by Mel Williams, Peace Hill at Avila Founder and Board Member

How can young people navigate the current unraveling—disorder—disorientation?

Peace Hill at Avila is about to take a new direction. We will soon be focusing on developing and nurturing Communities of Practice for young adults. We want to help provide restorative practices that support the spiritual life of young members of local congregations and organizations—practices that bring aliveness and hope, an alternative to the current chaos.

This new direction for Peace Hill comes at a crucial time. We’re living now in a time of enormous losses: the trampling of democracy, decline of institutions, demonization of immigrants, economic insecurity, divisiveness, war, violence, and hatred. The result is widespread anxiety, stress, fear, anger, grief, and exhaustion.

How can we together navigate the current disorder and disorientation, working toward reorder? How can we take care of each other – personally and collectively – as we work through this overwhelming emotional pain? What practices can help harness our energies as we join other activists to work toward a more compassionate and just society? Our team at Peace Hill will carry out our mission to teach and nurture these practices, serving as conveners and facilitators for Communities of Practice that will emerge through our relationships with faith and community leaders.

Communities of Practice will be open to young adults in their 20s and 30s who are seeking spiritual nourishment and community. If your organization or congregation is interested in forming a Community of Practice for young adults in partnership with Peace Hill, please email [email protected] to learn more.

For Peace Hill, stewardship involves a reverence for and care of the land, which in turn nurtures and sustains its inhabitants. As a steward of the Avila Center, we help care for the grounds and buildings in ways that facilitate connection and cultivate a little more peace within and among each of us.

Toward this end, Peace Hill is leading the renewal of the Peace Garden at the Avila Center. Located near the campus entrance and just outside of the meditation room, the garden provides a quiet place for pause or conversation. In partnership with Self-Help, we are working to transform the garden into a welcoming and accessible outdoor space, a protected area for plants and pollinators, an educational opportunity for guests at the center to learn about the history of the land and the life it supports, and a peaceful place for all to rest and be. The renewed garden will feature native plants that provide seasonal colors and year-round interest, a new arbor, new walkways, and a central area for gathering.

The Peace Garden Renewal project is unfolding alongside multiple property improvement efforts at Avila, including renovation of the gazebos surrounding the campus and the recent installation of a 50kW solar system that will produce about 50 percent of Avila’s energy usage, supporting Self-Help’s goal of becoming energy neutral.

If you’re interested in volunteering or supporting the garden project with a financial contribution, please contact us at [email protected].

Years ago, Sister Evelyn Mattern captured the mission and vision of Peace Hill with the following statement: “Unless action arises from spirit, it’s empty. And if spirit claims all the territory and never gets its hands dirty in the marketplace, it too is empty. I don’t know that I’ve integrated those things. But I’ve quested after it.”

Sister Evelyn’s words highlight the inherent connection between action for justice in the world and spiritual practice, a connection embodied by longtime activist and friend of Peace Hill, Karen Ziegler.

Karen is the organizer and founder of Democracy Out Loud, a group of activists who have been championing democracy and resisting authoritarianism through peaceful protest for the past nine years. Like Karen, many members have decades of experience with social justice organizing.

A unique feature of Karen’s leadership is her emphasis on contemplative practice and spiritual support for activists and organizers. Karen explained that as an ordained minister and practicing Buddhist, she is attuned to the relational connections among activists and the energy of their meetings and actions.

“I do really approach this organizing community kind of the same way that I would approach a religious or spiritual community,” she said. “What’s important is the energy of how we gather, what it feels like to be together.”

In addition to weekly Zoom organizing meetings attended by over 75 members, Karen also leads weekly virtual meditations for activists.

“That’s sort of the beating heart of this‚ in some ways,” she said. “This practicing activist community is a group of people who just drop in and know how to ground themselves, to ask for help, and be open to help from the unseen world and from each other.”

Karen explained that though most members of the group aren’t Buddhists, they’re able to draw spiritual resources from Buddhism that support their organizing. Karen’s own need for sustaining practices as a spiritual and social justice leader led her to discover Buddhism. Her desire to deepen her spiritual practice in a way that connected to the struggle for a more just world drew her to the teachings of Buddhist minister, author, and activist Lama Rod Owens.

“I feel like I’ve always had a practice that has helped me to survive being in this world,” she said. “What I found in Buddhist communities, especially after Trump was elected in 2016, was that they were kind of ‘business as usual.’ There were a lot of white people who just didn’t seem to connect their practice with what was actually happening in the world. And so, fortunately, that was about when I found Lama Rod.”

Lama Rod, the author of Radical Dharma and other books, emphasizes the indigenous roots of Buddhism, integrating earth-based and ancestor-based practices into his teachings. Discovering Lama Rod’s writings helped Karen better understand that not only can spiritual practice support activism, her practice must be connected to her work in the world.

“I had to bring all of it,” she said. “I had to bring my activism that I had been doing as an LGBTQ feminist organizer years ago. I had to bring my sense of urgency about what was happening in the country.”

Karen stressed that the goal of spiritual practice is not to become more content or comfortable. Instead, practice often involves leaning into discomfort, as it allows activists to better understand their connections to the earth and each other, as well as how systems of violence operate, clarifying the importance of relationships and collective resistance.

“They’re very connected for me, the work of organizing, which is all about relationships and community, in alignment with something bigger, with an ethical framework,” Karen said. “That’s the thing that Buddhism does provide that secular mindfulness doesn’t… It’s not about the individual. None of this is about any individual. It’s about all of us trying to get free. So, I feel like our practice individually has to be in alignment with that understanding.”

While Lama Rod has an international following, he has found a particularly significant audience among activists in Durham.

“I know that we have many people who practice with Lama Rod living here in Durham,” Karen said. “He probably has the largest group of practitioners who hang out with him online here than anywhere.”

In addition to virtual opportunities for practice, Lama Rod has led multiple in-person retreats at the Avila Center for Community Leadership in Durham, co-organized by Peace Hill and Bhumi Durham, a group of activists led by Karen.

“To do a residential retreat is something that we’ve always hoped to do, and we’re really, really grateful for [Peace Hill’s] help in making it happen,” Karen said.

Though Lama Rod’s upcoming November retreat at Avila is currently full, Karen emphasized that he is also hosting a BIPOC-only (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) gathering on Wednesday, November 11. Both events will serve as impactful resources that help sustain the work of local activists. Karen clarified that while these retreats are restorative, spiritual practice also takes work and commitment, and gatherings like those led by Lama Rod are important opportunities for that work to happen.

“It takes so much work, and if you do the work, and I’m talking about the spiritual practice of being connected to something, and understanding the power of love, kindness, and connection – I think when we do that work, our organizing has a lot of love and joy in it, and that’s what will sustain us, and continues to sustain us as things get more intense, which they probably will, but we can get through to the other side. There will be another side.”

Follow this link to subscribe to the Democracy Out Loud newsletter: https://substack.com/@democracyoutloud

Though relatively young as a formal nonprofit organization, Peace Hill has over 25 years of presence in the community. As we offer restorative practices to congregations and organizations that are working toward a more just society, we stay grounded in community by deepening these relationships and sharing the inner resources that Peace Hill members have cultivated over decades of experience.

One community connection began in the 1990s with the creation of the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham (RCND). Rev. Mel Williams, current Peace Hill Board member, co-founded both RCND and Peace Hill, establishing a relationship that extends into the present.

Ben Haas, the director of RCND, described the coalition as a 34-year-old community that emerged as progressive people of faith in Durham sought to address the harms they were witnessing.

“The coalition has become a multifaceted space of taking everyday community members with time, capacity, and values, and putting them in a position to be of support and use for their neighbors who are directly impacted by the criminal legal system or community violence,” he said.

RCND offers reentry and restorative justice programs, as well as multiple spaces of practice, including a monthly community luncheon and community circles. Ben shared that his personal journey of coming to lead this work drew him to Peace Hill, as he sought to understand, “how can I be well in that, and how do we make sure that neighbors we’re inviting into these spaces have all they need to be well?”

Ben explained that he and other aligned community leaders found themselves seeking out a group that could hold space, offer resources, and provide the perspective needed to make justice work more sustainable.

“I’ve found that in folks like Terry [Allebaugh],” he said. “Peace Hill has been, for a long time, a place where the questions of persisting in exterior work with interior health and tending to that delicate intersection are explored. I sort of stumbled into Peace Hill as a wiser, older group of people in that familiar conversation.”

Ben emphasized that though both RCND and Peace Hill have grown significantly since their beginnings, the organizations remain aligned in their missions, perspectives, and relationships. “I think of these as two things that grew from the same soil. So how are they, and should they be coming together at this moment?” he asked.

In particular, the emphasis of RCND luncheons resonates with the focus of Peace Hill. Ben explained that “neighbors come [to a luncheon] as a supportive space to be gathered toward and sent from, one that makes whatever community work they’re doing feel more livable. They meet people they don’t know and yet find mutual understanding with. It’s that kind of a space. It’s a home for folks interested in the communal, connective, and interior questions that gather around movement work.”

This alignment created a natural opening for contemplative practice at luncheon gatherings, leading to a reconnection with Peace Hill as Terry and other members stepped in to facilitate those moments. Ben shared that he was excited to involve “someone who represents that contemplative tradition.”

This collaboration grew as contemplative moments expanded into luncheon gatherings focused on contemplation, such as a luncheon led by Ben and Peace Hill Board member Phil Mathews, which explored Etty Hillesum and Joy Harjo as past and present mystical voices that can help us understand the times we are living through. Ben shared that no matter the length, these moments create space for and convey the value of contemplative practice.

“It creates a sort of permission structure for us as an organization, a clear invitation to those we gather that says: ‘This practice is important.’ And whatever else brought us here, let’s witness that our gathering becomes better, deeper, and stronger when we create room for things like this,” he said. “There’s something audacious about creating that intentional space, and about Peace Hill in shepherding that tradition.”

Ben emphasized his appreciation for the Peace Hill members who hold space for contemplative practice in Durham.

“They’re not here to motivate you to some next right thing, or to make sure you’re aware or activated,” he said. “They’re tending a space that grounds people for those things, and cares for community members doing that work. That’s special; that’s really distinctive.”

Visit RCND’s website to learn more and get involved. If you’re interested in incorporating a contemplative moment into your organization’s meetings or activities, please contact us at [email protected].

By Mel Williams, Peace Hill at Avila Board Member

“The glory of God is the human being fully alive.”

–Irenaeus, second century

“Don’t ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.”  

–Howard Thurman

We are living in harsh times. With the current authoritarianism in our country, we are besieged with anxiety, fear, anger, and creeping exhaustion. How do we stay grounded in this rugged time? How do we remain filled with life force when there are death forces at work? This is more than a political matter; it’s a spiritual matter.

To cope with the current stress, I remembered an earlier time when I felt fatigue and exhaustion. A friend said to me, “Go to a monastery. It’s a healing place.” I went, weeping as my wife drove me to the airport. I knew the coming weeks would be crucial for me.

“Where do you come most alive?” That was the question the monk asked me as we walked together on the monastery grounds.

Responding to his question, I said I come most alive when playing with my children, singing, backpacking in nature, connecting with people, and working on challenging justice matters like racism and poverty. The monk responded, “Where you come alive is where you are most spiritual.” That statement came from Brother David Stendl-Rast, my conversation partner. He helped me see that to be awake, aware, and attentive can lead to aliveness. That brief walk with him and my time with the other monks became a watershed moment in my life, a giant hinge on the door of my life and heart.  

When that conversation happened, I was 52 years old in my seventh year as pastor of my third church, and I was exhausted after pushing too hard in a relentless 24/7 schedule. On this sabbatical leave, I had brought my tears and weariness to the monastery, as Bill Coffin said, “to pay a visit on myself, to see who’s at home.” Through tears, I discovered–or uncovered–the aliveness at the heart of my life. 

I am now an elder looking back over the central themes of my life–relationships and aliveness are at the top of the list. Brother David helped me get clear about aliveness.  My life is grounded and fueled by aliveness, which I experience through relationships that give me energy and invite me to come alive.     

The irony is that it took near exhaustion to show me that my aliveness had been covered over by grief, stress, and fatigue. Grief from presiding at too many funerals, leaving me with backed up tears, and a busyness that left me weary to my bones. I began to see a vital paradox: aliveness and grief are not opposites. Aliveness emerges, like plants, from the soil of grief and pain. “There is some strange intimacy between grief and aliveness,” writes Francis Weller. “Grief is suffused with life force.” (p. 9, The Wild Edge of Sorrow)

On that visit to the monastery, I was in their small library, in the stacks, when a book virtually jumped out at me. I grabbed it to read, “The earliest Christians had one central prayer: ‘Remove the deadness, make us fully alive.'” (Margaret Miles, Fullness of Life, p. 7)  

The early Christians had discovered this life-affirming theme that has for many of us been covered over by too many dogmas and creeds, fatigue and busyness. The early Christians are calling us back to a central message of Jesus: “I have come that you may have life abundantly.” (John 10:10)  

How do we internalize this promise of abundant life? Not mere existence, but LIFE. We already have it within us. God is life itself, and God dwells within each of us. Our job is removing the deadness, the barriers like inertia, fatigue, busyness, and preoccupations. To strengthen our connection with the divine force.

The experience of aliveness is really an experience of the divine life within us. Aliveness therefore is not some self-serving narcissism. Aliveness is relational. It thrives on relationships—with the inner Source, the natural world, and our community of friends and colleagues.

The crisis that sent me to a monastery resulted in a swift turn to focus on my inner life within the context of community. Following my first visit at the monastery, I met with a Catholic sister, Evelyn Mattern, who advised forming a practicing community. We gathered a group of colleagues for a monthly contemplative sit, with reflections after the silence. Soon the group got dubbed “the circle of sacred silence.” This group later morphed into being a “solidarity contemplative community,” and was finally named Peace Hill after the rustic hermitage where Sr. Evelyn Mattern lived.

In one of those early meetings following the silence, one person said “Silence gives us a gift that we cannot give ourselves.” For me, that gift is a heightened sense of “the aliveness of life” (Howard Thurman), an experience of “the rapture of being alive” (Joseph Campbell).  

Part of my current practice is to sit with the Quakers in extended silence. It has become clear that our aliveness must be nurtured and restored as we work together toward a more just, compassionate society.

This nurture comes through intentional practices like silence, meditation, walking in the woods, yoga, breath prayers, chanting, singing–whatever practice that moves us away from the head and into the heart, which is the abiding place of love, mercy, compassion, wonder, gratitude, and… Aliveness.

Board member Gann Herman brings a rich legacy of activist organizing to Peace Hill, embodying a dual commitment to action and contemplation. She has served in an advisory role since early conversations about Peace Hill’s partnership with the Avila Center for Community Leadership.

Gann explained that she considers herself among members who are situated “in the trenches,” and finds her involvement with Peace Hill helpful in maintaining an emphasis on spiritual and restorative practices throughout her activist work.

“I’m much more of an organizer and activist than a ‘sit down and think about things’ person, but the emphasis of Peace Hill on the essential unity of work for justice and spiritual practices is something that I try to practice in my life,” she said. “That’s really why I joined Peace Hill in the first place, because I could see the need for that balance in my life. It continues to be something that pulls me back from getting too busy and out of balance with too many efforts – all of which are good efforts – to make the world a place that’s safe for everybody.”

She first became involved with the Peace Hill community through attending morning meditations at Dot Borden’s farmhouse. “That’s how I got to know Mel [Williams] and Terry [Allebaugh] much better,” she explained.  Through this involvement, she learned about the value of contemplation in movement work.

Gann traces the beginnings of her activism to her graduate studies, during which she learned about the injustices her South African colleagues faced, further fueling her desire to fight racial inequality.

“It was the South Africans’ determination–their commitment–that really awakened me to the whole question of racial inequality,” she said.

Through her years of teaching in Southern Africa, she liaised with ecumenical anti-apartheid groups, attended protests, and “learned first-hand what it meant to put yourself on the line for the sake of people who were attacked and harmed, that wasn’t about you personally.” Adopting a baby in Swaziland further solidified antiracism as the focus of her organizing work.

“We came back to the U.S., and it was clear to us we were a family of color; we needed to be looking at the world through his eyes,” she said. “There have been changes in what I’ve focused my work on, but since I moved to Durham in 1990, [racial equality work] has been a huge part of my life.”

Gann has worked with the Poor People’s Campaign, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), Fed Up, Democracy Out Loud, and the National Union of the Homeless. Through this involvement, she supports people who have the courage to fight for their rights despite being continually devalued and dehumanized.

“It’s long, slow, relational work, which I love doing,” she said. She explained that her breadth of experience working with other cultures has allowed her to view relationships as something more than transactional, as well as granting her a broader understanding of spirituality.

Gann emphasized the value of Peace Hill in movement spaces, helping organizers integrate contemplation, reflection, and restorative practices into their day-to-day organizing life, as well as its personal value to her as a member of the board.

“I’ve stayed on [the Peace Hill Board] because I’ve continued to grow as a person, interacting with other members of the board and building friendships with people I wouldn’t otherwise meet and who have done really deep work around spiritual practices, as well as other people in the trenches,” she said. “I’m really grateful to be on the board, because I’ve learned a lot from that group of people and the work we’re trying to shape together.”

About two years ago, a small gathering at Avila Center for Community Leadership marked the first experience of Seasons Within. What began with five members observing the spring equinox has grown into a larger quarterly retreat series celebrating the changing seasons.

Phil Mathews, Board Secretary of Peace Hill at Avila, first developed the vision for Seasons Within and has since led multiple retreats.

“The inspiration for the event came from my own acknowledging and observing the change in seasons, in various ways, for a number of years,” Phil said. “I thought it could be an enriching experience to bring others together to acknowledge and celebrate the equinoxes and solstices.”

As a steward of the Earth, Peace Hill honors the mystery and connectedness of all life and the gifts of the natural world, an emphasis that Seasons Within deepens.

“The initial and primary intention for these gatherings was to immerse ourselves in the beauty and power of nature, and to explore what doing this could mean for our lives,” Phil said. “As a part of this time together, we would also explore changes in our own lives with the hope of gleaning lessons from nature on how to move through these changes, whatever they might be, as gracefully and lovingly as possible.”

The inspiration for the retreat name came from Shirli Hughes, who also led the summer solstice retreat this year.

“When it came time to give a name to this quarterly experience, while brainstorming one afternoon, I called Shirli,” Phil said. “After a few minutes of passing possibilities back and forth, she offered ‘Seasons Within,’ and it felt just right, immediately. It just rang true to what I understood the primary intention to be.”

The next Seasons Within retreat, led by Phil, will celebrate the summer solstice on June 21. We hope you’ll join us for this and future Seasons Within experiences.

Peace Hill at Avila is excited to introduce Kathryn Lester-Bacon, who formally joined Peace Hill in September of last year.

Kathryn was drawn to Peace Hill as an intentional contemplative community that combines inner spiritual life and social justice. “Self-reflection and collective action are mutually edifying and stretching,” she said.

In particular, she values Peace Hill’s role in holding space for retreat at Avila Center for Community Leadership.

“Over and over again, I’ve been drawn to communities that are deeply, thoughtfully embedded in a certain location, caring for those invested in that space, but also paying attention to those who are only there for a little while, who are passing through,” Kathryn said. “I want to support structures and people who are offering hospitality in those locations, who are exploring how to accompany people for the time that you’re with them.”

Kathryn emphasized the need for such spaces to be broadly inclusive, welcoming members of all faith and spiritual traditions, as well as seekers who may have just begun to explore their inner lives.

“My longing has been to continue to connect with intersections of people who might not identify with religious tradition, but who are hungry for deeper spiritual reflection, hungry for communal frameworks of meaning-making and collective action,” she said.

Kathryn felt aligned with members already involved with Peace Hill, including Board Chair Sister Evelyn Craig, who introduced her to Peace Hill’s work. Though Kathryn only recently joined as a board member, her connection to the community extends back much further.

“When I was looking for a spiritual director in Durham in 2010, I reached out to a Sister who said, ‘I’m maxed out, but there’s a new Sister who just moved to town, Sister Evie Craig.’ And so, I reached out to her. I think I was her first directee here in Durham. She’s definitely a thread through all of this.”

Kathryn describes her approach to contemplative life as focusing on “the interplay between words and space.”

“How do we sit in silence?” she asked. “What do we do when we can’t fix things, when we can’t proclaim our way out of things, when we can’t state things, when words run out?”

Kathryn currently serves as a chaplain at Glenaire Retirement Community in Cary. In addition to her professional and community-based work, Kathryn enjoys long walks, reading, drinking tea, conversations with her husband, and trying to keep up with her kids.

by Mel Williams, Peace Hill at Avila Founder and Board Member

How can we navigate the current unraveling, disorder, and disorientation?

We’re living now in a time of enormous losses: the trampling of democracy, decline of institutions, demonization of immigrants, economic insecurity, divisiveness, war, violence, and hatred. The result is widespread anxiety, stress, fear, anger, grief, and exhaustion. As part of our mission, Peace Hill helps provide restorative practices to congregations and organizations—practices that bring aliveness and hope, an alternative to the current chaos.  

How can we take care of each other–personally and collectively–as we work through this overwhelming emotional pain? What practices can help harness our energies as we join other activists to work toward a more compassionate and just society? First, it helps to assess our current situation, to understand the moment we face.

I’ve found help from three teachers. Richard Rohr, a mentor for many of us, speaks of three patterns or movements: order—disorder—and reorder.  It seems clear that we are now facing “disorder” on the way toward reorder. Walter Brueggemann, biblical scholar, wrote that the book of Psalms moves us through three seasons: orientation—disorientation—reorientation. We are now smack in the middle of “disorientation” with the hope of reorientation. Joanna Macy, in her book Active Hope, offers us another three-step pattern: business as usual, the Great Unraveling, and the Great Turning. It’s apparent that we are currently experiencing the Great Unraveling, with the hope of a future Great Turning.

We need resources, practices, and voices that ground us and anchor our communities in the middle of the current storm that is unraveling, disorienting, and disordering our collective life. As we move through these cycles together, we at Peace Hill strive to provide that grounding for our community. We invite you to get involved if you’d like to be part of this important work.

This year, Peace Hill at Avila has hosted a series of retreats to support clergy facing unprecedented challenges. Organized by board members including Revs. Mel Williams, Chalice Overy, and Racquel Gill, and Peace Hill volunteer Rev. Lori Pistor, over 40 clergy have gathered to form connections, find grounding, and hold space for restorative and contemplative practices. 

The final clergy retreat in 2025, led by Rev. Dr. Dumas Harshaw, will focus on the teachings of Rev. Dr. Barbara Holmes, author of Crisis Contemplation and other books on contemplative life. The retreat will explore spiritual practices inspired by Dr. Holmes and provide times for quiet contemplation and conversation, as well as a Tai Chi practice led by Board Chair Sister Evelyn Craig.

Co-sponsored by the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South and Duke University Chapel, this event series connects to Peace Hill’s roots in providing support and rejuvenation for spiritual leaders, as well as the history of Avila Center for Community Leadership. 

“In 1957, Avila began as a monastery devoted to deepening the inner life,” Mel said. “Peace Hill seeks to continue that legacy.”

In addition to deepening the work of Peace Hill, this event responds to the current moment, as clergy navigate increasing tensions and division.

“Given the current divisions in our country and how clergy leaders face enormous challenges in the era of anxiety, fear, and anger as they help to guide their flocks, we proposed that Peace Hill be a resource for weary clergy,” Lori said. “Through a series of three retreats, Peace Hill has provided opportunities for clergy to find encouragement and guidance from local contemplative leaders, Revs. Paul Lang, Chalice Overy, and Racquel Gill.”

The retreats have served as important opportunities for clergy to find both guidance and community. 

“We were hopeful it could be a space offline where clergy could strategize and share best practices of how we are navigating the current political climate,” Racquel said. 

Vanessa Hawkins, spiritual director at Hush Harbor Center for Soul Care, emphasized the importance of both rest and connection for clergy. 

“These retreats have been deeply enriching experiences,” she said. “They’ve helped me recharge, nurture my spiritual life, and form supportive relationships with other clergy. The blend of guided practice, gracious hospitality, and genuine community has made each one truly memorable.”

Rev. Dr. Cathy S. Gilliard, former senior minister at Park Avenue United Methodist Church in New York, NY, expressed appreciation for the opportunity to engage with a diverse group of clergy from across the state.  

“It was diverse along denominational lines, ethnicity, age, background, thought, and experience,” she said. “I also appreciated the diversity of the program itself that included music, art, reflection, and conversations in small groups.” 

Registration is currently open for the final gathering of 2025, Calm in the Chaos, which will take place on Wednesday, November 5. 

Racquel first learned about Peace Hill through a retreat led by Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green. “I was pretty new in my role as a minister at Duke Chapel at the time and I was really craving a space for some quiet time of reflection. I was intrigued to attend a retreat led by a poet,” she said. “Attending that retreat was beautiful for me as it allowed me to meet so many folks affiliated with Peace Hill, most notably Mr. Phil Mathews and Rev. Dumas Harshaw.”

Racquel came to value the Peace Hill community as she attended additional events and became further acquainted with board members. An invitation from Phil Mathews led her to join as a board member, though she was also drawn to the emerging focus of Peace Hill, represented by a talk from Cole Arthur Riley.

“That night at Mt. Level, we saw people of various races, genders, ethnicities, and across generations show up on a Friday to hear from a Black queer woman about the contemplative life,” she said. “Joining the board felt important for me because in our current world I feel that emerging generations will need to have pathways to institutions and communities that can help them explore their own interior lives. To put it plainly, for as much as we need Peace Hill now, I believe we will need spaces like Peace Hill even more in the future.”

Racquel believes that Peace Hill’s work must become increasingly intergenerational and hopes that by serving as a board member, she can help broaden Peace Hill’s reach and scope as a resource for organizations seeking to offer contemplative and restorative practices to their members. She hopes that Peace Hill will grow as a conduit in community organizing, facilitating connections with activists working toward a more compassionate and just society.

“My ultimate hope for Peace Hill is that it will fully live into its mission and grow deeper in the work of coordinating and collaborating with leaders and activists to integrate contemplative practices into training for social action and community organizing,” she said. “While the work we do is phenomenal, in this current climate, I think it is paramount to center the wellness of those on the front lines of labor movements, activism, and community organizing. It is paramount to center the cares and concerns of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and working-class people in Durham and find avenues to partner with them in working towards a more just world.”

On a typical day at Avila Center for Community Leadership, the campus hums with energy. A wide range of groups connect and convene in the meeting spaces, working toward change in North Carolina and beyond. 

However, tucked away in a corner, one place at Avila always remains peaceful. Marked by a small, unassuming plaque, you might even miss it when you walk by. The Meditation Room at Avila overlooks the Peace Garden, both of which are maintained by Peace Hill at Avila. 

In the Meditation Room, which dates back to Avila’s time as a Carmelite monastery, you can find a place for prayer, contemplation, or a quiet moment. If you step through the sliding glass doors to the garden, you’ll be greeted by blooming flowers and an inviting place to sit and enjoy a warm summer day. 

Some exciting updates to these spaces are underway. In keeping pace with the ongoing renovations at Avila, the Meditation Room and the Peace Garden will soon be refreshed and transformed – stay tuned! In the meantime, during your next visit, we invite you to pause for a moment and enjoy the serenity that our corner of Avila’s campus has to offer. 

By Chalice Overy, Board Member

I was nurtured in the bosom of the charismatic Black Church, where silence was rare but contemplation abounded. We expected to commune with the divine in a way that was palpable and transformational, and through the wisdom of leaders like my grandmother and others, I learned the technologies that ushered us into that sweet communion. Despite my “formal” theological education, it is my formation in the Black church that has been most impactful.

One of the things that drew me to Peace Hill is its affirmation that contemplative practice takes many forms and that communion with God is essential to sustaining us in the work that we do in the world. As a spiritual leader, my desire is to help others foster their relationship with God and live out the fullness of their vocation in the world. I’m grateful to do this kind of work with Peace Hill, and also as a spiritual director, a mediator, and a preacher who enjoys re-storying sacred texts through a liberative lens.

In my 25 years in ministry, I have served as a youth minister, senior pastor and associate pastor in several denominations and church contexts. For the past 7 years, I’ve served as the Associate Pastor at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church–a place that gives me enough theological space to continue to grow. I’m also grateful to work among some amazing wellness professionals to provide “liberative, preventative, and intersectional wellness equity and healing justice services” through the Root Cause Collective.

I believe in work-life balance, or what the scripture calls “sabbath”. I make time for both rest and recreation–walking, weight training, eating good food, swimming, dancing, playing pickleball, and bathing in the wisdom of the natural world.

For the past two years, Peace Hill at Avila has hosted A Brief Respite, a contemplative gathering of nonprofit leaders that meets at Avila Center for Community Leadership on the fourth Wednesday of each month. A small but growing event, A Brief Respite began in response to a call from local nonprofit leaders. 

“I could feel in my body that as a nonprofit leader that could never shorten my to-do list, never find a way to take a breath, never stop to consider my own needs, I knew I had to find some sort of restorative rhythm to be able to continue to do the work I love, and be healthy and whole long term,” Dave Crispell, executive director of Jubilee Home, said.

Dave was not alone in yearning to slow down for a moment. According to a recent survey by The Center for Effective Philanthropy, 95 percent of nonprofit leaders are concerned about burnout. This awareness led Dave and Ben Haas, director of the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham, to search for a space for nonprofit leaders to rest and recenter themselves. 

“Having a little experience with Peace Hill, I sensed they and Terry knew a thing or two about creating the specific kind of space I was longing to inhabit and experience,” Dave said.

Terry Allebaugh, a life-long nonprofit leader and president of Peace Hill at Avila, recognized the need all-too-well.

“We set it up so that folks didn’t need to add something else to organize to their schedules; all they needed to do was set aside three hours on their schedule once a month and then find their way out to Avila,” he said. “We would have two hours of contemplative practice followed by lunch and conversation. With funding support from Westminster Presbyterian Church, we have been able to offer A Brief Respite for two years now.”

Ben emphasized the importance of inner life for nonprofit leaders, recalling Meister Ekhart’s assertion that “the outward work will never be puny if the inward work is great.” 

“Dave and I came to Terry with our sense of how punily Durham’s nonprofit environment resources that inner work, and our hopes of making greater space for it,” Ben said. “Peace Hill at Avila became an essential, faithful catalyst for that much-needed space. Month after month, A Brief Respite nudges folks immersed in human urgency toward the importance of putting on our own oxygen masks first. Accepting that simple invitation takes deliberate effort, and I don’t always make it. Every time I do, I leave deeply grateful.”

Dave echoed Ben in expressing appreciation for the space that A Brief Respite provides. 

“I always leave lighter, less exhausted, with more capacity to continue engaging, and believe I am better able to be the ED I want to be because of A Brief Respite,” he said. 

Priskila Arulpragasam, a graduate student in the UNC School of Social Work and intern at Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA), values the variety of approaches to contemplative practice offered by facilitators of A Brief Respite, as well as the consistent opportunity to slow down and rest.

“I think it’s really good to take some time to pause, because often, like with nonprofit work and with the work we do, we keep running, meeting after meeting, event after event,” she said. “I’ve always felt guilty when I didn’t do anything. I’d be like, ‘Am I wasting time?’ But, coming to and finding that space where I can be kind to myself and say, ‘you deserve this space,’ just, you know, absorb the environment, that’s something that’s been very valuable.”

Desireé Lucas, DCIA intern and graduate student studying social work at UNC and pursing a Master of Divinity degree at Duke University, affirmed the need for spaces like A Brief Respite. 

“I think just the fact that a space like this exist for leaders in the community, I think is really important, especially during very intense times like the ones that we’re in,” she said. “I think just the fact that it is a place for people to rest and take a moment to be present, I think is what makes it really valuable.”

Nonprofit leaders at all stages of their careers are welcome to join A Brief Respite. Every fourth Wednesday, attendees gather for contemplative practice from 10:00 am to noon, followed by lunch provided free of charge. There is no cost to attend, though registration is requested. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions or if you’d like to be added to the mailing list. 

By Byron McMillan, Peace Hill Colleague of Counsel

When I first moved to New Mexico, I “stumbled” upon the book, “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I’m certain Harriett Tubman had something to do with it. 

It opened up my mind to indigenous wisdom and ecological consciousness. It opened up my heart to the idea of Radical Belonging that Barbara Holmes crystallized within me. 

Here are five principles that began helping me move through the disharmony of my colonized mind into the  harmony of what the Navajo call Hozho, the Cherokee call Eloheh, the Jews call Shalom, and some indigenous peoples of Africa call Ubuntu: 

1. Reciprocity: Emphasizes the importance of giving back to the Earth and maintaining a balance between taking and giving, fostering a relationship of mutual respect and care.

2. Gratitude: Encourages a mindset of thankfulness for the gifts of the natural world, which can shift perspectives from exploitation to appreciation and stewardship.

3. Interconnectedness: Highlights the interconnected nature of all living beings, promoting a holistic view of the world that values all forms of life and their roles in the ecosystem.

4. Respect for Indigenous Knowledge: Advocates for valuing and integrating indigenous wisdom and practices, recognizing their deep understanding of sustainable living and ecological balance.

5. Living in Harmony with Nature: Encourages living in a way that is in harmony with the natural world, respecting its limits and cycles, and striving for sustainability in daily life.

As a colleague of Peace Hill at Avila, I am committed to integrating the often overlooked indigenous knowledge and practices of the Americas with the contemplative traditions rooted in Peace Hill’s ancestral heritage. 

By combining these principles, we aim to enhance Peace Hill’s mission of building a compassionate and just society. This involves fostering mindfulness, ecological awareness, and a holistic approach to social action and community organizing.

In these challenging times, with powerful forces threatening the soul of our nation, Peace Hill has emerged as a beacon of hope. I wholeheartedly support this mission and am dedicated to its success.

By Evelyn Craig, Chair

My life’s path has consistently invited me to minister across generations and now extends to ministry across denominations, where I am immersed in “ecumenical goodness.” Throughout my religious life, I have cherished the freedom that continually calls me to become the best version of myself.

I brought my years of college campus ministry with me when I came to NC and Duke Divinity School offered me the opportunity to lead groups of students in Spiritual Formation. As a current self-employed Spiritual Director, I continue to meet with those who graduated and are pastors.

Peace Hill was at first a place where I found familiar meditative silence among a variety of denominations. My work with Peace Hill started with an invitation to attend regular “Morning Silence” gatherings. This led to me saying “yes” to an advisory board, which developed into an opportunity to serve as Chair of Peace Hill at Avila.

We planted all of the goodness of Peace Hill at Avila Center for Community Leadership, where our community has continued to grow. In this chapter of my life, I recognize my need to be part of a larger community where my contribution is multiplied by working with others, and Peace Hill is an important part of that. 

This past week, Avila partners and the wider community were invited post-election to gather around the fire pit for conversation and care. Some 35 people, including old and new acquaintances enjoyed an impromptu pot-luck meal including good comfort foods of pizza and s’mores. Conversations around the bonfire provided those assembled the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings, and the simple gift of being present to one another.

I spent the last week or so before the gathering on pause, seeking to allow the feelings of disappointment post-election some space in my mental landscape. Resisting the urge to become urgent, I listened to what was welling up from my deeper self as a meaningful guide toward what might emerge as next steps in the world. The phrase that kept coming back was “go wider and deeper.” Wider in the sense of taking the time to seek out and listen to those who have life experiences and perspectives that may differ from my own- immigrants, low wage-earners, those with limited health insurance, and yes, those who voted for the other candidate. Deeper in the sense of listening to the yearnings of my soul’s desire to strengthen my contemplative journey and there rediscover again and again my inherent connection with all things living. 

Perhaps what we are called to do next arises from going wider and deeper, listening without and within.

I enter quietly into the spacious community room. Nearly fifty chairs are set up in a large circle. A small table, adorned with a single burning candle and an old farm bell, stands in the middle. I take my seat and watch as the light of early morning before sunrise stealthily enters the room. Taking a few deep breaths, I close my eyes.

I am the first of our group to arrive this morning on the fifth day of our pilgrimage with John Philip Newell and Cami Twilling on the island of Iona on the western coast of Scotland.

Earlier in the week we had hiked to the northern beach of the three and half mile long island, to a place called Martyrs Bay. We were re-introduced to the Celtic cathedral of earth, sea, and sky, blending together into a single tapestry. It is a place where one can readily sense the deep connection to the sacred element of all created matter, including each of us.

It is also here, John Philip reminds us, that 68 Celtic Christian monks were slaughtered in 806 A.D. during a Viking raid on the Iona Abbey. The profane and violent layered on the sacred and enriching.

It is also here where we created on the shore a mandala of stone, seaweed, and grasses. Each person said brief words about the gathered stones as we placed them in quadrants representing earth, air, water, and fire. Our words abounded with yearning expressions of hope, compassion, justice, and love.

The same sandy beach where our mandala took shape had run red with the blood of the monks. We were invited to acknowledge both the tranquility and the violence that so often run together in our broken, beautiful world.

We stood quietly as the late afternoon sun cast shadows transfiguring our body shapes on the sand.

Days later in the quiet of this fifth morning sitting with my eyes closed, I hear a slight swish of the door followed by footfalls upon the floor as the pilgrims enter the room and make their way to a seat. First, it is one person at a time, then multiple sounds of entry layer upon each other. Some foot sounds are light like ballet dancers, and others heavier like beasts of burden. I hear a few canes tapping along the wooden floor. Some chairs creak as their occupants settle in. There are recurrent rustlings of papers and jackets directed to their spots on and underneath chairs. The cacophony increases until a moment when the room returns to stillness, like birds in the trees during a solar eclipse.  I hear Cami rise from her chair, walk to the center of the room, and sound the bell to begin our morning meditation.

I open my eyes. The rays of the risen sun are now shimmering on one wall. The first movement of the day’s symphony has ended, and the second one is dawning. There will be harshness in the world this day. There will also be those who recognize the light of love and the sound of hope. Let me be in that number.

By: Terry Allebaugh

October, 2024

We welcome Elaina Eakle as our part-time communications and event coordinator, the first staff member of Peace Hill at Avila! She will be directing online communications including newsletters, program announcements, and social media, as well as coordinating Peace Hill events at Avila and in the Durham community. Originally from Southeast Ohio, Elaina is a PhD Candidate in Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she studies organizational communication with a focus on activist organizing and coalition-building. In addition to her organizing work and studies, Elaina also teaches undergraduate communication courses. She enjoys hiking, writing, and spending time with her two cats.

“I am incredibly excited to join Peace Hill at Avila. Contemplative and restorative practices are vital resources in our current moment, as organizers and community members face ever-increasing stakes and demands. Peace Hill’s mission is an essential component of broader social justice goals and I’m grateful to be part of this work as the organization grows.”

You can contact Elaina at [email protected].

This summer we also welcomed new board members: April Allison, Lois Deloatch, and Racquel Gill.

Did you know the labyrinth at Avila is maintained and sponsored by Peace Hill at Avila?

The labyrinth is an ancient pattern found in many cultures around the world. Labyrinth designs were found on pottery, tablets and tiles dating as far back as 4000 years. Many patterns are based on spirals from nature. In Native American culture it is called the Medicine Wheel. The Celts described it as the Never-Ending Circle. It is also called the Kabala in mystical Judaism.

One feature all labyrinths share is they have one path which winds in a circuitous way to the center.  Differently from a maze, a labyrinth provides a meditative pattern. Walking toward the center of the labyrinth is symbolic of accessing our own center of quiet. Walking the pattern outwardly denotes carrying our renewed selves back out into the world.

Walking a labyrinth is a personal practice and everyone does it for their own reasons.  While there are no set rules on how to do it, here are suggested guidelines to help you make the most of your labyrinth experience.   

Prior to the walk, sit or stand for a bit in the stillness.  If you go with a specific question or issue, put it out there and take a breath before entering the labyrinth.  As you enter, let your mind clear.  Focus on breathing as you move along the path.  Set a comfortable pace.

If other people are walking the labyrinth when you are, keep quiet and pass with care.  Respect the quest of other walkers as you expect them to do for you.

When you reach the center, stay for at least a moment, preferably longer, to allow answers, comfort, inspiration, prayer, or thoughts to enter your mind. 

Begin the reverse path when you are ready.

As you walk your return, take in the goodness of the ground beneath your feet, the air, the surroundings, and your thoughts. After you exit, take some time to reflect on your experience.

If you’d like to get involved, you can volunteer to help maintain the labyrinth. To learn more, please contact us.