Growing In Grace
For a number of years, a group of folks have been gathering together in prayer, studies and contemplation with a deepening desire for communion with God in our life stories. This walk led to honest reflection of past wounds with desire for greater freedom from the day-to-day struggles that could overwhelm us, our families and communities. This sincere hope for restoration is still centered on the real and powerful promises from God’s living word, applied in our own lives and families, and freely available to our churches and the communities we live and work in.
The path that began in deep longing and prayer drew a few of us to pursue personal healing and freedom by engaging in soul care practices including dedicated periods of study and engaging in spiritual direction. As God continued to work in each of our hearts and lives on personal levels, it became increasingly clear that this movement was not just for our private reflection or healing, but also to be a catalyst for community service and renewal.
Several of us have been involved in full time vocational ministry roles as well as lay pastoral care in our communities. Our reason for coming together as Salem SoulCare is to see and embrace God’s great goodness as we long to see the living gospel flow into and through the lives of our families and neighbors. We are determined to seek God’s flourishing for all lives. Salem SoulCare is in a sense still “forming” and will hopefully continue to do so as we seek to follow and do our Lord’s work. As Isaiah proclaimed … and later Jesus took up as his mission:
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the blind,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…”
Isaiah 61; Luke 4
