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    Gospel Journeys: Travels of a Deacon
    Gospel Journeys: Travels of a Deacon
    Gospel Journeys: Travels of a Deacon
    Ebook66 pages49 minutes

    Gospel Journeys: Travels of a Deacon

    By Emily C. Holman

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    About this ebook

    Travel with Deacon Emily around the world as she discovers what world markets, the fauna of Ecuador, Buddhism, Michelangelo's sculpture and the message of Christ have in common. "Gospel Journeys: Travels of a", a collection of sermons and essays, reflects her passion as a deacon in the Episcopal Church to bring the needs of the world to the church and the light of Christ of to the world. From Ecuador to Siberia she transports us to the sights of the stark reality of Nelson Mandela's tiny prison cell on Robben Island in South Africa to the smile on the faces of Salvadoran children reading a book. Through each adventure she surprises us with where she sees the "Hands of God".
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateDec 15, 2011
    ISBN9781468524727
    Gospel Journeys: Travels of a Deacon
    Author

    Emily C. Holman

    I have a B.A. in Psychology from Gettysburg College, an M.S.L.S. from the University of North Carolina, and was ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church, Diocese of New Jersey in October 2000. I have traveled to almost 40 countries, always bringing back experiences to share with friends and family. My career in public libraries spanned working in Baltimore, MD, Eden and Winston-Salem, NC, Rochester, MN, and Toms River, NJ. I have also told stories in many of the countries I have visited. I have always loved sharing stories, with my nieces and nephews, with children in story programs at the many libraries I have worked in, and even in such far-flung places such as a small village in China, an after-school center in Rio de Janeiro, small schools in El Salvador and Thailand. Stories are powerful, world folktales as well as our own, and through stories we share our joy, laughter, and humanity. I live in Toms River, NJ, where I keep busy serving Christ Episcopal Church, two Diocese of New Jersey committees, and Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity, and looking forward to my next trip. I live with my cat, Smokey.

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      Book preview

      Gospel Journeys - Emily C. Holman

      Contents

      Dedication

      Introduction

      Going To Emmaus

      Markets

      Thailand

      New Zealand

      It’s Not about Me

      Ecuador

      Abundance

      Wake Up!

      Look for Christ!

      I am a Disciple

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated to my parents, Emily and Yerby Holman. They instilled the travel bug in me with their travels, and supported me in my journey as a deacon. They always enjoyed reading my sermons. My father was the instigator for publishing this book.

      I am especially thankful to my sister Elizabeth for her wise and spirit-filled reading and advice about my sermons as I was writing them.

      Laurie Shelton was an appreciative listener when my sermons were preached, and a supportive, helpful editor and advisor for having them published.

      I am thankful to Joan Anders and Tim Holder, priests, for their support of my diaconal ministries and to the people of Christ Church, Toms River, for their love, support, and careful listening and reading of my sermons and Deacon’s Dens.

      Introduction

      Everyone is a child of God. Everyone contains God’s spirit. I love to travel, and everywhere I go I see evidence of God’s loving creation and Christ’s mystery and love.

      One of my ordination vows as a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey is to interpret to the church the needs, concerns and hopes of the world. As I have grown into my ministry, I have realized that my passion for travel, for visiting the edges of the world, connects with this vow.

      I try to see the world through God’s eyes, and in my preaching and monthly church newsletter articles called Deacon’s Den, I try to show my audience this world and Christ’s outstretched arms of love, as I saw them represented in the larger than life statue on Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

      87461709.jpg

      Christ at Corcovado

      Going To Emmaus

      THIRD EASTER

      Acts 2:14a, 36-41, Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17,

      1 Peter 1:17-23, Luke 24:13-25

      I love this story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Luke’s storytelling makes it easy to imagine the two disciples, Cleopas and possibly his wife Mary, walking along, passionately engaged in their conversation surrounding Jesus’ death and resurrection. It’s the end of the day, close to sunset, and they’re walking into the sun. A stranger, clothed in robe and hood, joins them, and they can’t believe he hasn’t heard what has happened. They’re also stunned when he chides them, Oh, how foolish you are! and, recounting the scripture to them says, Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory? The two invite the stranger to join them for dinner, and then recognize him after he has blessed the food. I can imagine Cleopas and his partner turning to each other in amazement and saying, It’s Jesus! When they look back to greet Jesus, he has vanished.

      These disciples were so passionate, so intent on their discussion that they didn’t recognize Jesus in their midst. And Jesus was sly; I can imagine him going along, presenting his point of view, with a sly little smile on his face. He didn’t jump up and down and shout, It’s me, it’s me, I’m here! Instead he listened, he told a story, he waited, he blessed the bread and served it in the way only he could, and he let the disciples come to their own conclusion. Their realization that Jesus had been in their midst was all the more powerful because they themselves figured it out. Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?

      What makes your heart burn? What is your passion? This is Passion and Purpose weekend for our diocese and the national church. It’s the weekend we talk about our passion for ministry—lay ministry, diaconal ministry, the ministry of priests, the ministry of bishops.

      It’s also about calling. What has God called you to do? Maybe it’s teaching, maybe it’s singing, maybe it’s parenting, maybe it’s serving the working poor, maybe it’s ordained ministry. What can’t you live

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