Each year at this time, I reach for a book I read in seminary, a collection of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sermons titled Strength to Love. We’ve come to identify King as the remarkable leader of the civil rights movement – a master strategist, a national and international political influence and the charismatic inspiration of …
Mission and Transformation: While on our mission trip to Guatemala, I challenged the eight other travelers to think about how God may be transforming them through their experience on the trip. We don’t have to be totally, comprehensively recreated, I told them. If even a small part of us is changed, then we are changed. …
It is the last morning here at Common Hope and we are washing, drying and packing our clothes, which are always dusty from the work we did or riding in the pack of the pick up. (This is the dry season, so it’s always a bit dusty.) More important, we are taking inventory of all …
{A message from Zach Thomas, who is leading the Vision Team in Guatemala} What a joy to be writing you from Guatemala. I bring you greetings from Maria Modesta, the church’s godchild. John, Joyce and I visited her today in San Rafael, a small pueblo north of Antigua. Her family’s property as well as their …
Buenas noches a todos from Zach Thomas and the Vision Team Read More »
{An update from our Vision Team sent by Sally Thomas} Our group had a strenuous but very interesting tour of a small coffee farm and the home of a construction worker from Common Hope. Afterwards we had a nice lunch in Antigua in an old Spanish Colonial home, with marimbas playing in the courtyard. Then …
{An update on the Guatemala Mission Team sent by team member Beth Van Gorp} We’ve had another great day here in beautiful Guatemala. For the second day in a row we saw the Fuego (fire) Volcano emitting ash. But the skies are clear and sunny. One highlight of today included a wonderful morning and early …
Hello from your Vision Team, As we wrap up our first full day here, the feeling among all of us is that we have seen, heard, tasted and experienced far more than just a day’s worth. Yesterday started out rough. Our plane got off the ground two hours late from Charlotte, due to a mix …
In the spirit of the theme of this month’s newsletter, I’ve been reflecting – and giving great thanks – for all the ‘firsts’ we’ve celebrated at Caldwell this year. The list is impressive, a wonderful reminder of the continued growth and expansion of our ministries and the dedication of the people (too numerous to name) …
In the month of October, the word ‘designated’ is usually followed by ‘hitter,’ as in baseball. The “dh” rule was fully implemented in 1973 and, ironically, the first official designated hitter, Ron “Boomer” Blomberg, was walked. I didn’t take the time to research when the role of Designated Pastor entered our Presbyterian polity or whose …
Things On My Mind On my desk, I keep a note from a friend written at the time of my leaving the corporate life and coming to Caldwell. It quotes Paul’s letter to the church at Rome: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who …
