Skip to main content

Upcoming Events

Every other Sunday evening

Alan hosts a weekly online discussion group about Contemplative Spirituality.  The attendees include a diverse group of individuals of all ages.  Weekly discussions have included Christian tradition, mission, poetry, laughter, Merton, spiritual friendship, and much more!

November 6, 2021
|
lan will be leading an event entitled:  "Thomas Merton’s Key to Grace for an Impossible World" along with author Sophfronia Scott at the Centering Space in Lakewood.


Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Alan will be speaking for Kendal at Home about "Spirituality, Well-Being and the Wholeness of Life".  In these troubled times, people seek to discover what Thomas Merton called our hidden wholeness. Our hidden wholeness links to our well-being and our well-being is rooted in spirituality. This session will examine a spiritual foundation that can frame a focus on human well-being that uncovers and develops our wholeness.  Click here to register for this event!  

Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Alan was invited by the National Tour Association to be a guest speaker at a convention called Travel Exchange, where members gather for business appointments, seminars, and networking opportunities. Alan will speak to the group about “Religion Destinations as Unique Travel: Journey, Pilgrimage and So Much More"


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I-Thou Relationships

Those of us who have read theology or, perhaps, those who are people of faith and are old enough might well recognize this title as a reminder of the late Jewish philosopher and theologian, Martin Buber.   I remember reading Buber’s book, I and Thou , when I was in college in the 1960s.   It was already a famous book by then.   I am not sure I fully understood it, but that would not be the last time I read it.   It has been a while since I looked at the book.             Buber came up in a conversation with a friend who asked if I had seen the recent article by David Brooks?   I had not seen it, but when I was told about it, I knew I would quickly locate and read that piece.   I very much like what Brooks decides to write about and what he contributes to societal conversation.   I wish more people read him and took him seriously.             Brooks’ article focused on the 2016 contentious election.   He provocatively suggests, “Read Buber, Not the Polls!”   I think Brooks puts

Spiritual Commitment

I was reading along in a very nice little book and hit these lines about commitment.   The author, Mitch Albom, uses the voice of one of the main characters of his nonfiction book about faith to reflect on commitment.   The voice belongs to Albom’s old rabbi of the Jewish synagogue where he went until his college days.   The old rabbi, Albert Lewis, says “the word ‘commitment’ has lost its meaning.”    The rabbi continues in a way that surely would have many people saying, “Amen!”   About commitment he says, “I’m old enough when it used to be a positive.   A committed person was someone to be admired.   He was loyal and steady.   Now a commitment is something you avoid.   You don’t want to tie yourself down.”   I also think I am old enough to know that commitment was usually a positive word.   I can think of a range of situations in which commitment would have been seen to be positive.   For example, growing up was full of sports for me.   Commitment would have been presupposed t

Inward Journey and Outward Pilgrimage

There are so many different ways to think about the spiritual life.   And of course, in our country there are so many different variations of religious experiences.   There are liberals and conservatives.   There are fundamentalists and Pentecostals.   Besides the dizzying variety of Christian traditions, there are many different non-Christian traditions.   There are the major traditions, such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and so on.   There are the slightly more obscure traditions, such as Sikhism, Jainism, etc.   And then there are more fringe groups and, even, pseudo-religions.   There are defining doctrines and religious practices.   Some of these are specific to a particular tradition or a few traditions, such as the koan , which is used in Zen Buddhism for example.   Other defining doctrines or practices are common across the religious board.   Something like meditation would be a good example.   Christians meditate; Buddhists meditate.   And other groups practice this spiri