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Leading your fai

Hello, -

By the time you read this I'll be on the final trek homeward from an amazing time away to the Northwest of the US and Canada. I needed a break in time after a long and challenging academic year. I needed to give myself over to the beauty of a place and its geology, water, flora, fauna, wind, and weather. I needed to pull my mind and heart out of time and place into a different adventure. To rest and to just be. It also allows me to hold my vocation and work at arm's length. I get to see it differently when I have the wider world also in my sights. 

I am grateful for the time. It reminds me to make small spaces of sabbath and rest, time to wander and meander even when the schedule of work and demands of life are at their height. And it reminds to me to say NO a little more often to save space for this kind of renewal. It reminds me that I am not the center of the stories that need to be told. 

The sampling of pictures (above) are just a few of my favorites of water, weather, plants, and animals I encountered on this northward journey. Taking photos is one of the ways I train my attention on something besides my own preoccupations with doing and striving. I like to put my attention on capturing the beauty of what is there before me. We traveled in time to see the late spring blooms and berries of the region. So gorgeous! And I love the memories that come back when I sort through all my photos later.

Paying attention to "the more" 

Of course there is more than just the beauty captured in the photos. There is also an underlying story of climate crisis, a history of colonization and exploitation, untold narratives of place and time, people who pay or have paid with their labors and lives for the pleasure and ease experienced by me and many other travelers. When I try to capture the beauty, I also see the underlying stories of deforestation, invasive species, resource extraction, and pushing people from their historic dwelling places.

Philosopher William James wrote on occasion about "the more." In this simple phrase he captures the reality that any image or story or ritual is always deeper than a first glance. Meanings are multilayered, complex, and beyond our grasp. In helping ministers cultivate a pastoral imagination, we have emphasized how critical it is to become people who see "the more" of any situation. In ministry this might take the form of power dynamics, psychological formations or traumatic malformations, histories that still operate in the present, the sense of holy presence that moves like ether through situations, communities, or relationships. 

When we look with careful attention, that is to say, prayerfully, "the more" begins to reveal itself. And we become attuned to seeing more fully the holy depths of the situations we meet. God's spirit can shape our seeing the way glaciers shape the mountains and oceans: expanding, contracting, extending, receding, carrying life and death, cycling through the rhythms of seasons, and even the deep geologic time and pull of gravity always changing us even when we cannot detect them with our physical senses.    

How will you renew yourself this summer? 

To what will you give your quiet loving attention? What are the holy depths waiting to reveal themselves close at hand or farther away? It does not need to be a big vacation. It can be a slow walk around the block or an afternoon exploration of your own neighborhood. Really look and what do you see?  

If you are planning a summer of paying attention and writing it down, I hope you will think about joining me and the others who gather daily at The Writing Table. Learn more about Summer Sessions at the Writing Table to see if it is right for you.

And most of all I hope you will listen to the Spirit stirring your heart and mind. Until we take our very last breath, it is not too late to pay attention. 

Join me for Summer Sessions 
@ The Writing Table

 10:30–11:45a ET // 9:30–10:45a CT
     8:30–9:45a MT // 7:30–8:45a PT 

It is also NOT too late to join us for Summer Sessions at The Writing Table. Learn more here and save your spot today in June, July or both sessions. 

Graduation Blessings

Graduations are happening every weekend it seems! 

I created a series of blessings for the occasion.

I hope you will download, print, and add a personal message. The blessing are for graduates, teachers and professors, and for family members. Print them on cardstock and they make a lovely 8.5 x 11 card. Or read them as part of a baccalaureate service or your church recognition of graduates.  

Happy Book Birthday!

It's also not too late to celebrate Pastoral Imagination ... this month or give it as a gift to your favorite seminary grad, newly ordained clergyperson, or someone starting CPE. Get a discount code below!

This month marks the 4th birthday of Pastoral Imagination: Bringing the Practice of Ministry to Life. What a delight I've had sharing this book with students, seminary professors, and ministers. Maybe you are new to 3MMM and you'd like to know more? 

I compiled a few fun facts about the Pastoral Imagination book. You can sample them here:

Pastoral Imagination books and journals are a wonderful graduation gift! The book is ideal for a ministry student graduating from college, seminary, or with a doctor of ministry degree. So for the rest of May and June, 
use the code GRADUATE 
in our 3MMM Shop and choose any Pastoral Imagination books and journals for a 20% discount. 
Expires June 30, 2025

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We have some exciting news to share. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for all the details. You are going to want to celebrate with us on this one!

Remember, , what you do and who you are matters! I believe in you, and I hope you will let me know how I can support you!

Warmly,

Eileen

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