The day my first grandchild, Liam, was born, Linda and I arrived at the hospital and went to my daughter Elizabeth’s room to spend time with her and her husband, Josh. Every two or three minutes, Elizabeth would have a contraction, a passing moment of tension and discomfort.
Connections 06.25.2017: Birth Stories
June 18, 2017 by
An angel flew up to me and asked, “What circumstances would you like to be born into?” I said, “I’ve been watching those folks Champ and Sara Ruffin down there in Barnesville, Georgia. They’ve wanted a child for years. They’re hard-working folks. They’re good Baptists. I’d like to be born to them.”
Crossroads: The Christ Candle
December 25, 2015 by
Light the three purple candles, the pink candle, and the white candle in the center. Say: “Today we light the white candle, the Christ candle, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Formations 12.27.2015: Only the Beginning
December 20, 2015 by
This December, we reach the 150-year anniversary of when the United States officially ratified and adopted the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
Formations 12.20.2015: A Disturbing Story of Peace
December 13, 2015 by
It was a Wednesday-night Bible study in December. I was walking my parishioners through the Christmas story in Luke, making a point of how Jesus entered our world in lowly, unassuming, even harsh surroundings.
Formations 12.06.2015: The Cost of Poverty
November 29, 2015 by
About forty workshop participants recently learned valuable lessons about the realities of poverty by taking part in a simulation called The Cost of Poverty (or COPE). In the simulation, participants are matched together at random and given roles based on real-life poverty scenarios.
Uniform 12.21.2014: A Shepherd’s Memory
December 14, 2014 by
We sat in the grass watching the sky, tired and dirty from a long day. My friend and I propped our staffs on a leaning tree and breathed the cold. The sheep, like white patches of fog, slept around us, quiet.