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Stephen Copeland

Stephen Copeland is a storyteller and an Indiana native who now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. His new book, "In the House of Rising Sounds," explores the spiritual dimensions of music and thin places. He is an editor with Franciscan Media.

Dances and Diapers: Reflections on Parenting and Prayer

Stephen Copeland August 11, 2022

I hold my newborn son; he holds my gaze. As I carry him in my arms, he carries my heart to a new place. I notice every shift of his eyes, every wince, every movement, and all the thoughts he has not yet learned to express. I feel every ounce of energy jolting through his body. Then I feel the energy slowly dissipate, trickling out into the nothingness, as I bob him up and down, swaying in the living room to Fleetwood Mac. His body relaxes as he closes his eyes.

Franciscan Peacemakers: On the Front Lines of Human Trafficking

Stephen Copeland May 25, 2022

The Franciscan Peacemakers have been helping women struggling with prostitution and poverty for over 25 years. Now some of the women they’ve helped are giving back.

My God, My God, Why?

Stephen Copeland April 11, 2022

Jesus of Nazareth’s prayer life was not Pollyanna. It was messy, honest, and complex. Even the Son of God experienced the pain of God’s absence.

Followers of St. Francis: Emmet Murphy, OFM

Stephen Copeland March 25, 2022

The plan was for Emmet Murphy, OFM, to spend a few weeks in Arizona, but then COVID-19 hit. There would be no going back to New Jersey. Border work became his lifestyle, and Arizona became his home.

A Broken and Contrite Heart

Stephen Copeland March 11, 2022

In dark times we sometimes struggle to find words not only to pray but to describe what we are going through to anyone.

Live in Me, Love in Me, Act in Me

Stephen Copeland February 28, 2022

Etched on the back of my mother’s headstone are three simple prayers: “Lord, live in me, love in me, and act in me. ”

Adapted from Clarence Enzler’s Everyone’s Way of the Cross, these prayers not only perfectly describe my mother’s life, which ended suddenly in February 2021, but also echo a ritual she loved during Lent: the Stations of the Cross.

Stir Our Hearts with Nearness

Stephen Copeland February 23, 2022

When Francis of Assisi was blind, ill, and on his deathbed, he wrote his famous “Canticle of the Creatures.” What if we allowed the Incarnation to stir our hearts as it did for Francis, even when we feel lost or frail?