by Rick Mastroianni | Apr 7, 2017 | Contemplative Life
A reflection on the “God Loves You. . . No, Really” retreat “’You are the Beloved’ – My only desire is to make these words reverberate in every corner of your being.” — Henri Nouwen, The Life of the Beloved The symptoms sounded all too familiar: anxiety,...
by Erin Clifford | Mar 27, 2017 | Contemplative Life
“Don’t the Bible say we must love everybody?” “O, the Bible! To be sure, it says a great many things; but then, nobody ever thinks of doing them.” — Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin Whether you are a new follower of Jesus, or have been one for many...
by Bill Haley | Mar 26, 2017 | Contemplative Life
“Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.” Neh. 5.19 Pray and Be Strange for God’s sake, your good, and others…and expect costly opposition A few years ago I had the opportunity to make my first trip to China, to Shanghai. Two things...
by Scott Buresh | Mar 17, 2017 | Contemplative Life
Fifteen years ago my wife Peggy and I had the incredible opportunity of spending two weeks with Dallas Willard and a community of brothers and sisters at the Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California. As that week progressed we were given...
by Karla Petty | Mar 9, 2017 | Contemplative Life
“Originality consists in returning to the origin.” – Antoni Gaudí I hadn’t heard of Antoni Gaudí before spring of 2004 when I first visited Barcelona, but you can’t miss him once you’re there. Of the many works this master architect designed, his pièce de...
by Coracle | Mar 8, 2017 | Contemplative Life
By: Joe Riffe I hate failing. It’s excruciating. This was true when I was young. I hated failing at school or at sports or high school attempts to be “cool.” Becoming an adult hasn’t changed that fact. My opportunities for failure have just changed. Now they are work,...
by Bill Haley | Mar 3, 2017 | Pilgrimage
The slum of Danaseri in Kathmandu, Nepal is a sacred place on par with the island of Iona in Scotland, St. Peter’s in Rome, Jerusalem, and Lourdes. Danaseri doesn’t look like much at the first glance. It looks like a place you wouldn’t want to go to or spend much time...
by Bill Haley | Mar 2, 2017 | Pilgrimage
To the American mind, the caste system is almost impossible to comprehend. Because of our Declaration of Independence it is engrained (though inconsistently applied) in our national psyche that ‘all men are created equal’. In Nepal because of Hinduism, this is not...
by Erin Clifford | Mar 1, 2017 | Contemplative Life
Thomas Merton said: “We are not converted only once in our lives but many times, and this endless series of large and small conversions, inner revolutions, leads to our transformation in Christ.” As a child, I was considered a Pollyanna in our family. A...
by Scott Buresh | Feb 23, 2017 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
This coming Wednesday, March 1, marks the beginning of the Lenten season this year. I used to think of Lent primarily as a somber time of suffering, self-denial, repentance. In other words a time for me to feel great sorrow which for me also meant guilt and shame over...
by Bill Haley | Feb 22, 2017 | For the World, Justice and Mercy
Bill’s talk on the current climate of race relations in America, some of its origins, and how Christians are uniquely positioned to respond to them, offered at the Soundings Seminar on Feb 1, 2017 at Restoration Anglican Church in Arlington, VA. Race in America...
by Coracle | Feb 21, 2017 | Justice and Mercy
For those who weren’t able to make it to the February 1 Soundings Seminar at Restoration Anglican Church in Arlington, VA, we have provided links below to a “video” (an audio-only recording of the entire evening set to still images from the evening)...
by Coracle | Feb 7, 2017 | Contemplative Life
Several years ago, my wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a getaway in southern Utah. Where we stayed, we were bordered by the Colorado River on one side, and on the other by the dramatic red sandstone structures that make up the landscape. One morning...
by Coracle | Jan 20, 2017 | Contemplative Life
By: Desiree Barker Coracle Spiritual Director, Northern Virginia I will begin by saying that I did not grow up keeping a diary or a journal. I had two younger sisters and writing down personal things in a diary was not a safe activity at our house! While in college, I...
by Coracle | Jan 17, 2017 | Contemplative Life
By: Heather Strube Coracle Spiritual Director Baltimore, MD “Friendship forms. Friendship is a much underestimated aspect of spirituality. It’s every bit as significant as prayer and fasting. Like the sacramental use of water and bread and wine, friendship...
by Coracle | Jan 13, 2017 | Contemplative Life
By: Giovanna Meek (Coracle Intern, Summer 2016) “Spiritual Formation” often gets a bad rap: considered some new age, non-Christ-centered effort or, alternatively, raised to the level of the most important aspect of a Christian’s life, but to be pursued in an...
by Coracle | Jan 10, 2017 | Contemplative Life
By: Yonce Shelton Coracle Spiritual Director December 2016 I believe because I go to the woods and am met. I go not to get away from, but to draw closer to. I go with desire. Or a question. Or the sense that I carry something. Or three words on a sticky note. I...
by Bill Haley | Dec 31, 2016 | Contemplative Life
On December 31, 2013, Bill Scherer, father to Tara and father-in-law to me, entered the larger Life. He was a founding board member of Coracle, and instrumental in enabling Corhaven to come into reality, among so many other things. Below is the homily that I...
by Bill Haley | Dec 19, 2016 | Contemplative Life
This Advent season, when I pause to reflect on the meaning of it and prepare for that feast day and celebration that is Christmas, my heart is filled with gratitude. It may seem rather simple to say, but I’m really grateful that God came. God came. It’s that simple,...
by Wade Ballou | Dec 13, 2016 | Contemplative Life, Liturgical Seasons
My first invitation to wonder about Jesus’ coming came when I was a boy, stealing away to my childhood living room and sitting alone among all the bright trimmings of the season. Without really knowing it was happening, the mystery of the season seeped into my soul....
