Dear Friends and Fellow Pilgrims,

I’m not good at cutting to the chase.  I’m not good at being brief.  I use words (and, sometimes, as you will see in my PS at the end, YouTube videos!) to help folks to see what I see, know what I know, celebrate the breadth that I celebrate, feel the wonder that I feel, join in what I see God doing.  But at this year’s end, I’m going to try again to be brief, and probably fail.  There’s just SO much to tell you, and my desire, even explicit need, for your help in three specific ways is so deeply felt.  I ask you to read, pray, and give.

Coracle is at the end of another year of ministry.  As in all the other years since we’ve started (it’s been five now), it’s hard to capture it all.  Because so much has grown–and it feels frankly shocking, even to me–this year we’re doing an annual report that tries to capture it some.  So the first thing I want to ask of you is that you’d click on the annual report and read it, as slowly or as quickly as you’d like.   This look back, over just one year, has been sobering and wonderful.   Group retreats, spiritual direction, who we’ve ended up serving, Common Good Things, the Corhaven Graveyard, personal retreats at Corhaven, Baltimore, NoVA, staff growth, sacraments, infrastructure, church partners, advisory board, testimonies, more, and so much.  The numbers are all there, and the breadth, and the essence.  I sense a greater coherence to what we’re doing more than ever.

But there’s also the look forward into 2017.  Also in that same report on pages 13-14, we share our thoughts on what we see coming in the next year.  It feels like God, with a clarity that even I didn’t see coming.  Finally, a spiritual formation curriculum.   A strong emphasis on racial reconciliation.  Pilgrimage actually.  And more.   Here’s the second thing I’m asking:  Please pray for us, and consider being a part of our new prayer team that we’re forming.

Third, would you please support us financially?   Our budget keeps growing because the ministry keeps growing and we keep on adding staff to keep up!  It’s the right thing to do.  It feels obedient, even if intimidating.  We’re seeking to raise $80,000 at this year’s end to propel us into next year and keep us focused on the ministry and not the fundraising.  We’d be most grateful if you would pray about supporting Coracle at this year’s end to make next year happen.  As you’re led, you can donate online here and there get details on how to send a check.
Thank you.   So much.   God is doing a mighty thing through his people and in the world that he loves.  With many others, we’re a small part of it.   We’re so grateful that you’re a part of it too.

This prayer, from some anonymous fisherman off the coast of Cape Breton has always meant so much to us, since the very beginning.  But right now, it feels really real.  “O God, the sea is so wide, and my boat is so small!”

Gratefully, and On the Journey,