My name is Joshua Brockway, and I serve as the director for spiritual formation for the Church of the Brethren. We're a denomination rooted in the radical reformation and fit somewhere between Anabaptists (Mennonites) and Pietists (Quakers or the Covenant Church). We are often called one of the [...]Read More
Reflections on the 2020 CCDA Collective Gathering
By Barbara Fiske | Life Coach, Spiritual Director, CCDA member, CCDA Cohort 6, Fresno CA Will these dry bones live again? This is the question the Lord asks in Ezekiel 37. Remember that field of scattered bleached bones? Ezekiel responded, God, only you know. What an appropriate [...]Read More
Lent Week 5: Fostering Intimacy With Christ
Preparation – Some Prayers Take Time 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be [...]Read More
Lent Week 4: Fostering Intimacy With Christ
The Witness of Grace & Generosity “And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For [...]Read More
Lent Week 3: Fostering Intimacy with Christ
Hope in the Ashes Two weeks ago, I found myself standing in my bathroom looking in the mirror. I couldn’t take my eyes off of my forehead. Emblazoned on my head was a dark, ashen cross; a reminder of my frailty and limitations. A visual to cue me in to the brokenness of the world, lest I [...]Read More
Lent Week 2: Fostering Intimacy With Christ
Lord Lead Me in the Way of Repentance As we focus on repentance, we remember that in Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. There he spent 40 days and 40 nights and was tested by the devil. I find it interesting that the Holy Spirit is the person leading [...]Read More
Lent: Fostering Intimacy with Christ
Setting Your Intention Lent is a special time. As Christians, it’s a special time to engage The Living God through intentional times of prayer, fasting, contemplation, meditation, worship and other disciplines that foster intimacy with Christ. Lent provides an opportunity to intentionally [...]Read More
Lenten Immerse: Prayers from the Holy Land
This week’s blog contains images from Lisa Rodriguez-Watson’s recent trip to the Holy Land. These images were taken in Bethlehem on the separation wall between the West Bank and Israel. As we observe Holy Week, these images and corresponding prayers can serve as reminder of the purpose of the [...]Read More