Thank you all who joined us on August 11, 2016 to launch Coracle in Baltimore and thank you all who expressed your desire to be with us.  What a beautiful evening of prayer, vision, and worship through the eucharist.  I never grow tired of hearing Bill Haley share how God led Tara and him to move to the Shenandoah Valley to create a space for people to hear God and receive His transforming love so that they can be His hands and feet in a broken world.  I love the image of spiritual formation and kingdom action being the two wings of a bird which needs both wings to fly.

Bill and Tara have faithfully offered a refuge for the heart whether that takes the form of a personal retreat, spiritual direction, daylong group retreats, or pilgrimages to join God in bringing healing to Nepal or Israel/Palestine.  We learned from Wade Ballou how God led him to begin to offer opportunities for prayer and silence in Northern Virginia and his desire along with Bill to support us in creating spaces here in Baltimore for those hungry to let God meet them and move through them to be beacons of light and hope in a city and a world aching for healing and transformation.

Each member of the Baltimore Coracle team:  Greg and Kit Elmer, Dan Denton, Wanda Bickers, and myself, shared how God has wooed us and our hopes for how we can partner with Him to bless and empower others as they live out their God-given vocations here in Baltimore and around the world.

The heart of Coracle is to partner with and complement all the rich expressions of God’s kingdom in our region and it is our delight to make our small contribution toward furthering His kingdom purposes among us.

We will begin humbly by offering spiritual direction, group retreats, and a spiritual formation group for those interested in growing in their capacity to make room for God in the midst of all that is swirling around us.

Spiritual Formation Group:

Wanda and I will co-lead a spiritual formation group that will draw on Ruth Haley Barton’s Sacred Rhythms to lead us into spiritual practices that help create space for God to speak and transform us.  This group will begin on Thursday evening, September 8^th, and meet every other week through November and then from January through May.

Those interested in the spiritual formation group please email me at scott@inthecoracle.org.

Spiritual Direction:

Lastly, Kit, Wanda, and I will be offering one on one spiritual direction for those who sense God calling them to pursue this expression of pastoral care.  Those interested in spiritual direction can contact Scott (scott@inthecoracle.org).  More information regarding the Advent retreat on December 10^th will come later in the Fall.

Day Long Retreats:

Kit and Greg Elmer will open their home on the edge of the Loch Raven Watershed for two day long retreats centered around the Advent and Lenten seasons on December 10^th and March 11^th.

Corhaven and Coracle Northern Virginia:

Know that Coracle Baltimore is a complement to Coracle Northern Virginia and Coracle at Corhaven in the Shenandoah Valley and that all the personal retreat and group retreat offerings continue to be available to us who want to join them. Events for all three locations can always be found, color-coded, on Coracle’s event calendar.

I’m so grateful that God treasures small beginnings.  A year ago none of us had Coracle Baltimore on our radar screens.  Each of us is simply responding to God’s invitation to walk with Him step by step and we are trusting Him to continue to unfold what He desires Coracle Baltimore to be in the midst of His greater kingdom expression in Baltimore.

Please feel free to forward this email and to refer friends who you think would be interested to www.inthecoracle.org.  Thank you for sharing our desire to see God’s heart and kingdom further manifested in and among us.