Dear Friends,

Two years ago, with the help of an amazing team, the Coracle Community-Baltimore started.

Perhaps now more than ever, God is drawing together community in Baltimore around the motto of Spiritual Formation for Kingdom Action. Our oft-used image is that of spiritual formation and kingdom action being like the two wings of a bird, each essential to the other.   To fly is to experience the life that God always intended for us. That has always been the goal of gathering in Baltimore and it remains at the heart of our mission.

When we started, we offered 1-2 retreats per year.  We have grown in our capacity to offer day long retreats complementing our Advent and Lenten seasonal retreats with two retreats focusing on personal renewal and strengthening through soaking in God’s love expressed through His Word and His Creation. We also offer spiritual direction for a growing number of disciples here in the Baltimore area and beyond and have added several spiritual directors since our beginning.

On the kingdom action side, Heather Strube and I had the distinct privilege of serving a large gathering of Christian workers in Southeast Asia through Spiritual Direction. In February we hosted our first Coracle evening, this time on Race in America and a Christian Response, with Bill Haley and George Hopkins. It was a successful first attempt and served to invite those of us here in Baltimore further into a much needed discussion about racial reconciliation in America which was coupled by offering of the Repentance Project for the Lenten season. Then, to top it all off, I was able to lead my first Celtic Christian pilgrimage in the United Kingdom this past June.

Needless to say, Coracle Community-Baltimore is growing.  After a time of discernment, and much prayer, our Baltimore team determined that in order to shepherd the growth of the Coracle Community-Baltimore well, and continue to encourage its growth, it would require more dedicated time and thus, I have reduced my teaching hours. The goal is for Coracle Community-Baltimore to grow and become healthily self-supporting. And we need your help to do it.

First and foremost, would you please pray for us?  For wisdom to know where to focus. For connections with those that God would have us bless and partner with.  For God-led growth internally and externally. And, importantly, would you please consider partnering with us financially? Either on a monthly basis or through a one-time gift would help a great deal.  To enable this work we are seeking to raise $7000 by the end of this year.  Your support would mean so much to the Coracle Community-Baltimore. We are very grateful for those of you who have chosen to participate with us and to those of you who have already begun to support the larger work to benefit others here in Baltimore and around the world.

Among our new initiatives, we plan to offer a new retreat this year partnering with Brian Donohue of Cuirim Outreach on October 13th focusing on how we can experience the reality of the kingdom of God right here and now where we live our daily lives.  Beginning in September, we will launch a small group that will focus specifically in growing in Christ centered meditation, contemplation, and listening prayer. You will see more details about that in a mailing we will send out soon. And we will offer the St. Cuthbert’s Way pilgrimage again in June of 2019 as well.

We will continue to offer our Advent, Lent, and Creation retreats.  I will return to Southeast Asia in the Spring to build on the time we spent there last year.  We also hope to build on the conversations we began with the Repentance Project last year and to extend offering this opportunity to a broader, more national fellowship of believers across the country.

Our desire is to humbly serve alongside our fellow pilgrims here in Baltimore who long to see God’s kingdom come and His will be done in all its beauty and redemptive power.  May you continue to experience His steadfast love and faithfulness enfolding you and we welcome any opportunity to serve you on the way.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Scott