Elaine A. Heath is a true friend of contemplation.
She recognizes the vital importance of bringing contemplative prayer and mystical spirituality not only into the local church, but into the hearts of the clergy and other ministerial leaders in the church. As a seminary professor (she teaches Christian Evangelism at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas) and Methodist elder, she understands the crisis that mainline churches are facing in our time; while as a student of the contemplative tradition, she also appreciates the unique gifts that the wisdom of the saints, monastics and mystics can offer to faith communities today. Her 2008 book The Mystic Way of Evangelism considers how church communities can find inspiration and guidance from figures like Julian of Norwich, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Bonaventure — along with more recent figures like Hans Urs Von Balthasar, Thomas R. Kelly and Henri J. M. Nouwen. Heath shows how the wisdom of these great contemplative exemplars, far from being just garden variety piety, can actually point to a vibrant re-imagining of Christian community and ministry, with an emphasis on justice, kenosis, humility, and inclusive community.
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