by Coracle | Feb 19, 2021 | Contemplative Life, Vocation
In this Digital Soundings Seminar, a wonderful panel of artists and storytellers discussed the role that beauty plays in the pursuit of wisdom. Specifically, they explore the ways in which we can orient ourselves so that we become better able to see beauty where we...
by Coracle | Feb 18, 2021 | Contemplative Life
In this “Space for God” devotional, Rev. Skip Ryan guides us into a fresh encounter with the Beatitudes as a way of cultivating the right headspace and heart space for Lent. We hope you’ll find somewhere comfy, grab a Bible, open it up to Matthew 5,...
by Karla Petty | Feb 17, 2021 | Pilgrimage
While 2020 was a year of expansion and exploration for Coracle in so many ways, most of them involved computer screens and new features on Zoom instead of hiking boots and maps and forays into foreign lands. In the past, we have encountered Israel/Palestine, walked...
by Mary Gardner | Feb 16, 2021 | Contemplative Life
In this pithy review, Rev. Mary Gardner offers a compelling review of acclaimed artist and Christian thinker Makoto Fujimura’s newest book, “Art + Faith: A Theology of Making.” You can get your own copy of Mako’s wonderful book HERE....
by Danny Nasry | Feb 12, 2021 | Contemplative Life
In this “Simple Soundings” Devotional, Danny Nasry (Coracle Community Minister) shares a variety of ways Christians have interpreted “the image of God” and how these different conceptions might be reshaped if we used the lives of those with...
by Coracle | Feb 11, 2021 | Contemplative Life
In this Collection, we will be assembling reflections, devotionals, and other resources intended 1) to help us grow in our ability to behold the beauty always around us, and 2) to offer opportunities for direct encounters with beauty– whether through art, creation, or...
by Coracle | Feb 9, 2021 | Contemplative Life
In this “Space for God” devotional, Rev. Bill Haley also makes space for beauty. In particular, he invites us into a contemplative stroll through music, poetry, and natural beauty woven together by the theme of Winter. We hope it is a blessing and a...
by Bill Haley | Feb 5, 2021 | Contemplative Life
“These times are riven with anxiety and uncertainty, given the current global crisis… At first, it sounds completely naive to suggest that now might be time to invoke and awaken beauty. Yet this is exactly [my] claim…” John O’Donohue, 2004“Every good gift and every...
by Coracle | Feb 4, 2021 | Coracle News
Blaise Pascal once wrote, “In difficult times carry something beautiful in your heart.” This seems vitally important as we all continue through difficult times brought on by the pandemic, political strife, and racial brokenness. In a boat, ballast is the weight...
by Bill Haley | Feb 4, 2021 | Contemplative Life
This essay was written after a 16-month trip around the world I was blessed to take in 1994. The lessons contained within are as true as ever, and I hope they are a blessing to you as they remain to me! We live in a world of wonders. We live in a world of jewels. ...
by Coracle | Feb 3, 2021 | Contemplative Life, Justice and Mercy
Following the tragic February 6th attack on the US Capitol, many of us have been having challenging, fraught, often-painful conversations about Christianity in America. In our families, in our churches, in our neighborhoods, and across the country, Christians are...
by Coracle | Feb 2, 2021 | Justice and Mercy
On Jan 30th, 2021, over 150 men and women from across the country tuned-in to this special time of teaching, learning, conversation, and prayer focused on how to equip ourselves for and step into the difficult but necessary work of racial reconciliation in our...
by Ken Wettig | Feb 2, 2021 | Contemplative Life
In this “Space for God” devotional, Rev. Ken Wettig (Coracle Community Minister for the Shenandoah Valley) guides us through a powerful, imaginative encounter with the baptism of Jesus and how that event can serve as an anchor to us in hard times. How...
by Bill Haley | Feb 1, 2021 | Coracle News, Justice and Mercy
“For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” Jesus, Luke 8.17 The Backstory In 2009, after 15 years living and ministering in the inner city, mostly in Washington DC, Tara and I received a...
by Mary Gardner | Jan 28, 2021 | Contemplative Life
In this “Space for God” devotional, Rev. Mary Amendolia Gardner introduces us to the life of Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, a renowned African-American artist from the turn of the 20th Century who faced many obstacles and tragedies throughout her long life, but...
by Karla Petty | Jan 27, 2021 | Contemplative Life
In the mid 1990’s, you may recall, “Magic Eye” optical illusion books swept the nation featuring graphics (autostereograms) that, if seen correctly, would reveal a 3D shape or picture. Not for lack of trying, those 3D images never appeared to me. I would sit and...
by Danny Nasry | Jan 26, 2021 | Contemplative Life
In this Simple Soundings devotional, Danny Nasry (Coracle Community Minister), leads us through an imaginative reflection on Exodus 3– the story of Moses and the unburnt bush. Drawing upon the Eastern Orthodox tradition, he shares how this iconic story invites us to...
by Rick Campanelli | Jan 25, 2021 | Contemplative Life
Luke 21: 16-19: “[S]ome of you they will even put to death… But not a hair on your head will perish.” Imagine going to a doctor and getting a diagnosis like this: “This may kill you. But you will be fine.” If you reported that diagnosis to others,...
by Coracle | Jan 19, 2021 | Coracle News
If you are feeling the weight of the recent weeks and would like a contemplative space to be with God, please join some of our Coracle Spiritual Directors for a time to Pray for Peace and Wholeness on Thursday, January 21, between 9:30 and 10:30 AM or between 7 and 8...
by Coracle | Jan 19, 2021 | Contemplative Life
by Anna Holowinsky It was the summer of 2016. I stumbled upon a creative community in Charlottesville, VA, and within that space, I met a friend named Richard. Richard was a word artist. I had never heard of word art before, but I knew after rubbing...
