The Future Needs the Franciscan Spirit

A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble

“What we are looking for is what is looking.” — St. Francis of Assisi

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I’ve just spent two days in the company of extraordinary souls—nuns, friars and laity from Franciscan communities across the world—gathered not to preserve the past, but to imagine the future.

They weren’t strategizing how to keep institutions alive. They were asking a far more radical question: What kind of presence will the world need from us in the years to come?

As we dreamed together about the shape of the future—ecological collapse, social fragmentation, technological upheaval, spiritual longing—what emerged was more than a strategy. It was a kind of spiritual template, one that reflects the best of the Franciscan tradition but resonates far beyond it.

These contours felt like an invitation not just for friars and nuns—but for all of us.

We sense that in the future the Earth will bear more wounds than ever—burned forests, rising seas, displaced peoples, grieving species. The world will need healers of the Earth—those who see creation not as a resource to be exploited, but as sacred kin to be honored and protected.

We will need prophets of simplicity—people who live with open hands in a clenched-fist world, who embody the truth that joy is not in accumulation, but in deep connection.

We will need bridge-builders and peacemakers—those who know how to stay present across difference, who choose communion over control, who embody humility in a culture obsessed with being right.

We will need companions of the poor and marginalized—not as rescuers or heroes, but as fellow travelers. We will need people who understand that dignity doesn’t come from status or wealth but from our shared humanity and sacred worth.

And perhaps most of all, we will need teachers of joy and beauty—those who laugh freely, grieve deeply, and see God in the ordinary. They will know that delight is a form of resilience.

These aren’t just Franciscan callings. They are human ones. They are the contours of a spiritual life grounded in humility, joy, simplicity, and solidarity—qualities found in many traditions, but illuminated here with Franciscan light.

The old stories of control, domination, and separation are crumbling. In their place, we are being invited to remember a deeper truth: that we belong to one another, that the Earth is alive, and that love is still the most powerful force we’ve ever known.

The Franciscan charism offers a pattern, a melody line in a larger symphony of sacred living. It’s a witness we need—not necessarily to become Franciscans (although that is a good option), but to become more fully human.

Let us take up that call—not in robes or rules, but in reverence and relationship.

The future doesn’t just need new systems. It needs new souls.

We are in this together,

Cameron

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Reflection Questions

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• Which of the five invitations—healer, prophet, bridge-builder, companion, teacher—calls to you most deeply in this season of life?

• How might you express humility, simplicity, or joy in your everyday choices?

• What spiritual traditions, stories, or practices remind you of your place in the sacred web of life?

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A Prayer for the Day

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A Prayer for the Path Ahead

Holy One,

You who are present in sparrows and street corners,
in silence and song,
in friars and freedom-dreamers,

Teach us how to walk gently.
Make us healers of a wounded world,
bridgers of divides too long ignored,
companions to those we’ve forgotten,
singers of joy that can’t be silenced.

Strip away what is false,
strengthen what is true,
and shape us into people who live
not for praise,
but for peace.

Amen.

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Spiritual Practice

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Living the Invitation

Today, listen for the part of the invitation that speaks to you most. Don’t force it. Let it find you.

• Maybe the Earth will call you to tend her—by walking, planting, weeping.

• Maybe simplicity will whisper in your habits—asking you to unplug, declutter, release.

• Maybe a fractured relationship will offer a chance to build a bridge, even a small one.

• Maybe joy will tap you on the shoulder, inviting you to sing aloud or notice a dandelion.

You don’t need to join an order or take a vow. You just need to respond, in the quiet way your life allows. Start small. Stay sincere. Trust: this is holy work.

The future is not only shaped by what we build. It is shaped by how we walk.

Let’s walk with reverence, humility, and love.

Let’s walk the way the Franciscan spirit teaches—soft-footed, open-hearted, deeply rooted.

May we find joy in the journey.

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Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…

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September 4, 5:30pm ET - I will be collaborating with the Anderson Forum for Progressive Theology to host a conversation with Thomas Jay Oord on Open and Relational theology. It’s a FREE event. Register here.

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 other Special Guests. 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!

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.