Journal

Tag: Reflections

Blizzard Preparations and a Celtic Lent

With the storm coming, it’s natural to think about seasonal preparation.  The news is crowded with images of hardware stores sold out of shovels and salt, and empty grocery store shelves where milk and bread used to be. No one wants to be caught in a storm unprepared....

A Good Man, A Good Life, A Good Death

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...
And He Came

And He Came

Almost 20 years ago, I had three weeks in between graduating from college and heading off to seminary.   And one of those weeks I spent with my dad, canoeing the chain of 10,000 lakes in the vast, wild, and absolutely unpeopled Boundary Waters between Minnesota and...

Why I Went to Israel and Palestine

The following post was originally posted on here by Yonce Shelton (Spiritual Director with Coracle). In February, I joined 13 others on a pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine led by the Telos Group, which seeks to change how American Christians understand conflict in...

It Spreads for Thee

It Spreads for Thee by Bill Haley Dark and warmly damp waits the wood While white mist hovers thick with scent. Solace and solitude kiss Give rise to strength and rebirth To dance again. Hidden ‘tween the trunks of trees Protected lies the slitted door, Veiled in the...

Come and See

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...

First Summer Field Education Reflection

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;...

A Transforming Internship

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...

Our Deepest Essence…a double entendre

Since the first centuries of the Christian church until now, across the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant spectrum, noteworthy leaders have made the same assertion, and it is a bold one. In the 2nd century, St. Irenaeus said it: ‘Through his transcendent love, our...

The Heart of our Spiritual Journey

by Kit Elmer God has had me on a journey of desire. He reminded me recently of the story of Bartimaeus. He is a blind man begging along the streets of Jericho.  When Jesus comes along  he shouts “Jesus son of David have mercy on me!” Everyone is telling him to be...
Tragedy and Grief

Tragedy and Grief

There is nothing that can replace the absence of someone dear to us, and one should not even attempt to do so. One must simply hold out and endure it. At first that sounds very hard, but at the same time it is also a great comfort. For to the extent the emptiness...

Don’t Just Knit

The following post was originally posted on this site by Yonce Shelton (Spiritual Director with Coracle). “The Scream” is a well known painting by Edvard Munch.  Whether you think it scary, unnerving, confusing or something else, it presents an element of real life....

“Creation Care as Spiritual Formation”

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...

Gabriel’s Next Vocation

In early August, I accepted a full time position as Pastor of Youth and Young Families at Montezuma Church of the Brethren in Dayton, VA.  Beginning on September 15 I will be working full time at the church, and will be part time at school finishing my MDiV.  This is...
This Summer I Prayed the Examen

This Summer I Prayed the Examen

Here is a post by a friend of ours about a reflective prayer practice called the Examen Prayer.  It is a powerful way to recognize God in our everyday activities. This Summer I Prayed the Examen by Abby Deatherage This summer, by happenstance and friends-of-friends...