Contemplate This! Interview with Rev. Dr. Tilden Edwards

This third interview is with the Rev. Dr. Tilden Edwards, an Episcopalian priest and founding member, former Executive Director, and now Senior Fellow of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. Shalem is a Hebrew word meaning "whole" or "complete," or as Tilden explains in this podcast, the Hebrew captures the notion of "movement toward wholeness." According to their website, "Shalem is grounded in Christian contemplative spirituality yet draws on the wisdom of many religious traditions." Through Tilden's leadership Shalem was one of the first institutes designed to train ministers and church leaders for spiritual direction, particularly outside of the context of monasteries where the practice has continued since the earliest centuries of the Church. In that regard, Tilden is a particularly important figure for the rebirth of contemplative spirituality in a distinctively ecumenical context - that is, among Christians of all denominations and backgrounds. It is also worth highlighting that his background includes congregation-based social justice work in Washington, D.C., in his early career as a pastor - he talks about leading others down 16th street in his cassock in the March on Washington in 1963 - and that his introduction to contemplation was further ignited through intensive introductions to contemplation early in his career both with an Episcopalian Benedictine monastery and with a Tibetan Buddhist lama.