November 30 Advent Devotion written by Jane Howell

Psalm 90; Numbers 17:1-11; 2 Peter 3:1-18

November 29 Advent Devotion written by Isaac Scott

Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; I Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 22:25-36 

Practice Peace, The True Gift of Christmas

In a religious culture thousands of miles wide and one milliliter deep, it's time to re-discover the true Jesus and his message of peace.

Raleigh's Playlist - O Magnum Mysterium

I have been looking forward to this addition to Raleigh’s Playlist since the whole idea of staff blogs began. The piece I am sharing is a beautiful setting of one of the most lovely and ancient Latin texts for Advent. This setting is by Morton Lauridsen, an American composer born in 1943.

Cultivating Digital Health

            In eighth grade a friend invited me over to his house so I could see this new thing he got called AOL. In that moment, my life was plugged in. Since then the internet and digital advancements are astounding. Years ago we used rotary phones, then touch tone, cordless, and now we live in a world that makes it possible to video chat with the other side of the world from the palm of our hands.

The Spiral of Grief

When we moved to Lexington in 2011, I was secretly grieving.  It should have been a joyous time and for the most part, it was.  My husband had just got a new job and we had purchased our first home.  We loaded up our two kids, packed up our lives and headed East. 

Raleigh’s Playlist

As I’ve been thinking about the CBC blog, it seems my part could take on a couple of forms. I could blog about my work as a therapist, do something musical, or both. I think that over time, I’ll do some of both but for my first post and probably the next few, I’ll do what I’m going to call Raleigh’s Playlist.

Prayer for Syrian Refugees

A prayer offered in worship on Sunday, September 20, 2015. 

(photo taken from http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/world/meast/syria-refugees-jordan/)

Allowing Scriptures to Breathe

I embrace a dynamic view of Holy Scripture.  Each week, I gather with area ministers across many different Christian denominations to discuss the lectionary passages we are working through for that week’s sermon.  I spend a considerable amount of time reading what others, far, far smarter than me, have thought, written and preached about these same passages from long ago in church history and more recently from modern scholarship and in dialogue with other academic disciplines.

Rachel Childress Travels to Africa

In September I am blessed to attend a Habitat for Humanity International Global Village trip to Malawi, Africa.