Tag: Weavings

Honoring and Releasing Weavings 

Join your spirits with us today as we celebrate, honor, and release Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Tradition. We will be worshipping at 2:00 p.m., Central Time, at The Upper Room in Nashville.

As the sun rises, I walk the dogs
And think of the Weavings Journal,
How it formed me and so many others.

Today we hold a service of worship
To honor and release Weavings.
We will gather around the table of the Lord.

The table holds icons and symbols.
It holds bread and cup.
It holds a copy of the last issue of Weavings
Already in the homes of readers.

“Keeping the Door Open for the Holy” is the theme of this last issue.
That’s what we are doing as we honor and release this friend.
We are listening for the Holy One
To show us the open doors of our future.

Thanks be to God for the gift of Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Tradition.

Slogging through Grief

grief

Yesterday I sent the last issue of Alive Now to the production department. Its publication date is March/April 2017. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been proofreading, getting final sign-offs, sending corrections to the designer. Each task has brought me one step closer to the end of this publication that has been like a dear friend and mentor to me.

I’m grieving, heart-sick. In this one year, I’ve closed two beloved publications: Weavings and Alive Now. These two resources have been a part of my life for over 30 years. It’s like losing best friends. Alive Now was the place of my first published writing. In the Alive Now office under the care of Mary Ruth Coffman, I fell in love with words, with editing, with the spiritual life. Mary Ruth, John Mogabgab (editor of Weavings), and many others mentored and guided me on this path, setting the course of my career as an editor, writer, leader, mystic.

I will be a part of shaping what is next for The Upper Room as we seek to serve these audiences in new ways. But right now, I’m too heart-sick to think about that. I guess it’s like trying to replace a beloved pet with a new puppy or kitten. I’m just not finished with the grieving part.

Many of you are also grieving the closing of these two publications. I’ve been hearing from you. I have a request: If you have been touched by one or both of these publications, please help us as we discern the future.

  1. Fill out a survey for Alive Now and/or Weavings, telling us a bit about yourself and your needs.
  2. Join our email list (at the links above) so that we can keep in touch and we can let you know when we have new resources available.
  3. Tell us your stories about Alive Now and Weavings — how we met and how you have used the publication.

Thank you for being a part of our journey. Please help us share the word about our research and continue to pray for us as we develop new resources for those who are hungry for a sacred way of living.