Dear Readers,
Thank you! Thank you for reading, for sharing your insights, and for widening my perspective. I appreciate every social media like and share. Above all, I’m grateful to be a part of this spiritual community that we’ve formed.
You come from across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. Your religious traditions vary. Some are spiritual but not religious. And a few curious, friendly atheists and agnostics drop by from time to time. Many of your names are familiar to me now, and I look forward to seeing your reactions each week at the blog, in email, or via social media comments or likes or shares. More than sixty-six thousand people joined our conversations in 2019.
In one form or another, many of you have told me two things. My posts have helped you to grow spiritually or to navigate a difficult life passage. You have also told me that I’ve made you think. I can’t adequately express how encouraging this is. Helping you, my readers, to experience the love of Christ and to grow in heart, mind, and soul is why I write.
You can see what my speaking schedule for 2020 looks like by checking out my website. I would love to meet you face-to-face. It was great to do so several times in 2019. The second half of 2020 has some open space, so don’t hesitate to check with my incredible assistant Holly Davis if you would like for me speak at your church or organization.
If you haven’t had a chance to pick up a copy of A Resurrection Shaped Life, I hope you’ll consider checking it out now or maybe using it for a Lenten book study on your own or with friends. I’m working on its sequel now, a book about hope. It’s likely to appear in early 2021, so I’ll share more about that with you as summer turns to fall.
Happy New Year, dear ones! Love to you all. I look forward to growing with you in the coming year.
Peace,
Jake
Jake, thank you for your prayers, support, encouragement, and especially your friendship!
The same to you, my friend!
Happy new year Bishop Jake and many Blessings to you and family! Sending much love and gratefulness for you! I love your posts.
Thanks Cynthia! I hope 2020 holds many good and beautiful days for you
Bishop Jake
I am Grateful that I “stumbled upon” your blog/FB page and posts. HE knew what I needed and I am blessed to be connected to such wonderfully spoken and written inspiration; which at times has made me dig deep, sometimes uncomfortably, for the internal revelation 💗 a priceless gift
Thanks for all you do Jake, much appreciated even from NZ! We attended a wonderful (late) Christmas Eve service at a Presbyterian church in Dunedin. Here’s a comment I wrote about it: “The choir was fantastic and then during the service we all got to hold lit candles in the darkened church. Meanwhile a highland piper played quietly outside during the service – wow it was awesome! At midnight the piper came to the entrance and played to welcome in Christmas Day.” Fyi Dunedin was founded by members of the “Free Kirk” from Scotland. The Rev. Thomas Burns, a nephew of Robert Burns, was among those on the first two ships of immigrants. Happy New Year Jake! I’m already in mid-morning of Jan 02 🙂
Dear Bishop Jake,
I appreciate your posts, whose messages are always uplifting and encouraging – especially for those of us ministering and living in different situations around the world. Your wisdom and friendship are important to many of us in places whose advance in including our sisters and brothers on the margins is less obvious than in your own community at TEC.
Have an exciting and fruitful New Year with your family – the source of our grounding in Love from God.