Welcome to EPC

Go

EPC Blogs

Thought for the Day, May 22, 2020

Posted by Traci Smith on

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Be like bamboo. ​This week I was reading about the wonderful properties of bamboo. It’s both very strong, and very flexible. As we are becoming weary of sheltering in place and as the news changes on a daily basis, I wonder what it would be like for us to be more...

Continue reading…

Thought for the Day, May 20, 2020

Posted by Traci Smith on

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The Spirit prays. ​Did you know that there is a verse in the Bible that tells us that when we don’t have the words to pray, the Spirit will pray for us? It’s in Romans 8 and it says this “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know...

Continue reading…

Thought for the Day, May 19, 2020

Posted by Traci Smith on

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Slowing down and finding meaning in the every day. ​Last week, I watched an episode of ​The Chef’s Table ​ featuring ​Jeong Kwan​, a buddhist nun in South Korea who cooks temple cuisine. If it sounds a little different than anything...

Continue reading…

Thought for the Day, May 18, 2020

Posted by Traci Smith on

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Beauty. ​As we have experienced sheltering in place for many weeks now, I’ve heard many of us say that it feels like the movie ​Groundhog Day. ​ Lots of things are “same, same same.” One spiritual practice that can pull us out of this...

Continue reading…

Thought for the Day, May 15, 2020

Posted by Traci Smith on

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: ​Today’s thought of the day comes from a long (and beautiful) TS Eliot poem called ​East Coker   I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, For love would be love of the wrong...

Continue reading…

Thought for the Day, May 14, 2020

Posted by Traci Smith on

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: ​Yesterday I had the opportunity to show love to Elmhurst Hospital staff and first responders by participating in a small parade around the hospital parking lot. Local pastors in town decorated our cars with messages of love and support and honked and cheered and showed...

Continue reading…

Thought for the Day, May 13, 2020

Posted by Traci Smith on

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:  ​Today I heard a remarkable sermon on not pinning our hopes on the future from author and pastor, Nadia Bolz Weber. She writes, “​An Admiral in the US Navy, James Stockdale survived 8 years as a POW in a North Vietnamese prison camp. When asked who of...

Continue reading…

Thought for the Day, May 12, 2020

Posted by Traci Smith on

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Let. ​If you’re feeling like you need a change of pace, either from watching things on a screen or reading, might I suggest listening to a short podcast episode? I thought ​this ​five minute episode on a poem, inspired by Genesis chapter 1, was just...

Continue reading…

Thought for the Day, May 10, 2020

Posted by Traci Smith on

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Ritual. ​One of the things I’m often telling parents and Christian Educators about faith formation and children is the importance of ritual. Rituals don’t have to be fancy. A prayer before dinner, a blessing before bed, a moment of gratitude in the...

Continue reading…

Thought for the Day, May 8, 2020

Posted by Traci Smith on

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Community. ​In the ​TEXT FOR THIS SUNDAY​, one focus is on how much the early church shared in community. They broke bread together, they studied together, and they took care of one another’s needs. Though our community is scattered these days...

Continue reading…

12...3435363738394041424344