Starting the Retreat in Daily Life

I’m excited to begin the Fruit of the Spirit Creative Arts retreat in daily life this weekend! All those who ordered materials should have received a welcome email with links to our Facebook page and the retreat blog page. You can find out more about the retreat here. And it is not too late to…

Weekly Worship Piece: Thomas

This week, the disciple we are focusing on is Thomas. It is interesting to note his three speaking parts in the Gospel of John. In chapter 11, when Jesus suggests they go to back to Judea the disciples remind him that the last time he was there people tried to stone him. When he insists…

Prayer for a Presidential Election Year

God of justice and compassion, God of Republicans and Democrats and Independents, God of the poor and the 1% and the middle class, in the heat of this election year we pray for our nation, our churches, and ourselves. In the midst of meanness and deception, may our words be kind and true. In the…

New Retreat Materials are Ready to Go!

I’ve had an intense and fun weekend getting the Fruit of the Spirit retreat books and materials put together. What I thought would be a one-hour editing/copying job yesterday turned into three hours. And the question is, when will I learn that those types of one-hour jobs always take three hours? It’s not like I’ve…

Sermon Snippet: Calling the Disciples

So here’s the part of yesterday’s sermon that is most compelling for me.  The texts are Matthew 4:18-22 and 9:9; you can read the whole thing here. * * * * * * * Peter and Andrew, James and John and Matthew don’t just leave behind stuff, they leave behind their most comfortable identities–the work…