Exploring the "self" and silence, going back to God's biblical stories, and the call of Samuel and how he learns to listen He drives a lot around the diocese, and the time to turn off the radio and step away from phone calls to take in the scenery of North Carolina and the solitude of God.

The impact of COVID was very disruptive. Amid this reality, God did provide some forms of redemptive energy from something awful. Communication and online worship built a bridge, and folks were introduced and joined the community, highlighting the ability to adapt even in such dismal times.

We are not alone, even when we feel isolated; the presence of God continues to guide us in our discovery.

Creating and weaving the stories together through God's fingerprints on them. He expresses the gifts if the body of the collective community.

I am honored and priveledged to have spent some time with North Carolina Diocese Bishop Sam Rodman. We discuss his memory of being baptized as a child at four years old with his two sisters, being the middle child. This serves not only as vivid memory of the church but the community that was present in Blanford.

He shares a recent baptism story and how the child began to cry, but then grabbed the cross, which calmed her down. It is the small things that move us during such a celebration. When Bp. Sam was eight years old he visited his grandparents and they took the Sunday of from Church, he decided and insisted to invite the family to his own service with make shift vestments that resulted in good family humor.

Rich experiences came from All Saints, Hadley and the Bible Study at a pizza parlor in town. He has been blessed to learn from or be part of a team that offers Bible studies that nourish him. His mom would share in a moring devtion similar to Forward Movment call Our Daily Bread. Bp. Sam shares his cadence around prayer and other practices.

The Rev. Liam Barr shares his practices of trying to step away from tension and how it has taken over our world. He makes us ponder how we can step away and empty our mind and soul and center. This will result in a release. He asks: How do we limit our access to social media? We lose ourselves when we fall into a space of reaction—the art of slowing down and processing the evocative things that show up through God.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the Rev. Liam Barr for this episode and wish him continued success at the New Hope Project, as well as in his service at Holy Innocents in Henderson, NC.