06/21/2024
HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE!
(Courtesy of copper sculpture in Mrs. Bobbs' Santa Fe garden and sunrise on Fourth Lake outside Rhinelander, Wisconsin, with thanks to Warren Lynn for first posting this inspiring creation.)
02/06/2024
Horizon Ministry is the sacred discernment process a congregation and its leaders engage in as they imagine their future. Do they see a vital congregation (a sunrise) on the horizon or a closing congregation (a sunset) which leaves room for new possibilities on the horizon. If you see a sunset and discern that it is time to bring your ministry to an end, the conference has a team of coaches to guide you through the closure process.
Closure is not the end. The ministry of the church continues in different forms as the church lives, through yet again, another transformation/reformation at the present time. You are invited to reflect on these two questions as you move forward: what is the legacy your church will leave and what kind of ministry will continue after your church’s closure?
Contact the Associate Conference Minister at [email protected] for options, resources and to be connected with a Legacy Coach!
03/03/2023
Add a dose of mindfulness to your day with Elephant's best (not just most popular) articles, new & classic: elephantjournal.com/best 🐘🧡
03/02/2023
I think the key word is "talk". You don't have to close your eyes and bow your head. Little "Jesus" moments even while driving! Father, bless that homeless man walking down the street. Lord, protect this gentleman changing the tire on the side of the road. Jesus, you've made the most beautiful sunset tonight. Thank you Lord for making it so simple.
02/10/2023
Leaving this here for myself today—and for you, too, just in case it's a word you might need. Here's to practicing courage together.
BLESSING OF COURAGE
I cannot say
where it lives,
only that it comes
to the heart
that is open,
to the heart
that asks,
to the heart
that does not turn away.
It can take practice,
days of tugging at
what keeps us bound,
seasons of pushing against
what keeps our dreaming
small.
When it arrives,
it might surprise you
by how quiet it is,
how it moves
with such grace
for possessing
such power.
But you will know it
by the strength
that rises from within you
to meet it,
by the release
of the knot
in the center of
your chest
that suddenly lets go.
You will recognize it
by how still
your fear becomes
as it loosens its grip,
perhaps never quite
leaving you,
but calmly turning
into joy
as you enter the life
that is finally
your own.
—Jan Richardson
from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief
Image: "Gift of Courage" © https://janrichardsonimages.com