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Sabbatical and why we are so confused

By Rick Godby / August 3, 2020
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Sabbatical and why we are so confused And just like that, it’s August, and my July sabbatical is a memory. While sabbatical is in the NC Synod Compensation Guidelines and I missed my scheduled fall of 2015 sabbatical in Atlanta because of a Holy Spirit glitch, I’m keenly aware that sabbatical isn’t something most of […]

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Three notes from the bishop

By Rick Godby / July 6, 2020
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Three notes from the bishop I want to share three things with you this month: Just a reminder that our NC Synod Re-gathering in-person recommendations are Phase-specific and not date-specific. So, the recommendation is still in effect since the governor extended Phase 2 through at least July 17. The only addition from the governor’s office […]

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Take a deep breath

By Catherine Fink / June 1, 2020
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Take a deep breath “I can’t breathe.” So it was for lumps of clay at creation that God called human beings. So God breathed breath into them, animating them, empowering them—in short, giving them life. But not only life like all of the other plants and creatures. No, these creatures were special, made in the […]

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Congregations re-gathering

By Catherine Fink / May 4, 2020
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Some preliminary thoughts on re-gathering as congregations Bless your hearts, and mine, too! A friend of mine insists that southern cliché is more mannerly code for “You’re pitiful!” Jeff Foxworthy used this example: “I do believe that is the ugliest baby I have ever seen…bless his heart.” In all seriousness, we might not be pitiful, […]

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“The Flowers”

By Catherine Fink / April 6, 2020
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“The Flowers” The rain to the wind said, “You push and I’ll pelt.” They so smote the garden that the flowers actually knelt, And lay lodged, though not dead. I know how the flowers felt. –Robert Frost We’ve all experienced those overwhelming spring thundershowers during which we quickly dash inside, only to return to lament […]

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Special news from the Bishop

By Rick Godby / March 13, 2020
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Dear NC Synod members, As you know, the past 48 hours have been a whirlwind. COVID-19 is officially a worldwide pandemic. Cancelling March Madness and banning all travel from Europe underscore the secular seriousness. To be clear, this is no longer merely a “fear.” It is a reality that is already here and multiplying at […]

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Talk too much

By Rick Godby / March 2, 2020
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Talk too much I talk a lot. No, really. I know that you know that. I just want you to know that I know that, too. In fact, I spend so much time thinking about what I’m going to say to people in this or that sermon or this or that council or call committee […]

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Word made flesh

By Rick Godby / December 2, 2019
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Word made flesh Most of us will gather on Christmas Eve to hear the Christmas story from Luke. It’s understandable. Mark really has no birth story. Matthew is mostly genealogy. I can’t ever hear Luke without thinking of Linus in the Charlie Brown Christmas special. Linus, blanket and all, cuts through everyone’s commercial preparations with […]

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Visiting Papua New Guinea

By Rick Godby / September 30, 2019
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Over 1400 inhabited islands. Over 800 distinct languages. An independent country since 1975. Over 1,000 anthropological-distinct cultures. 27% Roman Catholic. 21% Lutheran. 11% other Christians. Along with the Amazon basin, home to some of the last remnants of Stone Age civilizations. Six degrees south of the Equator. Stunningly beautiful natural tropical paradise. Abundant natural resources […]

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sanctuary

Sanctuary

By Rick Godby / September 1, 2019
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Sanctuary “Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.” I wonder how many hundred times I’ve sung those words at camp, on retreats, and in contemporary worship services of the early 2000s. I’ll bet a lot of you know it and […]

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