Via N.C. Public Radio, we learn of a renewed initiative by the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC) to increase broadband data access to rural areas of our state.

There are signs that food retailers are finally reversing the trend in serving sizes, and responding to the rising number of consumers looking for meals that are tasty and just-big-enough.

A few days ago, the United Methodist News Service published a story about clergy health.  The story is tied to a task force report that the UMC’s General Board of Pension and Health Benefits (GBPHB) and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) released in May.  To address the challenges pastors face to their hea

Tennyson may have noted that "In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love..." But the United Methodist pastor's thoughts often turn to the possibility of a new appointment. 

The inaugural Spirited Life retreat was held last week at Kanuga Conference Center near Hendersonville. Not everything went smoothly or according to plan. But in the end we felt it was a success, an enriching experience for all concerned. Surely the Holy Spirit was present!

Last week Christianity Today / Leadership published an online article entitled “Pastoral Narcissism: The shadow side of ambition.”

Anne, a high school classmate of mine, has settled in the Vermont countryside, where she raises her two daughters and indulges her love of horses and motorcycles. We keep in touch on Facebook, where she linked to this recent article about rural health care — more precisely, about the challenge of finding young physicians with the gifts and passion (one might even say the call) to work in a rural area.

Note: This is the fourth post in a 10-part series, drawn from Connecting the Mind, Body and Spirit: Reflections on Health, produced by the Clergy Health Initiative and distributed at the 2010 United Methodist Annual Conferences in North Carolina.  Each reflection is tied to the lectionary; we will publish each reflection a week in advance of the Sunday to which it is tied.

July 25, 2010
Luke 11:1-13 • Give us each day our daily bread.

In the August 2010 issue of  O, The Oprah Magazine, writer Andrew Corsello describes his experience of being the spouse of the new rector of a prominent Episcopal church in the Pacific Heights area of San Francisco.

Reading about all the "perks" of his new life may make some readers wonder what he has to complain about. Yet he does an excellent job of naming the particularly visible state of invisibility that clergy spouses experience.

Last week, I and several colleagues from the Clergy Health Initiative attended the United Methodist Annual Conferences in Greenville and Lake Junaluska, N.C. Our primary purpose in going was to share information about the Clergy Health Initiative – our research findings and future plans for introducing a suite of interventions to improve the health of pastors statewide.