Church wellness and these times (and Church) are a-changing, calling ever more surely for entrepreneurial vs. chaplain-esque leadership. Entrepeneurial leaders continually are pushing forward, upon resistance reminding members that

"God is for servanthood, not satisfaction. God is for transforming lives, not keeping things settled. God is for ...

A terrific blog starter from Luke:  I encounter a lot of people expressing pride in or downright boasting of their faith in Christ (this is quite common on Facebook, for instance). The whole concept of bragging about one's Christian faith seems a bit paradoxical to me. I'm not saying people should be ashamed or silent about their faith, but ...

Hi, Folks!

I've uploaded some materials from the stewardship Adult Forum session titled "What Legacy Will Survive You?" Find the PowerPoint presentation and the quote from C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters in the "downloads" section of the Members Area of the website.

Following up on that presentation, here are two ...

This week I'm posting excerpts from an e-newsletter to jumpstart your thinking. Share your thoughts!
Shalom,
Jeff+

Less Like "Families," More Like "Stores"   By Tom Ehrich


We all know churches aren't stores, but they would be better off if they behaved more like stores and less like families. Here's what I ...

Last Sunday's Outreach Ministry Fair, which featured more than 20 local ministries with opportunities for volunteer service, was well supported and well attended! Thank you to the presenters--half of which were St. Anne's own parishioners--and to all the folks who make these events happen behind the scenes. At the risk of inadvertently leaving out ...

This fall we seem to be drinking from a fire hydrant in the parish office: a new parish management software program, a new website with vastly expanded capabilities and a new part-time "temp" secretary all coming on-line as a full and busy program year launches. There have been many moments of simply feeling overwhelmed by the volume of ...

Please join us at Sunday's Adult Forum! Betty Hakes will lead us on pilgrimage through our new website, including the new Adult Formation Blog!

See you there!

The earth moved!

That's a phrase we use (or at least "used to") to describe moments of incredible power (and yes, there are lots of sub-texts).

Our mid-Atlantic region got a very real taste of the earth moving on Tuesday when a 5.8-magnitude quake shook the Richmond, VA & D.C. region. While not nearly so dramatic as recent ...

There's nothing like a record-breaking heat wave to have us "hankering" for a bit of Christmas in July. The holiday (at least here in the northlands) conjures images of cool snow-covered landscapes, softly twinkling lights and gatherings punctuated with delighted cries of surprise at gifts that tickle the recipients' fancy (and were ...

Has your washing machine ever "gone out of balance?" If so, you know about the angst that a wildly thumping, banging and bucking washing machine can produce - all over a simple unequal distribution of wet clothing in the drum when the spin cycle tried to begin.

Our lives are much like that washing machine - requiring attention to...

With a late Easter this year, the Feast of Pentecost is hanging out there in what feels like the midst of summer – on June 12th. Don’t forget to “wear red” (symbolizing the dancing of the flames of God’s Spirit) and be prepared for all manner of words and symbols re-presenting the gift(s) of the Holy Spirit.

Our ...