Hello friends!At this very moment my ears are ringing with my daughters’ after-school mania, and yet I’m pausing for a moment of renewal reflections. (I wish you could hear how crazy it is in my house right now! 🤯) With a mission of joining Jesus in the renewal of all things I wanted to share […]
an introduction to my new work + an invitation to join me
Welcome to the first official publication of renewal reflections, a newsletter by Melanie Eccles. My mission is to join Jesus in the renewal of all things. This means calling attention to the ways in which I’m glimpsing goodness, peace, and restoration in our ordinary lives. In upcoming editions of renewal reflections I will write about my work as a […]
How plastic play food becomes sacred
Hopefully you’ve been out enjoying the beautiful sunshine today! ☀️ I’m praying for each of you to find a few people to share House Church with: people who will enjoy good food together (take-out is fine!) and honest conversation about life and God. 🏘️ Today in our own House Church we: 1️⃣ made omelets and […]
Find your Kindred
What if “going to church” meant gathering with people who love you entirely – people you love just as much – and encountering the love of God together? Finding kindred community is one of the ways we experience God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.* This type of community has a natural chemistry (ya […]
Gather your people
In order to be The Church, our motivations must be right. We must desire to encounter God’s love in community, to be changed by that love, and to take that love into the world. If you’re like me, you’ve carefully chosen a small circle of people to be with during these pandemic days. I invite […]
I don’t want to wipe these tears
I like to read before going to bed. About a year ago I resurrected my love of novels and quickly realized how good it was for my mind and my soul to delight in another’s story for a time. Typically my going-to-bed book of choice is an enjoyable, lighthearted read. I’m not ashamed to admit […]
Why is Zoom Worship important?
This Sunday we’re going back to the most safe option of distance-worship from our homes. (That means no drive-in option.) www.monroefmc.com/sunday I know it’s kind of a bummer, but we were not able to keep safe social distance during the drive-in church. We are being SUPER CAUTIOUS with this whole COVID pandemic thing. It’s not something to mess around with. We love you […]
Here’s some recordings I wanted to share 📹
Evening, all. Just wanted to check in on this Sunday evening with a few things and my love. First, here’s the link to rewatch today’s worship service. You can read Pastor Kevin’s Sermon from this 5th Sunday in Ordinary Season. He draws from Christian abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, on this Independence weekend. It was excellent and called us to have dependence on […]
It’s happening! Parking Lot Church this Sunday!🚗
Worship is what we do with every part of our lives, honoring God with our attentiveness and gratitude to each task. (Yes, that includes weeding the garden, disagreeing with our spouse, laughing with friends, and reading Scripture.) Liturgy is all about a gathering of people working to worship God together. And friends, I gotta tell […]
#pastorlife 📆 Maybe you’re curious what it’s actually like?
“What does a typical day look like?” A couple days ago one of my bffs asked me what our life actually looks like. She’s a nurse practitioner, going to grad school and parenting 3 kids under 5. So she was pondering what ours lives must be like as pastors and as parents, especially during a pandemic. […]