And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. The peace of Christ must control your hearts—a peace into which you were called in one body. And be thankful people. Colossians 3:14-15 CEB According to the Apostle Paul, we are called to be in a perfect bond of unity with each other through the love that is in Christ. We are to be “in one body,”—and to be thankful for it. I recently read a devotion by Eugene Peterson focusing on this passage that gave me pause to ponder. As we depend on each other, we experience a deep sense of freedom. The closer we are to one another, the more freedom we have. That just does not seem logical at first glance. He elaborates by explaining that we all have strengths and talents that were given to us, yet these gifts can often cause us to believe that we are self-sufficient. We don’t need others. We are capable of living quite well on our own, thank you very much. This sense of self-sufficiency, though, can act as a prison. The pressure of having to do it all can wear us down and overwhelm us. Wouldn’t it be much freer to be able to reach out to others, to share our strengths and talents with each other along this journey of life? With this sense of mutuality and of bearing each other’s burdens, “we are no longer imprisoned in our strengths; we are no longer paralyzed by our needs.” Through sharing life together, we help, and we are helped. Caring for others, bearing one another’s burdens is reaching out, helping, supporting, even carrying someone who is going through a crisis in their life; the death of a loved one, a divorce, the loss of a job. Or being a comfort for one who is just wrestling with the everyday struggles of living in this world, striving to be a good parent, balancing work, family, and growing older. We were created by God to live in community—helping each other, supporting each other, going through life together. Mark 2:1-12 tells a story about four men who carry a friend who is paralyzed to Jesus on a stretcher so that he can be healed. They were so determined to get him to Jesus that they tore a hole in the roof of the place where Jesus was present and lowered their friend through the opening. Yet I have always wondered what it must have felt like to be the one being lowered into the opening. He must have felt a bit self-conscious and maybe embarrassed. To be openly and publicly presented as someone who is needy and desperate, as opposed to the stretch-bearers. They were the virtuous ones in this story. Yet there will be times in our lives when we are the stretcher-bearers, helping someone. While at other times we will be the one on the stretcher, someone needing help. This is what living in community, “in one body,” in mutuality in the love of Christ is all about. We need each other. And what great freedom that is. #freedom #community #love1another #aplaceforgrace

I struggled with stress this week. On Monday I felt overwhelmed, and everything seemed harder than it needed to be. Those are the days when my faith feels weaker, and God seems far away. Over the years I have learned to turn to God in those times. I rarely do it as quickly as I should, but at some point, I remember that I am not doing life alone and God is there to help carry the burden. I like Matthew 11:28 which reminds us of God’s help, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” As a younger person, come to me meant me asking God for help. Through the years it has shifted to mean, spending time in prayer. Not on my knees kind of prayer, but simply breathing God prayers. If you do yoga, meditate, or need to lower your stress, the key is often in slowing your breathing. As we become aware of our breath, we see that our breathing can support our practice of stretching or focus our energy. The same is true with our prayers. Our breathing can also support our practice of prayer. To do this I sit comfortably and close my eyes. I remind myself that God loves me, and I am in his presence regardless of where I sit. I imagine God asking me what I need. I call him by whatever name feels most comfortable for me. Usually, it is Father. I then articulate my prayer. Father I need your peace. I do that with my breath, on the inhale I say Father, and the exhale, I need your peace. I sit in silence and allow my breath to guide my prayer until I feel the tension leave my shoulders. I don’t think there is a right way or better way to reach out to God when we feel weary and burdened. I simply think we need to shift our hearts toward Him, knowing He is there waiting to bring us rest. Blessings, Pastor Jayne #rest #peace #aplaceforgrace

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is a great God. - Psalm 95:1-3 The Bible is filled with Scripture that implore us to be thankful: “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18); “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20); “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1). Yet, there are conditions and circumstances in life where it is difficult to be in a grateful spirit. There is so much turmoil in our world today that makes it tough sometimes to be in a thankful mood. The question is—how much of our feelings of gratitude are weighed down, tainted, colored, by our situation and how much of it is influenced by our attitude? I heard a philosophy professor that posed this situation to his class. "What if one of the students in this class just stood up, slammed his books to the floor, and stomped out? What do you think my reaction would be?" One student said he should be angry. “How dare that student do such a thing. Get his name, his ID and make sure he is kicked out of this class or at least his grade is docked.” Another student said that the professor should be hurt, “Here you have spent so much time and effort in preparing this lecture and this student would be so rude to do such a thing.” The professor said, “Well, maybe I should feel guilty. What did I say that offended the student so much?” One set of fact, all kinds of responses. The professor’s point in this little exercise was to remember that your responses, whatever they might be, are not solely determined by what happened—the facts (the person walking out of the room), but more by something inside of you—about your attitudes, your assumptions about life. They are like lenses of the mind that are always at work. Sometimes they shrink, sometimes they magnify, sometimes they color, sometimes they obscure. They are always at work. “The eye is the lamp of the body,” Jesus says. It is all about that word “assumptions.” If your assumptions about life are bad, then your whole body will be filled with darkness, with emptiness, fear, negativity, mistrust that distort everything you see around you. Yet the passage from Psalm 95 above tells us to be thankful because “For the LORD is a great God.” It does not say, “give thanks, for things are good.” But give thanks for God is great. The psalmist shows us we should praise God because of God’s character and not our circumstances. No matter what we are facing, no matter what we have, no matter what we think we don’t have, God is still a great God. We must look through the eyes of gratitude. And when we do, there is so much we are grateful for! #thankful #aplaceforgrace

It is ingrained into us a Christians. We read about it in Scripture so many times. One of the greatest marks of a Christian is love. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39; “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” Luke 6:27; and the new command that Jesus gives us in John 13:34-35, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” There is even a song that we have sung many a times in church that testifies to the mark of love, “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they know we are Christians by our love.” But after this journey of reading through the Gospel of John during the Lenten and Easter season, I have begun to realize that there is another mark of a Christian, that may be even a harder virtue to fulfill as we strive to be a disciple of Jesus Christ—forgiveness. I had not realized how prevalent the theme of forgiveness fills the pages of John’s writings, until this reading through his Gospel. Of course, there is the theme of Jesus’ work of freeing us of our sins, as when John the Baptist first sets his eyes on Jesus on the banks of the Jordan River and exclaims, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. Yet, we are commanded to forgive as Jesus has forgiven. This was really impressed on me in the passage where Jesus appears to the disciples after the resurrection, in John 20:21-23. He gives them a blessing, then breathed upon them to receive the Holy Spirit, anticipating the receiving of the Spirit at Pentecost in a few days. And what command does he give them at this time? Not the command to love, but to forgive, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” By proclaiming the message of Jesus to the world, they are in essence, announcing the message of God’s gift of forgiveness, through Christ’s work on the cross. And not only that, but throughout his life, Jesus is showing us how we are to forgive one another. On the cross, he offers forgiveness to his tormentors, “For they know not what they do.” In the gospel of John, we see Jesus offer forgiveness to Peter in John 21:15-19 after he had denied him three times. And he offers forgiveness to the other disciples in John 20:19 when he first appears to them. Instead of scolding them, he stood among them and proclaimed, “Peace be with you.” I like what Max Lucado says about forgiveness, “Forgiveness doesn’t diminish justice; it entrusts it to God” and, “Revenge builds a lonely house. Space enough for one person. The lives of its tenants are reduced to one goal: make someone miserable. They do. Themselves.” Christ not only commands us to love, but to forgive. Not only for their sake, but for ours. #forgiveness #aplaceforgrace

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30 NIV I have a certain trait that Jayne finds very peculiar in me. And you may too. When I start reading a book, I must finish it. No matter had bad it is. There have only been a couple of books in my lifetime that I could not get through. Do not know what drives me this way. Maybe it is because I tend to be an optimist and keep thinking that it will get better. Until I read the last page and realize that the book was a real stinker. But at least I have the self-satisfaction that I got through the whole book and finished it. This week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday is known as Holy Week or Passion Week. Passion is probably a more apt term for it, for during this week we remember the immense pain that Jesus endured on his way to the cross, and the unbearable suffering he experienced as he died on the cross. And it is on the cross that Jesus utters the powerful words “It is finished” that ring throughout history as a sign that sin is forever defeated, and the power of death broken. The Greek translation of this phrase is one word, “tetelestai.” Tetelestai is a fascinating word. One way it is used is when a servant would return to his master with a completed task, he would say “Tetelestai.” “I finished the project you commanded me to do.” Another way it would be used is when a merchant would place a stamp on a piece of paper when someone had paid a debt in full: “Tetelestai—you don’t owe anything more.” A final way that this word was used is when a lamb would be brought to the temple for a sacrifice. If the priest determined that it was an acceptable sacrifice, he would say, “Tetelestai, you have brought the appropriate sacrifice.” Jesus chose this phrase as his final words on the cross. We can see how this phrase perfectly describes what Christ accomplished. God’s plan is complete. We do not owe anything more for our sins to be forgiven. The sacrifice is a perfect sacrifice for the atonement for our sins to restore our relationship with God. What is also fascinating about this word is that it is not easily translated into English. You see it actually means “it is finished and it will continue to be finished.” What a great assurance for us. Christ’s atoning work on the cross was not just something that happened in the past. Yet, we can be confident that the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of new life in Christ is continually working in our lives today and forever. This is the joy we receive and that we abide in each Easter Sunday. We continually share as God intervenes in our lives to takes those dying parts of our existence and give them new life. Christ is continually working in our lives to bring us hope and the promise of new life, even amid death and despair. As we remember the suffering that Christ endured for us, we can rejoice in the great love he showed to us in his suffering, and more significantly his resurrection. #goodfriday #aplaceforgrace

Hey, St. Andrew’s, I’m here today to tell you about an experience that we are offering to you during the season of Lent, so that you can experience Stations of the Cross from your home. So, I want to tell you a little about it, but first let’s answer, “what is Stations of the Cross?” Stations of the Cross is an experiential opportunity for you to pause and to consider that journey Jesus took in his final days, as he moved toward the cross—his death. Why is that important? In order for us to really, truly celebrate Easter on Sunday, we need to consider first the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on Good Friday. And that is what this is. This is an opportunity for you to pause and truly consider what it means. This year we are offering you this opportunity, Stations of the Cross, but you will be able to take it home with you. You will be able to open it up, and what we are hoping, during the week of Holy Week, that you will set some time aside to go through this opportunity, this experience. So, here’s what it is. When you open up your box, what you find is that there are twelve stations. Each station comes with an explanation, some Scripture, some reading, and some thoughts about some of the steps that Jesus took. There will also be things within this box that will be experiential—something to smell, or to taste, or to touch, or to feel. The box is really created for all of us to take some time to reflect. So, who is this appropriate for? Really, anyone from elementary-aged and up. You can do this alone, by yourself. It may take you about an hour. Or you can do it as a group, in your family or with a few friends. If you choose to do that, it may take a little longer. There really isn’t any wrong way to do this. Just simply set aside some time to pause, to reflect, to read some Scripture, to consider the journey that Jesus took—for us, so that we might receive the grace that he so freely offers to us on Easter morning. I hope that you will take advantage, make a reservation, and pick up your box for the Stations of the Cross. Click HERE to register for your box today. Blessings, Pastor Jayne Rideout #aplaceforgrace #lent #stationsofthecross

This week our daily readings of the book of John has included a great story about the death of Lazarus, chapter 11:1-44. This story is rich in detail, which is not always true in Biblical stories. The main theme of this story is simple—Jesus has the power to raise Lazarus from the dead. Yet that occurs in the last seven verses of the story. The first thirty-eight verses tell of the drama around the death of Lazarus and the grieving of his sisters and friends. Both Martha and Mary express their frustration to Jesus that had he arrived sooner, their brother would still be alive. Two weeks ago, I started GriefShare offered through St. Andrew’s. This is a class designed to help people who are grieving the loss of a loved one. It can be a recent loss or a loss that occurred long ago, but the person is still struggling to heal. I signed up because I lost my mom this past summer and I feel like I never really grieved her the way I wanted. I had too many things going on with a move, a new church, and both of my daughters heading off to college. Today in class I admitted to my classmates that I have struggled with my relationship with God since my mom passed. I do not think I am mad at God, but I also do not feel his presence like I have in the past. I get what Mary and Martha were feeling. They were sad their brother was gone, but they were also wondering why God allowed him to die. Within the story of Lazarus is the shortest verse in the Bible. Most kids raised in church can tell you what it is. “Jesus wept.” Verse 35 reveals the human side of Jesus who grieves with his friends. While we never get the answer to why people die when they die, we do know from this narrative that Jesus grieves with us. That helps. It also helps to know that Jesus understands when we do not feel close to him. He doesn’t get mad at us or reject us because we grieve. Instead, he lovingly stays close to us until we are ready to open our hearts again and receive His love. Blessings, Pastor Jayne Rideout For more info about GriefShare at St. Andrew's, click HERE . #aplaceforgrace

He (Jesus) went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” - John 6:65 As we, as a church, journey through the Gospel of John together, I am in awe of the truths of Jesus that are being revealed to me. This is why this series is called “Revealing Jesus.” These truths and revelations have deepened my faith and trust in God, through the words and actions of His son, Jesus Christ that we read in John. How this has been working for me is that I am being ever mindful, as a read the passages, to find a verse that speaks to me. Or gets my attention. There are certain passages that make me pause and go back over to reread it. When this happens, I know that the Holy Spirit is prompting me to dig further in understanding the passage. The passage that “hit” me today is the one above. This one puzzled me or I might even say troubled me. Is it saying that God the Father enables only certain individuals to come into a relationship with Jesus? Does God arbitrarily pick and choose which one of us God wants to be saved? There is a hint of the same thing back in verse 44 of chapter 6 where we read Jesus saying, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him …” This is a hard passage. So, it was time to pull out the commentaries to understand this passage. What I discovered first, is that most commentaries totally skipped that passage. I guess it was too hard for them as well. But I still had my questions. Does God pick and choose which ones He desires to enable to come to Christ? This was rocking my theology. However, the New International Commentary on the New Testament came to my rescue. For that verse, it noted, “It is impossible for anyone to come to Christ unless the Father gives the grace to do so. Left to themselves, sinners prefer their sin. Conversion is always a work of grace.” Bingo. The separation between humankind and God is so vast that God cannot even be in the presence of sin. It is like two magnets of the same poles trying to connect. They are forced away, cannot unite. Here is where that amazing grace comes in. Through the grace from God, and only through the grace of God, can Christ and humankind come together. To open the pathway to salvation that we decide to walk through and accept. And this grace is given to everyone, unconditionally, because of God’s great love for us. “Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.” Today is the World Day of Prayer, which is celebrated internationally in over 170 countries. During your time of prayer today, pray, giving gratitude to God, that He offers us His grace that allows us to have a life in Christ so that we may live the abundant life, now and forever. #aplaceforgrace

This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory and his disciples put their faith in him. - John 2:11 One of the powers of studying Scripture through a daily reading plan is that it purposefully allows us to slowly read and focus on the text to truly savor what it means for us. This is what I have been experiencing through the church-wide study of the Gospel of John during this season of Lent. I hope that you have been able to pick up a copy of the reading plan, the Lenten Journey guide. If not, they are available in a plastic bin on the table outside the church office (closest to the parking lot) or you can pick one up at one of our Sunday morning services. In that guide is a wonderful resource showing you how to best study and journal as you read through the daily Scriptures. It is called the S.O.A.P method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer) adapted from Wayne Cordero’s Life Journal resource. The first step, of course, is to read the assigned passage and allow God to speak to you. Then look for a verse that particularly speaks to you. In this week's reading in John chapter 2, my attention kept going back to the scripture above. For some reason, I kept going back to the word “glory.” It is a word that you see a lot in Scripture. Hear it a lot in church. Maybe so much that you gloss over it and don’t really absorb what it truly means. I guess I have been conditioned by way too many TV evangelist who overuse that word, stretching it out to four syllables, the “Gul-lor-e-ry of God!” So, I felt inspired to dig deeper into the meaning behind this seemingly overworked term. What I discovered gave me a deeper appreciation for this word in helping me to get my arms around who God is. One writer I read attempts to explain the word by referring to the text from Isaiah 6:3. In this passage, the prophet Isaiah sees a vision of a multi-winged seraphim, singing praises to God by exclaiming, " Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole earth is full of his glory." The writer poses the question that since the Lord Almighty is Holy, he says it three times, why wouldn’t he write that the whole earth is filled with his Holiness? Why is the word “glory” used here? The answer is that God possesses a multitude of attributes associated with Him—God is good, perfect, unchanging, merciful, forgiving, all-powerful, all-knowing, universal, wise, faithful, just, gracious, loving, and yes, holy—just to name a few. So, when Jesus speaks that he performed the miracle at the wedding in Cana, he did it to give glory to God. It was to show and reveal who God really is, in all His grandeur. When we give God glory, we are intentionally revealing to all, who God is in all His qualities. By doing so, we are not making God glorious, God is already glorious. There is nothing we can do to make that happen. But we can live out our lives to the glory of God. So that our aspiration is revealing who God is. All his attributes. Broadcast them, share them to the world. To manifest God’s glory is a phrase we hear a lot—“manifest,” meaning to display or show by our words and actions. So, now I can truly understand what Paul meant when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Thanks be to God for stirring me to take a deeper look at one particular word in my reading today. #aplaceforgrace #gloryofgod

Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So, whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others … And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others … And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting … So not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust* consume and where thieves break in and steal. -Various passages from Matthew 6 This week we are celebrating the beginning of the season of Lent, a time that has traditionally focused on giving, praying and fasting. This scripture reading is commonly used during this period in the church calendar. In our scripture reading, we are presented with three religious practices that all good Jewish folks willingly participated in during the first century. Giving donations to the temple, praying, and fasting were all things that faithful followers of God regularly practiced. This passage is not encouraging believers to give, pray or fast, rather this passage encourages believers to have the right state of mind when they give, pray, and fast. The passage is structured with a repeated pattern to help the early listeners understand how important one’s state of mind is when it comes to religious practices. This passage first instructs first century hearers how not to give, pray and fast. They are not to do it in a way that brings them any personal glory or recognition. Rather, they are instructed to have the correct approach or correct state of mind. If giving, praying, or fasting is done for any other reason than to acknowledge and worship God, the discipline renders itself as useless. So how should we approach the practice of reading our Bibles during Lent? This year we are encouraging everyone to pick up a Lenten booklet and start reading the book of John beginning Monday, February 22. There is a reading schedule in the Lenten booklet to guide you. Is there a right way to read the Bible? Honestly, no. Just read. Is there a right state of mind to read scripture? Yes, there is. Begin your reading by taking time to pray first, asking God to speak to you through His Word. Prayer opens us up to hearing the whisper of God as we read. Prayer reminds us of our need for God’s inspiration. It is easy to make reading the Bible a task that we simply check off. Prayer will help us slow down and receive the gift of God’s Word and have the right state of mind as we read. I hope you will join us as we read the book of John together this Lenten season. Blessings, Pastor Jayne #aplaceforgrace

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. — Matthew 19:24 NIV This is a revelation that Jesus gives after a talk with the man known as the “rich young man” who comes to Him asking, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” This story appears not only in Matthew, but in the Gospels of Mark and Luke as well. Jesus’ first response to him is that he must obey the commandments. It seems that the rich young man is trying to find the easy path and responds by asking “which ones.” When Jesus recites a paraphrasing of the commandments, the young man replies, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” It is here that Jesus silences him with the response, “Go sell your possessions and give to the poor, then come follow me.” The young man realizes that deep down inside, he cannot do this because he has great wealth and walks away downcast. It is at this time that the disciples gather around Jesus as he shares the “eye of the needle” analogy with them, quoted in the above Scripture. This is a passage that has been the subject of many discussions pertaining to the meaning behind it. We often like to conjure up this passage when we “bash” rich people (rich people being anyone who has more money than we do). Yet by doing so, I think we are missing the point of the parable. From the story, it appears that the young man does all the right things that a good devout man of faith should do. He obeys all the commandments. He appears to be a righteous man. Yet there is one thing that he cannot surrender to give his whole heart to God. We can say that is his “eye of a needle." The Christian author, Karen Moore, challenges us, in that we must ask ourselves the same question, “what is our eye of a needle?” What is blocking us from giving our whole heart to God? She writes, “We’ve given to others, applied our hearts to charity, and attended church on a regular basis. As far as we can tell, we’ve been model citizens. So, what stops us from taking that one last step to make a full commitment?” We often get settled in our walk with Christ and feel that we have done enough. And knowing the good people of St. Andrew’s, the church is overflowing with faithful, loving, and caring people. But is there one last commitment that is holding us back? We may say, like the rich young, man, “I cannot give that up. It would be like a camel going through the eye of a needle.” Yet we are encouraged by Jesus’ final statement in the story of his encounter with the young man in Scripture, “With God, all things are possible.” #aplaceforgrace

The COVID pandemic has brought on another pandemic in our community; a pandemic of isolation, loneliness, feelings of being overwhelmed and helpless. These feelings are even more intensified by those who are the primary caregiver for a loved one. For many that are in these situations, days are filled with an endless multitude of responsibilities and tasks involved in taking care of a loved one. It is a labor of love as well as an overwhelming undertaking. Add to this the social isolation involved in the quarantine, and interaction with others is limited. No one can drop in to visit anymore. The caregiver is rarely able to leave the house. Caregivers fear exposure to the virus that may endanger their loved one if they leave their homes. It is no wonder that one can feel so all alone and exhausted by the responsibility. The September issue of Psychology Today states that between 40-70% of caregivers suffer from depression and anxiety. Anger and irritability are also common. Plus, three-quarters of caregivers do not seek out medical care for themselves as often as they should. That is why the caregivers’ role is also associated with risk of developing high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems. Since the beginning of COVID, there has been a group of caregivers within the church community meeting weekly via Zoom to share in their challenges. As they share their trials and blessings in taking care of someone special in their lives, they realize that they are not alone. And they realize that the exhaustion, loneliness, and helplessness they may feel is not unusual. This Zoom Caregiver’s Chat Group meets on Fridays at 10 a.m. A few months back, Jayne and I jumped on the Zoom chat to experience one of their gatherings. We were so inspired and impressed by their willingness to share their experiences and their commitment to support and encourage one another. They help each other out with sound advice and ideas in caring for their special loved one. They pray for each other. And they do so with great love and compassion. This Caregiver’s Chat Group is a shining example of what Christians do when faced with a crisis. As people of faith, we take care of others during such times. We are united together by the love of Christ and walk through these challenging times together, trusting in God’s faithfulness. We are to do what Christ calls each of us to do. To be in ministry. To share the message of hope through Jesus Christ. To shine the light of Christ all around us. Those of you who have the noble task of taking care of a loved one—know that you are not alone. There is a support group here at the church that would love to have you join them. If you are interested or would like some more information about the group, contact Candi Martin at candicemartin@verizon.net. You do not journey alone. Galatians 6:2 (NRSV) tells us to “bear one another’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.” #aplaceforgrace #together