Author: Marjorie George

When was the last time you called on the power of God? Clark Hendley would say it’s the last time you recited the Lord’s Prayer: “for thine is the kingdom and the power . . .”

In this last week of our study of With Hearts Enlightened, Clark talks about how we have moved to the “second definition” rather than focus on what God’s power means.

Also this week we talk to the Rev. Reagan Gonzalez who says that for Jesus, power is vulnerability – “blessing those who curse you, showing mercy to the stranger . . .”

And, ta da, this week is bonus week – enjoy a psalm written for the study by Bishop David Reed.

Find it all here.

We tend to think of saints as those who have performed heroic acts of great faithfulness for the Church. But Paul considered that all believers are saints, and the Communion of Saints says that all persons, living and dead, are part of this great family of God.

This is a week to consider who has served as a saint for you; who has expressed Christ’s presence in their lives and passed on that influence to you?

Listen to a conversation with the Rev. Patricia Riggins, read a reflection by Marjorie George, and consider some questions for your own reflection.

Find this week’s edition of the fall diocesan study “With hearts enlightened” here. Scroll down to Week 5.

“I don’t have anything in common with men in prison,” Drew Cauthorn said to God. And God replied, “You can love them.”

And so he did. By keeping up a correspondence with several prisoners in the Torres Unit of the TDC, Cauthorn has learned about hope – real hope in the face of adversity.

This week, listen to a conversation with Drew about how hope can thrive even in the darkest of places. And read some excerpts from letters of the men in the Torres Unit.

Find it all here. Scroll down to week 4.

The controlled fire-burn was over, and the team who had lit torches and monitored it all morning went later that night to inspect the property. It looked like total devastation, until Liz Manning saw the tree. “It was smoldering but not on fire,” she reports. “And it was beautiful.”

What if we could look at all things in God’s world, including all of God’s children, with open hearts and eyes that see beyond what they see.

Read the story and listen to a conversation with Liz Manning as part of our fall diocesan Bible study.

Go to week 3 of the study.