The “Charity” window featuring Dorcas from the Book of Acts 9:36-42
at the First United Methodist Church, Vineland, New Jersey.

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;And to godliness brotherly kindness;
and to brotherly kindness charity.

When you read the daily passage from the Bible, what’s important is not how much you read, but how well. Even if you don’t finish all the verses, be sure that you pick out one or two that really seem to speak to you in a personal way.

The First United Methodist Church in Vineland, New Jersey, where I used to be pastor, is a good example of this. There are seven large, beautiful stained glass windows based on verses 5 to 7 of today’s reading. This is a list of seven virtues linked one after another like a row of dominoes falling. Each of the windows is dedicated to one of the virtues about which St. Peter writes, with holy persons as examples.

How would you describe in art or in writing, the meaning that each of these virtues has for you? By doing something creative with them, they will come to mean so much more. And something else will happen: you will live these virtues more and more with the help of God’s grace and add your image to those in the stained glass windows!

2 Peter 1:1-11

Here is a sample of a seven-syllable breath-prayer
from today’s reading:
Love and affection for all v. 7
For more information about this creative way to pray,
see Bible Breaths.

This is the Fifth Week in Epiphany
Winter in the north.  Year C
Thursdays in this season are dedicated to the the letters of Peter

Seasons of Grace – A Calendar for 2019

Solar and Sacred Seasons
Some adjustments to make the church year simpler.

These Firestarters are from a new edition of The Bible Through the Seasons being developed for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand Firestarters with you on your phone or tablet.  More information…