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NC Conference of
The United Methodist Church
700 Waterfield Ridge Place
Garner, NC 27529

Tag: Christian Formation

  • Roderic L. Mullen, Day 6: There is a wonderful old icon from the sixth century, still kept at Mt. Sinai. Several feet tall, as ancient icons often are, it shows Christ robed in majesty with a halo around his head and looking with interest directly at the viewer. In his left hand he holds a…

  • Seyun Hwang, Day 5: Have you ever recited a creed and felt that the words seemed routine rather than meaningful? That happened to me one Sunday morning. As the phrase “under Pontius Pilate” rolled off my tongue, I had to pause. Why do I often name this Roman governor in passing—this hand of imperial power that played…

  • Roderic L. Mullen, Day 4: The words of the wonderful Christmas hymn, “Once in Royal David’s City,” echo in my mind as I write this meditation. What does it mean to say with the hymn, “he came down to earth from heaven?” When we picture the babe in a manger, “little, weak and helpless,” it is…

  • Shawn Blackwelder, Day 3: As the Council of Nicaea sought to bring about unity in the Church, the primary obstacle was the existence of differing beliefs about the nature of Christ. Was it homoiousios, as Arius argued, that the Father and the Son were of a similar nature and essence, or was it the belief…

  • Rob Licht, Day 2: According to the Book of Genesis, the creation of heaven and earth begins in darkness, the kind of darkness that defies being named. It is the darkness before darkness, a darkness without form or substance, a fathomless deep, a cavernous void that doesn’t know whether it is or it isn’t. The historic…

  • Shawn Blackwelder, Day 1: The Shema, a daily prayer and affirmation of faith for our Jewish siblings that has been shared with us, gives an important reminder in a polytheistic world. Depending on the translation you read, it may say, “The LORD is our God, the LORD alone,” or “Our God is the LORD! Only…