The Common Cup

Ever slip your hand into the pocket of a coat unworn for a trinity of seasons and find there objects left over from what seems to be a lifetime ago? A paper clip, an old piece of chewing gum, a few tattered pieces of paper, notes with something then urgent, but now with escaped significance? Ever watch a three-year-old play in a sandbox, creating castles with imaginary inhabitants limited only by his or her creativity? Ever have a private place where you spent some of your adolescence experimenting with ideas, relationships, and objects which, at the time, were viewed askance by a suspicious adult world? Ever have a marriage or an intimate relationship and be pressed to wonder in a private moment what makes it tick...or not, and how it will evolve twenty, thirty years down the road? Ever encounter someone panhandling on the street, in an office, or in a park and wonder about his story, her history, their plights that brought them to this request for a handout; and if you gave something, and your fingers grazed that roughened palm, ever wonder what lined and wrinkled that hand, what experiences and "touches" had crossed that palm before yours? Ever wonder what happens to spirituality if it becomes ensconced in institutional religion and forfeits some of its soul? In this unique book of poetry, Tom Conley, author, preacher, psychotherapist, and retired Canon Pastor of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, Ga., explores some of these ordinary events of our lives that carry spiritual meanings...but only if we are paying attention, and if we are mindful of the elements that create soulful moments and pour these varied experiences into The Common Cup. Conley is Executive Director and Pastoral-Theologian-in-Residence at the Florence McDonnell Counseling and Spiritual Life Center in Atlanta.

The Rev. Canon Thomas (Tom) H. Conley is the retired Canon Pastor of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, GA. He is one of the founders of the Florence McDonnell Center, a counseling, psychotherapy and spiritual life center where he is the Executive Director, holds the Pastoral Theologian-in-Residence Chair, and is a clinician and a spiritual director. Canon Conley holds degrees from Furman University (BA, 1959) and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Th.M., 1964). He was a Southern Baptist minister for 30 years, serving a number of churches in Kentucky and Maryland before coming to the Northside Drive Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA, in 1976 where he spent 15 years as its Senior Minister. He became an Episcopalian in 1991 and was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1995.

Tom is known for his stimulating sermons and creative teaching styles. His first book, Two in the Pulpit: Sermons in Dialogue, (Word, 1973) presented an innovative and experimental preaching style. His second book, Pastoral Care for Personal Growth: Enabling the Laity to Share in Pastoral Ministry (Judson Press, 1977) explored spiritual direction as a method for growth and maturity in the laity.

He is married for 45 years to Helen Elizabeth (Betty) Bishop formerly of Summerville, SC. They have two sons, Scott and Sean, and two grandchildren, Justin and Ansley. All live in Atlanta, GA.

Note: Author's proceeds will be given to the Florence McDonnell Counseling and Spiritual Life Center.