Tag Archives: ministry

Weekly Photo Challenge: Admiration

Posted on by under C.cada: Arts and Stuff, Photography

This week THE DAILY POST HAS CHALLENGED US TO SHOW ADMIRATION.

I think what inspires admiration in me is an aura of the heroic.

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My daughter is an inspiration to me. She is a consummate overcomer. Tenacious and directed. She has fought and advocated for herself every step of her journey and soon she hopes to be Pastor Amanda Lillie.

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I admire my son for his bravery in traversing cultures and continents to be a teacher overseas.

My son-in-law, a thoughtful man!

I admire my  son-in-law James and my daughter Melanie for stepping into marriage and making their way into ministry in the Boston suburbs.

I admire my sister who is heading to her mission field in the Netherlands tomorrow to bring the message of the gospel to the world through theater ministry

 

Wendy’s window

I admire the artists and ministry team of C.cada and Special Touch for their willingness to lay so much aside for the work of God’s kingdom.

 

And I really admire the staff and workers of Cornerstone for their hard work in the Lord.

Mostly I admire the One who has put something of the heroic in all of us.

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My Daily Walk 2-19-16

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

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What does a daily walk for a minister look like?

I started these posts to start making myself more accountable for the exercise I committed to doing at the beginning of the year. I have upped my game in that department. I am getting out and physically walking or exercising at least three times a week, which is better than zero times a week, but it is still not where I thought I would be.

Maybe my sights were set a little too high for a beginning, or maybe if I had set my sights lower I would be right where I was before, with nothing. I don’t know.

What I do know is that my life coach often says that if we say “yes” to one thing it means we have to say “no” to another.

What does a daily walk for a minister look like? 

I guess it looks like going to sit at the bedside of a dying congregant and praying with her family. I guess it looks like visiting the ER and bringing another sick congregant the clothes they need before they go to rehab. It probably looks like visiting a local Bible college and meeting with prospective young ministers to start them on the road to practical ministry. I suppose it could even be sitting at a computer and writing blogs about ministerial life. It is about planning awards ceremonies for young ladies who have achieved great things in their Christian walks, and about calling leaders who are laboring hard for the Kingdom of God, to encourage them to keep going. At least that is what my daily walks have become in the last two or three days. I have to tell you I wouldn’t say “no” to any of these things even if I was offered a walk on the beach in Waikiki.

I will get back to exercising my body soon enough but for these last days it has been about exercising my faith. For me, that is enough to keep me going.

JE

My Daily Walks 2-12 &2-13

Posted on by under For Family & Fun

I have missed my daily walk these  last two days. The busyness of the schedule  and the severe cold have given me excuses to stay far away from walking. Here is what  I did instead.

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My friend Jody and I went to the travel agency to begin planning our trip to Japan and Korea.

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Where  we will visit the kid in green.

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Today I led worship before Deb Maciorowski preached  at Special Touch.

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And I registered for next month’s  bowl-athon. My team is called Gutters for Jesus. Maybe I’ll  make up the exercise then.

Share Your World 2015 Week 38

Posted on by under C.cada: Arts and Stuff

It’s that time again folks. Cee has asked her questions and we can but answer. My answers to the questions are below and Cee’s other friends have answered HERE. You have only to click on the underlined word and you will be whisked away to Cee-Land a most beautiful place…really!

Here are my answers:

What do you do to make a living or during the day if you are retired.  If you are a student what are you studying?

I am the assistant pastor at Cornerstone Church in Winchendon MA. My portfolio includes worship and the arts as well as Prayer and Compassion ministries. To that end I run C. cada a Christian artist’s collaborative. The goal of C.cada is to help people discover, develop and deploy their God-given gifts in the church and in the community.

I am also a founding member of Special Touch R.E.A.C.H. New England a chapter of Special Touch Ministries based out of Wisconsin. The goal of this ministry is to bring the gospel message to the disabled community.

Basically I spend my days meeting and training teams of people to reach other people with the love of Jesus through prayer, compassion and the arts

Have you ever participated in a distance walking, swimming, running, or biking event? Tell your story.

I have done walk- a- thons to raise money for missions. there is no real story there. I walked and people gave me money to give to missionaries. The end. 🙂

What is usually your first thought when you wake up? 

“Good morning Lord. Do I really need to get out of bed? It is really warm in here and really cold out there.”

Complete this sentence: Look out behind you, it’s a …

Falling tree! I really don’t know where that came from. It is just the first thing that crossed my mind. No one I know has ever been squashed by a tree. I don’t think I have ever even seen a tree fall.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful that my editor Tracy sent the prologue of my story back complete with edits to be made. Now to work. I am looking forward to the Toy Town Fall Fest which C.cada, Prayer Shawl Ministry and Special Touch R.E.A.C.H. New England are participating in this weekend! I

What Happened To Pastor Wrinkles?

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

Any of you who have been following me for any length of time know my alter ego is Pastor Wrinkles. Both of us (which is really just me) have been absent from WordPress for the better part of two weeks. It has been a busy and fruitful time of ministry. The first week I was busy writing sermons for the second week. Over the course of the last seven days I have preached eleven times and led one baptism service It has been an incredibly rewarding time. I marvel at what God is doing through one such as I.

It is a time of mighty harvest folks and I believe we are just at the beginning.

Here are some photos of the week that has just passed.
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The library of the manor house I stayed in at camp.
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The manor house.
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Camp begins with a photo op.
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Eddie Raymond entertains in the chapel.
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Counselor Dan at the pool.
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Cathy and Ann catch a little fish.
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John shows his work at the art show.
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Some of the guys at pendulum painting.
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The tree of life at Eisner Camp.
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Packing camp away.

Enter Their Pain!

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

Here are some great quotes from our guest Missionary at Cornerstone yesterday…

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“Jesus really is the Savior of the world”- M.G.

” Jesus has not called us to shrink back from the sin and pain of the world. He has called us to enter into it, to minister to it.”- M.G.

“We have to help people understand what it is they already long for.”- M.G.

“The deeper the pit the stronger the search for God.”- M.G.

God, Pastors and the Calling #calling519

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

I am just returning from our network pastor’s council. So much wonderful work was done this weekend. Our fellowship ordained 21 new pastors from Southern New England including our very own Youth Pastor here at Cornerstone Rev. Brad Hackett

Cornerstone Church - Winchendon's photo.

Our Lead Pastor and Presbyter Rev. Barry Risto and newly ordained minister Rev. Brad Hackett

During our missions banquet an offering was taken to support three large projects being tackled around the world by missionaries from our Network in Southern New England. 180 churches joined to raise  $121,000.00 for projects in Indonesia, India and Mozambique! And the District Youth Director made an appeal to our Network Pastors to help my sister raise the budget required for her vehicle when she returns to her mission in the The Netherlands.

Today the council was rounded out as we began what is going to become a year-long discussion about “being called by God” the title of the seminar was #calling519 (its Twitter designation)

Here are some quotes from the day

WHAT IF GOD IS TELLING YOU TO STAY WHEN EVERYTHING EXTERNALLY IS TELLING YOU TO GO?- SCOTT GIORDANO

WHEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES SHOUT “GO” BUT GOD CALLS YOU TO STAY, THE STAYING IS THE GOING.- SCOTT GIORDANO

INSTEAD OF PRAYING FOR A WAY OUT PRAY FOR A WAY IN.- SCOTT GIORDANO

FINDING THE GREAT ASSIGNMENT IS NOT NEARLY AS EASY AS HEARING THE GREAT CALL.- BRIAN KROGH

IS IT POSSIBLE TO LIVE OUT THE CALL OF GOD WITHOUT EVER MAKING IT TO THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID? BRIAN KROGH

THERE ARE ASSOCIATE ROLES AND POSITIONS. THERE ARE NO ASSOCIATE CALLS.- BRIAN KROGH

THE CALLING IS NEVER ABOUT SAFETY. SALARY PACAKAGE, PRESTIGE, TITLE, SELFISH GAIN OR PERSONAL GRATIFICATION. THE CALL IS SIMPLY ABOUT FOLLOWING GOD.- SELWYN BODLEY

MOVE IN GOD’S POWER AND AUTHORITY. LEAVE YOURS AT HOME.- SELWYN BODLEY.

Share Your World 2015 Week#11

Posted on by under For Family & Fun

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GREAT GUGGAMUGGA!  This week’s sharing questions 1 and 3 are really hard! You can find how other people responded at

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/03/16/share-your-world-2015-week-11/

Here are the questions and my answers

List 2 things you have to be happy about?

2 things I have to be happy about? Is it like I am forced to be happy about these things even though I really don’t want to be? Is the reason I have to be happy about them because everyone else is happy about them and I don’t want to be the odd man out? Or is the reason I have to be happy about them because I can’t do anything to change them. so being happy is just a way of moving on and not getting stuck in bitterness? Or is my forced happiness because what has happened is really a good thing but it makes me sad?

I’m sorry what was the question?

Do you prefer ketchup or mustard or mayonnaise?  

Deep breath of relief that question 1 is answered (or not)! Mayo all the way. I am not a big ketchup fan

If you were to paint a picture of your childhood, what colors would you use?

I had to stop and think what the picture would actually look like for this one. Is it a moment in time? Or is it a collage of events all smashed together on one canvas? I think it has to be a collage. The center is a brown wooden cross surrounded by smatterings of red and white. In the upper left hand corner is a portrait of a much younger me standing at a brown podium in a white polyester suit with one blue button, one orange button and one red button giving a Memorial Day Speech in fifth grade. The upper right hand corner is dark maybe pen and ink and shows me being bullied in gym class. The lower left hand has two scenes blended together One half is a room with brown pine paneling the other is stark white rustic camp walls. I am seated with my family in both pictures enjoying dinner. The lower right hand corner is me standing in the middle of a choir in a pink sanctuary singing.

Do you prefer a bath or shower?

Another deep sigh of relief. Question 3 took a lot of thinking muscle. I like a shower. However when I travel I always take a really hot bath and if the place I am staying has one a hot tub!

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am so grateful that I got to preach twice last week. The titles of the messages I shared were: Whose Vision Are You and Complete Worship. This week I have the opportunity to bring communion out to our local Visiting Nurses Dayhab and on Saturday we have C.cada!

An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Race the Clock.”

So the daily post has given us this assignment today…

Here’s the title of your post: “An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse.”

Set a timer for ten minutes, and write it. Go!

Several years ago I was asked to come and sing for a group of people at a local visiting nurses dayhab unit. I went and sang.

They liked me and so they invited me back. They liked me the second time and so they asked me if I would begin coming once a month. I agreed and went to sing hymns on a monthly basis and did this for two years.

Over the course of those two years my schedule began to fill out exponentially. It was becoming harder and harder to keep the commitment to my monthly hymn-sing at the VNA and so I approached God about it.

“God you know how busy I am.” I complained, “This hymn-sing is nice but I am not seeing any real fruit from it and I just can’t justify continuing when there are so many other more productive pursuits I could be involved in. God I am going to quit after this next concert. But if you want me to stay you will have to do something to make me stay.”

I went to the concert, set up my piano and sang my heart out feeling fully liberated that at the end of the day I would be handing in my walking papers.

We were about three-quarters of the way through my set when suddenly one of the elderly ladies in the room stopped the concert and asked, “Hey you are a pastor right?”

“Yes I am. ” I replied (they had been calling me Pastor J since day one but God chose this day to make it all sink in).

“You know most of us in this room don’t get to go to church anymore.” She said. “Would it be possible for you to bring us communion?”

The activities director blanched a little. But I had to ask, “Is that possible?”

I fully expected an unequivocal “No!”

What I got from her was a, “Let’s vote.”

The vote was taken and everybody wanted communion.

It was an offer I could not refuse. I had my next marching orders from God. Today I have a team of three which brings communion to 35 individuals at this venue. We started another off-campus service with another team two towns away and last month two of us started bringing music to a third day program two miles up the road from the VNA where it all started.

You never know where fruit from ministry is going to pop up!