Note: As we continue to pray for healing for the Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, this weekly message will feature guest writers from the Forward Movement staff and board of directors. Today’s post comes from The Rev. Elizabeth Felicetti, writer of this year’s Good Book Club weekly meditations. Read more to see how The Good Book Club has been important to her ministry, and sign up to read along with us at goodbookclub.org.

The Good Book Club has transformed my ministry at the parish where I serve as rector, St. David’s Episcopal Church, in suburban Richmond, Virginia. As you may know, the Good Book Club invites people to read a short section of the Bible every day for a period of time. Over the years that Forward Movement has hosted the Good Book Club, thousands have read together each of the four gospels, the Book of Acts, Romans, and Exodus. This year, starting with Epiphany, Jan. 6, through Shrove Tuesday, Feb. 21, the Good Book Club will explore Ruth and Esther, two books from the Old Testament that explore the faithfulness and courage of remarkable women.

Although Bible study played a large role in my own discernment to ordination, I had only offered a few short-term evening Bible studies at St. David’s until 2018, when I decided to use the Good Book Club study on Luke as a Lenten program, and then continued on with a small group to continue with Acts during the season of Easter. We had a brief eucharist each Wednesday morning followed by an hour-long study, and we loved that so much that in the fall we started again. Every year, we use whatever the Good Book Club offers and then supplement with other studies the rest of the year.

After last year’s Good Book Club, I reached out to Scott Gunn and Richelle Thompson to ask what the study would be in 2023. When they mentioned Ruth and Esther, I had so many ideas to offer that I asked if they would like me to write some of the materials! I’m still pinching myself that they said yes. This fall, I worked with the Forward Movement team to write the introductions to Ruth 101 and Esther 101 and a free, downloadable six-week study guide (available in English and Spanish). In addition, each week during the Good Book Club, I’ll write a “preview” email, looking ahead to the scripture readings and offering context and questions for reflection. (Sign up for these emails here!) I also encourage you to sign up for the (free!) live ChurchNext class led by Lindsay Hardin Freeman, author of Bible Women. As I write these materials, I was able to draw on my experiences with Ruth and Esther: in seminary, I translated Ruth as part of a small Hebrew reading class back, and I wrote about Esther in my book that comes out in August.

My approach to Bible study is different than it may be for some others. Questions about what we read might mean for our everyday lives today are equally as important to me as ancient context. I find writing a probing question similar to writing a line of poetry. I hope you won’t skip over the questions in the weekly emails or in the six-week study but will linger over them, pondering them yourselves as well as, ideally, exploring them in a community. These are not questions about how well you retained what you read, but how what you read might inform how you are living your life and how you think and reflect about daily issues. That’s my approach to teaching adults: we learn best by discussion and reflection, not regurgitation.

The Good Book Club reminds me of why I felt called to ministry more than twenty years ago. I look forward to the weekly Wednesday eucharist and Bible study each week. Being a rector often means plunging toilets, writing letters of recommendation, and signing things. What a joy to meet with a small group of people to puzzle and pray over the Bible!

I’m thrilled to be studying the Good Book with all of you!

In Christ,

Elizabeth Felicetti

The Rev. Elizabeth Felicetti is the rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in North Chesterfield, Virginia. Her books, Unexpected Abundance and Irreverent Prayers (co-authored with the Rev. Samantha Vincent-Alexander), are forthcoming from Eerdmans.

More from our ministry:

Preorder the expanded second edition of the bestselling Bible Women

Prepare for Lent: Get your Join the Journey calendar today

Follow the story of the Bible with The Path

Support free resources like The Good Book Club: Donate today

Note: As we continue to pray for healing for the Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, this weekly message will feature guest writers from the Forward Movement staff and board of directors. Today’s post comes from Lindsay Barrett-Adler, Forward Movement’s Development Associate.

“What are we going to do with hundreds of pairs of flip flops and 50-year-old choir robes?” Just over ten years ago, I worked at a non-profit organization to serve friends experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. Assuming there had been some bizarre mistake, I called the church contact to learn more about this donation. The volunteer assured me we received the right items. She went on to explain that the uncomfortable choir robes were meant to be sewn into blankets (by… someone) and the flip flops were indeed for our homeless guests. In December. In Philadelphia.

How often do we, as charitable Christians, fall into this trap of giving items we did not really treasure in the first place (think the sad can of lima beans for the food pantry) and then convincing ourselves that “they” (whoever that might be) should be grateful to have received anything in the first place?

A few months ago we received the following request from Kevin, who is incarcerated and asked for our help:

“I became a member of the church in 2009 here in prison, and I have never had a nice Book of Common Prayer. I’m wondering if there is any way your ministry would be willing to help me get the deluxe gift edition of The Book of Common Prayer and Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book. I know those items are expensive, and I wish I had a way to pay for them, but unfortunately, I receive no funds to do so. To receive these two items would be a great blessing and will last for years to come.”– Kevin

The knee-jerk reaction from a nonprofit organization might be to give what is best for the bottom line; be generous, but only in a way that keeps us in the black. They should be thankful for anything. But God says an emphatic “No” to this line of thinking. God delights in humanity and desperately yearns for our flourishing. God does not want any one of us to just get by, to have the bare minimum, to scrimp and scrape. Kevin is a beloved child of God and he will receive a beautiful, new prayer book as he requested—thanks to the generosity of our donors.

This season of giving, I am so thankful that Forward Movement says yes to requests like Kevin’s, offering materials and resources out of the gifts first given us. We hope you will consider joining this ministry of abundance by giving at forwardmovement.org/give. We appreciate your support.

Yours faithfully,

Lindsay Barrett-Adler

Lindsay Barrett-Adler serves as Development Associate at Forward Movement. She is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and Capital University, oddly hopeful Philadelphia sports fan, and mother of three small children.

Note: As we continue to pray for healing for the Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, this weekly message will feature guest writers from the Forward Movement staff and board of directors.

We’re wrapping up the year by featuring our favorite or most popular messages of 2022. Today’s “Top 5” post comes from Margaret Ellsworth, Forward Movement’s Marketing Coordinator.

Dear friends in Christ,

We’ve taken a look at our favorite content of 2022 from Grow Christians and ChurchNext – now it’s time to look at our favorite messages from this very blog. As I read through this year’s posts, I give thanks for the community of Forward Movement’s supporters during this tumultuous year. Thank you to Forward Movement staff and board members who have shared messages of hope and good news on this blog in Scott’s absence. Thank you also to our readers – for reading and sharing these messages, for your support of Forward Movement’s ministry, and for your continued prayers for Scott’s health and healing. It’s a privilege to join you each week, looking for what God is up to in the world.

Here are five of our most-read and most-shared posts from 2022.

Curb appeal – by Scott Gunn
“Church seekers might never find their way into a great church if there isn’t enough curb appeal.”

Of prayer and patience – by Kate Wesch
“If I have learned anything from Scott, it’s that God can do anything, and the power of prayer can indeed be miraculous.”

Putting our faith and trust in God – by Miriam McKenney
“Spending time reading scripture, practicing spiritual practices, and even knowing it’s essential to do those things is due to Scott’s relentless call to all of us to get closer to God.”

Back-to-school habits of prayer – by Margaret Ellsworth
“If you’re hoping to begin or re-commit to a daily spiritual practice this fall, here are a few of my favorite ways to start.”

Holy Cross Day – by Kate Wesch
“May we all glory in this mystery of our redemption, take up our cross—even if it’s wobbly, or listing to one side—and follow Jesus.”

We look forward to sharing even more news and inspiration with you in 2023!

Yours faithfully,

Margaret Ellsworth
Marketing Coordinator

Note: As we continue to pray for healing for the Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, this weekly message will feature guest writers from the Forward Movement staff and board of directors.

We’re wrapping up the year by featuring our favorite or most popular messages of 2022. Today’s “Top 5” post comes from Liz Brignac, ChurchNext Course Designer.

I have learned so much from all of the courses we launched this year, but I think these five are the ones that can make the most difference in the world. If everyone took these five classes and lived according to what they teach, the world would truly change for the better.

Becoming Beloved Community: Understanding Systemic Racism with Ivy Forsythe-Brown and Tom Ferguson
This free course might be the course I’m most proud of, not just this year, but in all my years at ChurchNext because of its import and its quality and how many people came together to make it the class it is. Ivy and Tom have so much to teach us about how systemic racism operates and in particular about The Episcopal Church’s history with systemic racism in the U.S. If you aren’t an expert on this issue already, you will come out knowing a lot more than you did going in. You’ll also find clear steps on how to learn more and what to do next. Thanks again to the Episcopal Church’s Presiding Officers’ Advisory Council on Becoming Beloved Community and the Diocese of Michigan for funding this course.

Christians and Climate Change with Bill McKibben
It was a privilege to work on this course with Bill McKibben, one of the first people to bring the severity of the climate change problem to public attention in the 1990s. Bill explains why, among all the issues pushing for our attention today, Christians and citizens most need to pay attention to climate change. We always hear how it can’t wait. Bill explains the urgency. We may feel it’s too big for us. Bill explains clearly and succinctly why we can make a difference and the most useful things we can do. My priorities changed because of Bill’s class, and I highly recommend it.

Gleaning Today: Conserving Food for Hungry People with Michael Binger
I like this course because it teaches about an incredibly practical and efficient way to be useful in any community. Michael Binger shows how, if you want to pack in a lot of value for your time, it’s hard to beat gleaning. Concerned about hungry people? Gleaning feeds them. Concerned about the massive waste inherent in the U.S. food production system? Gleaning conserves food that would otherwise rot. Interested in helping people become healthy as well as in feeding them? Gleaning offers them nutrition, not just calories. Want to build community with others? Spend time in a field picking sweet potatoes with them. This class delivers solid information about an efficient way to do a lot of good in the world.

Grace and Depression with Rob Hirschfeld
It can be hard for people – particularly those in positions of leadership – to be open about experiences with depression. The more often leaders like Episcopal Bishop Rob Hirschfeld speak and write openly about seeking help, the less stigma people with depression face. If we get cancer or break a leg, most of us don’t hesitate to go to the doctor. But if our brain chemistry becomes misaligned, we may resist getting help – in part because the disease itself impairs our judgment, convinces us that seeking help for this problem is a weakness. If everyone who had depression took Rob’s class and heeded his words, more people who need help would seek it.

Introducing Christian Vegetarianism with Steve Kaufman
As a non-vegetarian, I was surprised to find this class applicable to my own experience as well as to those who are inclined toward full vegetarianism. Steve Kaufman does not judge people who eat meat, nor does he suggest pure vegetarianism is the only way to live. Instead, he offers practical reasons why people might try eating less meat – with the possible goal of eventually reducing meat consumption to nothing. Some of his reasons are moral; some biblical; some environmental. All are interesting. Steve’s class encourages an approach to food that vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike will find enlightening.

You can always check out our full library of courses at ChurchNext.tv.

Yours faithfully,

Liz Brignac
ChurchNext Course Designer

Note: As we continue to pray for healing for the Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, this weekly message will feature guest writers from the Forward Movement staff and board of directors.

We’re wrapping up the year by featuring our favorite or most popular messages of 2022. Today’s “Top 5” post comes from Allison Sandlin Liles, editor of Grow Christians.

Nearly seven years ago, Nurya Love Parish and Forward Movement launched GrowChristians.org to help Episcopal parents teach children about their faith at home. Those first couple of years, posts nearly exclusively covered the major feast days of our liturgical year and offered creative ways to teach and involve young children in their celebrations. While Grow Christians still highlights Saints and Feast Days, the honest posts about parenting and living a life of faith gained the most traction in 2022. Perhaps a half dozen years spent in the Grow Christians community sufficiently prepared adults to talk with children about Holy Cross Day and the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, and now our readers crave authentic reflections on everyday life.

Here are the top five posts from 2022:

Faithfully and Earnestly Confirmed not to be Confirmed by Melissa Wilcox

“A few people asked me if I was embarrassed as a priest not to have my son confirmed. And, I never felt embarrassed…I know that through baptism God has claimed Elias as his own. He was sealed by the Holy Spirit, one person of the Trinity (his own stumbling block) and marked as Christ’s own forever.”

Envisioning Jesus in Our Own Image by Allison Sandlin Liles

“After my husband and son left, my ten-year-old whispered her question, ‘Mom, I thought Jesus had white skin?’”

Praying Compline with children during this summer of disruption, violence, and injustice by Bonnie Smith Whitehouse

“In a season when I often find myself experiencing more rage and grief than I ever have in my forty-seven years, saying the short liturgy of Compline alongside my family teaches me to keep dreaming of and working for a church that inspires, enlightens, and liberates. Ending the day bathed in candlelight at the table with our children reminds me that Christ’s dream for loving our neighbor and offering liberation lives in me because God’s spirit dwells in me.”

How do you talk to your young children about war? by Lydia Bucklin

“As we got ready for bed that evening, the last thing we talked about were the choices we make. And I repeated to my kids the words my mom and dad (God rest their souls) said to me and my brothers all those years ago. ‘We have choices every day about how we treat people. The language we use. The jokes we laugh at. The way we include or ignore people. The times we choose to stay angry and mad, or the ways we work to forgive and show love.’”

Every Last Thing is a Season by Emily Rutledge

“This Easter I am practicing resurrection. I am practicing hope. I am practicing knowing that no matter how bad it gets there is redemption, even after death. I want my children to practice, too. I want them to know how all the seasons are holy and natural and universal. I want them to know that when their personal Lents arrive, Easter will follow. I want them to sing songs of celebration with their friends when they are surprised by unexpected joy and to look at their lives knowing that everything, every – last – thing, is a season.”

For more thoughtful reflections like these, stop by GrowChristians.org, any time of the year.

Yours faithfully,

Allison Sandlin Liles
Editor, GrowChristians.org

Note: As we continue to pray for healing for the Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, this weekly message will feature guest writers from the Forward Movement staff and board of directors. Today’s message comes from Miguel Escobar, author of the book The Unjust Steward and Executive Director of Anglican Studies, Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary.

One of the strongest memories I have from the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic is of the long lines of people waiting for food, as well as the many news stories of pantries and soup kitchens being in short supply of both staples and volunteers. Hunger, already a pervasive problem in New York City, descended upon my city in ways that I never imagined I’d experience in my lifetime.

As I witnessed hunger overtake New York City, I found myself reflecting on the earliest historical reference to Christian communities taking up a collection in response to famine, an event described in Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, written around 50 CE. Frequently called “the Jerusalem collection,” it was a collection taken up for famine relief for the Christian community in Jerusalem.

As early as 50 C.E., the energetic Paul was giving pragmatic instructions to the Corinthian community for a collection of monies to be sent to Jerusalem: “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me” (1 Corinthians 16:1-4).

Monies would eventually be taken up in Galatia, Corinth, and Rome and would be physically brought to the Jerusalem assembly. Logistics were arranged (1 Corinthians 16:1-4), accusations of impropriety made, transparency ensured by having multiple people handling the funds (2 Corinthians 12:14-18), and protection against theft/robbery secured as the funds were brought to Jerusalem (Romans 15:25-29).

These practical details are intriguing in that they describe both the antecedents of current relief efforts as well as give a glimpse into the economic network of assemblies that characterized early Christianity. But what’s inspiring—and potentially transformative in our stewardship season today—is the theology behind how Paul discusses this collection.

In 2 Corinthians 8–9, Paul says that the joy and privilege of an assembly’s generous giving is ultimately rooted in God’s grace of becoming poor for our sake. We are to join in this divine journey as well. He states that even after Christ’s resurrection, the need for fair balance between those with great wealth and those in poverty, hunger, and destitution remains. This collection for famine relief is a way of addressing this imbalance.

Indeed, it is from a deeply rooted sense of bondedness and economic fellowship with one another (koinonia) that Christians have the grace and privilege (charis) of sharing our resources as an economic network and community, and our giving should be especially aimed at alleviating the poverty and hunger of the most vulnerable members of the body of Christ. Through our generosity, we join Jesus in becoming poor for the sake of our siblings in Christ who are suffering.

I believe this Jerusalem Collection should inform the way we think about all our collections, including the pledge cards taken up during stewardship season. Will your gift touch the lives of those who are in hunger? Are they reflective of what Paul described as “fair balance” between those who have much and those who have little? Does one’s gift honor an economic fellowship between those assemblies with much and those who are most vulnerable?

These are important questions to ask of the various stewardship campaigns that have taken place across the Church this fall. How might our stewardship campaign reflect this more so?

Yours faithfully,

Miguel Escobar
Author, The Unjust Steward
Executive Director of Anglican Studies, EDS at Union

More from our ministry:

Read more from Miguel Escobar in his book The Unjust Steward

Consider giving as a Vital Sign of Faith in Kate Moorehead Carroll’s new book

Explore scripture as a resource for action: The Social Justice Bible Challenge

Prepare for Advent with our annual calendar and newest book of meditations