Recharging
What a treat! The National Organization of Episcopal Resource Center (NOERC) met at the St Raphaela Retreat Center in Haverford, PA this week. It was a meeting that I couldn’t pass up and I was very richly rewarded for partaking of the event. The theme of the devotions was Sabbath Keeping and I must confess that is an area of spirituality that I aspire to but rarely give it the attention it deserves. One writer who offers some respectful in spirations
on that spiritual discipline is Lauren Winner, whose best-selling book Mudhouse Sabbath is now available as a DVD-study.
Among the resource news to anticipate is a wealth of new curricula and adult formation resources from Church Publishing Incorporated (www.churchpublishing.org). Some are in book form, others are downloadable. One new program that I will mention here is Rhythms of Grace, a book-based curriculum intended for church programs and worship for the special needs communities. Rather than being intended as a mainstreaming vehicle, this resource targets churches that offer separate regularly scheduled programs for special needs children and their families. Such programs provide an ability-appropriate opportunity for special needs families to fellowship and worship together. Having worked many years ago in a special education resource center in which mainstreaming was the rage, I welcome hearing your comments on this interesting new program.