I began my ministry in small group development at St. Mary’s one year ago in December. This year of developing the framework for small group ministry has been one of the most interesting and rewarding experiences of my life, and many of you have been part of that. As any of you who have come to a small group training know, I like to end my groups by asking each person to share their highlights of the gathering. I thought at the end of 2018, I would share a few of the many highlights of my first year.
A letter to local Jewish congregations
Creating a Loving Container through Listening
Listening deeply is a way of creating a container so that another person’s soul can grow in this way. When we listen prayerfully to another person, we create a positive container that provides safety and encouragement. The container provides the energy and love God wants each of us to have. Within this nourishing container, the soul can wake up, stretch, and fly. The soul can find its purpose and move towards action in the world.
Meals in Motion - The Healing Power of Feeding and Being Fed
Remember that feeling of being sick as a kid and your mother bringing you chicken soup and how that soup made you feel better, not just because of the magical properties of chicken soup but because the simple act of being fed made you feel loved? If you were blessed with this care as a child you know the healing power of being fed when you’re sick or in crisis.
All Humans are Inherently Leaders
Growing a Grateful Heart
There is a beautiful prayer on page 836 of the Book of Common Prayer that taught me how to recognize and offer gratitude. It starts by reminding us to whom we should be grateful: God. Next, it offers some big picture items for which to be grateful: creation, life, and love, before moving a little closer to home by offering thanks for family and friends, and even the challenges we face that lead to satisfying accomplishments. Then, perhaps the most surprising part of the prayer invites us to offer thanksgiving for our disappointments and failures.
An explanation of the youth programming we use at St. Mary’s
Christian Leadership: Being Open to the Sacred
There are as many kinds of small groups as there are kinds of people, and humans look for ways to share in so many ways. I’ve often marveled how a group of strangers spontaneously searches for the things they have in common, even if they have to stretch in very odd ways. “I see you like potatoes.” And they can talk animatedly for some time about all their experiences with potatoes.
The Youth Pilgrimage Process
Our CAP (Confirmation and Pilgrimage) class of high schoolers will be heading to England and France next summer, so I thought now is a good time to share with everyone how we made that decision. It is important to note, first of all, that this is a pilgrimage - not a community service trip, mission trip, or vacation. A pilgrimage is defined as “a long journey or search, especially one of exalted purpose or moral significance” (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). This is an important distinction to make as our students embark on this trip - important for them to focus on the journey, and important for the rest of us to know how to support them in the coming year, and while they’re on the journey.
A Helpful Book for Children Facing Grief
When I read this story, I felt tears in my eyes and my heart was touched deeply. This story was frank yet appropriate for children who might be dealing with a loved one who is ill or dying. The story is helpful not only for grieving children but parents who might be struggling with how to introduce their children to the concept of death and grief. In the back of the book are tips for before the funeral, during the funeral, and the weeks that follow.
Meet Our New Librarian
Small Groups - Making a Big Church Smaller
Why I Go To Church
Friendship Matters
The Other St. Mary
Saturday Breakfast - Respecting the Dignity of Every Human Being
Why Leaders Need Support: Small Group Leadership Support Groups
At St. Mary’s Episcopal Church we would like to have a small group available to anyone who would like one. Small groups are places where people practice listening to God and to each other. Small groups can provide safety and closeness that makes our community life together more meaningful. Sunday worship gains a whole new level of joy when you see your group members sitting in the pew opposite.
Love
It Matters
Earth Day
As Christians, we have a responsibility to care for God’s creation. At the end of the first chapter of Genesis, we are told that humanity has been given dominion over creation. This has been misunderstood by some to mean that we can use, even abuse, creation however we would like. But Scripture teaches us quite clearly that dominion from a Christian perspective means to be servants, not lords. We were invited to be stewards, not rulers, of creation. We are to appropriately use, not abuse, this gift that God has given us.
