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Dear Friends,

Fran and I are back from the Holy Land fully charged and blessed to have gone and returned safely. Thank you for your prayers. And thanks to the 51 people who traveled with us, most of whom were from Christ Church.

It is a hard trip to recap. We were pilgrims, in a sense, on a spiritual journey. We traveled on a bus from site to site, reading the Bible where key events and teachings occurred. We saw beautiful and pastoral lands in the north near the Sea of Galilee. We overlooked the stark desert of the Judean wilderness. We actually floated in the lowest spot on the planet, the Dead Sea, bobbing like corks. There is no trip quite like it…and as these pilgrims return they are forever changed. They saw the land, the Bible and the people as all one story of God’s great plan of redemption. It may sound trite, but they came back expressing one singular, powerful, life-changing truth:  “It’s all true!”

Many people have asked me about future trips. I will announce a date within the next month, but it looks like it might be this time next year. And for all who long to go to the Holy Land but cannot manage the time or the costs just yet, I found the next best thing.  Seriously, I have been looking for a website that would capture it all in an amazing way.  I found it only a few days ago. Go here and click away on your own spiritual journey.  Try to tie it all to your devotional Bible reading. Ask yourself as you read, “Where did this take place?” Then click on the site and bring it up.

And, wouldn’t you know it…if you want to explore the land of the Lord on your iPhone, there’s an app for that !

Wave of Activity
Since being back, I have felt caught up in a wave of activity at Christ Church. On Saturday, Amigos del Peru held a fund-raising dinner for our ministry support in Peru.  And wasn’t it great to see Bishop Godfrey again? Sunday evening we had a great Welcome Class. Monday evening the campus was buzzing with Bible studies, support groups, an organization meeting for the Renew Campaign (more on this later) and a vestry meeting. What an amazing place to come back to! My thanks to our clergy and staff for keeping of this flock of Christ well fed and happy.

Are you thankful for anything?
If you were in church on Sunday in the sanctuary, you saw the hands go up. I asked a question: “How many have something for which they are thankful to God?” Admittedly, it was a trick question, but every hand in the room went up. And thus I found that EVERYONE should be gathered together to give thanks in a worshipful way on the 24th of November.

Indeed, it is a strong tradition here at Christ Church that the parish family gathers on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. Giving thanks is one of the most common and profound ways to express our relationship with God. If you have out of town guests, it will be a blessing to bring them to church on Thanksgiving Eve.

I have asked Josh Havens to begin our worship service by singing his own song, “Light up the Sky”, which is steadily climbing the Christian charts week by week . It is an amazing message for Thanksgiving, and Danny McGee has arranged it masterfully.

Locked In
Last Friday, our High School youth group had their “1 Body Lock-in”. After a scavenger hunt at Collin Creek Mall and three hours at Amazing Jake’s, they came back here to the campus for a special chapel service, and then were locked in for the rest of the night. Of the 50 kids who attended, nine were new to Christ Church. Here’s a group photos and some quotes from the kids about what they learned from the Lock-In:

High School Lock-in Group Last Friday

“God has taught me to humble myself before him and others.  We are one body in Christ, and I find my identity in that.”

“That the body of God is always surrounding you and that even when you are distant God is always part of you and is watching out for you.”

“I have a special place in God’s community here on Earth, no matter who ignores me or who dislikes me.”

“To have more mercy towards people I hate b/c we are all 1 body.”

“I learned that everyone is needed to make up the body no matter who you are, God chose you to live for a certain reason.”

“I’ve learned that we’re all interconnected so we should all feel for each other’s triumphs and defeats.”

If you agree that it’s glorious to hear those truths come from the mouths of our next generation, feel free to comment below.

Finally, we have a couple of ministry partners in Peru who could use some volunteer expertise in the area of graphic design and website design. If that’s you, contact gro.onalPhcruhCtsirhCnull@ofnI. Thanks!

That’s all for now. Sermon study guides will resume next week.

In Christ,
David+