Whether we are ready or not, the Christmas season is upon us. Even before the last “trick or treat” was pronounced at my front doors, stores were gearing up with

The spiritual discipline of prayer and contemplation relies heavily on the practice of silence. One of the highlights of my life was participating in a one-day silent retreat at St.

“Immediately (Jesus) made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he

(an excerpt from The Way of the Heart, by Henri Nouwen) In order to understand the meaning of solitude, we must first unmask the ways in which the idea of

When I first started out in ministry someone shared the concept of silence and solitude with me as a spiritual discipline. I was both frightened and dreading it as if

At most of our Spiritual Life Development retreats, we will use liturgies that we’ve created as a means to guide our prayer time. These liturgies serve several purposes. They expose

Silence and solitude is a powerful thing. When one is able to truly center down and wait on and listen to the Holy Spirit’s speaking it brings an intimacy with

Have you ever had a moment while watching the morning news when you just become overwhelmed by all that is going on in the world? Earthquakes, monstrous storms, terrorist actions

In a quiet corner of Camp Allegheny, nature’s song accompanied by occasional cars, is joining different sounds from below the hill, arising from our Western Pennsylvania family, enjoying a late

In His book Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer looks at the close and dynamic relationship between the spiritual disciplines of community and being alone, in terms of intentionally seeking out silence

Silence and Solitude: two words that probably scare some people, but not me. At least not in the literal sense, that is. This past summer, I spent a week as

The phrase “by any means necessary” finds it origins in a 1948 French play “Dirty Hands” by Jean-Paul Sartre. It entered the popular civil rights culture through a speech given