Читать книгу Transforming Acts - Bruce G Epperly - Страница 5

A Word

of Thanksgiving

Hymn-writer Al Carmines’ words, “For the giver, for the gift, Praise! Praise! Praise!” rings through my mind as I pen my final words of this text. I believe God is alive and well in the church, calling us to new visions and giving us the energy to faithfully fulfill our vision in this time and place. God’s vision for my life, so far as I can intuit, has been inspired by many people: my mother and father, Loretta and Everett Epperly; pastors John Akers, George “Shorty” Collins; teachers Marie Fox, Richard Keady, John Cobb, David Griffin, Bernard Loomer; academic and spiritual colleagues Ed Aponte, Jay McDaniel, Monica Coleman, Doug Pagitt, Brian McLaren, Catherine Keller, Helene Russell, Ron Allen, Kent Ira Groff, J. Philip Newell, and Kathy Harvey Nelson; friends Anna Rollins and Patricia Adams Farmer; and, of course, my family, Kate Gould Epperly, Matt Epperly, Ingrid Lemmey Epperly, and my “grand-boys” Jack and Jamie. I am grateful to Dean and Provost Philip Clayton and President Jerry Campbell for the opportunity to spend Fall 2012 teaching and writing at Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Lincoln University. At Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Lincoln University, I had the opportunity to be part of a truly vital seminary and graduate school, attentive to the role of interreligious partnerships in healing the world. I am also thankful to Henry and Jody Neufeld at Energion Publications for their commitment to boundary-breaking scholarship to transform the church.

This text had its inception in a series of twelve sermons I preached between May 13 and August 12, 2012 at First Christian Church, Falls Church, Virginia. I am grateful to Senior Pastor Kathleen Kline Moore for her generosity in turning her pulpit over to me during her sabbatical and to an excellent pastoral staff and lay leadership that took care of the many details of ministry so that I could devote myself to what I do best: preach, teach, mentor, and pastor.

I write out of my love for seminarians, pastors, lay leaders, as well as my hope that a vital progressive-evangelical-emerging-spirit-centered church will burst forth and take its role as God’s partner in healing the Earth. As you read this text, I invite you to open to God’s dynamic spirit and take your place as a companion in a never-ending story of grace, healing, love, and transformation.

Bruce Epperly

Rosh Hashanah 2012

(A Blessed New Year and Time for New Beginnings

for Church and Synagogue)