August 2010!

 

August 2010 was a particularly full month of ministry for us. We were invited to provide a retreat for the staff at Sacred Heart Church in South Georgia on the theme of stewardship of time in treasure. This staff had just completed a remarkable growth and construction campaign with heroic results. We were blessed to serve with music, teaching, and interactivity. Jerry still receives requests to speak at corporate retreats (which was part of his corporate background) , and he was blessed to provide an executive retreat on work life balance for a hospital in Southern Alabama. At this same time cricket was in Northern Alabama providing a retreat for the Bessemer fraternity that also focused on inner healing. [Ever since cricket was asked to develop a one day retreat on the inner healing, she has been requested to do it a dozen more times]

The following weekend began nearly a month of travel. Cricket’s book on intercession had traveled from friends to a small intercessory prayer group in Minnesota. The pastor also read the book and ordered 50 copies! Since we were heading for Canada, we offered to provide a retreat for that prayer group, and we were so blessed to do so! [Our connection with his parish was so blessed that we were invited to return to serve them with a parish mission in Lent 2011!]

Since we had a few days before we were to be in Calgary Canada for the UCMVA conference, we took a trip to Northern Minnesota to visit some of the places cricket went as a child, visiting her family’s roots. Among these was a visit a professional photographers’ studio where cricket’sgrandfather helped produce one of the most famous photographs and the world=Grace.

We spent the next two or three days driving across the northern U.S. and Southern Canada seeing very few people but a whole lot of beautiful prairie. Although I have never submitted music or video for the UCMVA (united catholic music and video awards), I have been blessed to be part of the musicians performing there several times. It was quite an honor to get to fellowship and perform with Tony Melendez, Tom Booth, Greg Walton, Dennis Agajanian, Denis Grady, and Bob Halligan/Ceili Rain! This recognition of Catholic artists is international and was broadcast all over the world via the Internet. Cricket gave a teaching on the spirit and prayer of the catholic artist. Jerry not only performed but was part of a guitar clinic. We were all so blessed to give five prayer concerts while we were there.