Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?O my God, I cry by day, … [Read more...] about 2021 Lenten Guide: Good Friday
Do This in Remembrance of Me
As Americans, our collective remembrance and solidarity have often centered around one key question: Where were you when -- ? For my (white) parents’ generation, the question was: Where were you when you heard that JFK had been assassinated? (My parents were shopping for a … [Read more...] about Do This in Remembrance of Me
Advent Guide: First Sunday after Christmas, December 27
Excerpted from The Heart of the Work, an Advent Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Psalm 148 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.Praise him, all his angels; … [Read more...] about Advent Guide: First Sunday after Christmas, December 27
Blessed are those who continue to mourn
Several months ago, as summer was just beginning, I wrote on behalf of the Partners in Health and Wholeness team to mark the tragic milestone of 1,000 lives lost to Covid-19 in North Carolina. Today, that number stands at over 5,500. As we enter into the season of … [Read more...] about Blessed are those who continue to mourn
The Spirituality of Loneliness in Life’s Second Chapter
“Quite simply, human relationship is as essential to our well-being as food and water.” --former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Within the global pandemic of Covid-19 lies another deadly yet often unrecognized epidemic: loneliness. According to the American Society on … [Read more...] about The Spirituality of Loneliness in Life’s Second Chapter
Caring for Elderly Loved Ones During COVID-19
As the daughter of parents who are deep into their eighties, these past four months have been particularly worrisome since Covid-19 reshaped all our lives into unknown territory. And, as of yesterday, my folks’ retirement facility has reported its first case of Covid, as cases in … [Read more...] about Caring for Elderly Loved Ones During COVID-19
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
As of this morning, Thursday, June 4, the Raleigh News & Observer reported that Covid-19 has claimed the lives of 999 North Carolinians. We, the staff of Partners in Health and Wholeness, join with all those across our state in grieving not only this staggering, … [Read more...] about Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
Cherishing the Elderly Among Us
May is Mother’s Day. It is high school and college graduations, Memorial Day weekend barbecues and beach trips , and the anticipation of summer’s more languid pace. May is also Older Americans Month, a designation established in 1963 after a meeting between then … [Read more...] about Cherishing the Elderly Among Us
Lenten Guide – Easter Sunday
Excerpted from Power Made Perfect in Weakness, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year A from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Easter Sunday – Colossians 3:1-4 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right … [Read more...] about Lenten Guide – Easter Sunday
Cherish Your Heart
When I was a kid my friends and I would sometimes, in the middle of a conversation, go very still and say, with great solemnity: “I’m serious as a heart attack about that.” Whatever “that” was, the statement was highly ironic, given that we were all of nine years old and had no … [Read more...] about Cherish Your Heart
Advent Guide: Third Sunday, December 15
Excerpted from Cultivating Care for Creation, an Advent Guide for Lectionary Year A from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom … [Read more...] about Advent Guide: Third Sunday, December 15
November is National Caregivers Month
According to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, in 2015, approximately 43.5 million caregivers provided unpaid care to an adult or child in the last twelve months. That’s a remarkable number. Perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that the average family … [Read more...] about November is National Caregivers Month
Lenten Guide – First Sunday
Excerpted from the Council’s 2019 Lenten Reflection Guide for Lectionary Year C. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those … [Read more...] about Lenten Guide – First Sunday
Lenten Guide: Second Sunday in Lent
Excerpted from the NC Council of Churches Lenten Guide, "Journey to Justice" You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did … [Read more...] about Lenten Guide: Second Sunday in Lent