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Contemplative Connection Newsletter
Mid-May 2026
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The Art of Unknowing
James K.A. Smith writes, “the mystics also helped me to re-imagine faith. I experienced the failures of philosophy’s quest for certainty as unsettling, but the ugliness and violence of religious certitude caused me profound pain… I found new appreciation for Meister Eckhart’s prayer, “God, rid me of God.” The mystics helped me glimpse -and touch and sense-a God beyond “God.”
In this time of uncertainty and what Ken Wilber calls the post-truth world, I believe the contemplative path has something very powerful and life-giving to offer: the art of unknowing. The mystics have always known that certainty is unreliable, temporary, and at best only a partial piece of the truth. Today’s world is much different than any other generation before it. In the United States in particular, we no longer share a common value sphere, religion, or source of truth. In 1975, over 90% of Americans believed Walter Cronkite was the most trusted person in America, and more than half the country watched Cronkite live for major historical events and news stories. Could we even imagine the country putting so much trust in a single news source now?
We have diversified and for the better, allowing for more possibilities, creativity, emergence, truth, and beauty. However, there are growing pains in a diversifying and complexifying world. How do we know what to believe, who to trust, and how we know anything? Discomfort with uncertainty can breed fear, anxiety, and distrust. It can lead to otherization, hate, and even violence. But there is another way. The contemplative tradition and the mystics have long found a home in uncertainty. They have cultivated practices and rhythms that help us be with uncertainty, to let go, surrender, and find life abundant in how reality really is. The contemplative path can help us move through certainty into bigger truth and a more beautiful world, all the while revealing that we are accompanied by a loving, present, and tender God.
I invite you to join me as we explore uncertainty, contemplation, and unknowing together in our upcoming Contemplative Conversation Circles with the book Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark: Mysticism, Art, and the Path of Unknowing by JAMES K. A. SMITH
Quick Notes
No Sunday Afternoon Contemplative Conversations during Prairie, May 24th.
LAST CHANCE: New Contemplative Circles begin this month! Register here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RBKPPHK
98% of our budget comes from your generous donations and support. Consider donating or setting up a recurring donation to support our ongoing activities.
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Interested in the intersection of contemplation, unknowing, and art? Join us for our next: Contemplative Conversation Circles:
Small Groups Journeying, Learning, and Practicing Together via Zoom.
Reading: Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark: Mysticism, Art, and the Path of Unknowing by JAMES K. A. SMITH
A 6-week Study: Beginning May 20th/21st/23rd. We meet for one hour via Zoom.
“As a philosopher whose business is to know, James K. A. Smith invites us into a different way of being―the experience of unknowing. In Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark, Smith shares his unknowable childhood experience of abandonment by his father, and his gentle book teaches liberation found in the down-to-earth contemplative wisdom of the medieval masterpiece The Cloud of Unknowing and of many other sages. May we join Smith in being vulnerable, open, beloved by God, and filled with wonder and loving.”
― Carmen Acevedo Butcher, core faculty member at Center for Action and Contemplation, and award-winning translator of The Cloud of Unknowing
Groups (Central Time):
Wednesdays at 11:00am
Thursdays at 11:00am
Saturdays at 9:00am
About Contemplative Conversation Circles
In our groups, we create a safe, sacred container for conversation and practice as we journey together through books on contemplation, Christianity, and spiritual growth. Through shared ground rules and curiosity, we learn from each other, ourselves, and the text. Many participants stick with their groups for future studies and become ongoing groups.
What Happens Next
All groups are hosted on The Contemplative Cathedral, an online platform that allows for sharing, discussion, access to Zoom links, and multi-model learning and engagement. You will receive an invitation to join the group in The Cathedral at least a week before we begin.
About the Book
A philosopher journeys back to the mystics to learn how to live with uncertainty in the twenty-first century
How do we live when we don’t know what to believe, or who to believe, or how we could even know? In this deeply felt book, philosopher James K. A. Smith explores how radical uncertainty can be liberating, opening us to another way of being. The pain of his own profound uncertainty led Smith to a surprising source for modern consolation: the mystical experiences of St. Teresa of Ávila, St. John of the Cross, and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing. These mystics testify to a deeper truth beneath distraction, anxiety, and fear: love.
Drawing on ancient traditions of contemplation as well as on contemporary novels, poetry, film, and paintings, Smith speaks to the fundamental yearnings that persist in late modernity, including the philosophical quest for knowledge and certainty. He shows us how the gifts of the Christian contemplative tradition and the riches of creative works embody a liberating spirituality that recovers the fullness of being human.
In bringing a philosopher’s questions to the mystics, Smith brings a mystical heart back to philosophy.
About the Author
James K. A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University. He is the award-winning author of numerous books, including You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit and On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts. He lives in Grand Rapids, MI. His popular writing has appeared in magazines such as Christianity Today, Christian Century, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, as well as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.
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Next Meeting: Sunday, May 24th at 1:00pm
Join us for our monthly celebration on the prairie with drumming, short reading reflections, meditation, and a mindfulness walk through the majestic trails of Pioneers Park. Those who don’t wish to walk may sit on the Nature Center deck that faces a beautiful prairie and buffalo. We often close with a drumming circle (no experience required).
We will meet inside the auditorium at the Nature Center. During colder months, we will meet for one hour and have a shorter walking time. In the warmer months, we will meet for 75 minutes and often meet on the back deck, weather permitting.
Bring a chair, a water bottle, and a drum. Some drums will be provided.
Nature Center and Deck are wheelchair accessible.
Location
The Nature Center at Pioneers Park
3201 S. Coddington Ave
South Coddington- Lincoln, NE 68522
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Sunday, May 24 at 1:00 PM CDT
Prairie Church
Join us for our monthly celebration on the prairie with a short reading reflection, meditation, and a mindfulness walk through the majestic trails of Pioneers Park. Those who don’t wish to walk may sit on the Nature Center deck that faces a beautiful prairie and buffalo. We sometimes close with a drumming circle (no experience required). We will...
RSVP
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On The Cathedral
RSVP on The Contemplative Cathedral to receive links, reminders, and updates. The Contemplative Cathedral also connects you to the larger community and ongoing conversation.
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Monday, May 11 at 9:15 AM CDT
Lectio Divina
Join us as Pastor John Duling leads us in Lectio Divina often referred to as praying the scriptures. We read a small scripture several times with brief periods of silent reflection closing with a time of sharing.
RSVP
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Sunday, May 10 at 11:00 AM CDT
Sunday Gathering
Gathering to Grow: A Contemplative Sunday Gathering Simple-Contemplative-Communal Join us online for our Sunday Gathering where we practice, worship, process, and close with Communion. We meet for an hour to 75 minutes via Zoom.
RSVP
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Sunday, May 17 at 12:15 PM CDT
Contemplative Conversations: Films, Videos, and Presentations
Join us for a time of contemplation and conversation centered around videos with insights from some of today's most influential theologians and contemplative teachers. Videos from The Work of the People and other sources include Richard Rohr, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Walter Brueggemann, Brene Brown, Barbara Brown Taylor, Barbara Holmes, Ilia Delio, and...
RSVP
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Tell Your Story & Support Contemplate Lincoln & The Contemplative Cathedral
Help us tell the story of our community by sharing your experience. We know one of the best ways to invite others into our community is through the stories of those who have benefited from Contemplate Lincoln and The Contemplative Cathedral.
Excerpts from your gifts of sharing will be used in social media posts and newsletters. If you have benefited from our contemplative community consider adding your story through the link below.
Many Thanks,
Adam
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The Contemplative Cathedral
A Space to Deepen Your Spiritual Life
Join us online for contemplation and community. So many of us on the contemplative path eventually get to the point where we can go no further alone. The Contemplative Cathedral is a response to the inner yearning of many contemplatives for community. It looks a little like other social media platforms, but it is so much more. It's a space to conspire, connect, and contemplate, and our online home for all of our event info (both online & in-person), links, and groups. It also serves as a way to stay connected in between events.
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Meeting Links
Below are the Zoom links to events (Central Time Zone)
Sign up on The Contemplative Cathedral to receive alerts, and reminders, and be part of the ongoing conversation.
Lectio Divina - Mondays at 9:15am: Link
Sunday Gatherings - Sunday’s at 11:00am: Link
Contemplative Conversations - Sundays at 12:15pm: Link
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