The Storied Contemplative

05/05/2026

We start off each youth session essentially setting the stage for our time together, and inviting the sacred listening, centering each youth’s worry (what are they carrying with them today), wish (what do they seek to change in the world/ their world), and welcome ( what are they hoping to welcome into their week ahead)

Grounding in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
These verses speak to the seasons of life—times for planting and uprooting, for healing and breaking down, for keeping and throwing away.

They remind us that time and timing matter, and that even in chaos, there is a rhythm to our place in the world.

For your youth conversation, you could frame the discussion around:

Literal interpretation: What does this passage say about the “seasons” of justice and accountability? How do we recognize when a “time to heal” or a “time to build up” is needed in society?

Metaphorical interpretation: Think mental, emotional, spiritual health and nourishment, and also times when those things are harder to see and find, or potentially “at war” with each other.

Personal interpretation: Think about how these verses challenge self-reflection on one's own words and actions. How using our voices to build up or tear down?

group of people sitting on green grass field during daytime
Photo by Beth Macdonald on Unsplash
Restorative Justice Framework
To cultivate a restorative justice conversation, focus on these key principles:

Acknowledge harm: Can we see where we have been, both or either side of the dynamics expressed in these verses?

Repair relationships: If we have been on the side of harm, are we able to see repair with those we have harmed, and are we able to sit in the tension of conversation with others in the process?

Reintegrate all voices: How can we create space for all voices, even those we disagree with, to be heard without judgment?

Contemplative Practices for Dialogue
Here are a few ways to integrate contemplative practices into this conversation:

Silent reflection: Start with a moment of silence, inviting youth to reflect on a question like: “When have your words or actions caused harm? When have they brought healing?”

Lectio Divina: Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 slowly (2-3 times), inviting youth to listen for a word or phrase that resonates with them.

Circle process: Sit in a circle and pass a talking piece. Each youth shares how they see the themes of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 playing out in media, history, or leadership, and how they relate to the idea of “seasons” in their own lives.

Discussion Questions
To guide the conversation, consider asking:

How might the “seasons” in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 apply to the cycles present in your own life?

Have you ever seen words used to cause harm? How did you respond?

How can we use our words to seek justice rather than retaliation?

What does it look like to “plant” and “build up” in our own communities?

Restorative justice:

How can we hold leaders accountable without perpetuating cycles of harm?

What role do we play in repairing divisions in our society or between each other?

Closing Reflection
Invite youth to share one thing they will do this week to use their words or actions to bring healing—whether in their families, schools, or communities.

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20/04/2026

To make justice happen is to be in the business of reconciliation and radical table-flipping, leveling the playing field for the oppressed while holding tensions with the oppressors.

Micah 6:8 challenges us to self-reflection and then to action in living out radical justice (love in public) and loving-mercy (inequitable forgiveness) as it extends to the righteous and the unrighteous. Walk humbly with God (together with), not alone or apart from. This is a communal experience in both action and in connection with the Divine.

Our present form of justice often removes folks from communion and community by removing the behavior from the environment rather than seeking to understand how the environment plays into the behaviors and how the collective can aid in integrating safer ways of living in the tension of difference together.

The messy middle of faith formation intersects with social justice, as both call us to live in the tension of both/and. I am here in this moment and awaiting the next moment. I am here with this concern, behavior, problem, and await the resources, guides, and support for what is next.

Contemplation invites us into the mess, into the temple, with an open invitation to stretch and be stretched into a space where we can apply the guodaing principles of Micah’s challenge.

The meaning-making practices of holding the tensions that all are welcome at God’s table and all are welcome to receive, and in that we hold space for radical justice, loving-mercy, and humble walking alongside the divine in the great mystery of table flipping that others the other and in turn invites, reorients, restores, and redeems all.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FjkkUsaL9tRFCFRbyzYpMuzdvihkAvuQhqejUaxdliw/edit?usp=sharing

05/03/2026

In working with young people who have varied relationships with media, technology, worries, meaning-making, and questions, it is hard to define and decide what sanctuary means to them, as this is our Lenten focus for 2026 through the lens of POWER.

A few ways that we are exploring sanctuary—is in understanding norms—through understanding what is expected of us in a given space and noticing from those norms how we are to be treated and to treat folks in that space—naming these written and unwritten “rules” in our faith communities, schools, and homes as well as noticing where we feel the most comfortable in the norms presented and where we see, feel, or notice power to change them.

Another potential place you can find sanctuary is in your own body, mind, and spirit through ritual, routine, and spiritual practices, and one that some youth expressed this week was their power and sanctuary in using their voice to co-create change. Experiencing how they can do that in both large and small ways through connecting and sharing their stories with local and state representatives, and to understand the legislative process, policy, and bills affecting them and things they care about.

Part of contemplation is sitting long enough to know what questions to ask yourself and others—of God and of your faith—and ways to stay grounded in hope as you ask and engage with those big questions. Sanctuary in Lent, then, for us, is an invitation to co-create what makes each of our youth feel safe, brave, connected, and hopeful, even when things seem hard, scary, and unknown.

We will engage with the questions of Power—through understanding power in norms, power in choice, power in voice, and power in action —and how each and all of those play into the role of sanctuary in our day-to-day lives and within the larger conversation of faith formation.

We will do this through poetry, art, music, co-creating group norms and group art, and ways to enact and engage in our faith in the world—both micro and macro, because we can’t do everything, but we should do “our” something in the world.

Contemplation for young creatives is a framework and methodology to engage young people with the greater stories of their lives and foster their ability to create moral imagination, values, and spiritual meaning in their lives and relationships with themselves, others, and with who God is to them.

We do this by creating resources, coaching youth and youth practitioners in using this model, and working with institutions that want to connect more broadly and deeply with young people, gifting them a tether to hope while empowering them to be, believe, and become the leaders they are.

28/01/2026

09/12/2025

Listening is Sacred....

Holy One,

teach us to remember that every person we meet
is made of star stuff and Imago Dei—
a whole universe of stories hidden in their words.
Let us be with each encounter with reverence,
as if we are walking on holy ground.

Help us listen the way You listen:
with intention, curiosity, and compassion—
attuned not just to words,
but to exhaustion in someone’s eyes,
the tremble in their voice,
the dreams they’re afraid to name.

Quiet our impulse to rush toward answers.
Let silence do its sacred work.
Invite us into brave pauses,
to breathe,
to hold space without fixing,
to honor what is tender and raw.

Open our hearts to the patterns of grace—
the small clues in someone’s story
that show us where compassion belongs.
Give us the courage to respond
with generosity instead of judgment,
presence instead of performance.

When we are offered a moment
to be the break in someone’s bad day,
Let us say yes.
Let our listening become a shelter,
our kindness a steady foundation,
our actions a quiet “you matter” in their world of...

And transform us as we listen,
because sacred listening always changes the listener.
Make us people who repair what we can,
offer what we have,
and treat each other and ourselves as divine.

Amen.

03/12/2025

God of renewal and rebirth

Be with us in the seasons where we long for change yet fear what it may cost.
Be with us in this moment where humanity aches for justice, for compassion, for a new way of being.
May we be reminded that Christ’s coming is not only beyond us but within us, that in every act of mercy, every choice for peace, every embrace of love, we are reincarnated into the likeness of God incarnate, Jesus.

In our waiting, in our striving, in our stumbling toward hope, may we see that the Second Coming is not distant thunder but the quiet rebirth of our souls.
May we walk as those who carry light into shadow, as those who trust that death does not win, as those who believe that humanity itself can be remade in the image of God, Imago Dei.

Amen

09/10/2025

Join Our Free Youth Ministry Slack Community!

Are you passionate about helping young people grow in faith, identity, and belonging?

You’re invited to join our free online community for youth ministers, volunteers, and mentors!

Inside, you’ll find:
✨ Free resources and lesson plans
🧠 Conversations about contemplative and justice-centered ministry
🤝 Collaboration and idea sharing with others doing similar work

A supportive space to rest, reflect, and be inspired

Join us on Slack today and be part of a growing community reimagining what youth ministry can be.

👉

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

26/02/2025

Healing Spaces: Polyvagal Theory & Contemplative Youth Ministry

Some young people carry the weight of trauma in their bones.

Their nervous systems have learned to be on guard—to fight, to flee, to freeze.

They enter our spaces not just with questions about faith but with bodies that are bracing for impact.

Polyvagal Theory helps us understand what’s happening beneath the surface.

It reminds us that healing isn’t just about talking—it’s about safety.

Before a young person can engage, trust, or belong, their body has to believe: I am safe here.

This is why contemplative practices matter in youth ministry.

When we create spaces that regulate the nervous system, we invite students into something deeper than just learning about God—we invite them to experience presence in a way that restores.

So we slow down.
We Share In Sacred Stories.
We create rhythms and rituals that feel like home.
We breathe together, walk together, craft together, sit in silence together, and experience play together

Because healing happens in presence—not through pressure, not through force, but through attuned, embodied, sacred presence.

This is what ministry can be. A place where young people don’t just hear “You belong” but actually feel it in their bones.

01/02/2025

Free Youth Ministry Curriculum
Exploring Sacred and Secular in the eyes of young people through engagement in scripture and storytelling.

Check out this Presentation designed by Kristen Nicole.

28/01/2025

Our youth are carrying heavy burdens. They’re navigating a world that often moves too fast, expects too much, and provides too little in the way of true connection and rest.

The statistics tell us what we already know in our hearts: young people are struggling. Globally, 15% of those aged 10-19 experience a mental health disorder. In the U.S., 18-25-year-olds experience the highest rates of serious mental illness among adults, at 11.6%. The crises are real, but so are the solutions.

What if the church—or any space we create for young people—became a sanctuary, not just for belief, but for healing? What if we embraced contemplative practices as tools for mental and spiritual stability?

Science backs this up. Contemplative environments and practices like mindfulness, breathwork, prayer, and silence are proven to reduce stress, lower anxiety, and increase resilience. They help young people process trauma, regulate emotions, and build stronger connections to themselves and their communities.

This isn’t just about offering “another program.” It’s about slowing down with intention. It’s about creating sacred space to listen, to reflect, to rest—not just spiritually, but mentally and emotionally.

As youth leaders, ministers, and mentors, what if we stopped trying to solve every problem and instead made space for young people to be? What if we modeled stillness in a restless world?

Contemplative youth ministry is an act of resistance in a world that says “go faster.” It’s a quiet revolution that invites young people to know themselves deeply, encounter God profoundly, and care for one another authentically.

The next time you plan a youth event or gather a group of young people, consider what a slower, quieter, more intentional space could do for them. Sometimes the most radical thing we can offer is stillness in a noisy world.