Those Who Seek Refuge
Stories
Object:
Contents
What's Up This Week
A Story to Live By: "Those Who Seek Refuge"
Shining Moments: "Too Churchy" by Paul Karrer
Good Stories: "Don't Forget Your Lunch" by John Sumwalt
Scrap Pile: "Wrestling with the Stranger" by John Sumwalt
What's Up This Week
Compassion, steadfast love, and grace -- these are the ingredients of a faith-filled life, something that does not come easy for any of us. Paul Karrer writes of a doctor whose compassion for the sick opens his eyes to the miraculous presence of God in Shining Moments. In this week's Scrap Pile, John invites us to consider the ways we are like Jacob: "Those who refuse to wrestle with family and other significant persons in their lives, who run away from their mistakes and guilt as Jacob did for most of his life, never fully grow up. They always stay the same. They never receive the blessing of a new identity.... It is not until we are caught between a rock and a hard place, when we are forced to wrestle with 'the stranger,' that we see ourselves for who we really are."
A Story to Live By
Those Who Seek Refuge
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me, hear my words. Wondrously show your steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.
Psalm 17:6-7
In Russia before the First World War, there was a very ardent communist named Elizabeth Bilenko who worked fervently for her cause and became a leader of a cell group that worked against the oppression of the czar. After the Revolution in 1917 and the rise of Lenin, she fell from favor and soon found herself a refugee, fleeing all the way to Paris. There, her communist ideas were challenged by the witness of many Christians who worked with the poor, the refugees, the powerless, and the voiceless of society. She was converted the Christianity and gave to her new faith the same passion and vigor that she had previously given to communism.
Elizabeth became a nun, and eventually the Mother Superior of a convent. As Mother Maria she organized in Paris a shelter for many Jewish refugees, including children who had fled from oppression when the Nazis took over. Eventually her convent was seized and she was arrested. She was sent to a concentration camp, where she was allowed to continue her work with Jews, gypsies, and others who were incarcerated.
One day just before the end of the war, she came across a mother and child who would not be parted, even though the mother was destined for the gas ovens. The soldiers only knew that they had to put one to death, and wanted to take the mother, leaving the child. The mother and child were so distraught and overcome, however, that they could not be separated by the soldiers. The nun thrust them aside and took the mother's place, and was sent to her death. It was Good Friday, 1945.
(from "The Final Times," a sermon by Fr. Jerry Fuller, November 24, 2001. . Jerry Fuller is the author of Stories For All Seasons, available from Twenty-Third Publications, P.O. Box 180, Mystic, CT 06355; phone 800-321-0411; website www.twentythirdpublications.com)
Shining Moments
Too Churchy
by Paul Karrer
When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.
Matthew 14:14
The doctor had never been to Kenya before, and to say he was overwhelmed didn't begin to hint at his inner turmoil. Five chiropractors from four corners of the United States had volunteered their time, all costs, and their expertise for two weeks. They had been sponsored by a church organization, and for "Jake" it seemed just a little too churchy.
They stayed in a colonial-era hotel that separated them from the locals. But each day they went to "the tent" -- a white tent, open on all sides, that welcomed in all of Africa's ailing. At least it seemed that way to Jake.
"There are at least 2,000 of them," he stated incredulously to one of the other doctors. And he was correct. Outside in the sun, beneath the pepper trees, an army had appeared. They had heard the news -- free medical care by American doctors. So they stood in the burnt brown grass waiting for their turn at the benches. Jake used a simple wooden bench, and under the head of each patient he placed two books to lift their necks -- the Bible and Margaret Mead's Coming of Age. Jake, like the other doctors, did quick assessments of the patients before him. Then he began his adjustments. But a few thoughts lingered... These people are really ill. Some of them suffer from more than one ailment. Some are HIV-positive, and I'm giving them adjustments! But maybe I'll help just one. What else can I do? Each day he and the others worked for hours. Once a fight broke out; too many needed care.
This went on for seven days. On the last day Jake, hammered physically and emotionally, let off some steam by wandering in the street market. Soon he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to face a man.
"Doctor, doctor, please look at me."
Jake turned. "Oh, no," he thought, "I can't do any more."
A muscular Kenyan man faced him. "Look what you did." The man radiated a smile. "I don't need my cane. I can stand straight."
Jake thought he recognized him, but there had been so many.
"Doctor, I have something for you. I have looked for you all over this town." He unfolded a piece of paper and handed it to Jake. It was an old newspaper article. "That was me. I ran in the Olympics for Kenya. I couldn't stand for twenty years. Now I don't need a cane. Here, you keep this article. I signed it for you."
Jake accepted the gift and he didn't know what to say, but he did know what to think. "Maybe it wasn't too churchy. I asked for one and you gave me one -- thanks!"
Paul Karrer has had five stories published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and has sold screen rights to one of his stories, "The Baby Flight." Two of his stories also appear in Open My Eyes, Open My Soul, a recent collection edited by Yolanda King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He can be heard once a month on "First Person Singular" on KUSP radio (88.9 FM) in Santa Cruz, California. Paul was a Peace Corps teacher in Western Samoa and has taught in Korea, American Samoa, Connecticut, and England. He now lives with his wife and daughter in Monterey, California.
Good Stories
Don't Forget Your Lunch
by John Sumwalt
"We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish." And he said, "Bring them here to me."
Matthew 14:17b-18
A little boy came running into the house one day, yelling, "Mom, Mom, Jesus is coming. Everyone is going to see him. May I go too?"
"Yes, you may go," his mother said, "but be sure to wear your heavy cloak. It might get cold later in the day. And don't forget your lunch. I fixed you some nice fish and fresh bread."
"Aw, Mom," the little boy said, "nobody else is taking a lunch. It is just for a little while. I don't want to carry my lunch around all day. Besides, I don't like fish."
"You take it," his mother said. "There is no telling when you will get back to the house. You will be starving in a couple of hours. Maybe you could trade your fish for some nice goat cheese."
The little boy reluctantly took his lunch and ran off to join the crowd that was gathering around Jesus. The day lasted much longer than he expected, and before long he was very hungry, just as his mother had predicted. Even the fish looked good. He was just about to take a bite when he heard some of Jesus' disciples asking if anyone had any food that they would be willing to share. He quickly held up his hand and called out, "Over here! I've got five loaves and two fish."
The little boy watched to see what Jesus was going to do. Jesus simply took the bread and fish and blessed them, and somehow everyone got fed, including the little boy who ended up with (guess what?) somebody else's goat cheese.
Scrap Pile
Wrestling with the Stranger
by John Sumwalt
Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
Genesis 32:24-25
Like Jacob, we all get into unexpected wrestling matches from time to time. We wrestle with our consciences, we wrestle with ideas, we wrestle with each other, and every so often we wrestle with one who will not tell us his name but who gives us a blessing like none other that we have ever received.
It is by wrestling that we discover who and whose we are. It is by wrestling, years and years of continuous struggle, holding on till we get this blessing, that we become who we are intended to be.
The struggle begins when we are children. How many of you wrestled with your parents, literally as well as figuratively -- and I don't mean just for fun? Remember what it was like to be a teenager. Teenagers, you know what I am talking about. You want to do something. Mom and Dad aren't sure you are ready for it yet. "Wait till you are older," they say. You keep asking (i.e. pushing the issue, begging, whining), whatever it takes (right?), until they give you their blessing to do what you want to do.
I remember this kind of wrestling with both of my parents. I am not proud to say that we had some knock-down drag-out verbal brawls, but I hung in there till they gave me their blessing -- and they hung on to me till they knew I could survive on my own. Psychologists call that a self-actualization process. Most of us understand it as growing up and being your own person. It doesn't happen without a struggle.
Those who refuse to wrestle with family and other significant persons in their lives, who run away from their mistakes and guilt as Jacob did for most of his life, never fully grow up. They always stay the same. They never receive the blessing of a new identity.
Most of us are like Jacob in this respect. It is not until we are caught between a rock and a hard place, when we are forced to wrestle with "the stranger," that we see ourselves for who we really are. Like Jacob, we are forced to come to grips with attitudes and behaviors that have been hurtful to others.
Remember how Jacob tricked Esau out of his birthright and how he managed to get rich working for Uncle Laban, even though his uncle was just as sneaky and underhanded as he was? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree -- in this case, the extended family tree. Like uncle, like nephew. Jacob and Uncle Laban, who also happened to be his father-in-law, parted on tenuous terms, each looking over his shoulder at the other. Uncle Laban says: "May the Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent from each other" (Genesis 31:49b). No doubt you have heard this verse quoted by preachers giving a benediction.
Pastor R. Karl Watkins of Sheffield-Chapin United Methodist Churches in Sheffield, Iowa, points out in a recent sermon that this is more like a warning than a blessing. "Jacob and his uncle's relationship was such that what is really being said is, 'While I may not be able to see you, remember, God is keeping an eye on you' " (appeared on the PRCL Listserv1 on July 19, 2005).
And so Jacob is running away again, looking over his shoulder, knowing that Uncle Laban is behind him watching his every move and that Esau, the brother he betrayed, is in front of him, probably waiting to get even.
Have you ever had to face someone you have betrayed in some deep, hurtful way? How did you feel? Afraid -- a visceral, trembling fear perhaps? This is how Jacob felt as he came home to face Esau, the brother who threatened to kill him before he ran away from home. Jacob has nowhere to turn this time. He must come to grips with what he has done and who he is. Jacob is wrestling with the stranger, but he is also wrestling with himself. Will he get it this time? Will he be able to open his heart to receive his true birthright?
Pastor Jim Eaton2 of the United Congregational Church in Norwich, Connecticut, tells of having to face his father after an auto accident which occurred because he did something his father had told him not to do:
"When I was 16 and in the midst of my first winter of driving, I went to see my girlfriend on a night when it was snowy and I had been told to come straight home from some event. The car got stuck when I tried to leave her house, and in trying to free it I drove into a pole. No damage to me; some to the car. My father had to be called and he came with a friend; I was sent home with the friend after the car was freed. My father was a severe man and we were in the midst of that great war called adolescence, so I waited in my room for the thunder and sentence. When I heard the door slam downstairs, I had that ultimate dread all guilty children know. I turned out the light and pretended to be asleep, hoping to stave off the sentence, but in a few minutes the door opened and my father stood there. I was very frightened, but after a moment he said, 'Sometimes cars go where they shouldn't go; so do boys. But she's very cute.' And then he laughed, and I heard his laughter even after he shut the door. That laughter, that moment, came to symbolize for me down the years the whole grace of God."
Excerpts from a sermon preached at Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in Milwaukee, August 1, 1999.
Notes:
1. The PRCL Listserv is an e-mail sermon discussion group that follows the Revised Common Lectionary. A web link is available at http://www.louisville.edu/it/listserv/archives/prcl-l.html. SUBSCRIBE PRCL-L FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME to join the list.
2. Jim Eaton is the author of "The Gift of Myself," a personal story which appeared in the Lent 4 (Cycle A) edition of StoryShare for March 6, 2005.
**********************************************
**************
About the Editors
John E. Sumwalt is the pastor of Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in Milwaukee, and is the author of eight books for CSS. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (UDTS), John received the Herbert Manning Jr. award for Parish Ministry from UDTS in 1997. John is known in the Milwaukee area for his one-minute radio spots which always include a brief story. He concludes each spot by saying, "I'm John Sumwalt with 'A Story to Live By' from Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church."
John has done numerous storytelling events for civic, school, and church groups, as well as on radio and television. He has performed at a number of fundraisers for the homeless, the hungry, Habitat for Humanity, and women's shelters. Since the fall of 1999, when he began working on the Vision Stories series, he has led seminars and retreats around the themes "A Safe Place to Tell Visions," "Vision Stories in the Bible and Today," and coming this spring: "Soul Growth: Discovering Lost Spiritual Dimensions." To schedule a seminar or a retreat, write to jsumwalt@naspa.net or phone 414-257-1228.
Joanne Perry-Sumwalt is director of Christian Education at Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in Milwaukee. Jo is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, with a degree in English and writing. She has co-authored two books with John, Life Stories: A Study In Christian Decision Making and Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit: 62 Stories For Cycle B. Jo writes original curriculum for church classes. She also serves as the secretary of the Wisconsin chapter of the Christian Educators Fellowship (CEF), and is a member of the National CEF.
Jo and John have been married since 1975. They have two grown children, Kathryn and Orrin. They both love reading, movies, long walks with Chloe (their West Highland Terrier), and working on their old farmhouse in southwest Wisconsin.
**********************************************
StoryShare, July 31, 2005, issue.
Copyright 2005 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
What's Up This Week
A Story to Live By: "Those Who Seek Refuge"
Shining Moments: "Too Churchy" by Paul Karrer
Good Stories: "Don't Forget Your Lunch" by John Sumwalt
Scrap Pile: "Wrestling with the Stranger" by John Sumwalt
What's Up This Week
Compassion, steadfast love, and grace -- these are the ingredients of a faith-filled life, something that does not come easy for any of us. Paul Karrer writes of a doctor whose compassion for the sick opens his eyes to the miraculous presence of God in Shining Moments. In this week's Scrap Pile, John invites us to consider the ways we are like Jacob: "Those who refuse to wrestle with family and other significant persons in their lives, who run away from their mistakes and guilt as Jacob did for most of his life, never fully grow up. They always stay the same. They never receive the blessing of a new identity.... It is not until we are caught between a rock and a hard place, when we are forced to wrestle with 'the stranger,' that we see ourselves for who we really are."
A Story to Live By
Those Who Seek Refuge
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me, hear my words. Wondrously show your steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.
Psalm 17:6-7
In Russia before the First World War, there was a very ardent communist named Elizabeth Bilenko who worked fervently for her cause and became a leader of a cell group that worked against the oppression of the czar. After the Revolution in 1917 and the rise of Lenin, she fell from favor and soon found herself a refugee, fleeing all the way to Paris. There, her communist ideas were challenged by the witness of many Christians who worked with the poor, the refugees, the powerless, and the voiceless of society. She was converted the Christianity and gave to her new faith the same passion and vigor that she had previously given to communism.
Elizabeth became a nun, and eventually the Mother Superior of a convent. As Mother Maria she organized in Paris a shelter for many Jewish refugees, including children who had fled from oppression when the Nazis took over. Eventually her convent was seized and she was arrested. She was sent to a concentration camp, where she was allowed to continue her work with Jews, gypsies, and others who were incarcerated.
One day just before the end of the war, she came across a mother and child who would not be parted, even though the mother was destined for the gas ovens. The soldiers only knew that they had to put one to death, and wanted to take the mother, leaving the child. The mother and child were so distraught and overcome, however, that they could not be separated by the soldiers. The nun thrust them aside and took the mother's place, and was sent to her death. It was Good Friday, 1945.
(from "The Final Times," a sermon by Fr. Jerry Fuller, November 24, 2001. . Jerry Fuller is the author of Stories For All Seasons, available from Twenty-Third Publications, P.O. Box 180, Mystic, CT 06355; phone 800-321-0411; website www.twentythirdpublications.com)
Shining Moments
Too Churchy
by Paul Karrer
When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.
Matthew 14:14
The doctor had never been to Kenya before, and to say he was overwhelmed didn't begin to hint at his inner turmoil. Five chiropractors from four corners of the United States had volunteered their time, all costs, and their expertise for two weeks. They had been sponsored by a church organization, and for "Jake" it seemed just a little too churchy.
They stayed in a colonial-era hotel that separated them from the locals. But each day they went to "the tent" -- a white tent, open on all sides, that welcomed in all of Africa's ailing. At least it seemed that way to Jake.
"There are at least 2,000 of them," he stated incredulously to one of the other doctors. And he was correct. Outside in the sun, beneath the pepper trees, an army had appeared. They had heard the news -- free medical care by American doctors. So they stood in the burnt brown grass waiting for their turn at the benches. Jake used a simple wooden bench, and under the head of each patient he placed two books to lift their necks -- the Bible and Margaret Mead's Coming of Age. Jake, like the other doctors, did quick assessments of the patients before him. Then he began his adjustments. But a few thoughts lingered... These people are really ill. Some of them suffer from more than one ailment. Some are HIV-positive, and I'm giving them adjustments! But maybe I'll help just one. What else can I do? Each day he and the others worked for hours. Once a fight broke out; too many needed care.
This went on for seven days. On the last day Jake, hammered physically and emotionally, let off some steam by wandering in the street market. Soon he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to face a man.
"Doctor, doctor, please look at me."
Jake turned. "Oh, no," he thought, "I can't do any more."
A muscular Kenyan man faced him. "Look what you did." The man radiated a smile. "I don't need my cane. I can stand straight."
Jake thought he recognized him, but there had been so many.
"Doctor, I have something for you. I have looked for you all over this town." He unfolded a piece of paper and handed it to Jake. It was an old newspaper article. "That was me. I ran in the Olympics for Kenya. I couldn't stand for twenty years. Now I don't need a cane. Here, you keep this article. I signed it for you."
Jake accepted the gift and he didn't know what to say, but he did know what to think. "Maybe it wasn't too churchy. I asked for one and you gave me one -- thanks!"
Paul Karrer has had five stories published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and has sold screen rights to one of his stories, "The Baby Flight." Two of his stories also appear in Open My Eyes, Open My Soul, a recent collection edited by Yolanda King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He can be heard once a month on "First Person Singular" on KUSP radio (88.9 FM) in Santa Cruz, California. Paul was a Peace Corps teacher in Western Samoa and has taught in Korea, American Samoa, Connecticut, and England. He now lives with his wife and daughter in Monterey, California.
Good Stories
Don't Forget Your Lunch
by John Sumwalt
"We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish." And he said, "Bring them here to me."
Matthew 14:17b-18
A little boy came running into the house one day, yelling, "Mom, Mom, Jesus is coming. Everyone is going to see him. May I go too?"
"Yes, you may go," his mother said, "but be sure to wear your heavy cloak. It might get cold later in the day. And don't forget your lunch. I fixed you some nice fish and fresh bread."
"Aw, Mom," the little boy said, "nobody else is taking a lunch. It is just for a little while. I don't want to carry my lunch around all day. Besides, I don't like fish."
"You take it," his mother said. "There is no telling when you will get back to the house. You will be starving in a couple of hours. Maybe you could trade your fish for some nice goat cheese."
The little boy reluctantly took his lunch and ran off to join the crowd that was gathering around Jesus. The day lasted much longer than he expected, and before long he was very hungry, just as his mother had predicted. Even the fish looked good. He was just about to take a bite when he heard some of Jesus' disciples asking if anyone had any food that they would be willing to share. He quickly held up his hand and called out, "Over here! I've got five loaves and two fish."
The little boy watched to see what Jesus was going to do. Jesus simply took the bread and fish and blessed them, and somehow everyone got fed, including the little boy who ended up with (guess what?) somebody else's goat cheese.
Scrap Pile
Wrestling with the Stranger
by John Sumwalt
Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
Genesis 32:24-25
Like Jacob, we all get into unexpected wrestling matches from time to time. We wrestle with our consciences, we wrestle with ideas, we wrestle with each other, and every so often we wrestle with one who will not tell us his name but who gives us a blessing like none other that we have ever received.
It is by wrestling that we discover who and whose we are. It is by wrestling, years and years of continuous struggle, holding on till we get this blessing, that we become who we are intended to be.
The struggle begins when we are children. How many of you wrestled with your parents, literally as well as figuratively -- and I don't mean just for fun? Remember what it was like to be a teenager. Teenagers, you know what I am talking about. You want to do something. Mom and Dad aren't sure you are ready for it yet. "Wait till you are older," they say. You keep asking (i.e. pushing the issue, begging, whining), whatever it takes (right?), until they give you their blessing to do what you want to do.
I remember this kind of wrestling with both of my parents. I am not proud to say that we had some knock-down drag-out verbal brawls, but I hung in there till they gave me their blessing -- and they hung on to me till they knew I could survive on my own. Psychologists call that a self-actualization process. Most of us understand it as growing up and being your own person. It doesn't happen without a struggle.
Those who refuse to wrestle with family and other significant persons in their lives, who run away from their mistakes and guilt as Jacob did for most of his life, never fully grow up. They always stay the same. They never receive the blessing of a new identity.
Most of us are like Jacob in this respect. It is not until we are caught between a rock and a hard place, when we are forced to wrestle with "the stranger," that we see ourselves for who we really are. Like Jacob, we are forced to come to grips with attitudes and behaviors that have been hurtful to others.
Remember how Jacob tricked Esau out of his birthright and how he managed to get rich working for Uncle Laban, even though his uncle was just as sneaky and underhanded as he was? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree -- in this case, the extended family tree. Like uncle, like nephew. Jacob and Uncle Laban, who also happened to be his father-in-law, parted on tenuous terms, each looking over his shoulder at the other. Uncle Laban says: "May the Lord watch between me and thee while we are absent from each other" (Genesis 31:49b). No doubt you have heard this verse quoted by preachers giving a benediction.
Pastor R. Karl Watkins of Sheffield-Chapin United Methodist Churches in Sheffield, Iowa, points out in a recent sermon that this is more like a warning than a blessing. "Jacob and his uncle's relationship was such that what is really being said is, 'While I may not be able to see you, remember, God is keeping an eye on you' " (appeared on the PRCL Listserv1 on July 19, 2005).
And so Jacob is running away again, looking over his shoulder, knowing that Uncle Laban is behind him watching his every move and that Esau, the brother he betrayed, is in front of him, probably waiting to get even.
Have you ever had to face someone you have betrayed in some deep, hurtful way? How did you feel? Afraid -- a visceral, trembling fear perhaps? This is how Jacob felt as he came home to face Esau, the brother who threatened to kill him before he ran away from home. Jacob has nowhere to turn this time. He must come to grips with what he has done and who he is. Jacob is wrestling with the stranger, but he is also wrestling with himself. Will he get it this time? Will he be able to open his heart to receive his true birthright?
Pastor Jim Eaton2 of the United Congregational Church in Norwich, Connecticut, tells of having to face his father after an auto accident which occurred because he did something his father had told him not to do:
"When I was 16 and in the midst of my first winter of driving, I went to see my girlfriend on a night when it was snowy and I had been told to come straight home from some event. The car got stuck when I tried to leave her house, and in trying to free it I drove into a pole. No damage to me; some to the car. My father had to be called and he came with a friend; I was sent home with the friend after the car was freed. My father was a severe man and we were in the midst of that great war called adolescence, so I waited in my room for the thunder and sentence. When I heard the door slam downstairs, I had that ultimate dread all guilty children know. I turned out the light and pretended to be asleep, hoping to stave off the sentence, but in a few minutes the door opened and my father stood there. I was very frightened, but after a moment he said, 'Sometimes cars go where they shouldn't go; so do boys. But she's very cute.' And then he laughed, and I heard his laughter even after he shut the door. That laughter, that moment, came to symbolize for me down the years the whole grace of God."
Excerpts from a sermon preached at Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in Milwaukee, August 1, 1999.
Notes:
1. The PRCL Listserv is an e-mail sermon discussion group that follows the Revised Common Lectionary. A web link is available at http://www.louisville.edu/it/listserv/archives/prcl-l.html. SUBSCRIBE PRCL-L FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME to join the list.
2. Jim Eaton is the author of "The Gift of Myself," a personal story which appeared in the Lent 4 (Cycle A) edition of StoryShare for March 6, 2005.
**********************************************
**************
About the Editors
John E. Sumwalt is the pastor of Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in Milwaukee, and is the author of eight books for CSS. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (UDTS), John received the Herbert Manning Jr. award for Parish Ministry from UDTS in 1997. John is known in the Milwaukee area for his one-minute radio spots which always include a brief story. He concludes each spot by saying, "I'm John Sumwalt with 'A Story to Live By' from Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church."
John has done numerous storytelling events for civic, school, and church groups, as well as on radio and television. He has performed at a number of fundraisers for the homeless, the hungry, Habitat for Humanity, and women's shelters. Since the fall of 1999, when he began working on the Vision Stories series, he has led seminars and retreats around the themes "A Safe Place to Tell Visions," "Vision Stories in the Bible and Today," and coming this spring: "Soul Growth: Discovering Lost Spiritual Dimensions." To schedule a seminar or a retreat, write to jsumwalt@naspa.net or phone 414-257-1228.
Joanne Perry-Sumwalt is director of Christian Education at Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in Milwaukee. Jo is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, with a degree in English and writing. She has co-authored two books with John, Life Stories: A Study In Christian Decision Making and Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit: 62 Stories For Cycle B. Jo writes original curriculum for church classes. She also serves as the secretary of the Wisconsin chapter of the Christian Educators Fellowship (CEF), and is a member of the National CEF.
Jo and John have been married since 1975. They have two grown children, Kathryn and Orrin. They both love reading, movies, long walks with Chloe (their West Highland Terrier), and working on their old farmhouse in southwest Wisconsin.
**********************************************
StoryShare, July 31, 2005, issue.
Copyright 2005 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
