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Celebrating and Affirming our Clergy…

For the decades I served local churches as appointed clergy, I would occasionally encounter acts of good will and affirmation in October. This isn’t because I wasn’t blessed to receive compliments and acts of gratitude for my pastoral efforts during other times of the year, but because October is traditionally known as Clergy Appreciation month. [...]

October 2nd, 2025|0 Comments

The Blessings of First Fruits Giving…

I am always sent to self-reflection when I read Paul’s praise of the Macedonian churches in II Corinthians 8. Paul was seeking to raise funds for the relief of the poor Christians in Jerusalem during a time of difficulty for the Mother Church of the Christian movement. Paul praises those Macedonians “for during a severe ordeal [...]

September 25th, 2025|0 Comments

Scarcity and Abundance on the shore of Lake Erie…

Earlier this week, the United Methodist Foundation for the West Ohio Conference sponsored a timely and inspiring event called The Generosity Summit. Clergy and laity from across the WOC gathered on the southern shore of Lake Erie at Maumee Bay State Park just outside Toledo, Ohio for two days of worship, fellowship, networking, and attending [...]

September 19th, 2025|0 Comments

When Light and Night are one…there is hope!

The temperatures may not reflect it yet, but fall is nearly upon us. Autumnal Equinox would be the proper term. The beginning of spring and autumn are equinoxes, while summer and winter begin with solstices. There are only two times of the year (in March and September) when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward [...]

September 12th, 2025|0 Comments

The Authentic Wonder and Worry of Artificial Intelligence…

This week I attended an event that could be described as both unique and historic. Clergy and lay leadership from three United Methodist Conferences…the Kentucky, the Tennessee-Western Kentucky, and the Central Appalachian Missionary…gathered in Bowling Green, KY. It was unique in that such a meeting has likely never taken place, and some of the topics [...]

September 5th, 2025|0 Comments

Calling all priests….

As part of our Foundation’s portfolio, we manage the scholarship and grant dollars of the Martin Methodist (College) Foundation. Though the school no longer functions as it once did, the legacy of gifts from generous donors lives on to provide resources for students on their higher education journey. Recently, our staff and members of the [...]

August 7th, 2025|0 Comments

Making the most of the mid-way point…

In my decades of local church appointments July was a time for some summer sabbath, perhaps a unique sermon series, and the startling realization that we are half-way through the year. August became a key month for making sure everything was in place and ready for engaging fall programming, back to school activities, finalizing details [...]

August 1st, 2025|0 Comments