by Kristy Wallace Grant | Dec 20, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. He shows...
by Bill Haley | Dec 16, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons, Vocation
In the early 2000s, in the dead of winter, Tara and I spent several weeks in eastern Romania, serving street kids there and those who work with them. While we were there, we attended an Orthodox Church, which architecturally and visually was similar to every other...
by Bill Haley | Dec 14, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
Tis the season for Advent and Christmas Carols, and as much as the tunes themselves, even more so I’m deeply inspired by the words of them. At the core of the songs are poems. In her recent New York Times column, Anglican priest Tish Warren Harrison explores...
by Coracle | Dec 8, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
In this “Space for God: Advent,” Susan Ward guides us through a time combining the practices of lectio divina and visio divina to draw us into the story of the Annunciation to Mary in Luke 1. Through repeated scripture readings accompanied by beautiful...
by Coracle | Dec 1, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
In this “Space for God,” Debra Donnelly-Barton (Coracle Spiritual Director) guides us through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercise of Imaginative Gospel Reading. She helps us encounter with all of our senses the story of Jesus with Mary and Martha from Luke 10 as a way...
by Ken Wettig | Apr 12, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
Did Jesus “hear God” during his last days on Earth? There are only two times in the synoptic Gospels when the audible voice of God is heard and recorded—Jesus’ Baptism and the Mount of Transfiguration. It is worth noting that both times the Father’s voice says...
by Bill Haley | Apr 12, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
In this “Space for God,” Rev. Bill Haley guides us in a slow walk through the different Gospel accounts of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. We get a powerful and humbling look at Jesus’ deep humanity on display that night, and Bill offers prompts...
by Drew Masterson | Apr 8, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
In this “Space for God,” Drew Masterson guides us through Malcolm Guite’s powerful series of 14 sonnets following Jesus from Pilate’s court, to the Cross, and into the tomb (from Guite’s book Sounding the Seasons). Drew invites us to...
by Amy Boucher Pye | Mar 29, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
In this “Space for God: Lent,” Amy Boucher Pye (Coracle Spiritual Director) guides us through a Gospel Imaginative Prayer exercise as Jesus makes a decisive turn towards the Cross in John’s Gospel. With Amy’s help, we are able to place...
by Coracle | Mar 24, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
In this “Space for God: BIBLE” reflection, Demetrius Summerville (of LIFT Orlando) guides us through Matthew 14 as a window into how we might make space for God even in the thick of swirling distractions—rampant injustice, constant interruptions,...
by Scott Buresh | Mar 21, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
What little I know of sheep, other than that they are incredibly cute and wooly, is that they are not very bright and easily wander into trouble and danger. Thankfully, we also know God loves sheep, and He loves shepherds. Psalms 95:7 and 100:3 proclaim He is our...
by Danny Nasry | Mar 9, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
In this “Space for God: Lent,” Danny Nasry (Coracle Community Minister) reflects on the reality of desert experiences, both in Scripture and in our lives. The desert can be a painful, stark, challenging place, but it can also be a place of great beauty...
by Danny Nasry | Mar 2, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”If you attend a church that observes Ash Wednesday, a pastor or priest will murmur these words to you soon before anointing your head with a cross of ashes. It’s a profound and tangible reminder of the...
by Drew Masterson | Jan 11, 2022 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
It might have been just someone else’s story…A sweet memory of last year was the chance to gather with some of you a few times to watch through and reflect on Season 1 of the acclaimed TV series, The Chosen. There are many things that make the series worth watching...
by Coracle | Dec 21, 2021 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
In this “Space for God: Advent,” Rev. Skip Ryan draws us into the life-changing, creation-blessing mystery of the Incarnation. He highlights the unique and even scandalous claim that God became flesh in Jesus and shows how that reality invites us...
by Ken Wettig | Dec 21, 2021 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
“It was not a silent night.” I still remember the moment I first heard those words. I was at a fundraising concert for a local non-profit and a young female singer-songwriter with a voice like glass opened her set with those words from Andrew Peterson’s song “Labor...
by Bill Haley | Dec 15, 2021 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
In this “Space for God: Advent,” Bill Haley (Coracle Executive Director) guides us through an encounter with the beauty of Advent music. Specifically, he focuses our attention on the expressive power and range of the cello as we journey through familiar...
by Danny Nasry | Dec 14, 2021 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
“Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life.” –Simone Weil I’ve been sitting with the above quotation in this Advent season. “Waiting patiently in expectation.” It’s so simple and accessible, and yet what could be more difficult...
by Coracle | Dec 9, 2021 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
In this “Space for God: BIBLE” study, Dr. Vincent Bacote (Professor and Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College) invites us into a close look at Hebrews 1 during the Advent season. Dr. Bacote unpacks how this chapter exalts...
by Scott Buresh | Dec 7, 2021 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
I carry many magical childhood memories of anticipating Christmas. As I’ve grown older, married, had children of my own, and now grandchildren, my wonder has only increased. I resonate with Mary’s pondering what is impossible for her to comprehend, that she would be...
