As you read this, I’m in my final few days of preparation for my annual worship planning retreat in the Wet Mountain Valley of Colorado. At 8,000 feet in an international dark sky community, the air is thinner, the stars are brighter, and the cell signal is thankfully scant for miles. It’s the same location, the same rhythm, and the same prayer request I’ve made 5 times now: that God would meet me here in this thin space and guide our church’s path for the year ahead.
I’ll be away from Wednesday, August 27, through Tuesday night, September 3, taking a few days afterward to reconnect with family. The journey itself, driving 1,000 miles each way, isn’t just a means to an end; it’s a moving labyrinth where my fellow retreatants and I begin the work of planning together. The heart of the retreat is four dedicated days of study, prayer, listening, and writing.
This year’s retreat team is the same as before: my good friends Pastor Brian Marcoulier (Calvary UMC, Nashville) and Pastor Matt Fowler (First UMC, Kearney, Nebraska). We come not only to plan for our own churches, but to learn from each other’s questions, strengths, and passions. Each day is given a seasonal focus: Friday – Advent; Saturday – Lent & Easter; Sunday – Pentecost & Ordinary Time; Monday – Fall to Advent 2026.
Thanks to the survey many of you completed, I’m heading up the mountain with a clearer picture of what matters most to our congregation right now. The topics you named most often for 2026 preaching and teaching include relationships, justice and compassion, how to find voices we can trust, and mental health. In the comments, I also saw deep interest in the Psalms and in exploring how to live faithfully in times that feel apocalyptic and so much more! I’m excited to see what the Spirit directs me to from what you have so generously shared.
Pastor Heather and I have already prayed over these themes and begun dreaming about what belongs in the pulpit, what belongs in small group conversation, and what belongs in both. We’re naming our own passions and strengths alongside your input. I’ll return with a draft plan for 2026 that Heather, the staff, and I will review before sharing it more broadly. Of course, plans can change—sometimes what seems perfect on the mountain needs to be shelved for another season.
I’m asking again for the gift only you can give: your prayers. They make all the difference. I can literally feel them at 8,000 feet.
- Pray for Safe Travel – Four days on the road adds up to a lot of miles.
- Pray for Inspiration – That the Spirit will shape our worship so they meet our congregation’s needs and mission.
- Pray for My Family – Meghan and our girls while I’m away.
- Pray for Brian & Matt – For their churches, their travels, and their families too.
I never stop marveling at the small joys of these days washing dishes by hand, cooking in a skillet, hearing the hiss of something on the grill, sitting under a wide night sky without a screen in sight. Good company, limited cell service, and God’s voice carried in the mountain breeze it’s a setting where the whisper of the Spirit is easier to hear.
Thank you for supporting this time apart for intentional prayer, listening, vision, and writing. I’ll see you in worship this Sunday and on September 7 as we launch our fall series, Accessible Grace. While I’m away, Pastor Heather will wrap up our Say What?!? series, and both they and Pastor Mary Gay will be available for emergent pastoral care.
With gratitude,
