Scarlet Robe Creations

She was a bit young for ministry.  She wondered if that was how the congregation thought.  But she was here because of circumstances beyond her control.  The church was small.  She'd grown up in it and had now returned.  She sat back and listened to the small choir sing out, 'The Church is One Foundation', and considered her place within these walls. There'd been a thought running around in her head the last few days.  She managed to get a grasp on it last night during prayer.  She jotted down a few notes and brushed them up while eating a piece of toast before service.  She was nervous and knew it showed in her voice, when she gave a morning blessing to those in attendance. The Gospel reading had been from the Book of John, Chapter 2, verses 13 to 22.  She read God's word as put on parchment by the apostle.  After reading the passages last night she pondered arguments of religious men as to who wrote the Gospel.  She believed the w...

I pulled up in front of the mobile home, in my dark blue Mustang, on a warm spring morning.   Martha Hoyle had contacted my office through our web page.   She was temporarily homebound and willing to help our ministry in any way possible.   I had to admit, some of the work available to home workers was monotonous.   We were years beyond stuffing envelopes, but the data entry work offered held very little excitement for those I interviewed.  Martha opened the door before I had a chance to knock.   She was in her middle sixties, a bit rounded in the middle and the victim of a recent heart attack.   Her doctors wanted her to refrain from driving for a while.   Thus, her reason to contact my group and offer her services. She asked me to enter without any reservation, which always surprised me.   I’m in my early twenties, having left college to go into ministry on a grant.   I’m a casual person, jeans, sport shirt and hiking boots.  ...

Cover of the Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning “Maybe you should listen.   I believe God is calling you.” Father William said. “He has been for quite a while.” A priest, a friend, they sat on a wall outside the campus library, one a student with a copy of the ‘Ragamuffin Gospel’ written by Brennan Manning in hand, the other working campus ministry.   The season of spring was encroaching in the Northeast and the April afternoon was warmer than usual.   The sun reached out from the cloudless sky like gentle fingers wanting to caress. “I’ve questioned a lot in the last few years.” “But never your faith,” the priest added. “No I’ve never doubted why Jesus died.   I’ve never doubted who He was… or is.   It’s the law that makes us stumble… makes me stumble.   And some of those laws… I can’t find any basis for them.” “You see them as manmade.” “I see us as modern day Pharisees, honoring laws and dogmas more than we honor the word of God.   Someti...

This collection of works was published, through the Office of Ministry to the Handicapped, as a handout for the Christmas season of 1981. The letters document the growth of 'The Spirit of the Handicapped' during the early days of the ministry, from 1977 - 1981 During the spring and summer of 1977, the Office of the Ministry of the Handicapped, renovated the interior of the old building at 323 Main Street in Norwich, CT. The funding to purchase the building was complete and summer was spent amid the chatter of volunteers who had listened to and embraced a dream. During that time, Donald P James Sr. (my father) sat and wrote the first of many letters to Brother Patrick Martin, the ministry’s director. Initially the letters were authored by ‘The Spirit of God’s Gift House’, the name given to the building, and later by ‘The Spirit of the Handicapped’. This collection of his works was published as a handout for the Christmas season of 1981. Any letters written after this point ha...