Visit the Abbey of the Arts online retreat platform to access your programs:

Make sure to visit this week’s Poetry Party!

Such aching beauty in the offerings at this week’s Poetry Party.  Have you stopped by yet?  Pour a cup of tea and then linger with the amazing poems gathered there.  Then write your own response to the theme or image and share it with the Abbey community.  If you share it before Sunday, you could win a space in my upcoming online art retreat for the season of Lent – Soul of a Pilgrim (February 22-April 7, 2012).

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Janeen R. Adil

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series. Read on for Janeen Adil’s reflection and poem about liminality. Thresholds and doorways make for evocative images; as a monk in the world, I am drawn to a

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Preparing for Advent + Prayer Cycle Day 7

Dear monks, artists, and pilgrims,  Today we share the final two audio podcasts of our 7-day prayer cycle on the theme of The Love of Thousands. The theme for morning is on ancestral earth and deep time, honoring that our ancestors are not just our human

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Monk in the World Guest Post: Susan Blagden

I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Susan Blagden’s contemplative photographs and poems inspired by the work of Thomas Merton. As a contemplative photographer, coach and priest, I seek

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One Response

  1. My Tree

    The trunk is thick
    sturdy, upright
    Giving structure
    To strong limbs reaching skyward
    Displaying strength
    Disiplaying growth and pride.

    Winter winds blow
    limbs wave and bow
    White snow descends
    The tree snuggles under the blanket
    Resting in the stillness

    Sunshine brings light
    and brightness
    Snow melts away
    Hope rallies with images of spring

    Thankful is the tree
    Thankful am I
    for changing seasons
    For new ways of knowing God’s creation.