Sometimes, I dislike people.
I am not defending or proud of this fact; I am simply confessing. Some people have a quality or affect, a sense of humor, a way of being that can grate on my nerves, ruffles my feathers, even makes me feel uncomfortable or annoyed.
A foundry is a workshop for casting metal. My only reference for this is a clip from the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers—but there are no orcs or dwarves in this story. This is about The Foundry House, a new intentional living community in Winston-Salem, NC, of which I am Prioress.
Read MoreImprov classes are a constant stream of new discovery and activity. A new warm up is taught to the group, we learn it and try it, we practice and stumble. Someone messes up in the warm-up exercise, a rhythm gets off, someone whooshes instead of pows, laughter ensues. After all, we are standing in a circle ready with playful, silly energy.
Read MoreOn July 8, 2018, a group of 22 people from different faith traditions gathered at FUMC Colleyville for a Peace Together theatrical improvisation workshop hosted by Wendi Bernau of the Missional Wisdom Foundation and facilitated by Kyle Austin of the Dallas Comedy House.
Read MoreListening is a key component to effective communication in improv, to the work of collaboratively making scenes up on the spot.
Read MoreCome see what is happening at Haw Creek Commons.
Read MoreIt scares me to go out on stage.
Read MoreI first went to The Dietrich Bonhoeffer House, an intentional Christian community of the Missional Wisdom Foundation's Epworth Project located in Old East Dallas, in December of 2016.
Read MoreYou already belong. Be who you are.
Read MoreLast week, I had the privilege of traveling with my wife and our friend, Ryan Klinck, to just outside of Philadelphia to participate in the opening worship service of the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference.
Read MoreImprovised comedy begins with “Yes, and.”
Yes.
I agree to the name you just gave me, the relationship you clarified, and to the situation you established.
And.
UMC LEAD is excited to announce that registration and the speaker application for the 8th annual LEAD Conference are now open. This year’s conference will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana from January 13th-16th, 2019. The host hotel will be The Troubadour and the host church will be St. Mark's UMC.
As a personal spiritual discipline of late, I have been taking improv comedy classes at the Dallas Comedy House. In improv class we begin with a few warm-ups. They move the body and get the blood flowing, they help lower our defenses and embrace the playfulness of the environment, they get us engaged. They help us practice saying yes, being present, and supporting one another.
Read MoreI thought of the many times I had puzzled over the ancient Sunday Gospel Reading Cycle. I had prayed the cycle for many years; I found it deeply meaningful and loved it profoundly.
Read MoreThe Parable of the Sower
A Book Review by Larry Duggins
As I was searching for an audio book to ride with me on my annual summer trek to Asheville, I stumbled upon The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler. I was hoping to find something written by someone who has a different life view than my own and Ms Butler was an African-American author winner of a Hugo, a Nebula award and a MacArthur Fellowship. Pretty strong credentials.
Read MoreMatthew’s gospel was written to the Messianic Jews of Antioch two to five years after the destruction of the Great Temple of Jerusalem and the massacre of all its priests. The Temple, its rules and priests had represented the center of their lives, and now many were certain that God had abandoned them.
Read MoreTo Those Who Are Concerned…
Read MoreEyes blinded by tears—more than that—blinded by fear, blinded by dreams crushed as fine as the dust under her feet as she walks.
Read MoreTwo Views on Homosexulaity, the Bible and the Church
A Book Review by Larry Duggins
As part of my personal analysis of the Way Forward issues, I went in search of a good book that fairly deals with the various arguments around the human sexuality issues without screaming at me about them.
Read MoreReturning from Camino
A book review by Larry Duggins
Alexander Shaia is a wise and experienced man with a fascinating combination of lived and acquired knowledge. He has studied hard to build a wonderful base of psychological, theological and anthropological knowledge, and he has tempered those with the life experience of an immigrant and a pilgrim.
Read More
