Dear Caldwell, In these days when solutions to what ails us as a nation seem sparse, we are given a chance to do something that is profound and simple at the same time: Tell our stories. Come to Summer Nights at Caldwell this Thursday (dinner at 5:30 and program at 6 pm, Belk Hall) to spend …
Pint & Paths, Summer Nights Story Telling … and PIE! Read More »
Dear Caldwell, As we move from Sunday to Sunday this week, we call on our faith and our Lord to guide us in the way of understanding and reconciliation. Last Sunday, we began to think about how the Ten Commandments give us a portrait for life together as a covenant community, just as the “decalogue” (ten words) was …
Dear Caldwell, As I have interacted with so many of you, it’s clear we land on a spectrum of reactions and states of mind relative to the events of last week and what we should do as people of faith. Some have done little more than pray and, perhaps, weep. Others have gone to more …
Dear Caldwell, After such a painful and wearying week, many of us may feel the need to gather with others, to listen to each other, to pray and heal and seek peace and justice. We have two opportunities this weekend. This afternoon, my colleague Rev. Clifford Matthews invited us to take part in a service …
Friday morning, July 8: This morning, after the shootings in Dallas, we are faced with an entirely new set of questions, a new, heavy layer of grief and sadness for the lives lost last night, those lost in the events of the prior 48 hours and for our nation as a whole. I penned the letter below before Dallas. …
Dear Caldwell, We heard a powerful and sobering message Sunday from our partner Lisa Koons about the reality of human trafficking in Charlotte and the work of her organization, End Slavery in Charlotte, to overcome it. Her word followed our hearing about the work of Hagar, another campus partner, to fight slavery and human trafficking overseas. …
Dear Caldwell, “This is my story … so far.” With that introduction, we heard David tell his story of how quickly and easily he moved from a middle-class upbringing to homelessness and then to housing and stability again. David’s is just one of the stories heard this week by the nine Caldwell teens and their adult leaders on …
Dear Caldwell, Last week, while the rest of us were going about our busy lives, doing our best to at least remember to try to be the hands and feet of Christ, hundreds of our denominational brothers and sisters met in Portland for the every-two-year General Assembly, the annual gathering where key decisions are made democratically …
Dear Caldwell, My work here in St. Petersburg, FL is wrapping up. Kelly and I drive back to Charlotte tomorrow and I am very much looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday. This is the last face-to-face gathering of my doctorate class. It’s been a chance to walk with pastors – Presbyterian and Methodist, black …
“We will not fear …. God is in the midst of the city.” (Psalm 46) Dear Caldwell, It was one year ago this week, in the face of unspeakable tragedy, when I drew our shared attention to Psalm 46, a lament and cry to God as our refuge and strength in times of trouble. Then, …
