bread in the wilderness

For years I have led a retreat (required) for clergy in their first year of full-time ministry in our annual conference. Some time back I came across a wonderful resource by John and Adrienne Carr entitled The Pilgrimage Project, which focused on the Old Testament narrative of the journey from slavery to freedom. This prompted me toward a deeper reading of Exodus 16 and Jesus' midrash on this text, Matthew 6. I have also shared this material with a number of adult groups: essentially, the experience many of us have of being in a difficult and chaotic place, void of support systems, and uncertain about the promised future. When Abingdon asked me to write a Lenten study, I began to work with these resources again. This is my seventh book, it is the briefest and, I believe, also the most helpful. A number of congregations are using it as a Lenten Study, and I am grateful to them. You can find it at Cokesbury or Amazon.