Henri Nouwen tells us that we don’t have to be anxious. Really we don’t.

In the final words of Revelation, writer Brian McLaren finds an invitation, and an imperative for us to join with the Holy. To Come!

As we celebrate Epiphany, it is appropriate to reflect on the real miracle of Christmas. God became fully human: a baby, small, vulnerable, destined to die a terrible death…and changed humanity forever.

Adam Russell Taylor’s new book A More Perfect Union invites us to revisit, reinvent the Beloved Community.

We need a time-out at Christmas. Consider using Oh Holy Night, one of our most popular carols, as the text for this short exercise in Lectio Divina.

When I was young, Advent was about finding neat presents in the calendar; now its about searching for the light amid the darkness.

Action and contemplation are not opposites. They need each other. Activists and people in high stress jobs—nurses, fire fighters, teachers, ministers—need both.

Conversion to Christianity is often seen as a single blinding insight, a moment. But what if it isn’t? What if we discover Christianity is participating in God’s work, learning as we go?

Who would think that children would be attracted to a fountain? Kids love our meditation garden water feature, and it is helping Claremont Presbyterian introduce itself to the community, just as we had hoped.

Even Britain’s Guardian newspaper endorses contemplation. This month, English Heritage is experimenting with ‘contemplation hour’ at some of the nation’s most historic sites.

Silence is costly, sometimes in dollars, always in the effort needed to obtain it. That’s why we practice meditation; to get better at silence.

It’s not why do the chickens cross the road, but how do they learn to cross.

Our new meditation and prayer garden was dedicated last Sunday in Leanne Bauman Kerchner’s memory. You are welcome to respond to its invitation to Rest here, Pray, Be at Peace.

My “joy” rock has gone missing from the new fountain at CPC. If you took it, I forgive you and hope it brings a smile to your day. Visit the meditation garden just north of the sanctuary. The rock may be gone, but joy remains.

The Claremont Presbyterian Church meditation garden is nearly finished. Here is your invitation to visit: rest, pray, and be at peace.

I have been struggling with the parable of the mustard seed. The conventional wisdom has been that great things grow from the smallest of seeds, but Fr. Thomas Keating offers another, much more radical, understanding of the passage in his Meditations on the Parables of Jesus. I invite you to struggle along with me.

Decades ago, a neighbor glanced at the stain glass window we had just bought and exclaimed, “You have the Holy Ghost in your dining room.” Indeed we did. The window and the image came to inform our theology.

For those of you are looking for inspiring images as objects of meditation—Visio Divina—I suggest a visit to the Claremont Museum of Art at the old train station in the Village. Ask yourself the question “what do you tell yourself in the face of diversity.” Preview some of the images in this post.

Every morning this week, I am leading CPC’s Morning Prayer. Many of the themes come from our experiences on Friday Morning meditation at 8 am, and you are welcome to join in on Friday or any other day. And here’s the secret: morning meditation is available at any time.

In addition to Lectio Divina, I’ve found it possible to meditate while swimming laps. Here, an introduction to the practice of Aqua Divina.