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Reverence.

“…to be in awe of, wonder about, be open to, and give attention to (and even honour) The Bigger Picture and our place in it.”

It’s that “wow” that brings you to your knees (literally or figuratively) when you stumble across beauty or are startled with insight in the ordinary, everyday things of life.

Reverence gives us glimpses of the bigger picture and our place in it, cracking open our small, bordered worlds in the process. It makes us grateful for life ‘as is’ and fuels a grounded hope that we could make this place ever more beautiful (thanks to the poet Maggie Smith for that image).

And while reverence is usually associated with religion, it isn’t only for the religious. It’s for anyone and everyone aching for more: more connection, more awe, more courage in order to make this place more beautiful every day.

Reverence matters.

At Big Stone House we teach and practice reverence.

  • Sitting on Sundays

  • Classes and Conversations

  • Rituals and Blessings

  • Sometimes on Saturdays

  • One-on-One Counsel and Care

  • House concerts

  • Retreats

“The Big Stone House isn’t just a place, it’s a way of being…”

A piece of news for y’all: Angie Arendt and Peter McGaugh sold Big Stone House (the place) and re-located to Arizona in 2024.

This move doesn’t stop the work, practice, and community of Big Stone House, though. The good work that Peter and Angie began long before they moved into this beautiful, big, old, storied stone house continues on: the work of hope and healing, good and grief, joy and just about anything that conjures up a sense of the sacred for the everyday, ordinary things of life.

After a brief hiatus (moving takes time, y’all), Peter and Angie are once again creating places and spaces for people to gather, practice, learn, and connect to their own selves, other people, and the bigger picture. Join them online (and sometimes in person) in the months and years to come as they continue to do what they can to make the places we live and work a bit more human, a bit more holy.

Coming up: The Enneagram of Connection, December 7, 2024 from 9-11 a.m. MST. (that’s Noon-2 AST, 11-1 EST, 10-Noon CST and 8-10 PST). Click the link for more details and/or to register. No, you don’t need to know the Enneagram to attend. But if you do? Sweet. All are welcome.

Also coming up: Angie is launching a column on Substack. The Bigger Picture is what it’s called. It’s a blank page at the moment; however, there will soon be stories, photos, and snippets there that’ll have you seeing and showing up for your place in the bigger picture of things. Check it out. Follow along (if you want).

And…Angie is still a regular on Meanderings with Trudy: The PauseCast. Pour yourself a cup and listen in when you can. It’ll be good to have you there (the link here is to an episode on The Enneagram and Connection).

One more thing: even though they happened in the past, we are leaving the offerings (below) on this website so that people can get a sense for who we are, what we do. Just in case you’re wondering.

A Bonus Four Week Session of Sitting on Sundays begins March 3.

10:00 to 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). March 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2024. Online (Zoom). Maximum of 25 participants.

Read more and/or register by clicking the link below. We hope to see you there.

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The name ‘Sitting on Sundays’ is incomplete, we know. While these sessions do take place on Sundays and we do sit together (across the screen, that is), this one-hour once-a-week gathering is often described more like a “mashup between a Quaker meeting and an AA meeting with a hootenanny thrown in every now and again,” to quote one participant. “This practice gives me hope for the world. More than that, it gives me hope for myself and the people around me…and that’s no small thing. I wish everybody had something like this to be a part of. We’d all be better off for it.”

We agree. The title is pretty simple. But then again, so is the practice. Don’t let that fool you, you: these one-hour, once-a-week sits are about as good for the soul as anything we’ve ever experienced.

Curious to know more? Click the link below and join us if you can to grow a bit more reverence no matter where you are in the world (it’s online, after all).

This past January we offered An Introduction to the Enneagram.

And we’ll do it again soon. If you’d like to know more, click the link below to read about that session.

The Enneagram gives us a glimpse at why people do what they do, say what they say, see things the way they see things…but that’s just the beginning.

In “An Introduction to the Enneagram,” you’ll get some good insight on those ‘what’ and ‘why’s.’ More than that, though, you’ll see (and experience) how this new-old resource cracks us open to awe and wonder, connection and curiosity…or, to put it more succinctly: it is plants seeds of reverence.

  • Angie Arendt

    STORYTELLER, RITUAL KEEPER

  • Peter McGaugh

    MENTOR, WRITER

  • The Yellow Dogs

    ELLIE & CHESTER, THERAPY DOGS AND CONTEMPALTIVE TEACHERS

ABOUT US

  • Angie took the time to get to know us and crafted a ceremony that was both traditional and deeply personal. I can't imagine anyone else marrying us...we still tear up at the beauty of her words.

    —Nicki Gallo Affleck, married to Angus Affleck, November 2018

  • I didn't know how much I needed this until I was here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

    A Sitting on Sundays participant, Spring 2023.

  • Angie and Peter are so much more than talented teachers and experienced professionals: they walk their talk, create powerful experiences and make the learning come alive...

    —Catherine Morriset, PCC-ICF certified coach on Big Stone House Enneagram offerings