Theresa F. Latini Earlier this week, someone was telling me how unmotivated he feels about his job, a dimension of life previously filled with purpose and marked by meaningful structure. Work once ordered his days. Now his job has changed dramatically due to the pandemic. It is disorienting to create new routines. It is tiringContinue reading “How’s Your Surge Capacity?”
Tag Archives: COVID
On This Train Together
Kara K. Root My kids’ head of school, said the other night, at an online parent meeting: “If you could join me, adults, . . . in a small ‘pinky pact’ . . . when we read articles about students, ‘losing ground’ or ‘falling behind’, that we might take those metaphors and set them aside andContinue reading “On This Train Together”
A Chorister’s Lament
Don C. Richter Introduction by Theresa F. Latini, Executive Director of Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center Yesterday I read an article titled, “Sing into the Funnel Please,” with a picture of a research physician doing just that. The article laments the loss of choral singing in Britain, citing instances in which the coronavirus spreadContinue reading “A Chorister’s Lament”
Blessing Masks and Those Who Wear Them
Theresa F. Latini Masks. I read about them a lot these days. Which means I think about masks a lot. I remind people to wear their masks at our retreat center. I make jokes – admittedly not very funny ones – about wearing my mask. I have two hooks by my front door for masks.Continue reading “Blessing Masks and Those Who Wear Them”
Go-tos for Traumatic Times
Pastor Rebecca C. Freeman Editorial note: Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center regularly welcomes groups who care for those who are most vulnerable and advocate for justice in our communities. We are grateful for the presence of these groups that are renewed and restored so that they can continue working for justice, peace, and reconciliation.Continue reading “Go-tos for Traumatic Times”
Surrounded by Love in Death
Carol Throntveit It does hit the heart, doesn’t it? The thought that we or a loved one might die alone, a victim of the coronavirus, quarantined, and unable to have loved ones sharing words of support and love. This feels devastating. When these thoughts strike me, I am moved to tears. And yet, I findContinue reading “Surrounded by Love in Death”
A Strong Bridge for Scary Divides
Theresa F. Latini Earlier this week Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center hosted an online mini-retreat, Daring to Pray in the Time of COVID. Fourteen of us gathered together through Zoom to remember that God listens to us, that God is moved by compassion to act on our behalf, that we are invited to prayContinue reading “A Strong Bridge for Scary Divides”
Mother’s Day Mourning (and, Celebrating)
Theresa F. Latini Today I’m remembering my first day on the job as executive director of Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center. It was Mother’s Day 2019. Three hundred people streamed through our doors, enjoyed a veritable feast while laughing and reminiscing, and relaxed outside amidst beautiful flowers, soaking up the warm sunshine. Over twentyContinue reading “Mother’s Day Mourning (and, Celebrating)”
Chemical Dependence in the Age of Coronavirus
Thomas Mullens Note: Recovery groups regularly attend Mount Olivet Conference & Retreat Center. Group members find serenity in this place of natural beauty and special support in taking time away to continue their journey of wholeness and wellbeing. We recognize that this pandemic has created special challenges for persons with addiction and offer this reflectionContinue reading “Chemical Dependence in the Age of Coronavirus”
Glimmers of Hope on a Long Bleak Saturday
Theresa F. Latini When I was a pastor, my favorite worship service of the year was Maundy Thursday: a remembrance of Jesus’ lonely persistence in prayer, his betrayal by a friend, and then his subsequent arrest. It was refreshing to name the depth of human suffering endured by God and the ways in which thatContinue reading “Glimmers of Hope on a Long Bleak Saturday”
The Gift of Mindfulness
Theresa F. Latini Three weeks ago, I felt my first spike of anxiety about the coronavirus. The retreat center was taking inquiries about cancellations. Pastor friends were deciding whether or not to close their churches. Family members, a number of whom fall into that high-risk category, were postponing previously scheduled, non-essential medical care. And thenContinue reading “The Gift of Mindfulness”
Daring to Pray
Theresa F. Latini “Prayer is a very precious medicine, one that helps and never fails.” Martin Luther penned those words approximately 500 years ago, and they are as true today as they were then. Life has changed drastically for all of us in a very short period of time. Words like disaster and catastrophe andContinue reading “Daring to Pray”
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