A Pastoral Letter from The Rev. Sharon Watkins

Dear Disciples,

Today as I sit to write, it is the anniversary of the massive earthquake that shook Haiti two years ago. We have experienced the shock of other tragedies since then: the earthquake in Japan, storms across North America, and the on-going drought and starvation in the Horn of Africa (to name a few.)

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What is the Hope of Advent?

We are on a journey toward Christmas.  It is a season called Advent.  It invites us to consider our callings as the people of God, to look inwardly and consider what distractions and issues need to be dealt with so that we can love God and love neighbor.  In the spirit of Advent, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) offers a brief video message.  It features, among others, the thoughts of Sharon Watkins, our General Minister and President, as well as, the elected leadership of the church.  I invite you to watch, consider, and offer your own thoughts about the hope of Advent.  What are your hopes for this coming year as we walk the path set before us.  As John the Baptist shouted, taking his cue from Isaiah:  "Prepare the way of the Lord:  Make his paths straight."  (Mark 1:3; Isaiah 40:3 CEB).

CNN story about Fred Craddock

As Disciples one of the treasures that we take great pride in is Fred Craddock, one of the best loved preachers of our time. If you've heard him preach you know why he has received such renown -- despite the fact that he's never built a mega-church or gone on grand preaching tours.  

CNN has published a profile of Fred's life that is quite worth reading.

Take a look here:  http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/27/us/craddock-profile/index.html

A Video Conversation with Steve Knight about being Missional

Steve Knight, a Disciple and a consultant working with Church Extension in developing the Hope Partnership invited my to have a video conversation via skype.  We talked about being missional in a more traditional context.  It's an interesting conversation that touched on Disciple history, CWCC, and the future!  I invite you to check it out and offer your thoughts.   

November 2011 Dispatch -- Stewardship

It’s November, which means it’s time for us to take time to give to God for the many blessings that have been shared with us.  We’ll do this as a nation, with a national day of Thanksgiving, but we’ll also do this as a congregation and with two other community opportunities to share together words of thanks.  One is interfaith and the other is ecumenical.    

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