Baptism Liturgy

I have to admit that sometimes (ok, maybe often) I find the liturgies in the hymnal to be distant and complicated. People get so lost in trying to follow along that they often lose the meaning of what they are saying and answering. I find this to be less true of communion, but that's in part because I've said/done/used it so many times that it's no longer complicated.

Anyway, because of my frustrations, I have rewritten the baptism liturgy. It's not super simple, but it seems clearer and less cumbersome....it worked for my church anyway....we got to baptize 4 kids on Sunday!!

Baptism is a time when we acknowledge the redemptive work God does in our lives. It is a symbolic act for the cleansing and purifying work God is doing within us. In Methodist terms, it is an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace. In other words, God acts invisibly within us offering forgiveness, new life, and salvation and we use baptism to mark that work.

For infants and children, at the time of baptism, parents confess their faith and make a covenant with God to help their children grow in Christian discipleship. Today, we will be welcoming four children into the body of Christ and the Wesley family. To each of the parents, I ask:

· Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil power of this world, and repent of your sin?

· Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?

· Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?

· Will you nurture these children in Christ’s holy church, that by your teaching and example they may be guided to accept God’s grace for themselves, to profess their faith openly, and to lead a Christian life?

Each of you are here today because you are a part of the community of faith. As Christians, we participate in community. We are connected to one another. And even though we baptize an individual, we don’t do it in isolation because each of us needs help, support, encouragement, and accountability in our faith walk and that comes from our Christian brothers and sisters. Today, these parents confessed their faith and their commitment to their children and each of us will commit to share our faith with them and their children.

So, to all of you, I ask:

· Will you be faithful to Christ and to the Holy Scriptures in study and in practice?

· Will you live the greatest commandment: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and your neighbor as yourself?

· Will you humbly give to others sharing the blessings you have received?

· Will you uplift one another in faith and in love?

· Will you nurture, care for, and teach these children in the ways of Christian discipleship?

Water is a powerful symbol. It represents purification and being clean. It is with water we wash our hands and bodies, washing away any impurities. And symbolically at baptism, water purifies our souls—it represents the way God washes us of all impurities.

Water also offers life. It is composes 80% of our bodies and without it, we die. It also surrounds us in the womb, protecting us and nurturing us as we grow. Water represents both new life and our life source. The water in baptism also represents the new life God gives us spiritually, and the source of our continued life in Christ.

Water has been powerful throughout the ages. When nothing existed but chaos, God swept across the dark waters and brought forth light. In the days of Noah, God saved those on the ark through water. When God set the Israelites free from Egypt, it was water which protected them from Pharaoh’s army. It was in water of the Jordan River that Jesus was baptized. And it is today, with water, that we baptize these beloved children.

Precious God, pour out your Holy Spirit and by this gift of water and use it to wash these children and make them new in Christ Jesus. For you have washed away our sins, and you clothe us with righteousness throughout our lives, that dying and rising with Christ we may share in his final victory.

What name is given to this child?

[NAME] I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

And now I anoint you with the sign of the cross. May all who see you see the light and love of Jesus Christ in all that you do and may the cross be an eternal reminder that you are a child of God.

Wellness Fund

Last week I got to take a few days and enjoy time at Clergy Convocation. The theme for the week was "Made Well" with various speakers and workshops on taking time to be well in life and ministry. As I was there, I craved a massage. But my personal budget didn't allow for it and I couldn't justify using my professional reimbursable account for it, so I passed.

As I've been back and been thinking about many of the things that help give rise to wellness (exercise, counseling, quiet time, massage, acupuncture, doctors) I've also been thinking about how much money each of them costs. Pastors aren't really known for their wellness practices (which I think we should be) and many of us are even known for not going to the doctor/dentist/etc for a variety of reasons, which sometimes even includes cost.

So, I think we should add a wellness fund to the Pastor's salary. The money could be used for doctor's visits, gym memberships, counseling fees, yoga, massage, acupuncture, or even a night or two away at a retreat center.

Maybe this sounds indulgent. Maybe you think a pastor should be able to budget these items in for themselves. But I don't think so, well, not necessarily anyway. I definitely don't think it's indulgent. I think doctor's visits and counseling are necessities and paying on the front side (think preventative care) will save us a lot on the back side (major illness--physical or mental). I also think that yoga, massage, exercise, and acupuncture do great things for your body and if your body is out of whack, well....everything else often follows.

Thinking practically about this wellness fund, if there were objections from within the church I even think you could say the wellness fund would reimburse half of your costs. (Our conference Orders will reimburse half of counseling fees up to $500 for the year....) so the church could cover the other costs. You might argue that the church pays health insurance, but if the church is paying an HMO (or even a PPO) and you have uncovered procedures, then you're left without a whole lot of wiggle room in your budget.

In the UMC, this is the season for salary evaluations and budget proposals, and I think it's worth considering.

Dr. Deb

For about .4 seconds in my life I wanted to be a doctor. Technically, it was longer than that. I started my second year of college thinking I should pursue pre-med. Then I went to Chemistry class. I sat there for the entire 50 minutes thinking, “I really don’t care about this.” It wasn’t the math, I could do the work; I just didn’t care. I went back to the second class and spent that entire class thinking the same thing, “I really couldn’t care less about this.” And decided to drop the class. The end goal (Dr.) was not worth being miserable all the way until I got there. So I switched and ended up with Sociology as my major—a much better choice.

Despite that, there are days I feel like I should have gone into medicine…mostly because I see a need to help people identify health problems. Knowing symptoms and treatments and issues is extremely helpful in working with people. Knowing that dementia-like symptoms are part of a urinary tract infection (UTI) for older adults is helpful. Knowing how a TIA manifests, or what treatments are necessary for angina, arrhythmia, and pneumonia is extremely useful. I am not a medical professional and I remind people of that all the time. Nevertheless, I find that when counseling in a hospital setting I need to explain or elaborate on what a doctor has said and medical knowledge is helpful.

I know there is much debate around CPE and whether or not it should be required of incoming pastors and I tend to fall on the side of mandatory. I had an amazing CPE experience, so that obviously influences my perspective, but in addition to that, there is so much to be learned in a hospital. Learning about medical procedures and symptoms is helpful. It’s nice to know what someone experiences when they have celulitis, or have to be intubated, or have diverticulitis. It’s nice not to be ignorant and asking a million questions but instead offering understanding and awareness for what they are going through.

I often wish I were a doctor, not for the notoriety or to have the title, but so I could have the wisdom and knowledge to help people get the help they need and to walk them through the expectations of surgery, recovery, and therapy.

On Life and Death

One of my parishioners has been fighting cancer for years. At this point he is no longer receiving chemo, the tumor is growing, and he has been given only months to live. The other day he made an appointment and asked to talk. After awhile of (relatively) idle chatter he asked me, “Is there anything I need to do?”
Umm…in terms of…?
“Before I die.”
Only you can determine that.
“What do you mean?”
I mean, only you can determine what you want to do, what your priorities are.
“I mean, how do I die well?”
Well, I think that dying well is mostly about living well.
“What do you mean?”
I mean that the dying part is pretty simple, we can’t control it…whether we have one day, or ten years, but what we can control is how well we live. To die well is to live well.
“I’m not sure I understand.”
I took a death and dying class in college, and we read a couple of books, ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ and ‘The Death of Ivan Illych.’ Have you read Tuesdays with Morrie?
“No. But I think I’ve heard of it.”
Well, Tuesdays with Morrie is about a student and a professor that reunite years later. The professor, Morrie, has Lou Geirig’s and the student, Mitch, learns about it and starts visiting, and goes to see Morrie every Tuesday until he dies. Morrie embraces life and spends time with people, he works on living well as he nears death. The other book is “The Death of Ivan Illych” and he is sick and dying and won’t let anyone in to visit. He closes himself off and focuses on dying. He basically stops living as he nears death. So, dying well is really about living well.

Our conversation continued to talk about how well I think he lives. How fully he embraces life and does the things he loves. I also talked about how (if it’s known) in the last few days of life there are things he/we can do to help make him comfortable and help usher him into the next life in peace surrounded by love.

I don’t think any of us wants to die, nevertheless it can be easy to be consumed with thoughts of death (out of fear or out of depression), but dying well isn’t really about death at all, it’s about life and how fully we choose to live with however many days we are granted.

Here’s to life D.R.!

Confession is good for the soul, right?

I have a confession to make. I sort of feel like as soon as I make it I will feel incredible guilt, but it's a fact I live with every Sunday and someone needs to know, so why not the whole world wide web? I think that's a logic leap that is only possible through blogging or twitter, but whatever.

Here goes....

I hate children's time.

There. I said it. Not that I hate children, that's not the case at all. I LOVE children. I love it when they come and sit in my lap during worship. I love when they run and give me hugs any time they see me. I love when they whisper in my ear when they are bored with the prayer time. (ok, so I don't always love that, but it does make me smile). I love kids of all ages. I love their questions and their answers. I love kids.

I just hate children's moment. There is no other area of life that makes me feel more inept at conversation and communication. I said once at my last church (after a children's moment that flopped) "Children's moments are like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're going to get." And it's true. You never know whether the kids will identify or give the right answers (meaning the ones that lead you to your point).

I always struggle to come up with some short, pithy, child-like story or object lesson that connects to the sermon. And inevitably, the days I feel like I have the best connection the story ends up aimed more at adults than children. Sometimes I feel like the kids are just pawns for me to better explain my point to the adults, and that doesn't feel right either.

Some of you may offer an easy fix--just ask someone else to do the children's moment--I could, but I feel bad because I am more of a last minute sermon writer and it doesn't feel fair to only give them a scripture or a theme (especially if the theme is not fully developed) or to only give someone a matter of hours to prepare. I have been working to be more prepared with sermon planning and preparation to be able to tell everyone involved in worship what the central theme is so they can design everything around it, but that has been a slow evolution for me.

So for now, I am stuck, in a sense, trying to be creative and use easy language to connect with the kids. Fortunately, our ministry fair is about 6 weeks away and there will be a possibility for people to sign up to help with children's moments and maybe that will relieve the pressure and make me get on my game with sermon prep!

Burn Out

For months I struggled to find the creativity and energy I was accustomed to. My fuse was short and I was easily upset and irritated by even minor things. I knew I didn't feel like "me" but didn't feel I was depressed like I have been in years past.

Basically I muddled through and got the job done. Generally I felt good about the work I was doing, but I struggled to muster energy or enthusiasm for Bible study (of which I taught 3 a week) or even Sunday morning worship. I knew something wasn't right, but had no idea how to name it or fix it.

One night, late, I sat down and talked with a friend/spiritual mentor/colleague. I shared how I was feeling: my fatigue, my frustrations, my lack of drive and he said, "What you're describing sounds like burn out." As soon as he said it, I started to cry. I knew he was right. I didn't want him to be right, but I knew he was. He asked if I had vacation time coming up and I said, "Well, sort of, but it's already scheduled and I will be running a major event and climbing a really tall mountain. It's time off, but not really vacation."

He recommended that I take some time away and said that I'd need more than just one week.

The next day I called my (official) mentor and shared what I had with G. When I said, "He said it sounds like burn out," her response was, "Well, it doesn't surprise me. You've been going full bore for so long, it was bound to happen." Her words stung (I didn't want to be burnt out) but I knew she too was right. She also asked if I had time off coming up and I gave the same answer. She recommended I take a full month off to recover and get restored.

She told me to talk to my SPRC and even my DS and ask for their support. She said, "Can you do that?" I said, "Well, I can do that, but I don't want to. I don't want to be the one who is burnt out. I'm only in my fourth year of ministry."

She understood but still urged me to take a break and ask for help. I didn't want to ask for help. And I didn't want to be the one who had to ask for help. I don't like asking for help in general (and that's when things are good), let alone when things are bad (and God forbid I should have to admit failure or weakness or some other frailty of the human condition).

I really struggled with the notion that I should take time off, or let go of some of my responsibilities. I also knew that one of the pastors I admire most had had a (self-acknowledged) mental breakdown because he worked himself into the ground (but took time off and has since recovered). I knew that if I didn't attend to things then, they would only get worse.

Fortunately, I had already decided to make August a month of sabbath for the whole church. I would not be teaching any Bible studies. I had encouraged all the committee leaders to give their committees the month off. In other words, aside from Sundays and staff meetings, nothing else was pre-scheduled for an entire month.

I scheduled a meeting with my SPRC chair and told her what was going on with me. She was very understanding and concerned and told me to do whatever I needed to feel better and be restored.

So, for the next month, I laid low. I worked a minimal work-week (30-40 hours instead of 50-60) and tried to do only the necessary things. I preached and led worship, answered phone calls, and did hospital visits. I ran staff meeting and kept the general planning for the church moving. I also took time to rest (sometimes probably more because of depression than an actual need to sleep--but either way it was important). I dealt with issues in my personal life and gave myself permission not to be a frantic workaholic (a task that is harder than it sounds....even on vacation I was compelled to answer phone calls and plan programs and sort out church conflict).

After four weeks of "part-time" work, I finally feel better. I feel like myself again. I get excited about teaching and preaching and have enthusiasm and energy and lots of ideas for the work we are doing.

Burn out isn't simply something that happens to the 'old guys/gals who have been doing this forever'. Burn out is something that can happen to any of us if we don't set good boundaries, if we have insufficient personal (or professional) support, or if we work far too many hours and do way too many things (even for all the "right" reasons). Burn out can happen, even to the youngest clergy member in the conference.

I am grateful for G and H who named it for what it was. I am grateful I had already planned August for sabbath so I didn't have to feel like I was bailing but instead just following the plan (it also made me think that every August should be sabbath as it was a nice reprieve for everyone from the routine of meetings and weekly Bible study commitments). I am grateful for B who called every day to make sure I was ok. I am grateful for R who did cooking and cleaning and laundry when I simply couldn't muster the energy. I am grateful it didn't take a bigger toll on my physical health. I am grateful for an SPRC chair who was 100% supportive and would send me notes of encouragement and reminders to take time away and to honor my weekly day of sabbath.

And now, as I feel "recovered" I keep reminding myself not to pick up a million projects all over again, to slow down and wait, for the busy season will come all on its own--I do not have to go looking for extra things to do. And, as of yesterday's staff meeting, it seems the busy season is nearly here...two weeks before there is a flurry of activity in the church associated with baptisms, stewardship, membership classes, major fundraisers, and special Sundays!

Abundant love

Over the last 15 months, I have blogged various times about our work with the homeless. We have struggled with what to do as a church, confronted those opposed to the ministries, expanded the work we do, wrestled with the city, wrestled with our own internal conflicts, and continued to grow in grace.

In my work with these ministries I have witnessed many relationships. Relationships are a quirky thing when you live on the streets. Rarely do you get something for nothing, there always seems to be a trade involved. People (at least from what I see and experience) aren't simply friends to be friends, there's always something at stake. People are befriended because they can get you something (food, shelter, cigarettes, information, or whatever substance your body is craving). Often the relationships are abusive and "transactional"--continued only for the trade-off that can be negotiated.

yet, in the last few months I have witnessed one relationship that stands out to me as exemplary of the true depth of love.

C is one of "our guys" who sleeps at the church. He has been sober for 8 months now and has been a model and example of what we hope for in our work (progress, sobriety, feeling loved by those around him regardless) and since sobering up, he has been able to reconnect with his ex and their young daughter. T and their daughter come to the church in the evenings to spend time relaxing and talking with C. Not the "dates" most of us would dream of (or even think of as reasonable or desirable) but they are faithfully trying to rebuild trust together and forge a new beginning in their relationship.

It is awesome to me that after two years of being estranged (and strained) that they are both willing to come together to seek redemption in their relationship with one another.

I am impressed and inspired by T's resilience and commitment to try and make things work. Regardless of the fact that C doesn't work (and hasn't for a long time), fights his addiction, he sleeps "on the streets" and cannot provide for her or her daughter, she still has hope for him and for their relationship.

Relationships are hard and they take intentionality and work. They are doubly (if not quadruply) hard when you deal with an addiction, let alone joblessness and homelessness. I admire C and T for all they do for one another and for their patience in rebuilding their relationship. I really am impressed and inspired by this example of love.

Competition

I’m a fairly competitive person. My family would say I am a sore loser. I would say I like to win. Growing up, everything was a competition in my mind. I competed with classmates for the best grades (getting angry and aggravated over a 0.02 point difference in our GPAs). I competed (in my own mind) with my siblings’ accomplishments. Everything was about being “the best” or “the top.” Competition was a way of life in high school. And, as salutatorian, class president, and cheer co-captain that worked for me.

When I got to college (UCLA) I fell of my pedestal as I met class president after class president, and valedictorian after valedictorian. At UCLA, it seemed, everyone was “the best”. In those early months, I made a choice. I chose out of honors and away from grades. I chose not to compete. I saw the things I had lost because I was so focused on the grade, rather than the learning. As a competitor, I would cut myself no slack. There were no excuses for second best. There was no grace. There was no justification for failure. And that first year of college, I pretty much walked away.

My whole attitude toward school and learning changed. (I would say that the classes with Chip Anderson played a MAJOR role in this as I learned to be a “learner” rather than a “student”.) I began focusing on what I was learning, rather than the grade I was getting. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t start failing school with this new approach. Rather, my grades reflected the fact that I was actually learning. (Go figure!)

I am still fairly driven, but I try not to compare myself constantly to others and ridicule myself for the ways I don’t measure up. I still have rigorous standards for myself (possibly too rigorous) and like to achieve things. I am goal oriented and like achieving the goal. But I try to steer away from competition. I don’t focus on sports or competitions. I can do most things, but don’t perfect many things because I get too drawn into the evaluation and competitive nature of being “the best” all over again.

Generally, I would say this has benefitted me (and my relationships). I am more relaxed. Less tense. More gracious (with myself and with others). And more easy going. I’m good with that.

Well, recently at Family Camp, I joined a game of spoons. I have played many times and used to be pretty good at it. A friend gave me her spot so I could play (I came in very late in the game) and I did fairly well. But as I acquired more letters, I got more and more frustrated. My fuse got extremely short and my patience for “friendly” banter and physical scrambles for the spoons became obsolete. I finally finished spelling “SPOONS” (much like you would with “HORSE” in basketball) and left the game. As I left, I could feel something in me raging. It was like my old self and new self were at war. My old self was disgusted with losing, ready to throw insults and caddy banter at the other players and to be the “sore loser” I am notorious for being; and my new self reasoned “it’s only a game” and “it’s not worth being physically aggressive.”

To be quite honest, my old self was winning the argument. I was grumpy and irritable and ready to let loose on the next person that mentioned it. I was no longer friendly and amiable and gracious. My old self was back in full force.

And all I could think was, “This is why I don’t compete! It does not bring out the best in me. Nothing in me is righteous right now.”

Fortunately, it was late, and I had a private room, so I could sulk on my own and then process what exactly was taking place inside of me. In many ways, being super competitive is an old habit. A habit I thought I had kicked. It’s amazing to me how guttural and entrenched my reactions were. I didn’t think, “I should compete.” It just happened, and so did the frustration and the bitterness at losing.

It’s no wonder that from a theological or spiritual perspective, we advocate fully leaving behind bad habits. If we continue to hold on, even to just a semblance, we hold onto the habit as a whole. Maybe it looms just below the surface, but it’s there ready to take hold at a moment’s notice. The further removed we get from that habit, the easier it is to rebuke the ugly and callous things that come out in us because of it.

I don’t think this means I shouldn’t ever play a game or sport again, only that I have to proceed consciously. I need to think about how I am engaging the game and making sure that I play to enjoy playing rather than simply to win.

Sermon tracking?

So, I gave up lectionary preaching except for high holy seasons nearly a year ago. I found that I could guide people with greater intentionality through scriptures, doctrines, and teachings if I chose a series that made sense rather than the lectionary, which sadly does not always make the best sense. It has been fairly effective and give people a handle on what we will be looking at for a month or two at a time.

My trouble now, which isn't just since I gave up the lectionary, it was a problem before, is that I don't always remember which scriptures I have preached in which setting, or which illustrations I have used when. I have preached weekly for the last 3 years and have also preached at summer camp, youth and young adult retreats, and women's events. Three years of preaching is a lot, though it is nothing compared to the (potentially) 44 years of preaching I have left before mandatory retirement. So, the question is, how do I track which scriptures/themes I have used when, and which (personal) illustrations I have used in which setting. I don't want to be repeating, but I also want to be able to use the illustrations that mean the most when they are relevant.

Anyone have a good methodology?

3 steps forward, 2 steps back

I've chronicled our homeless ministries over the last year. At first it was more quiet compliance and as the year has progressed more and more has been done to advocate for our brothers and sisters living on the street. I have been amazed at how well Wesley Church has dealt with these issues and am inspired by how so many members have been willing to stretch themselves, reach out, learn stories of folks they otherwise may not, and offer a helping hand in a variety of ways.

Some of the ways we have been in ministry over the last year include:
offering shelter under our eaves
purchasing prescriptions for folks who have been hospitalized
Washing laundry
Offering showers
Opening bathrooms for use (you'd be amazed at how necessary this is and how few options there are)
Providing clothes
Providing hygiene supplies
Sunday morning hot breakfast
Dry/non-perishables when requested
Food bags for people pan-handling
Gas assistance
Food cards
Hair cuts
Bible study Sunday mornings
Bus passes
Christmas stockings with everyday items

and most importantly:
Care
Inclusion
Acceptance
Love
Encouragement
Accountability
Relationships
Wisdom

The things we do are important, they show love in lots of ways. But it's acknowledging people and treating them as equals that really makes a difference.

We have a few folks that attend worship regularly, and one who pledged membership vows in July. We have worked with the city to try and be helpful in empowering folks. And...we have gone against the city in offering shelter without firm time limitations.

There has been a lot of push and pull and give and take. There has been some controversy, but it has been handled well by everyone involved. In some ways it feels like we are front runners and pioneers in doing this type of ministry within So Cal UMCs (I know we aren't the first or the last but it has been hard to find "models" to follow....) And in other ways, it feels like if we are front runners, our church is WAY behind.

Those are the three steps forward...we have also taken steps backward. Not huge steps backward, but definitely not steps of progress. Instead they have been steps that remind us that we will not solve this problem any time soon and the issues are much larger than us.

1) A newbie that I have seen in the area but who only recently started staying at the church did crack, followed it with marijuana, and then was thirsty and decided a beer was the best way to quench his thirst. He got into a fight with his brother and physically assaulted him at the church and then began threatening the brother and all those around. The police were called but did not arrest him. I was at the church in the evening by chance and ended up dealing with the fallout and told Mr. Newbie that he was not welcome at the church if he was going to be threatening people and hurting those around him. He was wonderfully compliant with me, as everyone typically is, and left right away. I'm sure he'll be back, and most likely will be high when he does. I alerted a police friend and he said he'd swing by to check on things at the end of his shifts.

2) One of our guys (who sleeps at a neighboring church) was literally set on fire in his sleep the other night. I saw him the following day and his burns were bad, but looked tolerable. He refused medical help and I said I'd check back with him. Today was the next I heard word and found out he had to go to the hospital and get a skin graft. I called and talked to him and he was alright. He was uncomfortable and in a lot of pain, but was seeing opportunities for major changes in his life as a result of this (including sobriety and staying in an actual building...something he hasn't done in 17 years).

We have had 4 different men hospitalized in the last 2 months. They have needed help for different reasons, but it has scared a number of their friends. Sometimes for good, sometimes not. But typically it has nudged people toward sobriety, which is a definite good thing. We have one guy who has been sober for nearly 7 months now and he has reconnected with his girlfriend and daughter and they are rebuilding trust and a relationship and hoping for a full reunion, another has 6 weeks sober after being hospitalized twice and nearly dying one of those times. A third I rarely see, but is reported to also be sober, nearly 6 weeks as well. I assume that if he is sober that his family/friends are allowing him to stay with them again and that's why he's not at the church.

Homeless ministry is a mixed bag. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes it's tedious. Sometimes you feel you are making amazing progress and sometimes you feel like nothing will ever make a real or lasting difference. What we are learning is to stay faithful to the call and God will take care of the rest.

As a side note, R and I watched "The Soloist" last night and it was really good. It was fairly long (and felt long) but really was worthwhile. I think it'd be a really good movie to show folks you want to be advocates or to help people better understand the homeless or what it means to help (i.e., that you can't make all the decisions for them, no matter how helpful you think it will be) and that they are people with their own stories and gifts and they need to be understood and appreciated for who they are. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth it.

Product Endorsement

A few weeks ago we went to Bath and Body Works to get some new "smells". We got two kinds of lotion (mandarin lime and eucalyptus mint....both of which are good), and three kinds of soap (apple, citrus something, and nectarine mint). All of the products are good and would be worth repurchasing in my mind, but the Nectarine Mint Soap is the BEST!!! It smells AMAZING and I would be willing to become OCD just to wash my hands 50 times a day with that soap! If you're in need of soap or some smelly inspiration...this is the way to go!

Church Website

Thanks to Maguire and Johnson our new website is finally up!!