Unbinding the Gospel by Martha Grace Reese

This summer, five of us have been reading Martha Grace Reese' s book Unbinding the Gospel. Tonight we held our last by the book meeting. We will get together and check in with each other next month because we have found excitement in sharing our faith journeys and prayer experiences. We recommend the book - please, be sure to get the second edition as the heart of the book is the personal prayer journal in the back. This is a hands on book. It is more than reading. More than talking together. It is trying and striving. It is seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.


Speak to Canon Shallcross if you'd like to form a small group and want one of us to help start. We're only six weeks and a few steps ahead of you but are willing to share what we've learned.


The book is easy to read and full of remarkable passages like these:

"Prayer is the way to stay in love with God." p. 46

"Prayer isn't some sweet, nice, safe, naive little activity to do in your flowery hat. It is crash helmet action for people who flip kayaks in raging spring rivers. " p. 53

"Faith has to be real. Faith has to go as deeply into the holy mystery of life with God as we can stand. We are invited into give-it-all-away, bet-the-farm, choreographed-by-the-Spirit, life-walking-by-Christ's-side in minute-by-minute miraculous glory." p. 1106

"A Bishop's Locker Room Pep Talk:
'All right! Get out there and try stuff!" p. 117

"...safety lies in God, not in our habits." p. 122

"God is the North Star, the fixed point by which we can navigate while the church sails, while the world swirls and buffets us." p. 124

"Christ is the calmer of waves, the master of the storm. God holds the untamable chaos of our lives in God's hands and can calm it. Don't stop. Keep going. Step up communication with your team members. Step up communication with God." p. 125

"God is always in the new place." p. 125

"The point of evangelism is sharing the life with God you know. A tragedy opens up a much deeper life with God. Whatever we learn, we can share with others later.... God is alive and working throughout our most painful time. If we allow ourselves to feel the hardest feelings, ask the painful questions, God will be able to reveal Godself to us in more powerful ways than before. p. 132

We commend this book to you all.

Peace be with you all.

Gentle Rain is Our Reminder

It's a rainy Monday here in the Lehigh Valley.

As I look out my front window, determining if I need a raincoat or an umbrella, I pause to think of all the people who have lost loved ones, homes, crops and businesses in the floods this summer. These heavy rains have fallen in our own Midwest States of Texas, Oklahoma and Minnesota. These heavy rains have fallen around the globe in Great Britian, Bangladesh, China, and North Korea (where 500 bridges were washed out).
Our rain today is gentle. May it remind us to pray for and give for the relief of others.

+Gracious God, as we give thanks for all the timely and seasonable blessings of our lives, we pray that you will bring both hope and relief to all those who have suffered from the extreme floods of this summer, we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, who dwells with you and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Provoke One Another to Good Deeds

Pat G. waited to talk to me. She wanted to explore a recent experience as she felt God had sustained her as she faced fears and possible oral surgery. Quietly, humbly, she began her story.

"When I was five years old, I was hit by a car. My face knocked out the headlight of the car that hit me. I lost all my baby teeth. This required extra trips to the dentist over the years and the long term result was a BIG fear of needles."

She pointed to a small scar by her mouth which I had never noticed because most times when I have been with Pat G. her face has been full of expression. Joy. Smiles. Interest in the people around her. Alertness to her Lord.

Several years ago, she needed oral surgery and had a "very bad experience."
But for the last 15 years she has gone to a dentist she really trusts and finds both competent and caring. They have a warm relationship. Then one month ago, she broke a tooth on a raw carrot. She feared another trip to an oral surgeon might be required.

"I don’t often pray for myself– but I needed help. So I began praying to God."

Indeed, those of us who know and love Pat G. have asked to be included in her prayers. We know she is a prayer warrior. Of course, this is not a description she would find comfortable. Yet, hour by hour, Pat G. is praying for someone– a family member or friend, someone in our parish or one of the residents of Cedarbrook where she volunteers.

She prayed for almost 14 days until she saw her regular dentist. Hers was not the oldest of prayers – "Help! Help!" but one of faith and confidence.

She says, "My prayer was ‘I trust you God. Can you put that same trust in my dentist? A shared trust that you will get us both through this?’"

When her dentist first looked at her x-rays, he turned to her and said she needed an oral surgeon. Then Pat G. told him about her fears and her prayers and her trust in him and in God.

He looked at the x-rays a second time. He let out a big sigh and turned back to her. He said, "If you feel that strongly about all of this, I am willing to do my best."

There is still some wonder and awe in her voice when Pat G. says, "And there was no pain. Together we did it. I listen to my favorite music by Il Divos - love songs that I know by heart. No pain. But I’ll won’t eat any more raw carrots."

Then she adds, "And now I know that my faith is strong enough to know that the Lord moves mountains."

Reported by Canon Shallcross
With Pat G.’s permission