Contemplate Lincoln & The Contemplative Cathedral

Contemplative Connection Mid-Month Newsletter July 2026 Summer is in full swing and it, like all seasons, has plenty to teach us. Creation is brimming with the Word and Love of God. When I was the stream, when I was the forest, when I was still the field when I was every hoof, foot, fin and wing, when I was the sky itself, no one ever asked me did I have a purpose, no one ever wondered was there anything I might need, for there was nothing I could not love. It was when I left all we once were...

Contemplate Lincoln Newsletter July 2026 Balcony Time You may have noticed our schedule this summer is a little lighter than usual. While Sunday gatherings continue, our weekday activities are on break from July through much of August so that I can have some much-needed balcony time. Balcony time is a concept I recently encountered from a fellow contemplative community creator. It's the practice of stepping back from the dance floor to observe from the balcony for a wider perspective. As...

Contemplative ConnectionMid-Month Newsletter June 15th, 2026 Pause and Remember Remembrance is a powerful spiritual practice for me. The journey is full of gifts and lessons. It is easy to forget because the journey keeps going, life keeps moving. So it's important for me to take time to remember the little graces, mentors, lessons, and transformations, or I forget. Remembrance cultivates gratitude and helps me metabolize and embody the many nutrients of wisdom that God provides through my...

Contemplate Lincoln Newsletter June 2026 Re-member Last month, 3CN (The Contemplative Community Creators Network) had its 5th annual retreat. We gathered for 6 days in beautiful Bozeman, Montana. Joselyn and I founded 3CN 5 years ago out of a desire to connect and network with others building a contemplative community. The network now stands at 23 members and is growing. It has been a tremendous resource and support for me. This year's retreat was a little smaller than past retreats, but it...

Contemplative Connection Newsletter Mid-May 2026 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...

Contemplative Connection Newsletter May 2026 May The Peace of the Earth Be With You (Lyrics) The peace of the earth be with you, The peace of the heavens too; The peace of the rivers be with you, The peace of the oceans too. Deep peace falling over you; God’s peace growing in you. Welcome to May. As I started to reflect on this month's Newsletter, it occurred to me how many blessings start with the word “may”, and many prayers too. May is a special month for me as it is the peak of Spring and...

Contemplative Connection Newsletter April 15th, 2026 THE PEACE OF PRAIRIES By Grace Dickinson To heal my spirit's ill there seemed no cure; With diligence I searched from pole to pole And grew accustomed to the lapping lure Of water tugging at a weathered bole. For I have climbed where mountain ranges run Across and up and down like cacti spines; I know her inland seas and desert sun, Have slept and wakened under giant pines. Still haunted with unrest I roamed the earth In search of that for...

Contemplate Lincoln April 2026 Newsletter Holy Week is Here. The lectionary Gospel stories of Lent and Holy Week take us through Jesus’ ministry from the wilderness to the grave and finally to his resurrection. The stories teach us about Jesus, yes, but as Fr. Richard Rohr often reminds us they also teach us about God, the spiritual journey, ourselves, and humanity. Thus there are different ways we can read the stories: reflecting on what it means for us, for the collective, for the journey,...

Contemplative Connection March 2026 Mid-Month Newsletter There is mystery here, in the shapes of grass, in the dim movements of an inland sea, connections to an earlier time. Wander barefoot, hypothesize the dance of millennia, the unbearable carvings of the built environment, this ragtag escape. Let its divine simplicity ooze into your pores. Comb the steel from your hair, blanket your tongue with orange. Your breathing will slow. Breathing slow, unbutton the child within. Give her...