When the desert fathers withdrew from the city, they found that they could not escape thoughts of their former lives of ease. So they developed a three-step method to retrain their thoughts: notice, quarantine and replace.
Author
Lauren F. Winner
Associate professor, Duke Divinity School
Lauren F. Winner is an associate professor of Christian spirituality at Duke Divinity School. She writes and lectures widely on Christian practice, the history of Christianity in America, and Jewish-Christian relations. Her books include "Girl Meets God," "Mudhouse Sabbath," "Real Sex," "A Cheerful and Comfortable Faith" and "Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis."
She is an Episcopal priest and a member of the board of the Episcopal Preaching Foundation.
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Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants from the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship are designed for worshiping communities. These grants allow a wide range of Christian worshiping communities to focus on projects that connect public worship with Christian discipleship and faith formation. Funding awards range from $8,000 to $25,000.
The grants support year-long projects that show promise in fostering renewed or strengthened worship practices within worshiping communities in the United States or Canada. Vital Worship, Vital Preaching Grants for teacher-scholars are also available. Applications for the October 15 deadline will open on July 15, 2026.
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