Discernment
By Erin Jean Warde
The fear that sobriety will rob us of our fun is very real and more common than we might think. In Resurrecting Joy Through Sobriety, Erin Jean Warde describes her experience with sober discernment, showing how she was able t…
By Anthony Rodriguez
Children’s ministry can be both incredibly rewarding and challenging at the same time. In The Route Less Traveled, Anthony Rodriguez narrates his life-changing experience of participating in and then leading children’s minist…
By Mildred J. Briones Reyes
Sometimes all we need is a sign to show us if we are on the right path. In Faith in a Sand Dollar, Mildred J. Briones Reyes tells the story of how her love for the beach inspired her to ask God for a sign while she was discer…
By Christina Encinosa
Art can help us figure out what our future holds and can also help us express ourselves. In Pacts with God, Christina Encinosa remembers her pacts with God that had to be revisited as she grew and matured and eventually disce…
By Alissa Newton
Alissa Newton provides three ways to start thinking of vestry service as a vocation.
By Kelsey Schuster, Susan Daughtry and Karen Olson
Kelsey Schuster, Susan Daughtry and Karen Olson bring us news about the ECMN School for Formation, which is transforming small church communities.
By Lucy Cabrera Montes
How a community cared for and supported the discernment of one of its members from a teenager to becoming a young adult and how she grew into becoming a leader in the Church.
By Nathan E. Kirkpatrick
A vestry retreat, if planned thoughtfully, can be a time of fruitful work, relationship building and most importantly, honest conversations about the life and health of a church. In The Vestry Goes On Retreat, Nathan E. Kirkp…
By Jennifer LeBlanc
Does your church conduct a Spiritual Gifts Assessment for its parishioners? Jennifer LeBlanc shares the experience of her church’s spiritual gifts assessment in Spiritual Gifts.
By Bruce A. Freeman
In Discernment in the Vestry Process, Bruce A. Freeman draws from personal experience to emphasize the importance of a careful, spiritual discernment process by and for congregational leaders to ensure the work of the church …
By Carmen Guerrero
Transition and change is part of our personal as well as our corporate lives. “A Bridge to Change” by Carmen Guerrero shares her story of learning to recognize how God was calling her to change as she responded to various ca…
By Robert Wright
Robert Wright encourages us to make explicit our fire – our common purpose - and to keep it “in front of us” as it will bless our common life in exciting ways.
By Janie Kirt Morris
Getting the right people on board is critical. Janie Kirt shows us the successful system she developed for “Build a Healthy Vestry." Available in Spanish.
By Jane Patterson and John Lewis
It is early evening, and traffic is heavy in the city as people head home for dinner and a night’s rest.