The grief of closing a ministry — and the grace that follows
What does it feel like when a ministry you love comes to an end? Karie Charlton reflects on grief, relief and the quiet work of trusting God in seasons of transition.
More Stories from this Author
Learning to pray through breath and music
Karie Charlton offers a reflection on embodied faith, music and mindful breathing.
A prayer for courage and hope in the new year
Entering the new year with more questions than answers? You’re not alone. This prayer by Karie Charlton offers a path toward hope, peace and renewal.
Haunted houses and holy moments
Karie Charlton shares how God's love can meet us in unexpected places.
Creating a period-positive church: Hospitality, advocacy, and sacred care
Churches can embrace period-positive practices to foster hospitality, advocacy and care, writes Karie Charlton. Inclusive spaces affirm all lives.
‘No Kings’ in Moab: Protest and pilgrimage
A peaceful protest in Moab becomes a sacred act of belonging, writes Karie Charlton.
Curiosity over fear: Healing body and soul at an onsen
A visit to a public bath in Japan led to unexpected healing for Karie Charlton.
What Japanese Gardens taught me about letting go
Sometimes, you have to say goodbye to something full of potential, writes Karie Charlton.
How national parks taught us the art of slow travel
Karie Charlton and her husband Kurtis used their summer travel to engage mindfulness. "We aren't in a hurry," they would remind each other.
The hospitality of silence
Karie Charlton finds new depths to hospitality during a silent retreat.
Stitches of lovingkindness
Karie Charlton helps a colleague create a Jewish prayer shawl and reflects on interfaith friendship and lessons of kindness.
Confessions of a church-less pastor
What does it mean to be a pastor without a church? What does it mean to be a church without a pastor? Karie Charlton reflects.
Oh, the places you will go: Reflections from a multi-faith funeral
Looking at Psalm 121, Karie Charlton reflects that we are all called to respond to each other and participate in the Universal Heart.
Shattered illusions and sacred encounters: A journey through the woods
In the woods, writes Karie Charlton, we find doors to new beginnings, even in the depths of winter.
Reading for fun: Book crawls and Scholastic Book Fair vibes
When selecting books, Karie Charlton typically picks what she should be reading — usually a book for work. Whether it’s a book crawl or pretending she’s a kid at a Scholastic Book Fair, here are some ways she’s trying to read for fun.
A sabbath won’t always save you. Sometimes you need to start something new.
Reflecting on the 1984 fantasy film “The Neverending Story,” Karie Charlton shares her decision to dissolve her call.
The ship has run aground — let’s find a new way
Karie Charlton offers three words of advice to churches charting a new path.
Where do clergy find belonging?
If clergy help to create a space of belonging for others, where do we find belonging ourselves, wonders Karie Charlton?
“I don’t know who you are, but I know that I love you”
Karie Charlton writes about grief, dementia. and love.
Traveling grace
Karie Charlton offers some advice for those planning a pilgrimage, including words of wisdom from her uncle, a Jesuit brother.
Be gentle with yourself this Epiphany season
Maybe the ordinary and divine comingle like coffee with cream, writes Karie Charlton.
Hope is a shape-shifter
Can hope be a thing with feathers? A determined woman who won't stay down? The application of special face lotion? Karie Charlton says it is all these things and more.
An Advent with grit
This Advent, Karie Charlton turns to biblical women with stories that are brutal and beautiful, messy and good.
A prayer for beauty, truth and goodness
Karie Charlton shares the short prayer that buoyed her spirits as a music teacher at a Catholic school and continues to shape her today.
“You don’t look like a pastor”
Rev. Karie Charlton shares how she claims space as a female pastor.