Shows
Unfolding LightRiches
You can lose it all in the stock market:rake in a ton, but be robbed of the moment;make a killing, but end up the one without life,impoverished of the true wealth of having loved,the riches of friendship compounded.Selfishness can cost you the securityof a family you create by extending mercy,a nest egg of beauty and wonder and grace.You can waste your greed not just on things,but feelings, beliefs, oh, those tantalizing highs,and miss out on the real riches:...2025-07-2901 minUnfolding LightSpider
A spider has hung a wheel of spokesacross impossible empty space between twigs,and now works her way around the lines.She touches her abdomen to the threadand moves a pace and touches again,adding a length to the thread, touching,on and on, in ever widening circles.All of this comes from inside her.I don’t know how she sees with her legs,thinks with her eyes, knows with somethingwe don’t know. The circles are perfect.Like Bach sitting down to the week...2025-07-2801 minUnfolding LightWonder is saving enough
Have you noticed the pheromonesthe world is sending out to you?Not wanting you to save it,just to fall in love with it.Tiny violets reassure the hillsidewhich every winter has been tormented by ice.When the dam is removed after a century, salmonalready know their way to their ancestors’ birthplace.The jazz of the meadowlark.Laughter, even at funerals.Such things are the rope and bucketthat haul you up out of your dank well.The sm...2025-07-2501 minUnfolding LightWhen dread
When dread for the world grows heavy,or despair throws its rough sack over your head,ponder something beautiful.Let terrible events fade to the backdrop,a dark peripheral blur.Look for life, even the lowest.The impetuous tuft of grass in the sidewalk,and how it keeps coming back, reaching for light,spreading its arms with innocent joy.The bug in the corner of your prison cell,how, by grace, it finds food.If it is possible here, it is also elsewhere.Even under the boots...2025-07-2401 minUnfolding LightAsk, seek, knock
Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. —Luke 11.9God is not a vending machine, but the Mystery is abundantly generous.Jesus doesn’t promise that we get what we want. He invites us to question, to seek, to explore.Ask questions, even doubtful ones; in wondering find blessing, and gifts.Eyes open, look for the grace that is always here and you will find.God is not the secret behind the door; God is the door.Always beckoning. Seeking you. Asking: knock. ...2025-07-2301 minUnfolding LightGalaxy
When the night is thickand you can’t see,sometimesyou have to close your eyesto see the light.Because it’s inside you.It’s been there forever,since the beginning of time.The first “Let there be light”included yours.It’s deep down.Deeper than your breathing,deeper than your nerve impulses.If you are in a comait’s still there.It’s tiny, a pinpoint, like a star,yet it lights up everything aroun...2025-07-2201 minUnfolding LightThe Prayer of Jesus
Loving womb of us allat the heart of all being,we your sunflowers turn always to you.Your hope unfurls among us,a dream we can’t imagine but can be.Each breath is you.You are in this present moment;you free us to be in this present moment,and to free others.Transform our desires into love alone.Guide us free of the power of fear.Amazing: all this universe,and all its energies, and all its beautyare yours, who are infinite, ye...2025-07-2101 minUnfolding LightJoy in the body
The cells in your body love what they do.Nerve synapses adore each other, holding hands,sharing secrets all the time.Your glands, twinkle in their eye, distribute their gifts.Your muscles don’t move from duty, but joy.Your lungs, even when troubled, love the airand love passing on its riches.White blood cells sweep the streetsbecause they love everyone who lives there.Ligaments and tendons hang onand when severed long for each other.See when you’re cut how skin reaches for skin,t...2025-07-1801 minUnfolding LightAngels
You may not believe in angels—but one day you’re standingon the subway, being lurched,pole against your chest,and you look down the carand there’s a scrap of kid,and suddenly some love, unbidden,flames out from you, and in a fit of lightyou see the wayward childas a gift of Godand you shine with devotion.Or you notice someone’s hand at the post office,old and weathered as tree roots,and for an instant it seems...2025-07-1701 minUnfolding LightDaffodil
I don’t have to save, but I can attend.To protect the tender ones,heal the wounded, vindicate the gentle,or to disturb or make righteous noise,I am able, with what I have.My despair (how the Emperor counts on it!)wants me to believe I lack the power.But what I am given is enough.As among daffodils that brighten the hillsidein late spring snow or freezing rain,miraculous powers are already granted.Busy as Martha or still as Mary,even th...2025-07-1601 minUnfolding LightGestapo
They take the tender part of you, in his T shirt and flip flops, confused.That it’s not you, shoved, with slurs, trying to stay standing.The ligament between your hearts, handcuffed among guns and face shields.That little tearing sound as when puling a weed, herded out into the street.Irreversible loss, a death, gazing into the cave of the van door.Your hope, with those questioning eyes, stuffed into the van.That everything will be all right off to a concentration camp somewhere.Who, exactly, needs first to stop what they’re doing?Every time you are taken 2025-07-1501 minUnfolding LightDo something kind
When everything falls apart around you,do something kind.When the weight of the world lies heavy on you,do something kind.When you doubt the reality of God,do something kind.When you feel without purpose,do something kind.You needn’t feel lovely about it,just do it.If it has no effect,do something kind again.As a kindness to yourselfreclaim your capacity for kindness.Kindness is a match. Strike it.It warms yo...2025-07-1400 min
Christchurch Clevedon - SermonsJudas Iscariot: Turning AwayJudas Iscariot: Turning AwaySeries: The Twelve Disciples
Preacher: Kate DommettSunday MorningDate: 13th July 2025Passages: Matthew 26:14-30Matthew 26:47-50Matthew 27:1-10-------------------Two quotes are made during Kate's message: "Be Opened" by Steve Garnaas-Holmes and "Everything we bring To this place Finds a place here" by Gerard Kelly.
2025-07-1324 minUnfolding LightPlumb line
The priest said, “Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.” But Amos answered, “God said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people.’” —from Amos 7.10-17A mirror that doesn’t hide things.A GPS that doesn’t please youbut shows you where you are.A teller of truthwith mercy but not apology.To stand, even alone,to be true to what I know to be true.Unswayed by what I feel others might feelabout who I am, what I mean.Willing to sit with that anxiety.Not insisting how others see.Willing to be wrong.Liste...2025-07-1101 minUnfolding LightDeficiencies
God, we thank you for our deficiencies,and the blessings of all we lack.We praise you that none of us is complete,that we are all in need.For by this grace we reach out to each other,dependent on one another, and open,woven together, need to hand, gift to heart.Each has what another lacks,and no one is free of reliance on their neighbors.By your mercy instill in us such gratitudethat we may never belittle the gifts we are given,the treasures...2025-07-1001 minUnfolding LightStranger
Wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” —Luke 10.29God is universally kind,even, Jesus says, to the ungrateful and the wicked.God asks us to love our neighbors.Wanting to protect ourselves, we ask:Who are our neighbors?Meaning, of course: Who aren’t?In Jesus’ parable the neighbor is the stranger, the outsider.The Hebrew Bible says in one verse to love your neighbor—and 36 times—36 times— it says to love the stranger.Because you yourselves are strangers, not insiders.Don’t look for “something to love” in one who is different.2025-07-0901 min
The Next Chapter with Charlie#362 Steve Garnass-Holmes- Life in Poetry Show Notes I can’t wait for conversation with poet and mystic Steve Garnaas-Holmes. Steve carries a much-needed role of as Divine Elder in the American caldron of longing for mystery and wonder and awe… and mostly hope. Steve Garnaas-Holmes is a gift to all of us. Let’s allow this conversation with him to carry us away in love, wonder, and Divine mystery. LINKS Please check out Steve Garnaas-Holmes’ daily poems at his website “Unfolding Light” HERE. MOSTLY, if you are a lover of poetry (even if you are not...2025-05-071h 03
Connections RadioConnections Radio Show – January 11, 2025Hosts Laurie Fitz and Rick Bernardo visit Rick’s former Pacific School of Religion colleague, Reverend Steve Garnaas-Holmes—who, among other United Methodist ministry pursuits, performed all over the country with The Montana Logging and Ballet Company. It’s just one extension of his longtime experience as a composer, musician, actor, comedian, and poet. Last year April 27, 2024, our discussion about art and spirituality benefited from his years of performances zany and beautiful—often at the same time—with his years of perspective both circumspect and deep. This time we go deeper, including what we might do to survive trying times. – www.U...2025-01-1145 min
SoulStream, Living from the Heart PodcastTrust God, Be Kind: Living the Mystery of GraceIn this episode of SoulStream’s Living from the Heart Podcast, we dive into the profound wisdom and creative world of Steve Garnaas-Holmes—a poet, songwriter, and retired pastor who has spent decades exploring the intersections of faith, silence, and beauty. Best known for his daily reflections at Unfolding Light, Steve shares how he’s been crafting daily poems and meditations for over 22 years, all rooted in his simple yet transformative philosophy: “Trust God, be kind.”Steve reflects on his time performing with the Montana Logging and Ballet Company, blending satire and music to build community, and how that e...2025-01-0947 min
So, what did you preach about?Hope Beyond Despair with Steve Garnaas-HolmesNot all heroes wear capes, and not all preachers use pulpits. Some use newsletters and websites, like Pastor Steve Garnaas-Holmes. Pastor Steve writes spiritual poetry for his flock, 7,000 people from all around the country and world. On the morning after the US presidential election, Pastor Steve sent out a poem that helped bring many back from the depths of fear and despair. A couple days later, we had a conversation about what keeps Pastor Steve from giving in to despair, what's holding everything together, and what we're called to do in these difficult days. I hope this conversation is a...2024-11-1951 minThe Next Chapter with Charlie#330 Steve Garnass-Holmes: The Wisdom of Paying Attention Show Notes Today’s show is one I have been looking forward since the publication of our guest’s new book: Unfolding Light! I can’t wait for conversation with poet and mystic Steve Garnaas-Holmes. I wonder if Steve truly understands his role as Divine Elder in the American caldron of longing for mystery and wonder and awe. Steve Garnaas-Holmes is a gift to all of us. Let’s let his conversation carry us away in love and wonder and the art of paying attention. LINKS Please check out Stev...2024-09-0451 minConnections RadioConnections Raduio – April 27, 2024Hosts Laurie Fitz and Rick Bernardo visit Rick’s former Pacific School of Religion colleague, Reverend Steve Garnaas-Holmes—who, among other pursuits, happened to perform all over the country with The Montana Logging and Ballet Company. It’s just one extension of his longtime experience as a composer, musician, actor, comedian, and poet. Our discussion about art and spirituality benefits from his years of performances zany and beautiful—often at the same time—and his years of perspective both circumspect and deep. – www.UnfoldingLight.net / www.reverbnation.com/MontanaLoggingandBalletCo
2024-04-2943 minThe Next Chapter with Charlie#305 Steve Garnaas-Holmes: Renewing Our Language About God Show Notes After a three-month break from doing podcasts, we’re back. I am very much looking forward to our new season. You know, I needed a time of intentional pondering about what I might like to do in my final chapter of what I call “a life richly lived.” This year, in September, I turn 75. Three quarters of a century. Enough time to live a life meaning, adventure, and awe—which has been the theme the of The Next Chapter with Charlie for the past 9 years. After considering the purpose of my web presence, the theme...2024-03-0647 min
Between SundaysEpisode 92 - Wheat or WeedsAs Jesus continues to teach in parables, wheat and weeds get all mixed up together. What happens when the good seed and bad seed grow side by side? The landowner in Jesus' parable counsels patience and forbearance . . . and maybe that's the just grace we need for the weeds in us to bear fruit. In today's message, Amy shares a reflection by Steve Garnaas-Holmes. Visit his website - unfoldinglight.net - to read Wheat among the weeds and other reflections on Biblical texts. Matthew 13:24-302023-07-2413 min
Podcast Archives - Lisa Colón DeLay | Spiritual Formation and the Way of the Desert EldersEps 218: Steven Garnaas Holmes, Unfolding LightSteve Garnaas-Holmes is featured today. Originally this was recorded in 2020 for a session online called Soul School Lunch Break hosted by Lisa Colon DeLay that ran as an experiment for a few weeks.2023-03-0124 min
Spark My MuseEps 218: Steven Garnaas Holmes, Unfolding LightSteve Garnaas-Holmes is featured today. Originally this was recorded in 2020 for a session online called Soul School Lunch Break hosted by Lisa Colon DeLay that ran as an experiment for a few weeks.2023-03-0124 min
Third Power Life[TPL] S2E130 - Halloween - A Day When We Get it RightHalloween: A Day When We Get it Right.
Strangers come to us
beautiful, ugly, odd or scary,
and we accept them all without question,
compliment them, treat them kindly,
and give them good things.
Why don’t we life like that?
--Steve Garnaas-Homes
#love #inclusion #nojudgement #kindness #thirdpowerlife2022-10-2909 min
Knox Church SermonsFaithful In Little ThingsThe parable found in Luke 16:1-13, often entitled by interpreters as “The Parable of the Dishonest Manager,” has confounded and challenged interpreters, hearers, and readers for, perhaps, centuries. In the categories of parables, it’s what theologian and Jesus scholar John Dominic Crossan categorizes as a “challenge parable,” which are meant to lead us to “probe and question, ponder and wonder, discuss and debate….about the absolutes [we may hold] of our religious faith…presumptions, and prejudices of our social, political, and economic traditions” (Crossan, John Dominic, The Power of Parable).
This Lukan parable remind us that “we cannot take the pa...2022-09-1927 min
Talking Joy PodcastPam talks with Poet Steve Garnaas-Holmes about his inspiring reflectionsSteve Garnaas-Holmes is a poet, songwriter and retired pastor of St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Acton, MA. He writes daily reflections at unfoldinglight.net. From 1973 to 2012 he wrote and performed with the Montana Logging and Ballet Company, a quartet that performed music and comedy around the country and occasionally on NPR’s Weekend Edition.2020-10-2455 minSoul School Archives - Lisa Colón DeLay | Spiritual Formation and the Way of the Desert EldersPockets of the Day [SSL168]Gorgeous, spacious, and needed gems from three poets: Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Mary Oliver, Yahia Lababidi2020-09-3009 min
Little Spark ShortsPockets of the Day [SSL168]Gorgeous, spacious, and needed gems from three poets: Steve Garnaas-Holmes, Mary Oliver, Yahia Lababidi This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sparkmymuse.substack.com/subscribe2020-09-3009 min
Sermons – Chatham United Methodist Church, Chatham, NJBecoming the Father or Mother, Who Can Only Love. (Thanks Stephen Davis, Ronald Yarger and Tom Kitson for embodying he reflections of Steve Garnaas-Holmes and the Gospel within the Gospel)Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
2019-03-3100 min
Sermons and Services from Bradford Community Church Unitarian Universalist, Kenosha, WISanctuaryDid you know the most racially segregated time of the week in America is Sunday morning? What does it say about us as a culture that we are least diverse within our faith communities, and how might we engage across faith divisions in order to do good work in the word? Opening reading by Steve Garnaas-Holmes shared by student minister Denise Cawley, sermon by Rev. Erik David Carlson.2018-10-1417 minSermons – Chatham United Methodist Church, Chatham, NJWaking Jesus, the Wisdom of Family Systems Theory, and Being Peace in an Anxious World.Mark 4:35-41
(Thanks George Atkinson and Stan Menking for teaching Family Systems Theory SMU back in the 1990s. Thanks also to Steve Garnaas-Holmes who continues to be the wisdom figure, mystic and poet of our denomination.)
2018-06-2400 min