Author: James Deaton
Learning and then loving rightly
Reflecting on Black History Month, Bishop David Bard encourages us to do our part in cultivating hearts and souls that love more deeply and intelligently… It seems as if we just turned the calendar to a new year, and the first month of that new year has already passed. January is always a busy month.… Continue Reading Learning and then loving rightly
Making all things new
Bishop David Bard asks how we might see this new year as an opportunity to focus forward and to reaffirm that God is working to make all things new… Looking back over last year, I’ll admit it was difficult and challenging in many ways. War dragged on in Ukraine. The brutal Hamas attack on Israel… Continue Reading Making all things new
Kindness matters this Christmas
In this season of love, Bishop David Bard invites us to let the Holy Spirit enlarge our hearts so they stay a little bigger and kinder… It has now happened twice in the past couple of months. I don’t wear a clerical collar often, but sometimes the occasion calls for it. In the first instance,… Continue Reading Kindness matters this Christmas
Expanding our empathy
In response to ongoing war and violence, Bishop David Alan Bard calls us to rigorous discipleship as we open ourselves to new ideas, deeper acts of care, and fresh initiatives for peace… On November 13, a group of Michigan United Methodists and I were scheduled to travel to the Holy Land. That trip has been… Continue Reading Expanding our empathy
Seeking an antidote to loneliness
Bishop David Alan Bard urges us to cultivate a culture of connection and encourage virtues of kindness and respect as an antidote to the loneliness and meanness we see today… Lonely and mean. No, those are not the results of my most recent psychological inventory or a descriptor of my enneagram type. “Lonely” and “mean”… Continue Reading Seeking an antidote to loneliness
God’s work reviving us
Bishop David Alan Bard asks us to rally to the task set before us, making disciples of Jesus Christ so that lives — and the world — can be different… Growing up, my family was not extensively involved in our local church. My dad was raised Roman Catholic and did not attend church as an… Continue Reading God’s work reviving us
A community of kindness
Bishop David Alan Bard expresses gratitude for the Christlike kindness he and his family have received following his mother’s death… Since my last blog, my family and I have experienced one of those significant events that stays with you forever: a parent’s death. As many of you are already aware, my mother died on July… Continue Reading A community of kindness
Honest love of country
Bishop David Alan Bard challenges us to see our nation and its history with honest eyes, not only celebrating the things we love but working together to change it for the better… I write this on the cusp of the July 4 national holiday. Independence Day has been celebrated in some fashion since 1776. Congress… Continue Reading Honest love of country
Walking to Emmaus and Annual Conference
As the Michigan Annual Conference gets closer, Bishop David Bard asks us to hold the gamut of emotions we will experience there and remember to look for Jesus in our midst… One of the traditional Gospel readings for the Sundays immediately following Easter is the story of the two disciples walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus.… Continue Reading Walking to Emmaus and Annual Conference
Resurrection don’t come easy
Bishop David Alan Bard’s Easter message asks us to hold the pain and honesty of Good Friday together with the hope and wonder of Easter… Many of you know I enjoy music, and for Lent 2021, I engaged in a unique discipline by putting together a playlist, a song each day from Ash Wednesday through… Continue Reading Resurrection don’t come easy