At the Intersection of Contemplative Practice, Poetic Imagination, and Congregational Ministry
Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, Year B 2018 January 7, 2018 How far is he going to go? Sermon #1 in “The Experimental Series” When I was a child, we would often spend two weeks each Summer at the beach. My mother and sister are sun worshipers, my dad liked time away... Continue Reading →
Fiat I vividly remember what it felt when Lisa was pregnant with Evelyn, and as we waited for her due date to draw near. The doctors told us that she was due on January 5, the Twelfth Day of Christmas and my sister’s birthday. As the days passed by, we took care of all the... Continue Reading →
The Call to a Contemplative Reformation, Essay #2 A Tale of Two Postures Grasping and Self-Emptying in Parish Ministry Stuart Higginbotham O God who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity,... Continue Reading →
Advent II, Year A Isaiah 40:1-11; St. Mark 1:1-8 December 10, 2017 On ashes, prophets, and the coming of Christ Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth: Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, that we may remember that it is... Continue Reading →
I am an "Advent and Lent" priest, someone who appreciates the more intense focus on prayer and practice offered by the liturgical seasons. We need invitations to step outside of our normal routines and see with fresh eyes, and our liturgical calendar gives us time and space to look at the mystery of Christ--and our... Continue Reading →
The Figure Eleven years ago something strange happened to me. I think of it especially this time of year as both Christmas and my daughter’s birthday draw near. I have only told a few folks about the encounter, but it has been enormously grounding for me for my daughter’s entire life. I cannot and... Continue Reading →
I learned the hard way that Isaac Newton was right about his First Law: “an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.” I still say, some twelve years later, that it wasn’t my fault. The man didn’t give proper instructions. My wife still says he thought I had... Continue Reading →
One of the more interesting lies that my family told me as a child back in Arkansas was that the ghost of a twelve-foot tall headless woman haunted the woods around my grandparents’ house. She was known as “Tall Betty,” and there was a warped ritual that we did at night to call her spirit... Continue Reading →
Click below for the introductory video for the Circles of Conversation at Grace Episcopal Church. This "project" seeks to invite people into intentional conversations around three elements in understanding our experience of God: awareness, transformation, and desire. https://www.facebook.com/stuart.c.higginbotham/videos/10155837035023879/
The Moreness of Things Perhaps I need to apologize this morning…in working on this sermon, it seems all I have to offer are snippets and glimpses of my own struggle in what I have encountered—what has encountered me—these past couple weeks… Looking toward this Feast of All Saints’ in the midst of the swirl... Continue Reading →
Thoughts on a Contemplative Reformation 