Thirty years ago today, on April 27, 1994, New Wineskins Missionary Network (formerly ECMC, Episcopal Church Missionary Community) held its first Global Mission Conference.…

January 6th highlights a group of God's children. The traditional day of the visit of the Magi reminds us of the Persian visitors to the Holy Family. They bring us Gentile children of God, people who have no knowledge of God, or his Son, or his transforming love. The number of these individuals today is so staggering that they just slide by, omitted in most missions.

In September, I found myself in the beautiful mountains outside of Asheville NC for my first New Wineskins conference. I was excited to be at the conference and to be in the mountains. I knew going into the week that God would clarify some things for me, but I had no idea what that might look like. Now I do.

Let me tell you one story about an elderly woman from a war zone in Ukraine. We first met when she came to our church with a group of refugees from Donbass.…

“Jesus never raised a sword against anyone!” If that statement sounds unremarkable to you, consider how it might strike a Muslim fleeing war in his native land.

With the birth of the Son of God came the birth of persecution for His name. And 2,000 years later, there are more Christian refugees who are suffering for Christ than ever before.…

I was put in touch with Aisha, a Muslim woman from Syria, through a friend working in Jordan. I visited Aisha when she first arrived in Pittsburgh to offer assistance with living in a new country and to simply be a friendly face.

Last April I attended the New Wineskins for Global Mission Conference in Ridgecrest, NC. As I was passing through the lobby one day, I happened to see a small group of photographs on a table. Among the photos was one entitled, "God is Calling Artists To...", listing ways in which an artist can serve God. This one photograph by artist Beverley Roehr touched my heart and led me over the next ten months to paint a series of paintings on the journeys of refugees.

I set off on my bike for the Garifuna village to spend the afternoon with friends, to stroll on the beautiful Tela beach along the Honduran coast. Before I knew it, it was getting late and I knew, as a young single girl living in a foreign land, that I’d better hurry home before it got too dark to be out on my own.…