Inspiration and resources for the journey, gathered from websites, books, and pass-alongs that have been shared with us. From The Wisdom Years – Spirituality for the Last Third of Our Lives.
Gathered Wisdom is taking a break for the next two weeks. We will be back on July 13 with more poetry, reflections, videos, and recommended online courses for you.
And if it’s true we are alone,
we are alone together
the way blades of grass
are alone, but exist as a field…
Alone as we are, our small voices
weave into the one big conversation.
Our actions are essential
to the one infinite story of what it is
to be alive.
-Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, ahundredfallingveils.com
Found in Well for the Journey, Daily Faith Reflection, June 29, 2021
Trusting Our Inner Authority
By Richard Rohr
From Center for Action and Contemplation
“Everyone has access to an inner experience of God, but we don’t always recognize those experiences for what they are,” says Richard Rohr. Scripture and tradition are usually our outer authority, but our experience leads to our inner authority. We need both, says Rohr, for true spiritual wisdom.
Read the reflection.
More from Center for Action and Contemplation.
Speaking the Language of God
By Br. James Koester
From Society of St John the Evangelist
Brother James confesses his inability to learn another language. In school, he recalls, every time he tried to learn French, or Greek, or Latin, he struggled all year to learn a few basics, scrape by with a pass at the end of the school year, and then forget everything over the summer. “I would start again from square one, once again, each Fall,” he says. So considering the Pentecost event, Brother James has realized the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost then, was not so much the gift of speaking foreign languages, but the gift of comprehension that resulted in unity and understanding.”
Read or listen to the sermon.
More from Society of St. John the Evangelist.
Loving-Kindness Meditation
From Joanna Seibert
Deacon Joanna Seibert offers a meditation that invites loving-kindness to ourselves and to others in our lives. The words are: “May I be peaceful. May I be happy. May I be safe.” Notice reactions to this meditation, says Joanna. “Accept what you are noticing. Be aware of thoughts, emotions, or responses to this meditation or to people you directed your meditation. This is the practice of mindfulness.”
Practice the meditation.
More from Joanna Seibert.
Revelations of 12 Living Artists
With Roger Housde
An e-course from Spirituality and Practice
Monday, July 12 – Friday, August 06
This one-month e-course from Spirituality and Practice will look at the work of 12 artists of various ages from around the world who are blurring the boundaries between art and social cultural action, art and everyday materials, and traditional and experimental art forms. The course will focus on how an artist’s paintings speak to our perceptions of self, beauty, vision, and meaning.
For more information and to register.
Letting Go – 2021
Letting Go – 2021
An e-course from Spirituality and Practice
July 12 – August 1
with Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
While our culture teaches us to acquire things, wisdom teachers emphasize letting go. By giving, releasing, and clearing out things, we open up new pathways for the Divine energies to enter and transform us. This e-course will include 21 daily emails with nuggets of spiritual wisdom and related exercises to help you practice letting go.
For more information and to register.
More from Spirituality and Practice.
Summer Online Retreats
From Trinity Church Wall Street
Retreats are free and open to all. There is no registration required.
Each retreat takes place over five half-hour sessions throughout the weekend on the Trinity Retreat Center Facebook page at these times EDT:
Friday: 8pm | Saturday: 10am, 2pm, 8pm | Sunday: 4pm
A Table in the Wilderness: Discovering God in Unexpected Places
with the Rev. Marcus George Halley, Episcopal Church of Connecticut
Friday, July 9–Sunday, July 11
This retreat includes contemplative practices such as lectio divina, a modified Ignatian Examen, and journaling.
For more information.
REAL Retreat: Cultivating Respectful Relationships, Excellence, Authenticity, and Love
with Dr. Sandra Montes, Union Theological Seminary
Friday, July 23–Sunday, July 25
Explore why respectful relationships, excellence, authenticity, and love are important for our spiritual growth and how they can help us live in community.
For more information.
Refuge and Resilience: An LGBTQ+ Retreat
with the Rev. Matt Welsch, Trinity Church Wall Street
Friday, August 6–Sunday, August 8
In this retreat, we’ll reflect on the idea of refuge and how we might draw on places of sanctuary to find strength and resilience in our unique, God-given identities.
For more information.
Returning To The World
The Being with the Divine Series
An online conversation with Paula D’Arcy
From Eremos
Thursday, Aug. 12
7:00pm – 8:30pm CDT
Our world will never go back to the way it was in early 2020. Many are exhausted and grieving losses, wondering where God or the Divine is as we continue to grapple with tremendous change. Paula invites us forward with our heart as our guide – taking the gifts of wisdom we’ve gained these past 18 months and leaving behind what no longer serves us.
For more information and registration link.
More about Eremos.
If you have something to add to Gathered Wisdom, send it to Marjorie George at
marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com
Gathered Wisdom is from The Wisdom Years, a ministry that invites older adults to deepening spirituality in the last third of their lives.
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