God be with those under stress on our behalf. For those working in hospitals, as police officers and fire fighters, EMTs, as members of the armed forces, as missionaries and workings on foreign shores and cleaning up the oil on our shores. May we pull together instead of tear apart and live in a way that the sacrifices of others for the common good are matched with our efforts for the good of all your creation now and in the coming years.


This work by J. Christy Ramsey is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Akron Kiwanis President Mark Fairhurst had a thoughtful prayer at Akron Roundtable today:

Charles Darwin said a long time ago:

"It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change."

Creator of us all, we thank you for this beautiful day, filled with promise and untold opportunities...we especially thank you for bringing us a friend today, who truly embraces the concept of responsive change, planning and collaboration...all to help us build communities that are great places to work and live and raise our families.

Bless this food and the hands that prepared it, to nourish our bodies and gives us strength, not to worry about the past, but to open our eyes to the possibilities of tomorrow. Amen.

More on the Darwin quote


Akron Roundtable is held at noon on the third Thursday of every month, Akron Roundtable is a non-partisan forum. Each event, held at the Quaker Station located at the Quaker Square Inn on the campus of The University of Akron, begins at 12:00 noon with the speaker's address immediately followed by a question and answer session. Doors open for the event at 11:45 a.m. The event concludes at approximately 1:15 p.m. $15


Akron Roundtable Program:

Putting on Clothes Father's Day is a good day for ties. I've gotten some creative ones over the years, that I enjoy wearing, but I don't usually wear a tie. Early in my ministry, I tested tie wearing. I wore ties every day for a week and went "neck commando" the next week. I found that I have more significant conversations with people when I didn't wear a tie. Folks would open up. Ties are good if a man wants to move up in business, but I want to help folks move up in other ways...and ties might not be helpful for spiritual movement for some folks.

Christy & a Friend with Different Neckware

I still like to wear a tie for one worship service a week.(Even thought it is mostly covered with a robe!) But for the second one, I change into a casual shirt. One of the new regular attenders told me, I see you in that shirt and khaki pants and I know this place welcomes people like me.

I hope you are welcome in the places you go and are always wearing your welcoming clothes, whether they include a tie or not.

Christ Ties to Us

As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.- Galatians 3:27-29

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This work by J. Christy Ramsey is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Luke 7:36-50

Jesus tells us how to get more love in our lives.

This work by J. Christy Ramsey is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

For God's Sake, Where Are You? I enjoy a game that doesn't end, (no not World Cup "soccer", that just seems never ending.) It is called Foursquare . Using smart phones' GPS location, users can check in at venues (stores, churches, restaurants, offices). This enables them to let their friends know where they are, stalkers and repo men find them easily, and annoy their followers with their constant updates on twitter. I like to use foursquare not only to tell others where I am, earn badges and play a version of king of the hill called "becoming Mayor" of a venue; but to "check in" with God, letting God know where I am, and remind me that God is there too. A quick and quiet prayer before entering a venue helps me be spiritually as well as physically present. I hope you check in with God regularly. Smart phones a GPS connection are not required to place you in God's venue, only a spiritual connection is required, which is available worldwide.

Christy's Badges

God Likes Check-ins

[Adam & Eve] heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"
- Genesis 3:8-9

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This work by J. Christy Ramsey is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.