• Home
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • Authors
  • Write for Us
  • Forward Movement
  • Donate

Grow Christians

A community of disciples practicing faith at home.

  • Parenting
  • Discipleship
  • Liturgical Year
  • Prayer
  • Archives
    • Seasons of the Year
      • Advent through Epiphany
      • Ash Wednesday, Lent & Holy Week
      • Easter & Pentecost
      • Ordinary Time
    • Seasons of Life
      • Childhood Years
      • Teen & Young Adult Years
      • Grandparenting & Godparenting
    • Saints and Feasts
      • Saints
      • Feasts
    • Discipleship
    • Making Faith Visible
    • Special Series
    • Grow Christians Updates & Giveaways
  • The Good Book Club
  • Holy Day Resources
identicon

About Mary Lee Wile

The Rev. Mary Lee Wile has served for over twenty years as a deacon in the Diocese of Maine. A retired high school teacher, her diaconal ministries have included pediatric hospice chaplaincy, prison ministry, spiritual direction, writing (including two children’s books for Forward Movement, two months of Forward Day by Day, and ongoing posts for Grow Christians), and co-facilitating Sacred Ground circles. She also delights in time spent with lively grandchildren.

May I Serve You?

September 3, 2023 By Mary Lee Wile Leave a Comment

I actually wonder how much it matters what Phoebe’s ‘official’ role was.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Saints Tagged With: deacon, intergenerational, phoebe, service

Compassion and Complexity: the Prophetic Voice of Harriet Beecher Stowe

July 1, 2023 By Mary Lee Wile Leave a Comment

In preparation for writing this post, I spent a quiet morning in “Harriet’s Writing Room” in the Stowe House here in Brunswick, Maine, where Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Saints Tagged With: Black Lives Matter, books, enslaved people, forgiveness

The humble intimacy of Maundy Thursday

April 6, 2023 By Mary Lee Wile Leave a Comment

Looking back at the Grow Christians pandemic posts for Maundy Thursday about the creative ways families shared this night’s ritual, part of me wonders if our church services can ever approach the intimacy of the footwashing done by family members for one another.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Lent Tagged With: deacon, foot washing, Holy Week, Maundy Thursday

A Window into Heaven – and Here

January 29, 2023 By Mary Lee Wile Leave a Comment

Some years ago I took a retreat among the brothers at the Society of St. John the Evangelist that focused on icons.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Prayer, Saints Tagged With: art, icons, Prayer, SSJE

Walking through Advent toward the Light

December 14, 2022 By Mary Lee Wile

Back in the early ‘80’s, when I was still living in Colorado, on Good Friday mornings a friend and I would take the 4 to 5 a.m. Night Watch shift at church, then we’d drive out to Warren Lake.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Liturgical Year Tagged With: Advent, grandchildren, politics

Love and serve…anyway.

September 22, 2022 By Mary Lee Wile Leave a Comment

On Friday mornings, on the corner of Pleasant and Union Streets in the heart of Brunswick, Maine, Nancy stands next to a picnic table the children of our congregation painted in vibrant colors.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Saints Tagged With: deacon, hospitality, saints

Lifting up the lowly

May 31, 2022 By Mary Lee Wile 1 Comment

When I was a little girl, the closet in my bedroom had a back door. You pushed through clothes, unlatched a hook, and behind the door was a dark tunnel: a slanted crawl space that ran the length of the house.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Liturgical Year, Prayer Tagged With: Elizabeth, magnificat, Mary, Prayer, Visitation

Come and worship….

December 25, 2021 By Mary Lee Wile Leave a Comment

Worship has been much on my mind recently, not necessarily the liturgy or the music or whether to be online or in person for Christmas services, but mostly I’ve been pondering the innate human need to worship, and its various manifestations.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Liturgical Year Tagged With: Christmas, grandchildren, worship

Tabitha: Wrapping the Poor in Blessings

October 25, 2021 By Mary Lee Wile Leave a Comment

The idea of being wrapped up, especially as the nights grow colder here in Maine, evokes a sense of coziness and warmth.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Saints Tagged With: crafts, Feast Days, patron saints, tabitha

Holy contradictions: commemorating Thomas Merton

December 10, 2020 By Mary Lee Wile 3 Comments

Back when my middle-aged sons were little boys, another young mom from church handed me a copy of Thomas Merton’s Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, […]

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Prayer, Saints Tagged With: cloud of witnesses, grandparenting, Merton, Prayer, retreat

Next Page »

Encouragement in your Inbox

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts.

Join 4,819 other subscribers
The Spy Series

Grow Christians is brought to you by Forward Movement, a ministry of The Episcopal Church that seeks to inspire disciples and empower evangelists. Follow on Facebook or Twitter.

Search:

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

  • That moment you realize the voice you’re hearing isn’t God – it’s Satan
  • The Gospel According to Taylor Swift
  • Help My Unbelief
  • Saint Teresa, the Cloud Of Witnesses, and Chronic Pain
  • Preparing to Celebrate St. Michael & All Angels

Copyright © 2023 — Forward Movement • All rights reserved.