On reaching out

Living in Athens I see a lot of Christianity being shared in a way that hurts my heart... people who yell at students as they make their way to class, people who yell at strangers downtown from street corners, people who first express a message of damnation before a message of unconditional love.

But I am fortunate- and deeply blessed- to work with an outstanding group of people and to worship with an outstanding community of people who see and understand Christ to be a giver of grace, a giver of as many second chances as we need, and- most importantly- a giver of unconditional love.  And I am so grateful to minister alongside these people who simply want to share with others our God who cares so deeply about each of us.

Ashley, Jamie, me, and Josey-- 4 of 57 UGA Wesley Interns

Tonight after our normal Wesley worship service, a group of us will be heading downtown, hopefully to extend a little token of love with encouraging notes and warm cider and hot chocolate to students and locals participating in the holiday festivities.  Our goal is simple: to pray for people if we can, to encourage people with notes and goodies, and to just reach out and let people know that there is a God who loves them, a community who is constantly praying for them, and that they are always invited at God's table, and always invited at ours.

October stands for Hectic

It's been a crazy couple of weeks! October is in full swing and Fall feels like it's here to stay a while. Of course, that means that it's time for pumpkins and cardigans!  And, this:

Dazzling in our red, black, and while at Wesley's annual Fundraising Dinner! 

L-R: Mary Claire, Nico, me, Erin, and Elizabeth.

A visit from my friend Sarah!  Naturally, we went to Target simply to test out their Fall collection of beanies, Fedoras and floppy hats. 

Catalyst Conference with the ah-mazing youth pastors at Athens FUMC and senior youth leader Anne! We enjoyed speakers like Jon Acuff, Mark Burnett, Francis Chan, and Christine Caine.  We also enjoyed the musical stylings of Gungor and Michael W. Smith.

L-R:  Anne, Jason, me, and Eric.

A mystery at Wesley... what's coming?  No one knows!  Guess we'll find out on November 1st!  Stay tuned for pictures/blog posts about said surprise!