Ministries
Preaching and Teaching
Sharing the Word of God by preaching and teaching is the cornerstone of ministry. Whether it is preaching for that special occasion or a regular Sunday service, it's all about delivering what God has given me to share with His people. We are called to 'rightly divide the word of truth.' That process requires diligent and in depth study of the Biblical text in order to deliver its message in a way that all can understand in a limited period of time. For me, preaching is a very personal method of vertical and horizontal communication. It is vertical in that it requires two way communication with God; reading the word, prayer, and meditation. And it is horizontal in that the vertical communication must be internalized and then offered, horizontally, to God's people.
Teaching the Word of God offers a more in depth look at the scriptures. When preparing for a lesson, the search and study the Bible and the topic of discussion, if required, is completed before the lesson is planned. Careful attention is given to the intersection of faith and real life so that by the end of the lesson each participant will have some knowledge that they can use in their real life.
Because there is no one size fits all lesson, teaching is available in several formats:
Bible Study - Discussion with or without student activities.
Workshops - Presentations with or without PowerPoint, with individual, large or small group activities
Classes - A series of lessons on a single topic or related topics.
The Conversations Project - A stand alone dramatic presentation or an intersection of drama and a workshop. See The Conversations Project page.
Conferences and Seminars - Combining several teaching formats in a single or multiple day format.
Curriculum and teaching materials may also be created on a variety of topics.
Recent Sermons
Show Them Who You Are, Jeremiah 1:4-8, 17-18
My Help, Psalm 121:1-8
When God Questions you, Genesis 3:1-13
When All Hell Breaks Loose, Job 1:13-21
Do We Really Want a New Year?, Isaiah 43:14-19
Be Encouraged, Hebrews 11:1-3; 12:1-2
Recent Presentations
Nothing Wasted
The Seven I AMs of Jesus
The 23rd Psalm
The Passion Week, Matthew 21-28
Relational Fellowship: Living a Christ Centered Life
Curriculum and Instruction
With a Master's Degree in Curriculum amd Instruction, I can develop curriculum and teaching materials on the topic of your choice to meet your individual or group needs. Research, development, pre and post-assessments are included.
Recently Planned Curricula
Sisters With Voices - a ten week program for 13 -18 year old young womem.
God's Economy - a plan for teaching youth the concepts of economics based on John 6:1-15
Teaching the Word of God offers a more in depth look at the scriptures. When preparing for a lesson, the search and study the Bible and the topic of discussion, if required, is completed before the lesson is planned. Careful attention is given to the intersection of faith and real life so that by the end of the lesson each participant will have some knowledge that they can use in their real life.
Because there is no one size fits all lesson, teaching is available in several formats:
Bible Study - Discussion with or without student activities.
Workshops - Presentations with or without PowerPoint, with individual, large or small group activities
Classes - A series of lessons on a single topic or related topics.
The Conversations Project - A stand alone dramatic presentation or an intersection of drama and a workshop. See The Conversations Project page.
Conferences and Seminars - Combining several teaching formats in a single or multiple day format.
Curriculum and teaching materials may also be created on a variety of topics.
Recent Sermons
Show Them Who You Are, Jeremiah 1:4-8, 17-18
My Help, Psalm 121:1-8
When God Questions you, Genesis 3:1-13
When All Hell Breaks Loose, Job 1:13-21
Do We Really Want a New Year?, Isaiah 43:14-19
Be Encouraged, Hebrews 11:1-3; 12:1-2
Recent Presentations
Nothing Wasted
The Seven I AMs of Jesus
The 23rd Psalm
The Passion Week, Matthew 21-28
Relational Fellowship: Living a Christ Centered Life
Curriculum and Instruction
With a Master's Degree in Curriculum amd Instruction, I can develop curriculum and teaching materials on the topic of your choice to meet your individual or group needs. Research, development, pre and post-assessments are included.
Recently Planned Curricula
Sisters With Voices - a ten week program for 13 -18 year old young womem.
God's Economy - a plan for teaching youth the concepts of economics based on John 6:1-15
Prayer Journals
I love writing and I believe that it is one of the most effective and cheap sources of therapy. There is something about writing out one's thoughts and feelings that lightens the load of carrying them. At first the prayer journals were designed to combine scripture with a journal to provide encouragement during illness or bereavement. When we are going through a bad situation sometimes it helps to focus on the 'new normal' rather than dwell on what was lost. But more recently they have been designed for a wide variety of purposes including the birth of a baby and the start of a new business.
All Prayer Journals are personalized and individually created for each individual person or situation. They can be designed to be appropriate for any age and are a loving gift of ministry.
Recent Prayer Journal Themes
Comfort - for loss of an adult son
Healing - for a sudden illness
Comfort and Joy - for living with a chronic illness
Comfort and Encouragement - for caregiver living with a loss
An ABC Bible Scriptures Book - for children learning the Word of God
Purpose Journal - a self-assessment to discover ones purpose
All Prayer Journals are personalized and individually created for each individual person or situation. They can be designed to be appropriate for any age and are a loving gift of ministry.
Recent Prayer Journal Themes
Comfort - for loss of an adult son
Healing - for a sudden illness
Comfort and Joy - for living with a chronic illness
Comfort and Encouragement - for caregiver living with a loss
An ABC Bible Scriptures Book - for children learning the Word of God
Purpose Journal - a self-assessment to discover ones purpose
The Good Shepherd Ministry
The Good Shepherd Ministry was founded in 2006 as a ministry for persons with disabilities and the ones who care for them. It was founded as a response to the need for inclusion of adults with difficulties into the life of the church. With The Good Shepherd Ministry individual visits are made with the families and plans for worship are drafted to allow the person with the disability to worship at home or at church.
The name was taken from the name of the guest house we stayed in during a visit in Accra, Ghana in 2005. But it is also a reminder of The Good Shepherd that cares for and watches over all of us, Jesus Christ. (see John 10:11-18)
Over the years, The Good Shepherd Ministry has expanded to address other social justice issues as well, special education and medical advocacy and public school education. Matthew 25:40 speaks to the 'least of the brothers. These are those who are not able to speak up for themselves. The Good Shepherd Ministry is the voice for those people.
Special Education Consulting
A few years ago I retired after thirty-one years of service in public education. For twenty-four years I was a classroom teacher to disadvantaged students and students with special needs in grades one through twelve in public schools and a state juvenile correctional facility. For the last seven years of my career I was an Instructional Specialist for Exceptional Education (special education) in Richmond Public Schools. My job was to provide administrative and supervisory support to my assigned schools. At one time I supervised the special education programs in all of the public high schools in Richmond as well as the Maggie Walker Governor's School and the Appomattox Regional Governor's School in Petersburg. Education, especially special education remains a driving passion in my life.
Parents and guardians of children with disabilities often face many challenges when trying to receive the appropriate educational services for their children. The language of special education is foreign to many parents and may vary by school, district, and state making it difficult for parents to understand the process and what they are signing.
For parents and guardians of students with disabilities and adult students with disabilities, I can provide the following confidential services:
Review and interpret special education documents.
Attend meetings and serve as an advocate.
Draft letters to school administration.
Provide parenting strategies to empower parents to advocate for their children.
Provide student strategies for study skills and self advocacy.
For many groups, persons with disabilities are out of sight and out of mind. Many parents are frustrated with the education system and not satisfied with the explanations of why 'Johnny can't read" They may want to understand more about the process of education so they can help their own child or the child of a friend or relative. At the same time, persons with disabilities are absent from most church services. Many churches have those children who always get in trouble at school but absent from church, even though their parents are faithful in attendance. Or they may have that adult church member whose behavior appears to be 'odd' and occasionally shows up for worship. We are called to preach the gospel to the world. That includes to persons with disabilities, whether we think they can understand it or not.
For parent, church, and community groups I can provide the following services:
Conduct workshops various topics of education and parenting.
Consult with groups to plan inclusion of members of the group with disabilities sometimes through The Good Shepherd Ministry.
Recent Presentations
What's So Special? Special Education 101
What's So Special? Meeting the Needs of Persons with Disabilities and Those Who Care for Them
The name was taken from the name of the guest house we stayed in during a visit in Accra, Ghana in 2005. But it is also a reminder of The Good Shepherd that cares for and watches over all of us, Jesus Christ. (see John 10:11-18)
Over the years, The Good Shepherd Ministry has expanded to address other social justice issues as well, special education and medical advocacy and public school education. Matthew 25:40 speaks to the 'least of the brothers. These are those who are not able to speak up for themselves. The Good Shepherd Ministry is the voice for those people.
Special Education Consulting
A few years ago I retired after thirty-one years of service in public education. For twenty-four years I was a classroom teacher to disadvantaged students and students with special needs in grades one through twelve in public schools and a state juvenile correctional facility. For the last seven years of my career I was an Instructional Specialist for Exceptional Education (special education) in Richmond Public Schools. My job was to provide administrative and supervisory support to my assigned schools. At one time I supervised the special education programs in all of the public high schools in Richmond as well as the Maggie Walker Governor's School and the Appomattox Regional Governor's School in Petersburg. Education, especially special education remains a driving passion in my life.
Parents and guardians of children with disabilities often face many challenges when trying to receive the appropriate educational services for their children. The language of special education is foreign to many parents and may vary by school, district, and state making it difficult for parents to understand the process and what they are signing.
For parents and guardians of students with disabilities and adult students with disabilities, I can provide the following confidential services:
Review and interpret special education documents.
Attend meetings and serve as an advocate.
Draft letters to school administration.
Provide parenting strategies to empower parents to advocate for their children.
Provide student strategies for study skills and self advocacy.
For many groups, persons with disabilities are out of sight and out of mind. Many parents are frustrated with the education system and not satisfied with the explanations of why 'Johnny can't read" They may want to understand more about the process of education so they can help their own child or the child of a friend or relative. At the same time, persons with disabilities are absent from most church services. Many churches have those children who always get in trouble at school but absent from church, even though their parents are faithful in attendance. Or they may have that adult church member whose behavior appears to be 'odd' and occasionally shows up for worship. We are called to preach the gospel to the world. That includes to persons with disabilities, whether we think they can understand it or not.
For parent, church, and community groups I can provide the following services:
Conduct workshops various topics of education and parenting.
Consult with groups to plan inclusion of members of the group with disabilities sometimes through The Good Shepherd Ministry.
Recent Presentations
What's So Special? Special Education 101
What's So Special? Meeting the Needs of Persons with Disabilities and Those Who Care for Them