by Abigail Whitehouse | May 20, 2023 | Contemplative Life
In this “Space for God” devotional, Rev. Abigail Whitehouse (Truro Anglican Church) guides us into the rich history of “Remembrance Stones.” Weaving together history, music, and spiritual practices, she helps us to see more clearly how the...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Jun 24, 2022 | Contemplative Life
In this “Space for God” reflection, Rev. Abigail Whitehouse guides us through a prayerful exercise to help us embrace our places of tenderness in order to more deeply encounter our God who wept. Those who sow in tears will reap in joy, and we hope this...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Aug 27, 2019 | Contemplative Life
My husband and I live on an Air Force base, and a few weeks ago, I went for an afternoon walk along the trail that circles the runway. I had just purchased a jogging stroller from my sister’s neighbor and wanted to give it a try, but the timing was terrible and the...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Apr 21, 2017 | Contemplative Life
Last week I spent my day off doing a deep spring cleaning. I swept the dirty corners of my room, dusted-off countertops and opened all the windows of my house to let the fresh air in; and once everything was back in its place – dusted, cleaned, polished and...
by Abigail Whitehouse | May 11, 2016 | Creation
Looking for books on creation care? Want a new app for the summer? I’d like to highlight a few creation care resources that have been recommended to me or that I’ve found to be useful. 1. Making Peace with the Land. I read this book with Tara last summer...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Mar 15, 2016 | Creation
I’ve been feeling restless recently. I chalked it up to the fact that it was my last semester of grad school and that I was juggling a demanding part-time job with school work and decisions about the future. That it was just this season and my circumstances –...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Feb 8, 2016 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
Lent is about making space for the resurrection by getting rid of that which impedes our relationship with Christ. At its most fundamental, this is sin –and therefore the Lenten invitation is, first and foremost, to repentance – to turn from our idolatry...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Nov 18, 2015 | Contemplative Life
I recently had the privilege of leading a small memorial service for my great aunt and uncle and shared these words below. I hope they minister to you, as they ministered to me and my family in our time of grief. I was reading scripture earlier this week and God led...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Nov 10, 2015 | Vocation
As part of Abigail’s internship, Duke asked her to collect answers to several questions about Coracle. Below are the questions and answers from the Coracle staff that reflect their thoughts on the ministry. Responses from Bill, Director of Coracle and Corhaven;...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Nov 4, 2015 | Contemplative Life
When Bill asked me to write about my experience as an intern this summer, I felt overwhelmed. How could I begin to put into words the gift that was my ten weeks at Corhaven? I can’t. However, I can tell you one thing and that is this: my internship at Corhaven...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Sep 8, 2015 | Creation
While I was interning with Coracle at Corhaven, Bill asked me to write about the connection between spiritual formation and creation care. And after a bit of thinking, and writing, I’ve come to this conclusion: that creation care is spiritual formation. End stop. When...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Sep 2, 2015 | Creation
Too often we might think of “creation care” as something that we can opt to do – something for people with a natural “green thumb,” a desire to garden or an environmentalist impulse. We can easily forget that creation care is both a mandate from God and a form of...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Aug 27, 2015 | Creation
Below is a list of articles (in quotations) and books (italicized) for those who are interested in learning more about creation care. -Abigail Hull On the theology behind Creation Care “Wendell Berry, the Christian Soul and Creation...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Aug 13, 2015 | Spiritual Direction
The goal of spiritual formation is what our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters like to call “theosis,” or union with God: Christ taking up residence so fully within us that, in the words of Paul, “it is no longer [we] who live but Christ who lives in [us]”...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Jul 20, 2015 | Contemplative Life
In a recent conversation with a friend, I mentioned “the false self.” I’m not sure the context of our conversation or why I used the phrase, but my friend quickly responded back, “yeah – that’s it! I’ve heard that phrase before. In fact, my counselor just mentioned...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Jul 2, 2015 | Contemplative Life
In Psalm 21:4, it says that David “asked life” from God and God “gave it to him – length of days forever and ever,” as the New King James renders it. When I read those words last week, I was struck by David’s request. He wanted...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Jun 25, 2015 | Creation
Tara and I cleaned out the chicken coop this week – and by “cleaned out,” I mean deep-cleaned, the kind of cleaning you do once a year with brushes that scour and lots of bleach. In this case, we didn’t use bleach because a batch of fifteen new baby chicks is on its...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Jun 10, 2015 | Contemplative Life
In his book Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality, David Benner argues that surrendering to Divine Love is the key to spiritual growth and genuine transformation. In fact, Benner goes so far as to say that “the deepest need for all human...
by Abigail Whitehouse | Jun 5, 2015 | Contemplative Life
I recently listened to an interview with Jean Vanier, the founder of the L’Arche communities, and was struck by a particular question he posed. He asked: “How can we welcome fully the weakness of another if we haven’t welcomed our own weakness?” The question...
by Abigail Whitehouse | May 29, 2015 | Contemplative Life
“Singing Bowl” by Malcolm Guite Begin the song exactly where you are, Remain within the world of which you’re made. Call nothing common in the earth or air, Accept it all and let it be for good. Start with the very breath you breathe in now, This moment’s pulse, this...
