Wednesdays with Wendy

30 Days of Gratitude

September 28, 2017

Have you watched the news lately? If you’re a little like me, you might be avoiding it. It can be really depressing! Mounting evidence of Russia’s intrusion into not only our election process but that of other countries as well. Hateful political rhetoric that deepens the divide in our country and throughout the world. Hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes, and a volcano on the brink. Church and school shootings (there are way too many shootings everywhere but it seems even more tragic because the two places you should never have to worry about are church and school.) All of these issues on top of racism, child abuse, human trafficking, substance abuse, poverty, etc.

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Wednesdays with Wendy

Germany

September 7, 2017

Today I am in Germany. I am part of a church trip to Germany and to England to study the Reformation. We made the trip this year because of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing the “95 Theses” to the church door in Wittenberg (10/31/1517). It was one of the pivotal moments in the history of the church.

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El Sistema Transforms Through Music

September 6, 2017

The day after Labor Day is always a magical time for the newest children at El Sistema Oklahoma. As they enter the doors, they scramble to find their name tags to check the back of their tag. Why the back? Because the back reveals the instrument they will learn to play while they are in the program! On September 3, 2013, 100 children discovered the transformative power of music and on September 5, 2017, a new class of 50 children will have this same powerful experience. […]

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Matress Mack

September 1, 2017

In a week where we have been hearing so many tragic stories coming from the destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey, I have been intentional about trying to find the stories of all the good that people are doing and how people are coming together. There have been countless stories about every day heroes stepping up and doing what they could to help those in need. One particular story caught my eye on the news about “Mattress Mack”. If you haven’t already heard this story I want to encourage you to check it out!

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New Beginnings

August 18, 2017

Today I find myself feeling conflicted with competing emotions of despair and hope. After all the negative news we have heard this week surrounding the awful hatred, violence, and bigotry seen in Charlottesville last weekend along with the terrible new of Barcelona yesterday, I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of despair at times. Yet, at the same time I am particularly reminded today of the power of hope and new beginnings as so many teachers and students start back to school today.

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Wednesdays with Wendy

Racism

August 16, 2017

Racism is polluting our country and we are all affected by its poison.  It seems like it has only grown worse and it is in times like this I can become so frustrated.  I want to do something, yet – I also feel somewhat helpless to take on the entire subject of “racism in America”.

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Emiliano

August 4, 2017

This week we said “see you later” to our summer intern. Emiliano was with us through June and July and came to us from the Lydia Patterson Institute. Lydia Patterson is a Methodist preparatory school in El Paso, Texas that mostly serves students who are coming from across the border in Juarez, Mexico. They teach the students English and give them a good quality education to prepare them for college. They graduate about 95% of their students, and 98% of their graduates go on to attend colleges and universities across the United States.

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Gratitude

July 7, 2017

I have to be honest. There have been some weeks this year that I’ve been better at writing my thank you notes than others. This year has been the “Year of Gratitude” at St. Luke’s. We started out the year encouraging everyone to do a few things. First, we encouraged everyone to begin and end your prayers every day with gratitude before prayers petitioning God for things you want. Second, we encouraged everyone to keep a gratitude journal and write down at least three things every day that you’re thankful for that day. Third, we encouraged everyone to write a thank you note every single day.

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