“ Stuart [Higginbotham is] old enough to know how church can go wrong and young enough to believe things can change when people stop trying to lead the Spirit and start yielding instead. How does such a high vision become a trustworthy reality on the ground? Read this book to find out.”
—Barbara Brown Taylor, author, An Altar in the World
and Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others

“ Can our parishes become places where the heart’s desire for God can be aroused and God’s desire for us actually experienced in our common life? Can mindfulness and practices grounded in the wisdom of the contemplative tradition transform the ethos of our troubled communities?  Those who hope that the answer is a Spirit-inspired YES will find encouragement in this deeply encouraging and accessible account of a vision put into realistic contemporary practice.”
—The Rev. Martin Smith, renowned spiritual
director; author, The Word Is Very Near You

“ With courage and creativity, Stuart Higginbotham applies a transformed
vision to an unlikely arena of contemplative engagement: parish administration. . . . He invites [us] to relinquish facile, anxiety-driven quick fixes . . . or the compulsion to ‘get the job done.’ Instead, [he] shows how a contemplative approach can illuminate and free every aspect of parish life.”
—The Rev. Julia Gatta, PhD, Bishop Frank A. Juhan Professor of Pastoral
Theology, the School of Theology, the University of the South, Sewanee

“ As much a practical guide as a treasure trove of wisdom. . . . Explores not only what it means to be a Christian contemplative in the world but [also] how mindfulness practice can radically transform what we think of as parish leadership, discernment, and ministry. . . . As timely as it is urgent.”
—Fr. Vincent Pizzuto, PhD, University of San Francisco; author,
Contemplating Christ: The Gospels and the Interior Life

“ Do you long for the fresh winds of the Spirit to blow through your church? Read this book. It refreshed and inspired me, and left me full of imaginative possibilities.”
—Margaret Benefiel, PhD, author, Crisis Leadership and The Soul of
Leadership; executive director, the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation

“ Invites and challenges congregational life to listen, trust, and move ever more deeply into the life that God desires for the Christian community and the world.”
—Jessica Smith, PhD, co-editor, Contemplation and Community:
A Gathering of Fresh Gathering for a Living Tradition

“ Provides a map for congregational questions, discernment, and action amid change. Through innovative exercises, a range of prayer practices, and study, clergy, parishioners, and seekers learn to open to Spirit-born/Spirit-led insight and innovation.”
—The Rev. Bobbi Patterson, PhD, Episcopal priest; professor emerita, Emory University Religion Department; author, Building Resilience Through Contemplative Practice

“ Contemplative reformation in action. . . . Inspiring his vestry and church community to ponder their vocation as clergy and laity, Higginbotham observes how a new spaciousness invites a radical awareness of God’s love and calling.”
—Lerita Coleman Brown, PhD, spiritual director;
author, When the Heart Speaks, Listen

“ Stuart Higginbotham knows both the joys and challenges of a truly contemplative ministry, and the wisdom he shares in this book will help clergy and congregational leaders to thrive as they share their contemplative heart with others.”
—Carl McColman, author, Eternal Heart and
The Big Book of Christian Mysticism

“ In an age when spirituality centers and mystical path coaches abound for individuals and groups, could a whole congregation take a more contemplative path? This is the story of how Stuart Higginbotham and Grace Episcopal Church . . . are discovering that the contemplative wisdom of our Christian tradition honors the work of the Spirit in bringing about a new and more sustainable life for the future.”
—Fr. Guerric Heckel, OCSO, St. Francis Retreat Center
Director, Mepkin Abbey, Moncks Corner, SC

“ A wellspring of wisdom. Herein lies crucial insight and instruction for the evolving church. Every despairing clergy will be nourished and inspired by this important contribution for congregational life.”
—Phileena Heuertz, founding partner, Gravity, a Center for
Contemplative Activism; author, Mindful Silence and Pilgrimage of a Soul

“ A vital and badly needed contribution to both clergy and laypeople who care about what it means to go deeper together as a church, responding to the invitations of God’s Spirit in Christ.”
—The Rev. Tilden Edwards, PhD, founder and senior fellow,
the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation; author, Embracing
the Call to Spiritual Depth: Gifts for Contemplative Living