“Howard Thurman was an American writer, teacher, philosopher, theologian, and civil rights leader whose radical nonviolence approach was influential to countless social justice movements. . . An author of over twenty books, Howard Thurman continues to be a major influence of contemplative practice and social justice.”
—Abbey of the Arts, Dancing Monk Feast Days: Reflections, Creative Invitations, and Prayers
What sustains or inspires your commitment to working for justice in the world?
I am thankful for Thurman’s presence in my life as a theologian and mentor. I am also grateful for his presence in the world of Christine Valters Paintner and the Abbey of the Arts 💖💚☘️
Verse of the day
Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made. So they are without excuse, for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless hearts were darkened.
– Romans 1:20-21
Voice of the day
I found that this promise of freedom is only as strong as those who chose to uphold it. The question is, will you rise to the occasion, or will you stand still as history passes you by?
– Opal Lee
Prayer of the day
Christ the Liberator, you know truth is healing as much as it is hard-won. Do not let us turn a blind eye to how much left there is to be done.
Verse of the day
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
– Matthew 12:50
Voice of the day
Joy is the mostly invisible, the underground union between us, you and me, which is, among other things, the great fact of our life and the lives of everyone and thing we love going away.
– Ross Gay, The Book of Delights: Essays(2019)
Prayer of the day
God who is perceived through relationships, challenge the boundaries between meaningful connections so we may embrace each other as kin.
Verse of the day
What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also.
– 1 Corinthians 14:15
Voice of the day
Now let your soul run the whole gamut of the wondrous scale / Until, responsive to the tonic chord, / It touches the diapason of God’s grand cathedral organ, / Filling earth for you with heavenly peace / And holy harmonies.
– James Weldon Johnson, “Deep in the Quiet Wood”
Prayer of the day
God of David, you cover the earth with music and melodies that call us higher. Fill our souls and minds with an enduring will to be better.
Jesus is the host who wants to gather us around the table, the Good Shepherd who invites his people to a table where the cup is overflowing (Ps. 23). This is not a stern, harsh Lord, but the lamb of God who says, “Come into my home.” We can read the whole Bible with this image in mind. God is continually inviting us to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our life (Ps. 27:4). The Lord wants to be our home. — A Spirituality of Homecoming
The Day Exhales (excerpt)
As the sky darkens,
a doorway opens into
another way of being.
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, What Enters Through the Open Heart: Poems
What is the threshold of day into night offering you?
Join us for a book launch celebration in October!
“We do not have to retreat to the desert or join a monastery to find this path of deepened intimacy with God. We each can choose this inner work of discerning what we hold onto and what we release at every season of our lives. We each have the choice to make.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, A Different Kind of Fast: Feeding Our True Hungers in Lent
What choices can you make to begin a path of deepened intimacy with God?
To register for the self-study companion retreat to the book with extra resources and guidance click here.
Peace is not a document that gets signed and then filed away. Peace is built day by day! And peace is crafted; it is the work of our hands; it is built up by the way we live our lives. — Against War: Building a Culture of Peace, p. 83
“There’s this beautiful connection between our own, creative fire and the fire of the Divine that burns within each one of us — that fire of compassion, the fire of kindness and love that we bring to the world.”
—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Sacred Rhythms of Sky, Sun, Sea & Stone: A Creative, Online, Self-Study Retreat with the Elements
How does the fire of the Divine burn within you? How does it intersect with your creative fire?
The spiritual life means that the Spirit of Love is given to us so that we can live with that Spirit within us. With that Spirit in us, we are able to recognize the same Spirit in the world. The Spirit blows where it wants, so the Spirit is everywhere. It’s in the people who are dying, people with AIDS, people who are broken, and people with disabilities.
To watch for Christ in the world is to see that the spirit within us recognizes the Spirit among us so that the spirit speaks to Spirit, heart speaks to Heart, love speaks to Love. To watch for Christ is to be attentive to the presence of Christ in the world and in our heart. It’s not a kind of emotional or intellectual gymnastics. If we carry God in our hearts, we see God in the world. — The Road to Peace
Pastor Michael Moore's Blog 