Holy Knots and Dropped Stitches

A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble

“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” — Anonymous Stitcher of Sacred Wisdom

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Photo by Oksana Maselko on Unsplash

This weekend, in a burst of spiritual optimism (and questionable judgment), I decided to learn how to knit. I told myself it would be meditative. Grounding. A way to embody peace while Rome burns and our democracy does backflips into the abyss.

My friend, who is both gifted and suspicious, watched me closely as I took up the needles. She patiently cast on a row, explained the mechanics, and then handed it over with the quiet confidence of someone who knew this would end in either enlightenment or expletives.

I made it through two rows before I began praying in four-letter words. By row four, I had entered a kind of spiritual purgatory where every stitch was both a sacrament and a small betrayal. I briefly considered ordaining the fireplace as a holy place of yarn sacrifice.

Listen, I get it now: knitters are spiritual warriors. You wield your needles like tiny sabers of calm in a world unraveling at the seams. I tried to join your sacred order, but the Divine clearly whispered, “Not your calling, child.”

But in the middle of my meltdown, I started thinking about the state of the world—about the militarization of our cities, the cruelty aimed at the vulnerable, and the endless unraveling of systems meant to protect us. I realized: knitting and justice are not so different.

Both require patience. Precision. Repetition. An ability to stick with it even when you want to cry or throw things. Both demand you show up day after day with compassion, even when you’re tired. Even when the thread gets tangled or the news makes you feel like screaming into a decorative throw pillow.

It’s a spiritual practice to create something slow and steady in a world that thrives on speed and spectacle. Sometimes we knit. Sometimes we march. Sometimes we write. But all of it—when rooted in love—is an act of sacred defiance.

And so I’m back to writing. The only knots I can handle are metaphorical.

But bless you, you holy stitchers of the world. May your yarn never snarl and your hearts stay strong.

We are in this together,

Cameron

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Reflection Questions

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1. What practice, no matter how imperfect, grounds you in the midst of chaos?

2. Where do you feel the call to create something slow and sacred in a fast, unraveling world?

3. What’s one stitch (action, prayer, offering) you can make today toward healing?

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A Prayer for the Day

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A Prayer For the Tangled Ones

God of the dropped stitch and the fraying edge,
We are coming undone in so many ways.
And still, you invite us to try again.
To make beauty. To mend what we can.
To hold one another with patient care,
even when we don’t know what we’re doing.

Bless the artists, the activists, the knitters of community,
those who thread love through every row of injustice.
And bless the rest of us—clumsy, tangled, and trying—
as we find our own way back to sacred creativity.
May we make something beautiful with the mess.

Amen.

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Spiritual Practice

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Pick Up the Thread

Today, choose one simple, tangible action that helps you mend the world.

You might:

• Cook something for someone who’s struggling.

• Send a card to someone who is grieving.

• Repair that thing you’ve been avoiding.

• Say a prayer for people you’ve given up on.

• Knit (if you dare).

Whatever it is, let it be your imperfect offering. Your dropped-stitch hallelujah. Your sacred loop of resistance.

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Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…

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October 23, 30, November 13, 20 2025, 7pm ET - In Search of a New Story: Reimagining What Comes Next, A 4-Part Online Series with Dr. Matthew Fox, Cameron Trimble, Ilia Delio, Diana Butler Bass, Caroline Myss and Luther Smith. We are living through the unraveling of many old stories—about who we are, why we’re here, and how we are meant to live together on this Earth. As these inherited narratives collapse under the weight of climate crisis, social fragmentation, and spiritual disconnection, the question becomes clear: What story will guide us now? REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

November 3 - 6, 2025 - FREE Online Digital Ministry Summit - Join us for four days of conversations from over a dozen digital ministry leaders, including the Convergence Digital Ministry Senior Fellows. REGISTER HERE.

October 30 - December 4, 2025 - Online Course “Partnering with Life: Our Missing Ally” with Margaret Wheatley. Meg is launching a new course (and I will be tagging along). Partnering with life means much more than getting into nature to soothe our troubled selves. Life is waiting for us to join her as we struggle to maintain sanity through this dark and destructive time. Learn more and register here.

July 19-24, 2026 - Join me and amazing co-facilitator, Victoria, on retreat in the back-country of beautiful Wyoming. The Art of Wilding is a 5-Day Expedition for Women Leaders. We will spend the week reconnecting to nature, exploring our inner landscapes for change, and engage the wisdom of spiritual teachings. Click here to learn more.

I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.

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If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.