Tag Archives: Episcopal Church in Connecticut

Our Holy Land

Bible, Christianity, Jesus, On the Road Again, , , , , , ,
The Old City viewed from Dominus Flevit on the Mount of Olives

From Monday, June 9th through Sunday, June 23rd my husband and I joined a group of pilgrims from the Episcopal Church in Connecticut to visit our Holy Land for the first time. I use the word “our” because it is a land that belongs to all of God’s people. While I have been home (a bit jet-lagged) for four days now, I am still coming to grips in my mind what I experienced and what I am going to do about it.

Walking the Via Dolorosa

My expectations were simple: I wanted to walk in the places where Jesus and other people from scripture had been. I wanted this to be something other than a vacation to another part of the world, especially since we’ve travelled so much abroad in recent years. My expectations were rewarded, but they were also challenged, enlightened, troubled, comforted, and so much more. I went as an American Christian from the Episcopal tradition who happens to be from Connecticut and is a Christian educator. I returned the same, but different; more cognizant of the rights I have as an American citizen and a person who can freely worship (as well as travel) anywhere I choose. Not so for most of the people who call Israel/Palestine home. Jerusalem could be called the “center of the universe” for many faith traditions. Whose land is it? It’s complicated.

Continue reading Our Holy Land →

Mondays with the Editors

Books Worth Reading, Discipleship, Jesus, Resources, , , , , , ,

Church Publishing Incorporated’s editorial team now has a Monday Facebook posting (around 9:00am ET) entitled “Mondays with the Editors.” So every three weeks or so I’ll have a post there (which in the past I would have written here). Follow CPI on Facebook to keep up with me and my colleagues to see what inspires us. These were my recent posts:

Going Beyond Books (12/10/18)

As Advent begins, it has become my tradition to review what has occurred over the past year, including projects worked on and events that have impacted my life. I gather favorite photos, remember trips taken, and the joys and challenges that have gone before. I begin to write my family’s annual Christmas letter which has become a way of my husband and I to reflect and give thanks. As an editor who has had the privilege of caring for the words of others that will be shared in the form of a published work, I am grateful that is role has taken me on a journey with so many, learning their story as well as developing collegial relationships and sometimes building upon friendships that began long before a book was even a dream.

Such is the memory from November, in which I was honored to “vest” Jenifer Gamber as she was ordained to the transitional diaconate at Washington National Cathedral. I was a friend and colleague long before co-writing (Call on Me) and editing (My Faith, My Lifeand Your Faith, Your Life). And to my joy, many other Christian formation friends also attended; that’s what we do––show up at life’s moments to support one another. And so now I have another photo to remind me of how grateful I am to have friends that I also get to “work” with; women who lead the way in helping make the Church (and the world) a better place. Alongside Jenifer, Wendy Claire Barrie (Faith at Home: A Handbook for Cautiously Christian Parents), and Emily Slichter Given (Building Faith Brick by Brick Iand II) together we have celebrated many milestones in our lives. Being their editor is just icing on the cake, being a friend is what I value most.

Continue reading Mondays with the Editors →

Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation

Books Worth Reading, Discipleship, Resources, , , , , , , ,

2018 slid into 2019 quickly with my New Year’s resolution to post here more often quickly was an instant failure. Yes, it’s been awhile (almost seven months!) since I’ve posted here. But those of you who follow me on Facebook or Twitter (plus Pinterest and Instagram (where “I’m still a newbie”) know that I’m still around, active in a variety of ways. So over the next few days I’ll try to make up for that with a snapshot of projects and recaps that I’ve been busy with since last fall – lots of links to resources and articles to come!

Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation

I am now in my third year of a term on the Episcopal Church in Connecticut’s (ECCT) Mission Council (aka diocesan Executive Council). As part of our work stemming from a 2017 diocesan resolution and following Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s initiative of Racial Reconciliation as part of The Jesus Movement, I have been on a team that has helped kick off a two-year Season of Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation in ECCT. For our quarterly gatherings we have held conversations, read books and articles, and shared personal stories. Continue reading Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation →

Talking About Our Faith

Adult Formation, Books Worth Reading, Christianity, Discernment, Discipleship, , , , , , ,

“Knowing Jesus in a New Way” Photo by Karin Hamilton, Canon for Mission Communication & Media, Episcopal Church in Connecticut. Used with permission.

The Episcopal Church in Connecticut’s Mission Council, of which I am an elected member, held its annual “working day retreat” at Camp Washington, ECCT’s summer camp and conference center in January. Besides learning about one another more fully and getting newly elected members “on board” to our duties and responsibilities (we act as the governing body between diocesan conventions––like a parish Vestry or diocesan Executive Council), our gathering was to focus on what initiatives we desired our focus to be on in for the upcoming year.

I had been part of a small sub-group that had been exploring how we, as Mission Council members as well as all of ECCT, could be better equipped to be disciples in the post-Christian mission field. Part of our conversation has been to discern the differences (and similarities) of apostleship and discipleship. The two words are often used interchangeably, but in today’s world in which fewer individuals go to church each Sunday––if at all––each has taken on a new meaning. How we are called to be both apostle and disciple has been informed by these conversations, but also in two books that I happened to be bringing to publication from my editorial desk at the time. And both books are about how we tell our stories––our stories of family, stories of God, and stories of what we believe. Continue reading Talking About Our Faith →