Welcome to this month’s Abbey Photo Party! I select a theme and invite you to respond with images. We began this month with a Community Lectio Divina practice (stop by to read the beautiful responses).  As I prayed with the Isaiah text, this phrase kept shimmering for me:  See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. I love this image of God seeing the newness of things to come before we do, God’s imagination so much wider than we can see, and the possibilities just on the

Welcome to the Abbey Photo Party! I select a theme and invite you to respond with images. I have been pondering a great deal lately the ways the landscapes I have lived in shape my soul (this week’s love note from me will develop this theme).  My invitation to you is to ponder this for yourself: What is the impact of my physical landscape on my spiritual one?  How might I express this through a photo or image? You can share images you already have which illuminate the theme, but I encourage you also to go for a walk with the

Welcome to the Abbey Photo Party! I select a theme and invite you to respond with images. For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance. Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come! –Song of Songs 2:11-13 Springtime begins in the northern hemisphere on Wednesday, the time of great flowering on the earth offering hope of new possibilities emerging.

Welcome to the Abbey Photo Party! I select a theme and invite you to respond with images. Lent begins this week on Ash Wednesday, that beautiful ritual of acknowledging our earthiness and limitations, and responding to the call to enter deeply into this sacred time of prayer and practice.  This week, go on a photo pilgrimage, holding the start of Lent in your heart, and notice what images are shimmering in the world around you. (We will return to the Monk Manifesto themes in February) You can share images you already have which illuminate the theme, but I encourage you also to

Welcome to the Abbey Photo Party! I select a theme and invite you to respond with images. We are taking a break this January from our monthly Monk Manifesto themes to invite you into some creative exploration with the words which have chosen you for this year. (Make sure to share yours here if you haven’t already and enter to win one of several wonderful prizes). In the free 12-day online mini-retreat I offer to newsletter subscribers (click here to subscribe) I invite you to go on a photo pilgrimage holding your word for 2013 in your hearts and noticing what images

Welcome to the Abbey Photo Party! I select a theme and invite you to respond with images. Our theme here at Abbey of the Arts for December is kinship with creation, so I invite you to reflect visually on your own sense of connection with the natural world.  What wisdom does nature offer to your life? You can share images you already have, but I encourage you also to go for a walk with the theme in mind and see what you discover. How to participate: 1. Go to the Flickr Group I have created. You need a free Flickr