17; St. John 2:13-22 March 7, 2021 Prayer As Your Life This is the Third Sunday in Lent, as we continue in this series of reflections on how we practice our prayer. What I share today in... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Lent I, Year B 2021 Genesis 9:8-17; Mark 1:9-15 Prayer of the Wilderness There is a line from the film The English Patient that rings true for our conversation today, as we gather for prayers on this, the First Sunday in Lent. Today as well, we continue our reflection on... Continue Reading →
The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Ash Wednesday, 2021 February 17, 2021 Praying In and With Our Bodies What does it mean to pray? What is prayer? For something so ubiquitous, seemingly everywhere and so common in our lives, have we truly paused to reflect on just what we mean when we say “I am praying... Continue Reading →
Meme and Evelyn...still sitting in Meme's recliner Living Beyond the “Self”: Being All Things to All People The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Epiphany 5, Year B February 7, 2021 There may be two images that capture me as a young child. One is me tending the fire at the deer camp while others go hunting... Continue Reading →
For the present form of this world is passing away January 24, 2021 Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B The Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham Hear, again, a line from today’s lesson from First Corinthians: For the present form of this world is passing away. My first day as your rector was January 6, 2014,... Continue Reading →
Transfiguration No. 1 This morning, on a day in which Congress prepares to impeach Donald Trump for a second time, in a time in which my family struggles to make sense of the violence--and denial--we all experience, in an age when my heart can sense the enormous invitation to move into a space where we... Continue Reading →
