Comings and Goings is a blog written by Theology, Formation, and Evangelism Director Charles B. "Chip" Hardwick as he travels throughout the church. God is on the move out and about in the world, working to redeem all things in Jesus Christ. As we join this mission, by the power of the Spirit we see God on the move. This blog contains glimpses of how Chip finds this to be true in his comings and goings.
You can follow Chip on twitter (@chiphardwick) or find him on Facebook (Chip Hardwick).
Question 129 from the Heidelberg Catechism (revised version) says the little word “Amen” means: “This shall truly and surely be! It is even more sure that God listens to my prayer than that I really desire what I pray for.”
The image this brings to me is of a patient parent listening to a child who is asking for something that is exactly not what the child needs. Listening is a spiritual gift. Most of us hear but fewer of us actually listen.
Lord we are in awe. Those words began a lunchtime prayer at the meeting of the Presbytery of Savannah. It was genuine outpouring of that person’s faith and the collective faith of the people gathered in that space. Let’s explore what this little phrase might mean.
Last night I had the honor and joy of participating in a worship service at Bellarmine University to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the convocation of the Second Vatican Council. On October 4, 1962, the feast of Saint Francis, Pope John XXIII went to Assisi to pray for the council. The service included the prayer that Pope John XXIII used to convene the council, subsequently prayed by the bishops at the opening of each session.
Light a Candle for Children is an advocacy and prayer project that invites congregations to join in a vigil of prayer for children. It begins forty days prior to the observance of the Children's Sabbath, this year from September 9 to the beginning of the Sabbath weekend, October 19.
More than any other Christian activity, worship can demonstrate the unity we have in Christ. Gathering around the table is a visible sign of our unity in Christ. At the same time, worship can expose the fault lines between Christians as well. That same gathering around the table can also show our divisions, as when Roman Catholics and Protestants cannot share the bread and cup together.
I remember going to the church office the day after I was ordained, sitting down at my big new desk, and wondering what in the world I was supposed to do now. . . . I didn't know what else to do so I prayed.
Hey, There’s an App for That!
Well, not quite, but soon.
Join people of faith in Peru in an Interfaith Prayer Service and International Prayer Chain for the 11,000 lead-poisoned children of La Oroya. In preparation for this time of prayer next Thursday, March 22, learn more about what has led up to what is happening in La Oroya
Join people of faith in Peru in praying for the 11,000 lead poisoned children of LaOroya.
People of fath join other advocates in a six day fast outside Publix grocery headquarters in Lakeland, Florida, March 5-10, praying for Publix to have a change of heart and practice with respect to the grocery industry’s high volume/low cost purchasing practices on tomato pickers’ wages and working conditions.
Across the country today, faith communities of all kinds begin to observe the twentieth anniversary of the National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths. Focus your prayers today on the children of your heart.
Leading up to the twentieth anniversary of the National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths, focus your prayers today on malnourished children.
Leading up to the twentieth anniversary of the National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths, focus your prayers today on the 50 million children being served by our nation’s public education system.
Leading up to the twentieth anniversary of the National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths, focus your prayers today on the children and youth living with mental illness.
Many of us use the Book of Common Worship — Daily Prayer as a resource for daily devotion. Could it also be a culinary companion?
The church is not the whole cloth of Christ's glory; we're just scraps, bits and pieces.