Word and Wisdom

Each year on Juneteenth, we commemorate the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Texas finally learned of their freedom—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued. It is a day of remembrance, celebration, and reflection. Yet Juneteenth also invites us to consider a deeper question: What does freedom actually mean?

For many people, freedom is often understood as the absence of external constraints. Yet history teaches us that legal freedom alone does not automatically produce wholeness. Individuals and communities can be physically free while still carrying wounds of trauma, oppression, grief, fear, and internalized messages about their worth.

READ MORE: https://www.clergyandcongregations.org/archive/june-centerings-articles/freedom-is-more-than-survival

The world asks us to do more, move faster, and carry heavier burdens.

But what helps us remain human in the midst of it all?

The Soul of Justice: Practices for Staying Human When the World Is on Fire is a six-session online learning experience exploring contemplative practices, embodied awareness, and sustainable rhythms for justice-engaged leaders and people of faith.

Registration is now open. Go to: https://www.clergyandcongregations.org/learning-renewal-formation/the-soul-of-justice-work

What practices help you stay grounded when life feels overwhelming?

Father's Day can evoke a wide range of emotions.

For some, it is a day of gratitude and celebration. For others, it carries grief, disappointment, longing, or complicated memories. Some are mourning fathers who have died. Others are navigating relationships marked by distance or pain. Still others have never known the presence of a father in their lives.

Yet many of us can identify people who have helped shape us, guide us, and encourage our growth—whether or not they carried the title of father.

READ MORE: https://www.clergyandcongregations.org/archive/june-centerings-articles/fathers-mentors-and-other-sacred-guides

It is easy to think of growth as something personal.

A private journey. An internal process. A way of becoming more whole within yourself.

And while that is true, it is not the whole picture. Transformation is never meant to end with you.

READ MORE: https://www.clergyandcongregations.org/archive/may-centering-articles/formation-for-the-sake-of-others

I was doing my garden check this morning and noticed yellowing leaves on some of my lavender plants (I'd already dead-headed the spent blooms). I'm a newbie gardener, and lavender can be a little persnickety, so I pulled up my app to make sure we weren't about to have a "situation."😊 Nope. The yellowing leaves were just old growth, and the plants were putting their energy into new leaves and buds. The best thing for me to do was to trim off those older leaves so that the plants could better focus their energy.

I was instantly reminded of Jesus' words in John 15: "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (John 15:2)

In what part of your life may God be pruning away old things that are taking up too much of your energy in this season? Where are you seeing new growth that needs your focus?

Wishing you joy for the journey,
Dr. Phaedra

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The world is asking a lot of leaders right now.

Many of us are carrying responsibility, grief, urgency, and exhaustion while trying to remain faithful to the work we have been called to do.

This fall, join us for one of two six-week online learning experiences designed to nurture the inner life that sustains meaningful leadership.

🌿The Soul of Justice Work
Practices for staying human when the world is on fire.

🌿The Wounded Healer Revisited
Integrating self-care, vulnerability, and presence.

Registration is now open.

Learn more: https://www.clergyandcongregations.org/home

Small Shifts, Real Change

We often overestimate what transformation looks like. We imagine sweeping changes—clear turning points, dramatic decisions, a visible departure from who we used to be. We assume that if something is truly changing, it will feel significant and look obvious.

But real change is often much quieter than that.

READ MORE at https://www.clergyandcongregations.org/archive/may-centering-articles/small-shifts-real-change