“being a contemplative doesn’t mean that you escape society, or you escape the world, but that you find a place to anchor yourself firmly first of all, and then secondarily, take care of those things in the ways in which you need to take care of them.”
Tag Archives: Activism
Mysticism in the Streets: A Conversation with Dr. Leah Gunning Francis
I never want anybody to feel like if you can’t be in the street protesting then you’re not a quote-unquote true activist. No! Activism first starts in the heart. And when you determine in your heart, that what you are seeing in our world should not be, you cannot let it stand, then out of your heart can come the kinds of actions and activities and words that will help move the movement forward.
Fresh Courage: A Conversation with Dr. Lerita Coleman Brown
Dr. Lerita Coleman Brown has retired as Distinguished Professor Emerita of Psychology at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA. Now, in addition to her academic work, she has pursued a life in ministry, becoming a spiritual director and leading workshops and prayer groups promoting contemplative spiritual practices and the life and work of Howard Thurman. More than 25 years ago,Continue reading “Fresh Courage: A Conversation with Dr. Lerita Coleman Brown”
Embodied and Boundless: A Conversation with Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
So just developing that kind of silence and stillness helps to navigate the world navigate life, you’re actually honing and cultivating a way of walking in the jungle of life.
Patient Endurance: A Conversation with Sister Barbara Jean LaRochester
Sister Barbara Jean LaRochester is a Carmelite nun in Baltimore, where she’s been a Catholic sister since 1972. Previously, she spent 17 years in Philadelphia as an active nun working in a Catholic hospital and teaching on the weekends. She was also a board member of the National Black Sisters Conference and was active in theContinue reading “Patient Endurance: A Conversation with Sister Barbara Jean LaRochester”
We Are Interconnected: A Conversation with Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey
In her book Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology, Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey writes, “Black spirituality is deeper than-and can also be absent from-any relationship with the Church universal. Black spirituality, especially Black women’s spirituality, is connected to our very being.” In this episode of Contemplating Now, Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey shares about contemplation’s role in activism and asks, “What does protest mean for a scholar?”
New Podcast: Contemplating Now
NEW PODCAST ALERT 🚨 I’m Very excited to begin bringing you conversations with scholars, mystics, and activists, as we explore the undeniable intersection of contemplation + social justice. Contemplation has been a part of my life since I was a child taking long walks to pause and process. In 2011, after reading Thomas Merton’s NewContinue reading “New Podcast: Contemplating Now”
Sacramental Action
To what am I willing to be present and awake? What ills of society am I identifying with? How am I yielding to social action as sacramental?
The Absurd Vocation
“One person plus one typewriter constitutes a movement.” –Pauli Murray Coming off a week-long class on activism, organizing and social movements in Durham, North Carolina (and my first full year of seminary at CTS), I climb back into the quiet walls of a Kentucky monastery: Gethsemani Abbey. Here, the silence seeps into my bones likeContinue reading “The Absurd Vocation”
