Best Practices

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2: 36-38)

I sang in the junior church choir, I wore a white shirt and black slacks as the official uniform at Unity Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church. If my mother did not secure a ride from a church deacon or member, we rode the Chicago Transit Authority buses to bring us to one of the many houses of worship that served as refuges from Chicago styled racism suffered during the week. 

In the past year and a half, I’ve encountered water in a new way. 

I had the privilege of visiting the site of a World Renew project in the south of Madagascar. When I first arrived in Antananarivo, the capital, I noticed watercress paddies—the kind of agricultural feat that requires a steady input of water. After disembarking my flight in the southern city of Fort Dauphin, I still saw green fields, healthy trees, and hearty harvests.

Trigger Warning: this blog references abuse, victimization, and manipulation tactics  

Ten years ago this month, the army of the Islamic State (or ISIS) swept through Sinjar and the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq. These two regions were the ancestral homelands of two of Iraq’s oldest religious communities – Yazidis and Assyrian Christians, respectively.

Words are powerful. With God’s mighty power, He only had to speak the words, “Let there be light” for light to be created into existence. While not as powerful as our Lord Almighty, the words we use are also impactful, filled with meaning and associations. Used with good intentions, they can evoke powerful emotion, inspiration, courageous action, and provide support and healing. They can be a vehicle for praise and contrition, discipleship and sharing of the Gospel.

I immigrated to the United States when I was 6 years old; a few months shy of turning 7. I started second grade without a word of English. My mother dressed me in what she thought was cute, but her idea of cute in the 80s was not American’s view of a fashionable 7-year-old. So at age 7, I started elementary school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, surrounded by kids that did not look like me and couldn’t talk to me. The games that were played on the playground and the topics talked about in the classroom were foreign to me.

My last day with the CRCNA is May 31st, 2024. The thought of retirement is intriguing. I used to wonder how far away it was, with my plan initially set for 2028. But now, it's just around the corner, and I'm filled with anticipation and excitement. 

Seated around a solid wooden table beside a cozy window streaming with sunlight, a close-knit group and I were enjoying pastries, warm coffee, and gentle camaraderie. As we caught up on each other’s lives, a woman shared about a vacation she had recently taken.

When booking her hotel, she hadn’t realized that right across the street was a large encampment where numerous unhoused people were staying. From her high-up hotel room window, she had a bird’s-eye view of the people below. She said this had given her a “clearer picture of how the other side lived.”  

I find Walter Brueggemann's framework of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation quite helpful as we as a denomination try to grow in diversity and unity. According to Brueggemann, our faith journey begins with orientation, where we find ourselves in a state of deep gratitude for life's blessings. This phase is characterized by a sense of peace and order, where everything in our lives aligns harmoniously with God's creation. Yet, inevitably, we enter periods of disorientation, marked by loss, crisis, and confusion.