WEEKLY PODCAST | In Between.158

What do a plant and a daily spiritual practice have in common?

(This is not a joke.)

They both heal from the inside.

This Sunday, in two different contexts, Bill and I will talk about “a daily spiritual practice” and its capacity to heal the self and the world. Using the Threefold Way as a context, I am talking about healing from the inside out. Bonaventure, considered the second founder of the Franciscan order, wrote about how one might come to know union with the divine. All the major spiritual traditions have a path of spiritual awakening whose aim is union, and each path incorporates practice. Practice helps us form habits, and habits ultimately change our behavior. Further, what we cultivate on the inside gets reflected on the outside.

Come see us this Sunday! Bill preaches in both services, and Holly will teach Ordinary Life. Until then, notice your habits and whether they are cultivating self-love and healing or self-judgment and harm. Just notice, for this is the first step toward healing.

SUNDAY LECTURE | Dialogue with The Rev. Melinda Owens

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary of Ordinary Life for April 21, 2024

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Dear Ones -

There is no text of Ordinary Life this week. The reason is that the class time was spent with a dialogue between me and the Rev. Melinda Owens. Melinda is the minister in charge of pastoral care for St. Paul’s and ever since she has been here, the two of us have had a special and playful connection. I wanted to introduce her to the folks of Ordinary Life and vice versa. I used ideas I stole from James Lipton and Stephen Colbert to fashion a series of questions to ask Melinda - some silly and some serious. We had a great time. I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you to listen or watch the time we had together.

In my opinion the ministry of pastoral care for a church like St. Paul’s, large and not a parish church, is the most challenging work of the church. I ended the time by saying what I will say here, it is an absolute privilege to get to be in and alongside Melinda in working for St. Paul’s.

Next Sunday, Dr. Holly Hudley will be teaching Ordinary Life as I will be giving the sermon in both services that Sunday. The following Sunday our senior pastor, Dr. Jeff McDonald, will be holding a “town hall” meeting about his time at General Conference.

That’s a brief summary of this week’s time in Ordinary Life.

Our podcast, “In Between,” can be accessed through the Ordinary Life web site.

If you would like to know how to make a contribution to Ordinary Life, click here for video instructions.

Be well and much love,

Bill Kerley

In order to view or download the announcement slides, click here.

To listen to or download today’s talk, use the audio player below.

To watch the video, use the YouTube player link below.

WEEKLY PODCAST | In Between.157

It’s been a minute since we recorded a podcast! As I begin my work as a spiritual director, I have found myself saying on numerous occasions, “Have you considered adopting a daily spiritual practice?” Does that sound like anyone else we know?

And…it has helped me enormously over the years. It’s one of those things that you don’t realize is working until you experience that it is working. For a long time, I didn’t think I was “doing it right.” Now, however, I see that there is no right way, only the experience of becoming a kind of inner observer. Now, I can see the thoughts, feel the feelings, have the experiences (even unpleasant), and offer more compassion to myself and others. I have a greater sense of play. As a result of practice, I experience more delight in Ordinary Life.

Three elements of an expansive daily practice incorporate intention, attention, and attitude. The practice remains anemic if our attitude isn’t toward openness and awakening.

What about you? If you have cultivated a practice, what do you notice?

Post Scripts: 1) Bill recommends this movie, “The Zone of Interest.” It is about what happens when we don’t pay attention. I watched it, and oof. It’s terrifying without the violence.

2) A transcript of the Mary Oliver poem, “Mindful.”

Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for –
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world –
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant –
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these –
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

The Untrimmable Light

SUNDAY LECTURE | Finding Roses Among Thorns

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary of Ordinary Life for April 14, 2024

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Dear Ones -

I called what I offered in Ordinary Life this week -

Finding Roses Among The Thorns

It is an attempt to offer a theology of resilience and hope for this prickly time. In the talk I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the New York Times bestseller, “The False White Gospel” by Jim Wallis. One goal for the talk is that we might in these disturbing times also be disturbed by joy, hope, and possibility. The evil of Christian Fundamentalism is that it claims to know “what happened” and to have “the truth.” Jesus expressed “authentic existence” and “the courage to be.” We could have no finer goal for the living of our lives. Thich Nhat Hanh said that any time any place we live as Jesus taught, Jesus’ spirit and energy continue in the world.

In the talk I reference a magic effect that I did at the beginning of the class. You will have to view the video of the time to appreciate that.

That’s a brief summary of this week’s time in Ordinary Life.

The audio version of the talk has some differences from the text I spoke from. You can find the text of the talk, the presentation slides and the audio version of the talk using the links below.

Our podcast, “In Between,” can be accessed through the Ordinary Life web site.

If you would like to know how to make a contribution to Ordinary Life, click here for video instructions.

Be well and much love,

Bill Kerley

In order to read or download the text version of the talk, click here.

In order to view or download the presentation slides, click here.

In order to view or download the announcement slides, click here.

To listen to or download the audio recording of today’s talk, use the audio player below.

To watch the video recording of today’s talk, use the YouTube link below.