The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.  Proverbs 15:4 NIV “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” What a lie! The words we speak for better or worse will come to pass. Words elevate or...

A LITURGY OF FAREWELL (To be used at the end of the worship service) Senior Lay Leader (or other Leader) O God, you have bound us together for a time as Interim rector and people to work for the advancement of your kingdom in this place: We give you humble and hearty...

John Roberto is president of LifelongFaith Associates, editor of the journal Lifelong Faith, and works as a consultant to churches and national organizations, teaches courses and conducts workshops in faith formation, and has authored books and program manuals in...

  Interim Pastors Quarterly Report By Rev. Martin J. Homan   Many of us were trained in the earlier system of developmental tasks rather than with the current focus points of Heritage, Leadership, Mission, Connection and Future. The Rev. Martin J. Homan has used...

  For several years recently I worked as a hospice chaplain and was therefore free to belong to a church without serving as its pastor. During those years I enrolled in the two halves of the Fundamentals of Transitional Ministry sequence, culminating with the...

  SNXL: A Field Project Promoting Reconciliation By  The Rev. Patricia C. Cashman      Called as priest in charge two years earlier, I had come to redevelop this urban parish with a three year contract supported by the Diocese. I had come brimming with passion...

Inappropriate Behavior, No Long Acceptable By Alan Mead It would be almost impossible to read any news source over the past few days and not be aware of people, formerly silent, speaking up, revealing incidents of past abuse or misconduct. In many cases, at least...

I awoke early as is my custom, to await the morning light and to pray. Although we are on vacation my pattern remains constant, giving balance to the day that is dawning. We are in a wonderful location to capture each sunrise. It has been cold and cloudy. Yesterday...

Preparing for and Recovering from Un-Natural Disasters by The Rev. Martin Homan With the unnatural disasters occurring in New York City and now in a church in Texas do we as pastors and churches need to prepare for such occurrences even at our own doors? Westminster...