by Guy Sayles | Aug 14, 2019 | Uncategorized
Five years and eight months ago, in January of 2014, I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow I’ve nicknamed “Frank.” Off and on since then—intensely in the first 27 months and consistently over the last 9 months—I’ve received...
by Guy Sayles | Jun 30, 2019 | Uncategorized
Last week, we had the trees in our yard trimmed for the first time in eighteen years. They had grown tall and full; their branches tangled into each other. Sprawling limbs brushed against our roof and our neighbor’s. Using their chainsaws like sculptors’ chisels, the...
by Guy Sayles | Jun 1, 2019 | Uncategorized
I recently spoke briefly at Mission Health’s Cancer Survivor’s Day. Regular readers of my reflections will recognize some of these themes, but I post these remarks in case they might prove helpful. 5½ years ago I learned that I have multiple myeloma. For...
by Guy Sayles | May 20, 2019 | Uncategorized
This morning, I make, and elaborate on, a simple but contestable claim: It matters. It matters: your life, their lives, and the life of the earth; who you are and who you become; what you do and what you leave undone. It matters how you spend or waste time; how you...
by Guy Sayles | Apr 6, 2019 | Uncategorized
A couple of weeks ago, I posted some reflections on my five-year journey with cancer, occasioned by an invitation to speak with a blood cancer support group, my 62nd birthday, and my recent decision that the illness makes it wise for me to “retire” from teaching at...
by Guy Sayles | Mar 30, 2019 | Uncategorized
Yesterday, at First Baptist Church of Greensboro, I shared these reflections on the theme of “journey,” as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina celebrated 25 years: We are on a journey from birth to death to life, from the home we’ve known...
by Guy Sayles | Mar 24, 2019 | Uncategorized
I don’t usually write about my experiences with Multiple Myeloma and its treatment on this site. Most often, I post those kinds of updates and reflections on my CaringBridge site. Recently, though, I had the opportunity to speak with a blood cancer support group...
by Guy Sayles | Mar 19, 2019 | Uncategorized
My reflections, posted today on the Center for Healthy Churches site, about the potential and power of “good news preaching” in congregational leadership.
by Guy Sayles | Feb 24, 2019 | Uncategorized
I don’t know how best to respond to the divisions and alienations of our common life, whether in the public square, faith-communities, or families. What do embodying love and working for peace look, sound, and feel like in our troubled and tumultuous times? How can...
by Guy Sayles | Jan 22, 2019 | Uncategorized
About four years ago, my tenure as pastor of a remarkable and challenging congregation ended. It was time. For a year, I’d undergone extensive treatment for cancer, and there were more drugs, pain, and fatigue to come. I couldn’t do the work of pastoral ministry in...
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