We received two cries for help this past week: one from our bishop friend in Liberia, and one from missionaries in Burma. In Liberia they are experiencing a food shortage-money simply goes to supply basic needs. The ebola outbreak, civil wars, conflicts, skirmishes and perhaps corruption deny services to many. We send our small contribution […]
Category: Our story
Who we are, what we believe, and how it’s all worked out day-to-day
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Dear friend
We write letters. I know that’s a bit strange in this age of e-mail, text messages, Snapchat and the like, but it’s true. Perhaps we are just old-fashioned, passé, and out of date (like the Oxford comma), but there’s something special about a hand-written missive. People regularly tell us how encouraging those letters are, how […]
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A Cloud of Witnesses
Our Celebration of the Faithful was once again a needed reminder of the “cloud of witnesses” who have gone before us and who both inform and help complete our faith. Contrary to the illusion of relentless individualism, we are indeed indebted. Probably more so than we could fathom even if we were to try. First […]
We just finished our Celebration of the Children and it was brilliant! Thirty some years ago our pastors conceived the idea of a church calendar where sacred events would be celebrated as a church family. We would celebrate the faithful, that “cloud of witnesses” such as the ones listed in Hebrews 11. We would set […]
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One another
A Banquet Anniversary Saturday night we served a banquet to 240 people who came to support a vital inner-city ministry. We realized this was something of an anniversary as we had been serving this group for 25 years; this also marked the inception of our banquet ministry. The first time we were asked to come […]
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Spring Break
You won’t find this on MTV’s “Spring Break”! Today a busload of teenagers and adults from Texas is arriving in El Segundo, California, donating time off work and school to improve a church building desperately in need of help. New lighting will be installed and new coats of paint will “cover a multitude” of scars, […]
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Angels unaware
“Be ready with a meal or bed when it’s needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it.” Hebrews 13:1-2 from The Message. For spring break we were blessed to entertain some angels from Concordia University in Irvine. Five college girls partook of our hospitality, building what we hope are lasting memories […]
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Love
“Above all, hold unfailing your love for one another.” It’s Valentine’s Day and the table is laden with gifts: candy, cards, mugs, gift boxes, home-made pictures, bookmarks, and other mementos of the day of “love.” This unfailing tradition of including all on this day typically reserved only for romantic love elevates the occasion. One single […]
We had some great opportunities for international travel and influence several years ago when Rich was invited to Cambodia and to Kenya to teach pastors. The trip to Kenya was initiated by our friend and professor who is a native Kenyan. As we seek to practice partnership, Rich was accompanied by Ryan. After a LONG […]