Download the flyer. Share it with your friends!

      I am canceling the Mission Possible: Service Fair and Lock-in on 5-6 October at Williamsburg UMC. This cancellation is not because of a lack of interest or participation, but simply because I am OBE, overcome by events. I am poured out; I have no more time or energy left to muster.
     Week after week this summer I lost time to things I could not control. Some of the life interruptions were absolute blessings, and others, well I am trying hard to count them as blessings too. They included big life shifts and small distractions. While I can get sucked into the news cycle, I did not even have the headspace for that. I remember trying hard to focus on Jesus and give thanks. By God’s grace, I gave a sermon on Philippians 4, and I am convinced that I needed those words more than anyone else.
     It is incredibly hard for me to admit defeat, much less to do it publicly. It is even harder for me to express personal needs because so much of my identity is in serving others not being served. If I’m honest, I don’t want the attention or possible judgment that comes from being visibly vulnerable.
     I could ask for prayers for myself, my family, especially for my father-in-law, Mike, a 21-year cancer survivor who is losing his earthly battle, but I am not alone with these kinds of concerns. I have resources and a strong support network. Contrastingly, in our churches and communities, some people are silently struggling and quietly dying without anyone to affirm their humanity.
How many around us do not ask for help? How many of us refuse to share because we don’t want to be a burden or are afraid to be vulnerable? How many of us are caught up in our anxieties that we can’t communicate our needs or see the needs of others?
     This week in Evans, Georgia, Scouts are putting in a wheelchair ramp for my father-in-law. They learned of the opportunity last week and responded with enormous love, but my long-serving in-laws had first to own their needs then share them to get this support.
I need to cancel this event so that I have time to complete my seminary homework and prepare my house and family to spend a week in Georgia to be with them.
It is even more frustrating to cancel an event that encourages our churches to get into mission, to anchor their ministries and small groups in service, but there are so many avenues of encouragement that missing this one won’t matter.
     If you feel compelled to do anything for me, here’s my need list:

• Have your youth make a mission schedule where they choose one or two service efforts each month that they will do for the rest of the school year. Designate open activities where youth are encouraged to invite their friends and even their parent to join in service.
• Ask me about opportunities with Serve the City, Teens Opposing Poverty, and the Peninsula Crop Walk on October 21.
• Have your youth lead a Mission Possible: Service Fair at your local church inviting all your ministries, small groups, and faithful servants to share their endeavors. *Don’t forget to ask your Scouts if you have them!
• Talk to your church about a summer mission project now because signups generally happen in November and District Board of Mission requests are due soon.   
• Check out Jeremiah Project, Youth Works, Appalachia Service Project, SPY in Culpepper, or Helping Hands in Gloucester. If you are a small congregation, I can help you coordinate with churches like Tabernacle in Poquoson who are willing to bring others with them to ASP this coming summer.
• Write and email me 500-word articles with pictures about the missions that your church does, better yet have a young person write one. I know you are at work for Christ. I am not asking for proof, but a witness to share to ignite imaginations on what else can be done.
  

Thank you for your understanding and prayers, 
​Leah 

On the morning of Friday, June 16 2017, we will will hide these rocks around the stores of the Peninsula Town Center in Hampton.
This is a simple way to share joy with others.
​It's silly fun, but we can also use it for serious conversations.

​On June 4, 2017, the Church will celebrate Pentecost, or at least Christians who are on the same Liturgical Calendar as us. This day completes our Easter Season. For those who are reading this and thinking ‘Who cares? It’s just another day,” I would respond:
“It’s the BEST day on the Christian calendar and it’s my absolute favorite holiday!”
​
Why?
1. The world received the Holy Spirit!
If you aren’t familiar with the first Pentecost, I’ll let you catch up.
Read Acts 2.
Before this moment, only certain people (think Moses, the prophets, King David, Job, etc.) had limited access to God’s spirit. That changed on Pentecost! On that day and every day after, anyone anywhere at anytime can access God’s spirit, not just a select few.

​2. The Church was born!
Pentecost is also the Church’s birthday. As professing believers, we are born again by water and the Spirit into a new family. The Church is not a building; it’s all of us who believe in the grace Christ created when He died for our sins and the sins of the world. We are a family not by birth or blood, but by choice and belief. Moreover, we become Kingdom citizens when we accept Jesus’ forgiveness.

3. Together we have changed the world!
Sure, Greece is credited with the first democracies and Rome with the first republic, but have you ever considered how awful those times were? Slavery was commonplace, and fathers could legally kill their wives and children. I contend that Spirit-led believers helped transform the world because the Spirit had first changed their hearts and lives in the process of Sanctification. Even today, believers are standing up for social justice.

Not Snowflakes
If you are not aware of the derogatory term ‘Snowflake’ or ‘Generation Snowflake,’ I will catch you up. For the past twenty years or so it has been used to dismiss someone who is upset or hurt by attacking their perceived sense of uniqueness or entitled special-ness.
Alternatively, for those of us who have preschool siblings or small children in our families, you might have a slightly more positive image of snowflakes as they relate to people. I know that I have probably seen the Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood  episode, “Snowflake Day,” ten times.
It has an uplifting point, if not nuanced. Here’s what Daniel’s mom tells him, “Well, snowflakes are just like people -they look a lot alike at first, but each one is different, and each one is special. Just like you, Daniel.” This is not a bad sentiment. It recognizes that everyone is different and special. 
But snowflakes melt.
And not everyone in the world has access to snow.
I’d submit that we have some better analogies that describe the uniqueness of each person’s perspective: Salt & Light.
Jesus called his disciples “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-14). I’d rather be salt and light than a snowflake any day, and not merely because these are Jesus’ words. Here are some of the benefits of Salt and Light.

Do you want to start or grow a youth ministry at your church?
Here are a couple of simple rules.
Rule 1: If you want to have a youth ministry in your congregation, enlist qualified adults.
Rule 2: If you want to grow your youth ministry, enlist more qualified adults.

I often meet people at church who tell me that I have a gift with children, or youth, or teaching. While I am not going to dismiss encouragement, I sometimes feel like there is a lingering comparison hiding behind those words. It seems like some of these well-meaning people are convinced that they have no such gift or calling.
I would submit that they could be wrong.
Moreover, if you are older than 18 and don’t think you can help with youth, I’d be happy to convince you otherwise.

Jesus, you heal. You did it when you walked this earth. You do it today through your Spirit poured into us mere humans in our brokenness.
Most days I feel lonely, out of touch with others. Yes, some of it is my fault as I shy away from others, as I fear overwhelming them with my strangeness.
But, I’ve been hearing and reading that loneliness has become an epidemic and that people are literally dying from conditions that trace back to a lack of connection. Others have been doing themselves harm being seduced by the lie that they are alone and that no one understands or cares.
Goodness, I at least have someone to talk to every day. I imagine that some don’t, or at least not real conversations with people who are concerned for their well-being. I have a loving family and church, and so many do not. I get daily smiles and hugs. I know that there must be people in my midst that get neither. Show these people to me.
Lord, heal my deafness and blindness to the needs of my neighbors.  Help me love them better. Use me as a vessel to heal others hurts. Make me a friend.
Give me eyes to see hurt.
Give me ears to listen.
Give me a ready smile to share instead of being preoccupied with my own concerns.
Give me arms to hold those who are lonely like me.
In your name, I pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.