It’s been a challenging year of ministry through the COVID-19 Pandemic. Last Spring, especially, we lost so many opportunities — including three Spring Break trips that would have involved 81 people from our church. We’re still not fully recovered. But … Continue reading
I counted them this morning: 35 rocks. They were nestled inside the rotted-out trunk of an old oak tree. But I temporarily took them out to count them and clear some of the dust and debris. So that’s how I … Continue reading
I recently finished reading Penelope Wilcock’s book, The Hawk and the Dove. My friend Jason recommended the book to me. He had heard about it in a workshop about Spiritual Direction. But he started falling in love with the story, as he … Continue reading
How does one get college students excited about another semester of remote learning? COVID and weather conditions make it so that a significant portion of the University’s — and our church’s — activity must be online. At least for the … Continue reading
It’s that time of the year for retrospection. After posting my Top Ten Songs of 2020, Top Ten Books of 2020, and Top Ten Hikes of 2020, I thought that I would turn my attention to things that might be considered more substantial, … Continue reading
I don’t get to talk to the people from our Ministry Team all that often. I try to stay pretty consistent with monthly letters. But quieter part of the semester, like right now as all the students are preparing for … Continue reading
We gathered in the parking lot of Walmart for our final in-person Life Group activity of the Fall Semester. We were on a mission to buy Christmas presents for children in our area who struggle with poverty. It’s like a … Continue reading
What a beautiful day in Ohio! We’ve had intermittent rain, 20 MPH winds, and temperatures in the 40s all day. That would normally be “indoor weather” for us. But today, we spent most of the middle part of the day … Continue reading
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest…(Ecclesiastes 3:1-2) Greetings from Kent! How are things with … Continue reading
I knew that Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about Youngstown. But I never listened to it until my 45-minute drive to the city this morning. It’s a sad song. Even the instrumentation and melodic structure conjure up images of the … Continue reading