As a leader of a group that tries very hard to be ecumenical and also tries very hard to impress on everyone the importance of spiritual practices that strengthen connection with God, I found Flee, Be Silent, Pray by Ed Cyrzewski quite interesting.
Read MoreThe four-fold practice of showing up, paying attention, participating with God, and letting go of the outcome can be complex. We have been participating and leading experiments that do well, fail, don’t take off, or move in unexpected directions. Our cohort community has been there to share in celebration and ask reflective questions to help us see what is happening to us in new ways.
Read MoreThe first step in living contemplatively is simply showing up—presenting oneself for an encounter.
Read MoreOne thing that is very clear: it is important to all of us that we connect to our communities and celebrate the relationships that are formed through these connections.
Read MoreBy Kate Rudd
The winter garden is not beautiful to the untrained eye. No more neat, vibrant rows of lettuce, carrots, chard, squash, and tomatoes. No colorful display of flower blossoms or insects abuzz. No neighborhood children running to pick carrots—exclaiming over how a radish grows. Nothing but empty lines, sad perennials. The intelligent gardener uses winter to enrich their soil with a diverse jungle of cover crops to nurture microbial activity, replenish nutrients depleted from last season, and build the soil by growing then composting organic matter. These techniques significantly enhance next season’s potential, but in winter this looks like chaos that doesn’t fill harvest baskets. It is generally barren, decaying, messy. It seems meaningless and a little depressing.
Read MoreYou are Family
by Ryan Klinck
“You are family,” said Jonathan and Betsy to our friend Morris. “If it ever gets too cold outside, you have to come stay at our place. No excuses, alright?”
Read MoreChrist is Life
Advent, Week 4
by Andrea Lingle
I just spent three hours cleaning up the room shared by my second and third children. I begged, threatened, and cajoled my children to help me. I lost my temper when I found a basket of washed, dried, and folded clothes carelessly upended onto the floor. Every time I clean up my home, I am filled with grating antipathy for the world of physical science. Could we not have been dropped into a universe that tended toward order?
Read MoreStory Sharing in Portland
by Eric Conklin
A few weeks ago, an evening of story sharing was held at the United Methodist Church’s Peace House in the Irvington neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. There were about 75 people present from a variety of experiences and traditions, all of whom came curious to hear stories and make connections with others. I emceed the event, which was fun and a little nerve racking! There was an opportunity to talk about each of the sponsors for the event, where Missional Wisdom was one of 3. This story sharing event has been an ongoing project of the Parish Collective, a network of neighborhood expressions of micro-faith communities, inspiringly born out of the work of Paul Sparks, Tim Sorens, and Dwight Friesen.
Christ is Mystery
Advent, Week 3
by Andrea Lingle
If Paul was a Jew among Jews, I am a first-born among first-borns. I live my life religiously. About twenty years ago, I went hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina with my family and some family friends. The place where we were hiking crossed a rocky bald where there were patches of sensitive lichen. A helpful sign instructed hikers to follow a trail of yellow painted dots to minimize the ecological impact of hundreds of booted feet. After a few minutes of ambulatory dot-to-dot, we sat down to look at the view. My mother, always aware of her children, had seen my careful attempts to minimize my lichen-impact, and teasingly asked if I was sitting on a dot.
Read MoreGod is Amazing
by Wendi Bernau
The wonder and mystery of the Holy Spirit astounds me. I am humbled when I have the privilege to participate in the movement of God anytime I am able to listen and respond to God’s leading. Case in point: I had applied for and received grant money to facilitate an arts retreat for recovering alcoholics at a women’s transitional housing facility in Chicago the first weekend in November. There is a lot of prayer and energy expended in preparation for these retreats: the elements, flow, etc. I’m a feeler, and it has to feel right.
Read MoreChrist is Love
Advent, Week 2
by Andrea Lingle
The flow of the love of Jesus is the atomic signature of the Christ. An atomic signature is a unique array of electromagnetic waves or signals that every atom emits and absorbs that allows persons with the right equipment to identify anything on an elemental level. The body of Christ, in all its diversity is known by love. I do not mean only love given or received in the name of Christ, but love. The love of the Jew, the Greek, the Muslim, the agnostic, the addict, the sex worker, the evangelical, or the Pope is the signature of the living Christ, incarnate in us, come again.
Read MoreThe Cochran House, an MWF Epworth House
by Justin Hancock
Dear Friends,
The residents of Cochran House have spent the last several weeks out in the garden, clearing away grass and weeds and turning the earth in preparation for planting both winter and spring seeds. It occurs to me that this is very much like what we have been doing as a community in relating to both our neighborhood and our anchor church.
What is Christ?
Advent, Week 1
by Andrea Lingle
What is Christ?
Jesus lived two thousand years ago and was called Christ. So, it seems clear that we could infer things about Christ from Jesus.
Read MoreCome, Thou Long Expected Jesus
by Andrea Lingle
The leaves are falling from the trees here in the western North Carolina mountains. There have been piles of people flowing through our little town as people pause their lives to come experience the spectacle of gold and red against a cerulean sky (that’s a fabulous blue color).
But I didn’t.
Foundations Workshop
by Stephanie McKellar
November 2 - 4, 2017, the newly re-formatted Launch & Lead cohort met in Winchester, Virginia for our first gathering together, the Foundations Workshop.
We begin with spiritual direction, in the safe space of the Rotunda; we are hosted in our weekend by Shenandoah University. Matt Johnson welcomes us to the space with an abundance of spiritual tools to facilitate our spiritual practice.
Read MoreThat's a Wrap
The Wesleyan Quadrilateral, Week 10
by Andrea Lingle
It is a monumental thing to begin. It is a gentle grief to end.
We have a lovely little spreadsheet that helps organize the themes for this newsletter. The weeks are tallied, the authors write, the blog roll—well, it rolls. But, what isn’t recorded in those little boxes is the wrestling.
The Julian Way
by Matthew Schroeder
Matthew is a young man who found his way to the The Julian Way through a connection we have with Britney Burroughs, the Methodist campus ministry director at University of Texas Dallas. Matthew received his master's degree in English from UTD, and Justin and Lisa Hancock met him a few years ago as they were speaking with the Wesley Foundation leadership. The Julian Way has traveled with Matthew as he has discerned a call to ordained ministry and applied to Perkins School of Theology.
Does This Make Sense?
The Wesleyan Quadrilateral, Week 9
by Andrea Lingle
There is a petition going around Facebook in my area. A power company has been cited for excessive disgustingness at their coal plant, and they are being required to clean up. To defray the cost of said clean up, they have proposed an upcharge to their customers.
Read MoreJulian 360
by Rev. Justin Hancock
Hello friends and companions of The MWF Dispersed Community. I am excited to tell you about a new initiative from the Julian Way.
Beginning in November, The Julian Way will unveil a blog and community forum based around disabled identity and culture.
Sola Reason
The Wesleyan Quadrilateral, Week 8
by Andrea Lingle
Five hundred years ago a priest hurried along the streets, trailing papers and worry. He was late. It was All-Saints’ Day and he was late. He would be reading the gospel message. He tugged his jacket over his shoulder and stooped to grab a handful of papers that had fluttered loose. As he rounded the corner to the church, he skidded to a stop.
Read More
