Good morning... I woke yesterday to an email from our pastor announcing changes in the United Methodist Church. "In what was a solemn day, members of the 2023 North Georgia Annual Conference ratified the disaffiliation agreements of 261 churches at a Special Called Session," begins the article recounting Saturday's important gathering. Later we learn "...approximately 440 North Georgia [...]
Good morning... Each time I walk our dogs, I pass by these two trees. One tree bears a sign with the name and the face of a three year old Israeli girl who was kidnapped by Hamas. Another tree shares the name and the face of a seventy-seven year old hostage. I am grateful for a compassionate neighbor [...]
Good morning... As I was in Ohio visiting with my parents, my siblings, and the first grandbaby on our side of the family, I missed our weekly arts and crafts time at PAWkids in downtown Atlanta. With about ten committed PAWkids volunteers connected to our Women's Ministry at Northside Church, the fun went on in my absence. "Yesterday, [...]
Good morning... Now that our kids are grown, I love generating joy with other children. This Halloween morning would feel so different for me without the fun memories made yesterday. There are moments when I waste the time gifted to me. Selfish. Ho-hum. Disconnected. [...]
Good morning... "Miss Sue! Miss Sue!" said two eighth grade counselors-in-training in our after-school program at PAWkids. "Can we get our picture taken with you?" I felt joy on many different levels. First, I have become enough of a regular around this special, bonding place in the Grove Park community that these kids know me by name. How [...]
Good morning... Up in the middle of the night, I tried to write a message about the life-altering week of my friend LaTonya Gates, founder and director of PAWkids. After hours of crafting and re-crafting, the message oddly zapped away. Twice. The words and images, touched by some human error of mine, simply evaporated. Twice. So, I gave [...]
Good morning... Enjoying our new Monday afternoon time slot, we kicked-off our first PAWkids gathering with an energizing cook-out. Harnessing the power of creative expression, we made a "We Love PAWkids" banner, played tic-tac-toe, traced with stencils/makers/paint sticks, and decorated everything (and everyone) with heart stickers. [...]
Good morning... I prayerfully bow my head and read one vulnerable sentence. "The fires crept up on residents and tourists of the Hawaii island of Maui on Aug. 8," a news feed said seven minutes ago, "as a perfect storm of strong winds and dry conditions left Maui vulnerable to what state officials say has become the deadliest [...]
Good morning... Ordained as a Presbyterian minister, my husband Steve has been helping out a bit at Kairos Church, a small nearby church that is in between pastors. Last week, he led communion; this week he did a sweet baptism. The father of the baptized baby is one of Steve's former students from Lovett, and the paternal grandfather [...]
Good morning... One line lingers from a poem I shared this week: "Your ache. My ache." After last week's church service, several of us stayed behind to lay hands on Julianna, a 38 year old mom of four who is a committed member of our small group. We spoke intimate blessing over her and her husband, as she [...]
