In a dry spell, a wintry time when writing was not flourishing and my Spiritual Companion work seemed stale, I went on an extended silent retreat. In the chapel there, in a stained-glass depiction of Christ as Healer, I met a green-winged angel. And in a healing faith imagination dialogue, the angel assured me that “Sap rises, even in old oaks.”

I returned to work on the writing project that had been calling me for several years. I knew it included encounters with lectio divina, labyrinth and listening, and I thought it was a book. But it wasn’t spiritual memoir, exactly, and there are already plenty of fine how-to books out there. I wrote bits and pieces, but it refused to settle into a book.

And finally I realized it didn’t need to be a book. I had a website, I had a blog on contemplative photography. Why not add a section of contemplative writing?

And what is contemplative writing? I am still writing my way into an answer to that. Like contemplative photography, it is a way of beholding, of paying attention, of opening myself to the many facets of a verse, a memory, a question, an insight, a dream image, a troublesome incident. It is a way of listening to the still, small voice within, of attempting to put into words encounters that cannot be put into words. It is a way of being present to holy, healing Presence.

From window in Ancilla Domini Chapel, Donaldson

Contemplative writing is one way I receive God's gift of life  – writing to remember more deeply, writing to clarity, writing that is prayer at the point of a pen. Much of that happens in non-daily journals or in essays. Some has been published elsewhere, much has not.

When sap rises in oak trees, it is time for releasing the leaves the tree has held all winter, so new leaves can form. My goal for this section is to release some of the writing I have been doing over the years, and to write my way into new reflections. This will happen slowly, over time, the way an oak tree grows.

For now, I am beginning with the branches and leaves -- clusters of writing in areas like Lectio Everywhere, Labyrinth Journeys, and Listen! 

Essays and resources on the spiritual practice of lectio divina with scripture, creation, and life
                         Coming soon!

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Essays and resources on the spiritual practice of walking labyrinth and its connection with our faith journey
                            Coming soon!

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Essays and resources on the invitation to listen with the ears of the heart, listening for the still, small voice within
                           Coming soon!

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Other writing:
 Handouts for group participants

Books: In Tune with God: the art of congregational discernment