Bishop's Monday Message: Vote!
I voted! Have you? Will you? I want to encourage you now to make sure that you participate in the upcoming election. It is yet another way to make your voice count, just as taking the census was.
Read MoreBishop's Monday Message: Each One Counts!
Some people make fun of us for this, but Ken and I pick up coins on the street, coins that people have dropped, tossed or lost in some way. It began because shortly after I came to Chicago, I had a few nasty falls while running (on not-so-good sidewalks). Of course, I’m of the age that your doctor asks you at your annual checkup, “have you fallen lately?” I just laughed and said, “I’m a runner. Of course, I’ve fallen!” And she responded by saying, “Watch your feet when you run!”
Read MoreA virtual first for annual conference
“When did I first start zooming?” I wondered one day. I went back in my virtual calendar and to the best of my knowledge, it was September 10, 2019. Almost to the day of writing this, it’s been a year of Zoom video conferencing. But not all days and weeks and months of zooming are equal. Since mid-March, I have been zooming every day, sometimes for hours. My guess is that many of you have been zooming these last months (or using another platform like Zoom). Even my 88-year-old mother zooms (when her computer works), and she’s very proud to be the only person in her senior facility to do so.
Read MoreBishop's Monday Message: From I to We
Have become more I than We? Have we become more individualistic and less community-minded? We see this in the church and have for years as we talked about how people were more spiritual than religious. Being spiritual without being religious came to mean that people claimed to be able to connect with God through nature, an inspiring book or some music, and prayer (often an impassioned “help” in times of trouble), but didn’t feel that they needed all that other stuff—you know, stuff like the organized church! More I and less We.
Read MoreBishop Message: The Beauty and Efficacy of Diversity
Along with many others (not just women, but many women), the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and all the articles and memorials to her life and contributions to our country have been inspiring to me. It’s been a glimmer of beauty in the midst of what have been some troubling times.
Read MoreBishop's Monday Message: Between a rock and a hard place
Have you ever felt caught between a rock and a hard place? The Israelites were definitely caught between a rock and a hard place as they are attempting to escape the oppression of slavery and Pharaoh. I would encourage you to read the story in Exodus 14. But you may know it.
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