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

Imagine opening a series of Russian babushka or “grandmother” dolls, in which each successive doll emerges much larger than all of the...

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

First published on January 5, 2025 From Rev. Dr. Benton: I was moved to share this sermon from Dr. Dorsey Blake today, because I was...

The Door of No Return  Renamed: The Door of Return in Ghana    This has been a week…a month…a year. A year of pain and horror…of...

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...

Hey! Lean to hear my feeble voice. At the center of the sacred hoop You have said that I should make the tree to bloom. With tears...

Dear Engaged Spirituality Family, Please join us for Engaged Spirituality on Sunday September 28, 2025 at 10:30 AM-PT, 11:30 AM-MT, 12:30...

This week's message is from the archives of sermons and reflections by the late Rev. Dr. Dorsey Blake, originally published July 16,...

The opening video was filmed at an event I attended in Los Angeles last year. An audience member confronted Gabor Maté about his...

I affirm my need for a growing understanding of all people as children of God, and I seek after a vital experience of God as revealed in...

Dear Engaged Spirituality Family, Please join us for Engaged Spirituality on Sunday August 24, 2025 at 10:30 AM-PT, 11:30 AM-MT, 12:30...