'spiritual growth' Tagged Posts (Page 2)
Connecting with God and Learning How to Pray
We all want to experience a deeper connection with God… but most of us don’t really know how. And most of our spiritual life is going to be spent outside of church, so here are some ideas of some things we can do on our own to connect with God. Prayer & Meditation Boot Camp Class First, we have a great prayer class coming up at church, if you’d like to develop your own prayer practice. Prayer and Meditation Boot…
There is Enough
August 30, 2023A Note from Pastor Jon Dear Friends, This Thursday night and into Friday morning it will be time to turn the page. Like it or not, we will acknowledge that we are two-thirds of the way through this calendar year of 2023. The page turn to September, however, is an exciting one for me. The excitement is not just because my kids are all back in school either. I have always loved this time of the year. There’s…
Fast Forward, In Reverse
July 26, 2023A Note from John Hoffman Dear Friends, Pastor Jon asked me to share some information about myself. He said it would be good for you to know a little about me while I attempt to fill the gaps during Pastor April’s Renewal Leave. The first thing to know is that I am not comfortable sharing things about myself. I’m not an introvert, just private… avoiding attention, working behind the curtain rather than under the spotlight. What follows is…
Space
July 5, 2023A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, Space. As I listen to people talk about what they are going through, I hear this consistent longing. More space. They may not always use this word, but it’s there under the surface. “I can’t wait for some time away from work.” “I’m waking up exhausted each day.” “I haven’t had time to myself in weeks.” “I just wish I had more time with the people I care about most.” More…
Look Lovingly
June 28, 2023A Note from Stephanie HarrellLook Lovingly Dear Friends, As one of your delegates to Annual Conference, I attended my first conference in early June. I didn’t have expectations, though I’d previously seen part of worship and music from other conferences. How would voting be done? What speeches and questions would surface before a vote? Who would speak and what would be their topics? Who would preach? I’m happy to chat with anyone about my Annual Conference experience and…
Summer Events!
We’ve got some great stuff planned this summer to connect, play, serve, pray, and learn!
There All Along
June 1, 2023A Note from Deborah Mitchell Dear Friends, It’s Been There All Along, Waiting for You What does it mean to “grow”? What does it mean to grow as a Christian? To grow as a human being? In many ways, the idea of “growth” has been central to how I’ve tried to understand and interact with the world throughout my life. When I was a little girl, very early on I gravitated toward the idea of growth as mastery,…
Holding in Tension
March 29, 2023A Note from Molly Collier Dear Friends, I recently went skiing with some friends, and we were reminded of some very valuable lessons before we even hit the slopes. Mind you, this is Ohio skiing. I’m not sure if I can call them slopes, but they were high enough for me, a novice skier who hadn’t skied in over 10 years. It’s okay to ask for help The first lesson we were reminded of was that it’s okay…
Curiosity
March 15, 2023A Note from Pastor Jon Dear Friends, Curiosity killed the cat? (But did it really?) Growing up I remember when I found myself asking too many questions (never understood what that means) that the grownups started saying, “You know, Jon, curiosity killed the cat.” It only took a few times of hearing that statement before becoming conditioned to stop asking questions out of my own curiosity. My curiosity was often stifled and discouraged. As an Enneagram 9 (see…
Seasons of Change
March 8, 2023A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, This week, my younger child turned 13. I remember people telling me that the time would fly by. Most days it didn’t feel like that. So much of parenting is the little moments, the daily routines, the consistent showing up to the needs that are happening in the present moment. It’s slow and steady and repetitive kind of work. So many days I felt like a broken record repeating the same…
Learning in Community
February 22, 2023A Note from Beth Palmer Dear Friends, I have always loved school. I can remember all my elementary school teachers’ names. I loved learning and being with my friends. I still remember the satisfaction I felt at coming up with an enormous list of homonyms in about third grade (words that sound the same but are spelled differently, remember?). I still have some of my artwork. High school wasn’t my favorite, but I remember a great physics class…
The Bible
January 15, 2023A Note from Pastor April Dear Friends, I’ve had an evolving relationship with the Bible over my life. As a child, I found the stories presented to me on flannel boards mildly interesting. Aside from the story of Jonah and the whale (a favorite of mine), I wasn’t particularly drawn in by the church services or Sunday School lessons. Jesus seemed like a nice guy, but very distant from my actual life. I did, however, read my Bible…