Lent and Well-being: Re-filling the feeder

The Underworld By Sharon Bryan When I lived in the foothills birds flocked to the feeder: house finches, goldfinches, skyblue lazuli buntings, impeccably dressed chickadees, sparrows in work clothes, even hummingbirds fastforwarding through the trees. Some of them disappeared after a week, headed north, I thought, with the sun. But the first cool day they […]

Lent and Well-being: White space

No one can say I don’t pay attention to a good sermon. One of my favourites was delivered several years ago by the Reverend Canon Maureen Ryan–priest, writer, and poet. Her sermon, preached at Trinity College Chapel and now published in the chaplaincy journal Spiorad (Spring 2012 issue), was entitled ‘Lent as Poetry’. Since just […]

Lent and well-being: Paying attention

But slowing down is good for our souls, too. Barbara Brown Taylor, in her book An Altar in the World, describes the spiritual practice of paying attention as a way to cultivate reverence.

Lent and Well-being: One-minute meditation

Yesterday’s mention of the one-minute vacation led me to this video of the one-minute meditation.  Focusing on our breath not only slows us down, relaxes tensions, and improves circulation, but it also reminds us of God’s immanent presence. It reminds us that we are God-breathed, that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (or Wind […]

Lent and Well-being: Slowing down

Slow me down, Lord. Slow me down! Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind . . . Give me, amid the confusion of my day, the calmness of the everlasting hills.  Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in […]

Lent and Well-being: In the Garden

It’s Friday, and the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the clouds are puffy. Today is no day to be reading (or writing) long essays or reflections if you can help it. Instead, here are some links to voices and events that have caught my attention, especially as relates to our earthiness and […]

Lent and Well-being: Remember that you are connected

To remember that we are dust is to remember that we are connected. Connected to the ground beneath our feet, connected to our fellow dust-creatures, and connected to the God who put on dust to join us.

Lent and Well-being: Ash Wednesday

What if we extend this concept of death, and its correlative, life, to our Lenten discipline? What if we ask:

What’s life-reducing, life-distracting, life-sapping in our daily routines? And give that up.

And what’s life-nourishing, life-creating, life-sustaining that’s missing from our daily routines?

And take that up.

Lent and Well-being: Where the good way lies

This year in CMHI, we look at the theme of well-being in body, mind and spirit.   Beginning tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, we take advantage of the Lenten season to ‘stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for [our] souls.’ (Jeremiah 6.16)   Lent may have […]

Now Recruiting

The Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland wishes to appoint a part-time Ministry Facilitator to develop and grow the Healing Ministry.