The Psalmist said that he had gone to church; he had praised God with great rejoicing; he has kept the holy days with devotion and sacrifice, and yet for all these things his soul was cast down within him, and he was puzzled and not a little ashamed. I presume that we too often must confess to ourselves if to no one else that even though we had gone to church and raised our voices in song an offered our prayer in the uttermost of devotion, yet somehow or other our soul was ca

Nature is both stable and orderly but also plastic and flexible, capable of entering new patterns and diversified combinations, as we see in the variety of structures and organisms of the geographical environment. But even these varied forms and products have not exhausted the possibilities and potentialities…On each level of organization different possibilities appear as constituent parts, by their interaction organize into new configurations in which the constituents behave

Dear Engaged Spirituality Family,   Our next Engaged Spirituality meeting will be Sunday January 25. We will discuss Section II of Diversity Without Dogma: Chapter 4: Institutional and Individual “Isms” Are All Too Often Real, Pages 65-69 Chapter 5: Accuracy About History: Denial Is Poison, Pages 71-143 Chapter 6: Accuracy About Privilege and the Playing Field, Pages 145-160 Chapter 7: Any Prejudice Begets More Prejudice, Pages 161-164 Chapter 8: Social Justice Is Spiritual,

(Originally published 01/02/2022)   Oh, I woke up this Morning with my mind stayed on freedom. I was walking and talking with my mind stayed on freedom. I was singing and praying with my mind stayed on freedom, Hallelu, Hallelu, Halleluia. I was stuck on freedom. I could not free myself from it. I was anchored in it, dedicated, committed to it. I just couldn’t let go of it. Halleluia! All praise to God, freedom. What a wonderful way to begin any day – in radical amazement as

There's a star in the east on Christmas morn Rise up shepherd and follow It'll lead to the place where the Savior born Rise up shepherd and follow Leave your ewes and leave your lambs Rise up shepherd and follow Leave your sheep and leave your rams Rise up shepherd and follow… Follow the Star of Bethlehem Rise up shepherd and follow If you take good heed to the Savior's words Rise up shepherd and follow You'll forget your flocks, You'll forget your herds Rise up shepherd and

A candle is a small thing. But one candle can light another. And as it gives its flame to the other, see how its own light…increases!   YOU ARE SUCH A LIGHT. Light is the power to dispel darkness. You have this power to move back the darkness in yourself and in others – with the birth of light created when one mind illuminates another, when one heart kindles another, when one person strengthens another. And its flame also enlarges within you as you pass it on.   The opening q

If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.   The opening quote is from Meister Eckhart, 13 th  century mystic. Highlighting this quote in a recent post, Gianluigi Gugliermetto cautions:    But let’s not trivialize his sentence. He meant that the essence of prayer is welcoming reality, living it not begrudgingly but fully. There is no need for elaborate petitions to God if one is present, attentive, and accepting. That is the only good ground for a true p

Deep River, my home is over Jordan, Deep River, Lord, I want to cross over into camp ground…   According to a monograph by Miles Fisher: QUAKERS in North Carolina bought numerous slaves and, through their Manumission Society, which was established on July 19, 1816, sent them to other countries. The North Carolina Yearly Meeting, co-operating in this work, reported on June 9, 1825, that their agents endeavored “collectively to confer with the people of color under Friends’ car

Dear Engaged Spirituality Family,   November 18 - Happy Birthday, Howard Thurman! Please join us for Engaged Spirituality on Sunday, November 23, 2025 at 10:30 AM-PT, 11:30 AM-MT, 12:30 PM-CT, 1:30 PM-ET. We will discuss Pages xi – 61 of the book (the introduction and Section One, which includes Chapters 1, 2, and 3) of Diversity Without Dogma written by our dear brother, Gilmore Crosby. Thank you so much, Gilmore! And thank you so much Gilmore and Rosemary for suggesting thi

I got shoes, you got shoes, All of God's children got shoes! When I get to Heaven gonna put on my shoes; I'm gonna walk all over God's Heaven, Heaven, Heaven. Everybody talkin' 'bout Heaven ain't goin' there, Heaven, Heaven; Gonna walk all over God's Heaven! I got a robe, you got a robe, All of God's children got a robe! When I get to Heaven gonna put on my robe; I'm gonna shout all over God's Heaven, Heaven, Heaven. Everybody talkin' 'bout Heaven ain't goin' there, Heaven, H

Speak the truth, without fear and without exception, and see everyone whose work is related to your purpose. You are in God’s work, so you need not fear man’s scorn. If they listen to your requests and grant them, you will be satisfied. If they reject them, then you must make their rejection your strength.     The opening words come from Mohandas Gandhi. In a letter to Muriel Lester, Gandhi was giving her advice on how to move forward in the struggle. I found these words in H

People ask me, “Why celebrate the Day of the Dead/Samhain  if you’re not Mexican or Celtic?” Because this time of year is not owned by one culture....it is a universal threshold, a moment when the veil between worlds grows thin and we are invited to remember that we, too, are part of the great web of life and death. Honoring the ancestors is an ancient practice found in every lineage on Earth. It reminds us that life moves in cycles, that endings are sacred, and that we a

But there is another and vaster possibility which has made itself manifest here and there during this fateful time: a deep spiritual awareness that one’s life is in vital touch with the Source of Being that holds and makes secure against all that destroys and lays waste.   The opening words are from Dr. Howard Thurman in his book, The Luminous Darkness. He is discussing what was happening during the Civil Rights Movement when people joined with others for protests and demonst

Dear Engaged Spirituality Family,   Sunday October 26, 2025 (10:30 AM-PT, 11:30 AM-MT, 12:30 PM-CT, 1:30 PM-ET) we will continue our discussion of the book Howard Thurman: Democracy & the Soul of America,  edited by Walter Fluker & Peter Eisenstadt, Pages 83-122. Thank you so much to Jonalu, Laurie, Gilmore and Melvin for suggesting this book! Pages 83-92 A Faith to Live By: Democracy and the Individual I Audio of this Sermon - https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/595 P

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The opening music comes from the African American experience…   Well mother don't you stop prayin' Father keep right on prayin' Don't you...

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Between 165 and 300 years ago, there was a Genesis. About 100 years ago, there was an Exodus. About 65 years ago there was a Gospel....

This is the great disclosure: that there is at the heart of life a Heart. When such an insight is possessed by the human spirit and...