I'm Writing Again!

I have not written a blogpost for a while. Two years and five months to be exact. The last piece I wrote was on May 24, 2016 shortly after the adjournment of the 2016 UMC General Conference. I'm sure there are a myriad of reasons why I haven't been writing, but its nothing I've been able to put my finger on. As life and work went on, I just lost the desire, the impetus, and consequently even the time, to write.

 That changed a month or so ago when our Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky invited all of us in the Greater Northwest Area to a "year of Crossing Over to LIFE" using Brian McLaren's book, We Make the Road by Walking, as our roadmap. It is an invitation to spiritual renewal and alignment with Christ. This call to journey resonated with me vocationally as a pastor and in my role as Superintendent of the Alaska Conference but even more so personally as husband, parent, son and friend. I'll be sharing more about the personal impacts later.

 As a pastor, I realized that this is what I am called to do, to walk with people "from death to life, from strife to peace, from prohibition to permission, from fear to faith, from isolation to community, from wandering to promise, from scarcity to abundance, from sorrow to joy!" This is what Jesus was and is all about and so this is what I should be all about!

 So, with this in my mind and in my heart, I have committed to two crossover action points ministerially:

 First, I am bringing this theme of "CrossOver to Life" to all of the charge conferences this season. Many of our churches are stuck and many people in our churches are stuck and are desperately in need of a crossover whether they acknowledge it or not. Charge conferences are our United Methodist system's way of looking back at the past (year or so) and what has been and into the future and what God is calling us to be. The crossover conversation is very relevant and I look forward to having them with all of you!

 Second, I am crossing my blog over from dormancy into activity! The invitation to a CrossOver Year has given me the necessary "spark" to write again. The theme of crossovers is very rich. I believe that life in the church and life in general is made up of a series of crossovers. Scriptures bear witness to story after story of how people of God crossed over into newness of life. Even running is a constant crossing over!

 So, consider this my personal invitation to you, joining Bishop Elaine's invitation, to go on a year of Crossing Over to Life. Subscribe to the CrossOver blog. Subscribe to my blog as I promise to write more often. Order the book, We Make the Road by Walking and read it personally and with a group. Let's crossover into the fullness of life that Jesus promises each one of us.

 Your fellow disciple,
Carlo

Comments

  1. Pastor AndyOctober 23, 2018 at 2:50 PM

    Glad to see you writing again. Looking forward to future pieces.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Papa and Mama: A "Coming Out" Letter

Image
February 23, 2019 St. Louis, Missouri Dear Papa and Mama, Design of Papa and Mama's tombstone in Baguio City, Philippines There’s something in my heart and mind that I’ve been wanting to tell you for some time now. While there’ve been chances to do so, I’ve avoided them not knowing how you would take it. My sense is you probably knew it already but you, too, have avoided the conversation, not knowing how it will go. I know I should have had this talk with you before each of you passed away and I regret not being able to do that. But I am writing this letter anyway, hoping and praying that somehow, as you are now in the presence of God and in the company of that great cloud of witnesses, you would read this, and you would understand. If I were back home in the Philippines, I would go to your gravesite and read this to you. But for now, this will have to do. So here it goes: I’m writing this on the floor of the Dome in St. Louis. It is the first day of the Special Called Sessi...
Read more

But God Was Not In The Wind...

Image
This is the fourth day since General Conference 2016 adjourned. Many reflections have been offered since. I would like to add my voice to the mix.  After the sudden turn of events at the beginning of the second week of General Conference, this scripture came to me: He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13, NRSV) Elijah was on the run. He had just defeated 450 prophets of Baal i...
Read more

Blue Christmas Run... for those in the dark

Image
This Saturday, I will be running the Willow Solstice Marathon in Willow, Alaska for the third straight year. Last year, I did it as a prayer run, playing on the theme of it being held on the winter solstice, the longest night (or at least the Saturday closest to it) and dedicating the run to those who are in the "longest nights" of their lives. I plan to do that again this weekend. I am reposting excerpts from a blog post I wrote a year ago because my words then are still my words now as I again dedicate this run in prayer and solidarity for you who are living in darkness right now. +++ I am running the Willow Winter Solstice Marathon this Saturday. It will be another prayer run for me. This time, I'm running for those who can't. Let me explain. From its name, the Willow Marathon is held on a Saturday closest to the winter solstice, the day when the darkness is longest. In some churches, a Longest Night or Blue Christmas service is held and is specificall...
Read more