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Category: Prayer Cycle

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Creative Joy + Prayer Cycle Day 1 Audio Podcast ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, Tomorrow Simon de Voil and I are leading our final contemplative prayer service of the season before we take a break until the fall. Our theme is Creative Joy which is the 8th principle of our Monk Manifesto: I commit to being a dancing monk, cultivating creative joy and letting my body and “heart overflow with the inexpressible delights of love.” Here is a reflection on creative joy from our Monk in the World online retreat:  Whether we dance literally or metaphorically, the dance is a symbol for forgetting our self-consciousness and letting ourselves be overcome

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May 4, 2025

Cultivating Seeds of Liberation Prayer Cycle Launch and 20th Anniversary Celebration!

Note: Click CC to turn closed captions on or off. Thank you for celebrating the release of our sixth prayer cycle Cultivating Seeds of Liberation and the start of the Abbey’s 20th year! We had a beautiful time gathering in community for prayer, contemplation, story, and song. The audio podcasts for each day will be released weekly over the next seven weeks with the video podcasts coming in 2026. Listen to Day 1 Morning and Evening Prayer here or on your favorite podcast platform such as Apple or Spotify. Music for the prayer cycle is available on our album Cultivating Seeds of Liberation: Songs of

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May 2, 2025

New Prayer Cycle Launch and 20th anniversary celebration! ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, We are delighted to be celebrating our 19th anniversary at Abbey of the Arts and launching our 20th year of ministry and service.  For our 20th year we are planning some lovely offerings and gifts. One of these is our brand new prayer cycle Cultivating Seeds of Liberation with 7 days of morning and evening prayer center around Love, Vision, Hope, Justice, Peace, Joy, and Beauty. Each day includes an audio podcast that will be released weekly beginning next Sunday. The new prayer cycle was created with the vision of our Wisdom Council to provide a free resource that amplifies our

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April 27, 2025

Kinship with Creation ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, Warm New Year blessings to you! We are delighted to return after a time of rest and begin the year with our Contemplative Prayer Service tomorrow, January 6th. We will continue our exploration of the principles of the Monk Manifesto with this month’s theme of Kinship with Creation. Principle 4: I commit to cultivating awareness of my kinship with creation and a healthy asceticism by discerning my use of energy and things, letting go of what does not help nature to flourish. These prayers of concern are excerpted from Day 1 Morning Prayer from the Earth Monastery Prayer Cycle. Help us, O Creator God,

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January 5, 2025

End of Year Giving

Your donations help us make what we do fully accessible to all who desire to be a part of this virtual monastery and gathering of kindred spirits. It is because of your generosity that we are able to offer many free resources – such as our prayer cycles, book club, and scholarship fund – to nourish everyone, regardless of financial capacity. Your donations to Abbey of the Arts also help fund free and reduced fee options on our sliding scale for programs, as well as offer additional scholarships to all who are in need of greater financial support.  Read about our commitment to

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December 13, 2024

Community + Give Me a Word ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

A Blessing for Friendship and Community*God of friendshipI come to know your love and carethrough the embodied presence of others.Weave me together with kindred spirits,knit me more closely with friends of the soul,cultivate in me a kinship with humanityso that I recognize my struggles and joys in others.In my loneliness reveal to me this communionand may I be a solace to others who ache for connection.Transform me through conversation and loving presence.Help me to see how I am part of a great circleof pilgrims, witnesses, ancestors, and mysticswho guide me to true connection with You.Gather me into your great wide

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December 8, 2024

Gratitude Blessing + The Love of Thousands Prayer Cycle Day 7~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Gratitude Blessing*Spirit of Generosity,we come to you with hearts overflowing with gratitudefor your abundant creation.As we awaken each morning, help us to remember this day is a gift,this breath is grace,this life a wonder. Remind us with every flower we see,every act of kindness,every moment of connection to something so much biggerthan ourselves,to whisper thank you. Cultivate in us a sense of aweand trust in your lavish grace. Let each word of thanks we offer expand our heartsuntil delight inhabits usand we know loveas our sustenance. Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims, The 5th century monk and mystic Benedict of

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November 24, 2024

Upcoming Programs

Writing on the Wild Edges: St. Brendan’s Voyage as Creative Guide
Writing on the Wild Edges: St. Brendan’s Voyage as Creative Guide
12 May 25
Sourcing From the Well: Songs of Strength and Resilience
Sourcing From the Well: Songs of Strength and Resilience
23 May 25
Brother Lawrence, Friar of Love, and His Transforming Presence Practice
Brother Lawrence, Friar of Love, and His Transforming Presence Practice
13 Jun 25

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