This website grew out of the Resolution passed at the Thirty Third General Synod (2021) of the United Church of Christ, “Becoming a Church of Contemplatives in Action.” In the words of the Resolution, “The church’s great commandment from Jesus is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Jesus rooted his ministry of teaching, healing, and solidarity with the marginalized through a life of prayer, solitude, silence, and intimate relationship with God. The three synoptic gospels tell how his ministry begins with a transformational time of solitary testing in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13).
“Periodically Jesus can be found stealing away from the busyness of the crowds to pray (Luke 5:16). Jesus’s public witness of creating inclusive community, exemplifying self-giving love and service, forming disciples, making peace and engaging in nonviolent resistance to the powers-that-be is all made possible because of his prayerful “union with the Father” (John 10:30). His life of integrated contemplation and action touches all aspects of Christian life individually and communally.” Read more about the Resolution and its next steps here (link to About page).
The goal of this website, created through funding support from Local Church Ministries (a Covenanted Ministry of the United Church of Christ), is to (in the words of the Resolution) help resource “Conferences, Associations, local churches, clergy, lay leaders, General Synod and seminaries in practicing and teaching a foundational life of spiritual practices, as modeled in the life of Jesus.”
Inspired by the Resolution, please see this website as an introduction to how you and your church can live as “contemplatives in action.” In the contemplative spirit, take it slow. There are lots of resources here, so take one step at a time. Perhaps you’d like to read introductory articles at our Curriculum page. (insert link) Perhaps you’d like to connect with someone at our Leadership page who can be a resource for you or your congregation. (insert link). Or perhaps you’d find it most helpful to explore our Practices page to see which spiritual practice/s might best fit you and/or your community!
See this website as a beginning point, not an exhaustive list of practices, guides, and resources. We are a growing community.
A small group of clergy and lay persons created this webpage following up on the “Becoming a Church of Contemplatives in Action” Resolution. This group continues to discern next steps for how we can move the church into living out the calling to be contemplatives in action. If you’d like to join the conversation or offer your gifts, please email ucc.contemplatives@gmail.com.