SUNDAY SERVICES:

Have you ever driven I-87 through New York?  It’s called the Adirondack Northway, and, as highways go, its views are spectacular.

The summer after my junior year I worked as a nanny for a family with three children.  I even traveled with them to their summer home in the Adirondacks.  They drove with the older kids in the first car, and I drove behind them in their second car, with a sleeping preschooler in the back and a chocolate lab as my copilot.

I was nervous about caravaning to the Adirondacks.  Would I lose them along the way?  I purposely drove in silence (no music!) so I could concentrate.

As I drove along the Adirondack Northway, my thoughts were hardly quiet.  Huge peaks rose on either side of the highway.  Each curve in the road afforded a new, awe-inspiring vista.  I found myself whispering, “Oh wow,” to no one in particular.

And then I found myself speaking to someone...when I realized he was speaking to me.

We are learning that God does speak to each of us in a multitude of ways.  

Our small group has been zooming together for sometime now.  We recently read Dr. Larry Selig’s book together, Five Prayers God Loves to Answer, and we were blessed out of our socks. We’ll not hear or read The Lord’s Prayer the same again!   

For Lent we decided to take on the topic of “Healing” as some dear friends, Don & Anne Bloch, agreed to join our small group. 

Don & Anne began their healing ministry when I was rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Madison, IN during the late 70s to the mid 80’s.  From there they went to work for Christian Healing Ministries with Francis and Judith MacNutt, and then on to be on the staff of a church in Jacksonville for 18 years.

Anyway, our small group now reaches into Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.  Don & Anne invited a good friend of theirs to join us, Greg Toole.  Greg is a prayer minister with Christian Healing Ministries and has shared with us the last couple weeks about Inner Healing.

Simple and Powerful

What I have outlined below is a very simple and yet powerful way to pray for someone. 

This year my son had a Lego Star Wars Advent calendar.  Yes, such a thing exists.  Each day he opened a little cardboard flap to take out the pieces of a tiny tie fighter or Darth Vader in a Christmas sweater.  He loved it: every day a new discovery, something to look forward to.  

I need that, too.

A Friday Message from Sara Buffington, Worship Leader 5-9-2014

Sheryl Shaw- Global Teams

This coming Sunday we are remembering the Persecuted Church. Below are a few statistics to help give a small picture of what is the reality for so many of our brother and sisters in Christ.

More Christians have been martyred in the 20th century than in all the rest of church history combined.

One third of the world’s people live in areas where preaching of the gospel is restricted in some way.

I told someone again this week how thankful I am to be part of this church.  I really love Sunday mornings and all the ways we can experience the Lord's presence. Here are three: there is scripture, there is the sacrament, and there is the Spirit.It's the three streams of our Anglican tradition.

“What time should we be ready to go?” “The service starts at 5:30, so 5:00am should be fine.” The Cathedral of St Anthony of Padua in Dunkwa-on-Offin has been beginning each day with morning Eucharist for years. The service began as a way to serve the men and women of the parish who had to quickly be on their way to work. The combination of walking commuters and challenging roads led to the service beginning at this early hour.