by Bill Haley | Jun 4, 2020 | Justice and Mercy
We gathered to seek God’s will. We gathered to discern. We were black and white Christians, about 15 of us, from Orlando, D.C., Richmond, Minneapolis, and Atlanta, from churches, non-profits, foundations, and the government. We met at a small farm in Virginia’s...
by Bill Haley | Jun 2, 2020 | Justice and Mercy
I’m writing to invite you to a virtually-offered “Lament for Racial Injustice” from the Corhaven Graveyard on Juneteenth (June 19), considered the Independence Day for African Americans since 1865. We will have brief reflections on the current state of race...
by Bill Haley | May 21, 2020 | Church Unity, Contemplative Life, Creation
This was originally delivered as a sermon at Washington Community Fellowship in the fall of 2010. In the season of autumn, we are often treated with stunning, breath-taking days of beauty. I cannot help but be reminded of the poem “God’s...
by Bill Haley | May 15, 2020 | Contemplative Life
Video Transcript Below: St. Paul offers this testimony. He bears this witness: “I have learned in whatever situation to be content. I know how to be brought low and how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and...
by Bill Haley | Apr 23, 2020 | Contemplative Life
The opportunity for a father and son to go fly fishing for a trout is always a good thing, but in this case, it was for so much more. My own dad had died not even five days before, in the season of COVID-19. While his death was not caused by this particular...
by Bill Haley | Apr 18, 2020 | Vocation
My dad, Charles William Haley, went home to glory (and to God and to Mom) on April 15. It was not COVID-19 related, and he passed peacefully and painlessly, with my brother and sister able to be with him for his final breath. On the night my dad died, my family...
by Bill Haley | Apr 16, 2020 | Contemplative Life
On April 16th, 2020, I had the opportunity to share 4 pillars of self-care for Christian leaders in a crisis with members of the Accord Network, an organization dedicated to unifying God’s people to serve the world’s poor with excellence. Please feel free...
by Bill Haley | Apr 9, 2020 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
In this “Simple Soundings,” Bill offers a brief Maundy Thursday reflection on how we might harness our anxieties to drive us to prayer and a deeper relationship with God.Explore Other “Simple Soundings”...
by Bill Haley | Apr 6, 2020 | Coracle News
Peace be with you, friends. One of my dear mentors, Gordon Cosby, would say, “In times of crisis, go deeper…” We are in a crisis, and I’m ready to go deeper and help you go deeper too. Last week I wrote to our staff and board, “I’m feeling energized by the...
by Bill Haley | Apr 1, 2020 | Contemplative Life
In this, our first “Simple Soundings” devotional of the 2020 pandemic, Bill Haley offers a stirring call to embrace God’s invitation to us in the midst of the difficulties of adjusting to pandemic life, specifically, living “sheltered in...
by Bill Haley | Mar 18, 2020 | Church Unity, Contemplative Life
This most recent coronavirus is not the first humankind has had to contend with, and it won’t be the last. This pandemic serves as a not-so-subtle reminder that indeed all things are fallen and frail including our bodies, our planet, and our systems and structures. ...
by Bill Haley | Mar 6, 2020 | Contemplative Life, Spiritual Direction
It’s been almost two weeks since the news broke about the founder of L’Arche, Jean Vanier, and it hit many of us very hard, myself very much included. Sadly It’s become a bit ordinary for revelations to come out about the deep misdoings of Christian leaders, but...
by Bill Haley | Feb 14, 2020 | Contemplative Life
It feels a crazy time. For me at the moment, it’s all too easy to be often distracted, perhaps even a bit disoriented. There are always the challenges of work and family, and yet right now there is the particularly disappointing and even depressing state of our...
by Bill Haley | Feb 11, 2020 | Coracle News
Alone, none of us will follow Jesus the way we most want to. And community forms us more deeply than most things. And small groups of Christians can do a lot more together for others. For all these reasons and more, I’m delighted to announce the formation of the...
by Bill Haley | Jan 17, 2020 | Contemplative Life, Justice and Mercy
This coming Sunday is “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday”, or “Pro-Life Sunday”, kicking off a week of events, rallies, and protests (and counter-protests) for Christians and churches around the country and particularly in Washington, DC. I’m grateful for these...
by Bill Haley | Jan 7, 2020 | Coracle News, Justice and Mercy
Happy New Year everyone! We just finished the Christmas season, and I’ll bet you heard those powerful words in “O Holy Night” more than once: “Truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and His gospel is peace / Chains shall He break for the slave is our...
by Bill Haley | Dec 18, 2019 | Coracle News, Pilgrimage
Friends, there are some very exciting things coming up in 2020, and I really hope you’ll join in some of it. I can promise you adventure, God, heartache, joy, depth, wonder, and watching God do stuff in you, around you, and through you. Here are some highlights...
by Bill Haley | Dec 5, 2019 | Church Unity, Liturgical Seasons
I love my parents, they did a great job with us four kids. They didn’t do it perfectly of course (what parent does?), but they loved us as best they knew how, and loved Jesus as best they knew how, and those two things cover a multitude of, well, things I’m sure they...
by Bill Haley | Nov 8, 2019 | Church Unity, For the World, Justice and Mercy, Pilgrimage
Coracle’s first pilgrimage to understand immigration issues and the forces that are driving tens of thousands of people northwards from Central America is now done. We flew from Washington DC to Guatemala, and then on through Mexico to Juarez and then El Paso,...
by Bill Haley | Oct 18, 2019 | Church Unity, Contemplative Life
For a long time my life has been formed and fed by the monastic tradition. It began by reading Henri Nouwen’s Genesee Diary in college, and it was that book that introduced me to monasteries, the Trappists, and spiritual direction. Since that time and over time God...
