(Written as the editor’s letter for the July 2021 GOL E-News. Read the full newsletter here.) I’m writing this today when my head is in a state of excited frenzy that is anything but conducive to clear articulation! I’m sure there are a few people in the GOL network who have lived through a similar…
(Written as the editor’s letter for the June 2021 GOL E-News. Read the full newsletter here.) It is difficult for me to believe that 2021 is almost half way over. I see more and more congregations re-opening their doors to in-person worship, more and more people getting fully vaccinated, and more and more hope that…
(Written as the editor’s letter for the April 2021 GOL E-News. Read the full newsletter here. Read the 2020 Annual Report here.) One of my favorite activities each Spring is reflecting on the previous year of networking and ministry that takes place throughout the Gathering of Leaders community. Looking back on 2020 has been both…
(Written as the editor’s letter for the March 2021 GOL E-News. Read the full newsletter here.) Or is that supposed to be “Moving Forward”? I don’t know if you feel the same way, but a year into the pandemic I often find it hard to complete a coherent sentence let alone lead, strategize, or innovate. Even writing…
(Written as the editor’s letter for the February 2021 GOL E-News. Read the full newsletter here.) As I look out upon the landscape ahead of the GOL clergy, it is one of continued pivoting due the pandemic, deep and often painful conversations over racial injustice and political unrest, and now Ash Wednesday and the season…
(Written as the editor’s letter for the January 2021 GOL E-News. Read the full newsletter here.) I never in a million years thought I would be writing a letter to hundreds of Episcopal clergy that featured the immortal words of Ross Gellar from Friends — “PIVOT!” What a year! I have watched as our congregations have…
(Written as the editor’s letter for the December 2020 GOL E-News. Read the full newsletter here.) I know not every non-profit leader can say they leave an annual board meeting more energized, creative, and motivated than when they arrived, and for that I count myself lucky. The Gathering of Leaders’ Board of Directors held its…
(Written as the editor’s letter for the November 2020 GOL E-News. Read the full newsletter here.) We have all been called into ministry at this time, in this world, and to our specific roles for a reason. I am dwelling uncomfortably in this liminal space and churning over the most recent parochial report data for…
(Written as the editor’s letter for the May 2020 GOL E-News. Read the whole newsletter here.) Whoever said that change is the only constant must have had a crystal ball showing them the year 2020. During a recent GOL Board Meeting we reviewed minutes from a prior meeting and we couldn’t help but joke that…
As the snow began to lightly fall at the Bosque Center, this Houstonian felt like a kid at Christmas. It had been a long time since I had seen snowfall. I headed outside for a walk and was soon joined by a colleague that I had just met but who already seemed like an old…