By Jessica Brodie. Growing up, race wasn’t a big deal to me. Maybe it was growing up in Miami—where the swirl of Spanish mingled with the tropical breeze, where your bare arms on the beach were just a shade darker or lighter than your friends’, and no one could tell who was Latina or white or “mixed” or what—but it seemed like no one cared about race in the least. But now...
By Jessica Brodie. There I was, at the United Methodist Men’s spiritual retreat, surrounded by literally hundreds of men who were committing themselves to Christ, some for the very first time. I saw grown men with tears running down their cheeks, grown men laying on the floor or with their heads in their hands, ashamed that it had taken them this long to make that leap, excited about what was ahead of them. And it blew my mind.
By Jessica Brodie. My husband once told me he had big plans for me. He told me this when we were first dating, and his words naturally made my heart go pitter-patter and I began to dream of all sorts of wonderful future romantic what-ifs. God also has big plans for us, as he says in Jeremiah 29:11...
By Jessica Brodie. Lately, I’ve been struggling with an overwhelming urge to simplify my life. Clutter, which has always bothered me, now seems downright wrong.
By Jessica Brodie. As I write this column, so many are in anguish across the nation and the world—about the grand jury’s decision not to indict the officer who killed Michael Brown, and the still-fresh scars of long-seated racism and prejudice the shooting elicited. About the 132 schoolchildren the Pakistani Taliban shot and set ablaze, citing religious and political motivation. About the scores of Christian martyrs, adults and children alike, beheaded by ISIS in the Mideast. About the hatred, intolerance and rampant bullying of gays and lesbians.
By Jessica Connor. What would happen if we all just took a minute and smiled at everybody we encountered? If we didn’t simply rush on by but paused to acknowledge the humanity, the Spirit, within each of us?
By Jessica Connor. South Carolina ranks second in the nation for women killed by men, according to the Violence Policy Center. We need to take a stand.
By Jessica Connor. As humans, we put all sorts of social constraints on our ourselves. Beyond race, ethnicity or creed, we like to further divide ourselves: Are we “Southern,” “Northern” or “Midwestern?” “Liberal” or “conservative?”
By Jessica Connor. More than 50,000 undocumented children intercepted by U.S. immigration officials just in the past year. More than that, perhaps, crossing into this nation and into the system, sometimes documented, sometimes undocumented. All searching for a better life, far from the starvation, the terror, the cycle of poverty.
By Jessica Connor. In final worship at Annual Conference, Bishop Holston wrapped to a close quoting Mother Teresa: “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”
By Jessica Connor ~ I believe when God calls you to do a job, you’re bound to do it—and do it right.