Adult Antioch in Stowe, VT - March 2nd-4th 2012

 
To All My Friends in Christ,
 
       An alert to all of you about the upcoming Adult Antioch in Stowe!!! It's an amazing experience of sharing the reality of Christ's Love and the Power of His Spirit alive and with us today. You can't ask for a better setting either in the beautiful surroundings of Stowe Hollow, VT. If you're 18 or older, this experience is a must! Hope to see you there...
 
Peace, Doug +
 
 
Dear Friends in Christ –


We are looking forward to the Antioch Retreat here in Stowe (as we do each year) scheduled for

March 2 – 4, 2012. We hope you have found it to be a peaceful and enjoyable way to further your

relationship with Christ.

This year, we will need to make some changes so that we are able to continue the tradition while

we live here in Stowe.

For the last 14 years, we have joyfully sponsored and subsidized the retreat; however, with

increasing taxes, cost of living, food, utilities, etc., we will need to increase the price. We will also

need to have people commit earlier so that we know who is coming and how many we need to feed.

Though it may not seem difficult from the outside looking in, it can be a real challenge to coordinate

all the details so that things run smoothly. Please consider that we have to plan for meals (decide

what to serve, purchase and prepare it, etc.…), coordinate who stays where and why, prepare the

guest house and have it professionally cleaned after the retreat so it is ready for our next group of

renters.

Changes:

1.) Cost for the weekend will be $60 per person, or $100 per couple. This will be for all

out of town guests who stay on the property, including speakers. I believe this to be very

reasonable for 4 – 6 meals and two nights lodging. Stowe residents attending are not

charged, but will be asked to help supply and/or prepare food for the meals, and assist in

the clean up. If this creates a financial hardship for you (or someone in your group),

please speak to me directly so we can work something out.

2.) People will need to register for the retreat no later than February 15th. Registration will

include sending me a check for the cost, names of those attending in your party, and

anticipated time of arrival. This will make it much easier to plan for and purchase food, and

prepare the guesthouse for visitors.

3.) We will need to cap the number of out-of-state attendees @ 24, first come, first served.

I already have 6 “commitments” for this year.

Though John Dawyot remains the retreat leader, please respond back to me directly via email or

phone (see below) so that I can keep track. I hope you understand the need for these changes

and look forward to seeing you in March.

May God bless you & your family.

Steve

513 Hollow View Road

Stowe, VT 05672

802.253.4673 (Home Office)

epiphanyvt@aol.com

Rick Santorum, I Applaud You! - A Response by Mike Naranjo

Mike NaranjoJan 29, 2012 07:57 PM


I could not agree more! If we were to boo or even disagree with Obama the name calling would start. Clearly those who believe in Christ are closed minded and uncaring.



Those who believe in smaller governments and less taxes are considered greedy and accused of not "not paying their fair share". While I am not a huge Mitt Romney fan I do not like some of the things being said about him. Over the the last 2 years he has paid $6 MILLION in taxes and has given away $7 MILLION to church and charity. Obviously he is what is wrong with how the wealthy pay taxes. Because he made, earned or risked $40 MILLION does mean he should have to give another $6 MILLION to political pork projects.



Sorry I got sidetracked- It is a shame Santorum is too far to the right to be electable. Perhaps Gingrich or Romney can be the voice of the right and not the right now. Perhaps when in office they will stop worrying about the 1% and the billions of dollar they contribute but perhaps addressing the trillions that is needlessly spent. Here is a great place to start- save $150 MILLION annually by stop funding Planned Parenthood, NPR and PBS. The people who want that stuff should pay for it. Those that are opposed to what they stand for should not have to support it with their tax dollars.



Doug- you are a champion for those who cannot articulate what is happening all around. The erosion of values and character. Everyday our world moves in the wrong direction. That is why when someone like Rick Santorum or Tim Tebow stands up for Christ it strikes fear into the hearts of those who prefer darkness to light!



Thanks for listening

Tim Thomas and Tim Tebow - I Applaud You!

It vexes me to listen on radio to the onslaught of criticism directed at both Tim Thomas and Tim Tebow. The substance of the criticism is that “I just want to watch sports. To do that I shouldn’t have to be subjected to political or religious statements that I find offensive.”




My response to all this is “Welcome to the world of Christians in our culture today!” For example, I was watching a film recently – “The Ides of March” to be specific. I just wanted to watch a movie – not be subjected to political or religious statements that would insult and offend my beliefs.



Yet there it was: a reference to my Lord Jesus Christ with the “F” word being used as His middle name. You can search high and low through American movies, magazines, and media and you’ll never see a reference to “Yahweh” or “Allah” being denigrated in that way. But the name “Jesus” being insulted, disrespected, and mocked is a regular occurrence in our society today.



Is there any outcry against this appalling development in media and movies? Not really… That’s because such a denigration of things Christian is right in line with the anti-Christian bias that media and movies have been imposing upon American society for years now.



Good for you, Tim Thomas and Tim Tebow. I applaud you for standing your ground against the intolerance that surrounds us everywhere in our contemporary culture – intolerance toward Christ and things Christian, toward the Judeo-Christian values upon which this country and its constitution are based.



- Doug M. +

Rick Santorum, I Applaud You!

Rick Santorum, I Applaud You!






Rick Santorum! Awesome! I applaud your courage to boldly declare your moral convictions in a society suffering from a crisis in courage. The jury is still out on whether I want to completely “come on board” with your election bid, but I can say at present that it is so refreshing to experience a Presidential candidate whose authenticity is so palpable. To be frank, I haven’t been this excited about a Presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan, and before that, JFK.



In our sick society so many universities and so many religious and secular “leaders” are “selling out” and sliding down the “slippery slope” of moral decadence. Faced with that, how striking and inspiring it is to see someone standing up and standing out in stark contrast. Your example and your message so far have been a brilliant light, “a city set on a mountain top” (Mt. 5:14), a “lamp burning and shining” in a dark place (Jn. 5:35).



As for the students from all over our country at that college conference in Concord, what were you thinking? When you “booed” what Mr. Santorum said, you mocked and insulted the Judeo-Christian foundations of America and the values which have guided two hundred and thirty five years of United States history. Shame on you.



Such students and the universities which represent them may also want to reflect upon the fact that “booing” is the response of the intellectually weak. Did any student actually have anything intelligent to say by way of response to Mr. Santorum? The only facts reported in the media were that the students “booed”, “shouted”, and tried to talk over the speaker. Such strategies are all the responses of the defeated, the responses of “losers” in the face of wisdom which the stupid can neither gainsay nor refute.



Such students and the universities they represent need a “reality check”. If these schools are teaching that such responses have any place in an academic dialogue, then their educational product is not at all worth the expensive price tag of university matriculation today. It is a product that certainly has no place in a true community of scholars. Whatever “bill of goods” they are selling, it has nothing to do with the substance of a real classical education.



I welcome responses to this blog. I would welcome also your responses to our “Trinity-Cor” website at www.trinitycorministries777.net.



God bless,



Peace,

Doug +

Christians Beware!

Christians beware of the growing intolerance toward us. I applaud the “O’Reilly Factor” for its recent series of reports under the title of “The attack on Christmas”. How increasingly easy it is in our society today to assault the deeds, the traditions, and the customs of Christians - even to “demonize” the people who are followers of Jesus. In fact, that is my greatest fear for celebrities, star athletes, or public figures who openly declare the Lordship of Christ – that on the basis of someone bearing false witness against them, their reputations will be ruined, their dignity trashed, their professionalism ridiculed and discredited.




Our response to all this? Christians stand your ground! In a society that is so blatantly intolerant of things Christian, so insulting, offensive, and even sacrilegious in its references to Jesus, take heart and pray. Pray for the fortitude to openly declare yourselves for Jesus. Rejoice too when you are hated and attacked because of it. It is a sign and validation that you are authentically living for Him! (Mt. 5:11)



As for the sources of intolerance, pray also for them. Pray especially for those in power who use their authority to twist the truth into a lie; who represent Good as Evil, and Evil as Good; who call Light, Darkness, and Darkness, Light - “leaders” who even call Christ, Satan. Pray for them. I really believe that what they have done and continue to do borders on blasphemy and sacrilege.



Pray for such “leaders” among us, both clergy and lay, who are nothing more than phonies - petty politicians parading around with lofty titles or holy suits – “leaders” who are nothing more than plastic persons defined by the politics of power, and pursuing nothing more than praise and the next promotion. Pray that Jesus send us another John Paul, Romero or Bonhoeffer – someone willing to risk all for truth, justice, and the Gospel. (John 18:37; 1 Corinthians 9:16; Isaiah 42:3-4, 6)



I welcome your responses. I would welcome also your responses to our “Trinity-Cor” website at www.trinitycorministries777.net.



Peace in Jesus,

Doug +

The Transforming Power of Love

The winds of Hurricane Irene whistled outside as I read the Psalms and scriptures of morning prayer. Would the Spirit come to me on such a morning? Could there be inspiration in such a storm?



Patti, the love of my life, and my wife of forty years, stood at the window, anxious concern on her face. “The rocks will not hold!” she said.



She was referring to the rocks holding down the tarps on top of the industrial waste bin sitting in our driveway. The industrial container was filled to overflowing with old stuff from garage and basement that now could easily become dangerous debris filling the air – menacing missiles flying around our neighborhood in the winds of a powerful tropical storm.



Patti asked if there were any way we could tie the tarps down. Moments later I was out in the storm rope in hand.



All around me branches were cracking and falling from the trees in the screaming winds. The rain fell from the skies in torrents now driven into horizontal sheets by the raging gales. In moments I was soaked through and through, but I stayed on task though pelted without pause by racing wind and rain. I was doing it for Patti. I was doing it for love. It was love that moved through me, fueled my strength, and overcame my fear.



Even while I was tying down the tarps, I thought back to another moment where I had felt the strength of such love. It was while I was carrying my two year old son Patrick up Mt. Washington. We were at five thousand feet and raging winds had suddenly come upon us. Defying all predictions, the winds of Hurricane Dean had slammed into the state of New Hampshire, and we were without advance notice in the midst of the tempest.



Despite the fierce wind and rain, and the struggle of the steep mountain climb, I reached the summit where shelter and warmth awaited me and my son. I remember the power that came over me when Patrick said, “Da Da, cold, DaDa, cold!” At that time too, it was love that moved through me and fueled my strength. Nothing could have stopped me from saving my son.



The tarp was tied down. I headed back to the warmth and safety of my home. I suddenly thought of the cross of Jesus. It was love that moved through Him and fueled His strength. He endured the terror of the Passion for love of me, of us - all of us. Nothing could have stopped Him from taking us to shelter, home, and heaven in the Father’s House.

9-11 Can It be 10 Years?!

        There’s a powerful message in Fr. Peter’s preface to the September issue of “The Magnificat”. I think he is right in saying that there was a “message from God” for all of us in the meditation of Fr. Ciszek that was the reading in “The Magnificat” for September 11, 2001. Does it really seem like 10 years ago? In any case the lesson of Fr. Ciszek seems even more pressing and important for all of us today. Here's the meditation:

        “How easy it is … for us to become dependent on our routines… Friends and possessions surround us… It is the status quo that… carries us from day to day… We begin to lose sight of the fact that… behind all these things it is God who… sustains us. We go along, taking for granted that tomorrow will be very much like today, comfortable in the world we have created for ourselves… and give little thought to God. Somehow, then, God must contrive to break through those routines… and remind us once again… that we are ultimately dependent only upon him,… that his we are and that we must look to him and turn to him in everything. Then it is, perhaps, that he must allow our whole world to be turned upside down in order to remind us it (this world) is not our permanent abode or final destiny, to bring us to our senses and restore our sense of values, to turn our thoughts once more to him.”

        Incredible that this was the reading for September 11, 2001 in “The Magnificat”!!!