Last week, the news finally came, Hospice of Saint John would finally be closing its doors. The announcement to staff was not necessarily a surprise as this past July, the 2nd oldest hospice in the United States had to close its inpatient facility. The final close of doors is dependent on getting patients transferred to other hospice care and shutting down its operations, but there will no longer be a Hospice of Saint John. The Hospice of Saint John will always have a close place in my heart - it is where I first began paid vocational ministry work after finishing seminary. I started as an 0n-call weekend chaplain before working for nearly three and a half years in that

The odds are not in their favor. The team is not favored to win and there are doubts of them even making the playoffs. According to one site, the Rapids have a 4.2% chance of winning the Major League Soccer Cup at this point right now. The same might have been said of the 2010 side that won it all and took home the league's most prized trophy - they weren't supposed to win. Some say that side received the "luck of the draw." Other bemoan the league's constant change of decisions with playoff formats that allowed the Rapids to gain the final through the Eastern Conference playoffs (although they weren't the only team from the west to do so).

It seems (and has been) months since last writing. The long dark tunnel of work towards ordination has consumed my extra time and in making choices I have tried to make conscious decisions about "people over paper" - a clever phrase my best mate and I used during our seminary years to help keep priorities in check. I am currently ordained and have been for the last 2 years with the Evangelical Church Alliance. The ECA has faithfully maintained my credentials both as an ordained minister and as a licensed pastor since 2005, and fills an important need for credentialing chaplains and people in ministry who have non-denominational or small organizations without ordaining and licensing functions. I have not been

The Colorado Rapids recently announced the trade of long-time player and captain Pablo Mastroeni. Mastroeni was the longest-tenured player with the Rapids and served as team captain since 2004. Mastroeni came to the Rapids as part of the Major League Soccer (MLS) contraction which occurred in 2001 and in his letter to the fans, he shares some of what Colorado has meant over the past 12 years. Some of you know that I serve, also on staff at Cherry Hills Community Church as a pastor in pastoral care. Because of church finances and transition, the church recently had to lay off several employees and a couple of pastors as well. Some at Cherry Hills had served on staff for over 10

I was moved by the recent story of the Portland Timbers and how they worked with the local Make-A-Wish group in order to help an 8 year-old boy's dream of playing against his heroes true. If you haven't read the story click here or view some of the photos here. It's a moving story and memorable for this young boy and for all those who helped make his dream come true. Of course, this story is an "echo." It is similar to another story that many of us are familiar with. A story that all of us live. It involves people diagnosed with a fatal disease. They are wishing for something or someone who could save them. They are a people