Serve by Design

As students, teachers and parents know by now, this COVID-19 Pandemic has resulted in mandates to stay-at-home as much as possible and this has necessitated having school-at-home. It is hard to estimate at this time the overall impact this shift has had or will have upon the education of children throughout our state. I'm sure that some kids have been setback while others seem to have quickly adapted and are continuing to move forward. It's amazing how resilient children seem to be! Adults would do well to listen to children more. In their innocent lives, they often give us the best advice! One of our own, Charles William, has accepted the new virtual and distance learning required in these days in stride. He is even passionate in doing whatever he can to accomplish all the requirements that will insure his readiness for first grade in the fall. Just the other day, while leaning into his Chromebook, he boldly informed his mother, "I've got to keep moving forward!...

Am I the only one asking this question? All of this started since my retirement in July of 2018. I was so "schedule driven" throughout my active ministry years. Much of my awareness of the day of the week was tied to normal commitments in vocational ministry: preparation of messages and studies, facilitating ministry teams, leading Sunday worship services, making hospital visits and other contacts, and taking occasional days off! It was much easier with this structure to know what day of the week it was as I anticipated the next thing on my weekly to-do list. Now-a-days, with this COVID-19 challenge of staying-in-place, many of us have been thrown off of our routines. We are living a "new normal" and an ongoing confusion about what day it is! This can result in day/week/ time distortion akin to an episode of the Twilight Zone ! (for a reminder, check this out... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxf_Dvy0VLs ) I find myself regularly inquiring, "What day is this...

Lately, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we have been hearing a lot in the media about "essential services." Most of the time, it is in reference to medical and health care workers; police, firefighters, and other emergency services; teachers; custodial and sanitation workers; grocery, public transit employees; packing, shipping and delivery services; and farm workers and farming operations. But essential services also include those who work in carryout food preparations, hardware stores, gas stations, laundry services, and banking. All of these brave and selfless individuals should be commended for being out on the front lines fighting this pandemic! However, the list of essential workers doesn't seem quite complete. As of April 4, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), has issued a bulletin recommending that " everyone should wear a cloth face covering when out in public places to protect others in case they are unknowingly infected with the virus." When we hea...

Ingenuity inspires, entertains, and lifts our spirits! I was recently blessed by the creative expressions of my own family in wishing me a "Happy Birthday!" Because of the shelter-in-place initiatives due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, it was not possible for us to have a traditional family gathering to celebrate my 69th birthday this week. I cannot ever remember not having multiple family members present during any birthday celebration over the years.  I had one friend express the obvious in his greeting, "Happy Birthday! At least this is one you will not forget!" My response was predictable, "You got that right!" Thanks to the imagination of some of our very creative children and grandchildren, I received a very unique birthday greeting on my special day. It came by way of a video collection of well-wishes that were segmented together and attached to a text message. The contributors represented locations far and near including cities named Chatham, Georgeto...

We did not homeschool our children. We are fortunate enough to live in communities that have excellent public schools. On occasions, many of these educators attended our church. We have five public school teachers in our family! Monique taught at Sherman Elementary for over 22 years, retired in 2013, and until recently (due to the stay-at-home mandate) has continued to substitute at the same school three to five times a week.  Our twin daughters are educators as well. Melissa has taught fifteen years and Michelle is in her thirteenth year. Dan, our son-in-law, is also a teacher and has six years of experience. The combined total of this ongoing instruction in the classroom is sixty-three years!  As you can see, we are a family of educators! Eloise "Zooming" at home with her teacher and class! Well, the COVID-19 Pandemic these days has shaken up the setting for education. It has moved from the school buildings of our communities into our homes. I realize that homeschoole...