CORE Faculty
Barbara Holmes
A scholar of African American spirituality and mysticism, Dr. Barbara Holmes reveals how the cosmos can expand our limited constructs of religion, race, and power. As faculty at the Center for Action and Contemplation, she teaches how God’s communal presence can inspire imagination and wisdom, especially in times of crisis. She is the author of Race and the Cosmos , Joy Unspeakable and Crisis Contemplation.
essential reading
Crisis Contemplation Mercifully Emerges
Dr. Barbara Holmes believes contemplative experience can emerge in times of collective crisis. She invites us to understand how crisis is experienced at the communal, tribal, national, and global levels.
Daily Meditations
Recognizing Deserts Today
In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. —Mark 1:35 Rev. Dr. Barbara Holmes (1943–2024)…
Listen
Honoring the Life of Dr. Barbara Holmes and Birthing Justice with Linda Janet Holmes
In this very special episode of The Cosmic We, we’re honoring the life of our beloved co-host Dr. Barbara Holmes. Co-host Donny Bryant and producer Corey Wayne recall what it was…
Daily Meditations
Wisdom from Barbara Holmes
Read Daily Meditations inspired by the words of Barbara Holmes.
“The world is the cloister of the contemplative. There is no escape. Always the quest for justice draws one deeply into the heart of God.”
– Dr. Barbara Holmes
A Story From Barbara
Fishing—my contemplative practice—is the place where I find real connection. I fish with my husband, George. Normally we throw them back, but occasionally bless them for nourishment. We don’t talk a lot. We connect in other ways—through the ocean, the waves, the birds diving, and the struggle. God’s grace has been to live, to breathe salt air, and to just be.