I deeply appreciate Lee Ann Kelly as she prayerfully and thoughtfully follows Jesus in word and deed to serve our community. May her reflections touch you as well.-Renée Walt and I like walking at night. The neighborhood transforms from hustle/bustle to quiet, and a canopy of deep blue covers me. My body relaxes as I
Read MoreI am (re)discovering solitary travel. Thirteen hours driving alone. Random hotels, airports, and country roads. My laptop provides a longer tether to a now-empty nest. Reading Rooted for our Advent theme of growth in the fruitful darkness (which inspired the choice of root-motif wooden disks from Ten Thousand Villages as tangible take-home reminders), I was particularly drawn
Read MoreThe hours of daylight are fewer now, with sunset scheduled for 4:30. Time to lean in for the season, the darkness in which life germinates. Can we embrace the night? Knowing that we need the dark as well as the light, our interior world to inform our public life, fertile dreams to guide our waking
Read MoreSometimes we get bogged down in the talking, so we never seem to get to the walking. Convinced of the need for Reparations, though not sure what that would look like, some of us earmarked money for that purpose. And waited for direction. 2021 is drawing to a close. What progress have we made? Perhaps we have
Read MoreWe have been learning about reparations; then we take steps to put that into practice. As Paige Weston shares here, this can be quite humbling. May we listen in love as we journey together. -Renée Lately I’ve been trying to pay some of the reparations I owe. I’ll tell you a story about it and, so you don’t have
Read MoreEach leaf seems in sharper focus today, as if my vision prescription was adjusted overnight. The dew sparkles on long blades of grass. I took a long walk to better admire the brilliant colors. The air is crisp, the sky so blue, the sun illuminates branches and warms us through windows. The Lord is my shepherd.I lack nothing.He
Read MoreLiving in the moment, planning for the future, hoping for… what we don’t see. Which comes most naturally to you? Which requires exercise, coaching? Which gives you joy? I wonder whether these form a kind of triangle. Perhaps I can imagine myself moving between these three perspectives throughout the day. Planning is the most familiar to
Read MoreBasketball was my only sport. Year-round. Not because of traveling teams, expensive clubs, or a favorite NBA player. Basketball was the life of our community. At least from my perspective. And I was a passionate devotee. I played for hours on our dirt court where the hoop was affixed to the granary and the bats
Read MoreEverywhere I turn, I hear the same message. (re) Connect with creation. I thought I was just leaning into the theme of our Community Garden worship service. Sunday was gorgeous in Champaign-Urbana, a strong dose of summer before cooler weather sets in. But the theme of Wild & Cultivated stays with me. Our need for both.
Read MoreJudson Chubbuck’s gifts of worship and wise counsel have blessed our community since the early days of New Covenant. May his words encourage you today. –Renée Outside My Window- September 30, 2021 Fourteen forlorn feathered faces in the redbud tree stared into my living room during my morning coffee. Watering my parched lawn last night
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