Summer Fun at Mingus Mountain Camp
by Rev. Matt Ashley, South District Missional Strategist and Superintendent Late one night at camp I walked to the outdoor chapel for a little quiet time. After a hectic day all the campers were in their cabins, and it was time to catch my breath and enjoy God’s...
When Life is Untidy and Complicated
March Madness! I’ve got my brackets printed off, ready to decide which men’s and women’s college basketball teams I think will win in this year’s NCAA Tournaments. My interest is renewed this year with the resurgence of my hometown Arizona Wildcats. Last year University of Arizona’s women’s team went all the way to the championship game. This year the men’s team is rated #2 in the country and was just awarded the #1 seed in the South Regional. Bear Down, Arizona! 68 teams in the men’s NCAA Tournament. 67 games spread over three weeks. 67 teams will lose their final game and be eliminated. One team will win all their games and be the champions – a storybook ending to someone’s dream season. It’s so nice and tidy, the NCAA Tournament. 68 teams know their task – win all their games. No doubt, no wondering what the goal is, no lack of clarity – just win.
April 2 District Leadership Webinars
In this webinar, Cat Holbert, DSC Director of Camping & Retreat Ministries will talk to us about the theories of group dynamics and how to form strong connections in the building of diverse relationships.
Strength, Encouragement and Courage in Hardship
Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home;
Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home.
Imagine how these words sounded when enslaved people working the cotton fields in the Old South poured out their hearts in song. Black spirituals developed organically as heartfelt expressions of pain, longing, and hope in the face of intolerable cruelty and torture. They are among the many treasures we celebrate during Black History Month.
“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” is found in the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal (#703). The hymnal lists its scripture reference as 2 Kings 2:11. The passage describes the final conversation the prophet Elijah has with his protégé Elisha, before “a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.”
