This summer, I had the chance to attend the camp Youth Becoming Leaders in Kentucky for two weeks to leap further into my faith. YBL has been a time for me to grow in my leadership abilities and in my knowledge of Wesleyan Theology. I would say that one thing God has done for me in those two weeks was making me more ambitious to serve further in his ministry by getting me to start my own ministry project with the resources, connections, and skills I was given at the camp. Thanks to the guidance of God, camp [...]

The goal to raise $5,000 for this year’s Vacation Bible School service project seemed lofty, especially with the impact Hurricane Harvey had on the city. But small things make a big difference in the kingdom of God. In total, the campers raised $8,093.11, which bought 404 special beds with netting for children in Africa that will help ward off mosquitoes and the diseases they carry. Raising this money was not all about children emptying out the excess change they have in their piggy banks at home, though. Through supporting a meaningful cause at the largest children’s event of [...]

There’s a memory from my childhood that’s meaningful to me. It’s a little blurred around the edges, as childhood memories can be. I was eight or nine years old, and it was near Christmas. My dad was going to run some errands and asked if I wanted to join him. I jumped at the chance to spend time alone with him. I don’t recall any of the errands we ran that day except for one, the stop at Dad’s bank. We walked in, and he introduced me to all the tellers and the bank president. He was an [...]

Before I joined St. Luke’s and met my wonderful husband Bruce (now married 30 years!), I faced the “conscious uncoupling” of my first marriage, to a lawyer,“H”, in another town. At the time, I was “stay at home” and my precious children were 3 and 5. My fairy-tale life was planned far into the future, but it was not to be. No substantial negotiations took place before the divorce trial, but I was stunned to hear for the first time—during opening arguments—that H was contesting the custody of our children. My immediate instinct was to give up everything [...]

When I spend time with Mary Holland, I like to talk to her and tell her about my hopes and dreams for her when she grows up. She always smiles at me and makes cute noises, which I am, of course, interpreting as full understanding and agreement with my plans. We also “talk” about God and the relationship I hope she has with God. Again, Mary Holland smiles and responds in her little language of squeaks which I take as “yes, Dad, sounds good!” One of the things I have been telling her lately is that because we [...]

Rolling River Adventures VBS 2018 is about to begin! We can’t wait. As young children at St. Luke’s we learned VBS songs, acted out Bible stories, made crafts, and left with new friends. We always felt loved and secure at St. Luke’s. Still do! Both of us have always loved young children and enjoy teaching. While Dr. Underwood and Dr. Moore were the senior ministers, we were elementary school teachers and volunteered to teach VBS for many years! After a while we noticed that the other teachers were getting younger and many were mothers of the children. We [...]