S. Kathleen Atkinson OSB is the founder of Ministry on the Margins and keynote presenter for the Benedictine Center's 2020 Radical Hospitality Series (Feb. 27 - Mar. 1). Conversatio Living Conversion through Hospitality After returning from four months in Guatemala, I knew I couldn’t go back to ministry as it had been. I needed to…
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Everyday Prophets
Everyday Prophets When we think ‘prophetic’ we need not always think grandly about public tasks. . . It is the vocation of the prophet to keep alive the ministry of imagination. ― Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination When I hear the word prophet, I often imagine a bearded man shouting out the Truth with a…
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2020 Radical Hospitality Series
Beyond Fear Helping Communities Choose Welcome Thurs., Feb. 27, 9a-3p The foundation of welcome is the inherent dignity of the human person, as created in the image and likeness of God. We are called to welcome others with a presence that is more than just polite and that extends beyond our reservations. We are called…
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We Can Forgive Even the Most Heinous Wrongs Done to Us
We Can Forgive Even the Most Heinous Wrongs Done to Us Is there a more difficult command given to us by Jesus than to forgive those who wrong us? We know we are called to forgiveness; every time we recite the Lord’s Prayer, we express the plea, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those…
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The Search for Vitality and Ways Spiritual Direction Can Help
The Search for Vitality and Ways Spiritual Direction Can Help “I’ve had more energy around work this past month, but I’m worried because I feel some of that old intensity coming back. I want to continue experiencing the vitality of living from my centered self. I’m afraid that I will slip back into the old…
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Being Real (Part 4): The Playlist
Recently, my long-time friend and colleague, Eily Marlow and I developed a day-long workshop called Being Real: Practicing Humility, Courage, and Authenticity in Everyday Life. The stories and the challenges that Eily and I shared as we were preparing for the workshop have stayed with me and continued to evolve over time. So have the lessons…
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Morning Glory
PHOTO CREDITS: Carol Jorgensen (www.caroljorgensen.com) Morning Glory The Benedictine Center welcomes stories of encounter that remind us of the nearness of God and that call us to living the way of hospitality Benedict commended in the Rule. This reflection by Carol Jorgensen, Hospitality Specialist for the Benedictine Center, captures the wisdom of one such moment. …
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Being Real (Part 2): Bridging the Gap Between Our Inner and Outer Lives
Recently, my long-time friend and colleague, Eily Marlow and I developed a day-long workshop called Being Real: Practicing Humility, Courage, and Authenticity in Everyday Life. The stories and the challenges that Eily and I shared as we were preparing for the workshop have stayed with me and continued to evolve over time. So have the lessons…
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Cradle in the Corner
Cradle in the Corner Last Fall, a brief skirmish with some mice brought me to the far corner of my garage, where the breaker box is, right next to the driveway. That corner is the most chaotic because it’s the most convenient, and most of the stuff in that corner is damning evidence of my…
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Being Real (Part 1): Learning to Swim By Swimming
When I turned 30, I decided that I wanted to complete a triathlon. One problem: I did not know how to swim. I wasn’t scared of the water and I could stay afloat, but the most fruitful results of my childhood swim lessons were a goofy-looking breast stroke that didn’t involve putting my head under the water and a “little bird, big bird, fly.” The latter was basically laying on my back, flapping my arms, and propelling myself (slowly) through the water. These were not the ways of a triathlete.