by Mari Reitsma Chevako Eastbrook member Chrystal Gillon-Mabry doesn’t remember when she first called herself an artist. She just remembers being an imaginative child in a household where her mother did crafts and her father displayed his creativity jerry-rigging things around the house to......
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“Art moves through us. It is colored by our individuality, but we are not precisely its origin. Or, to put it differently, a piece of art may originate with us, but we originate somewhere larger ourselves. We are, each of us, more than we seem, more than......
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The Bible references grace as unmerited favor and love of God. Grace Winter, a member of Eastbrook Church and former Eastbrook intern, honors her name daily. Grace loves God and she makes conscious efforts to see God in all things—especially art—as she strives to live out her faith daily. While seeking......
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by Jessica Helfrich We live in a world consumed with instant gratification and busyness. People are obsessed with accomplishments and rest gets pushed to the backburner. As I reflect on different times in my life, I see seasons when I’ve had a performance mindset.......
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by Megan ‘Mac’ Littel Sitting in silence in a room full of people can feel awkward, intimidating, or impossible. It asks you to leave your comfort zone. But practiced communally, this kind of stillness is a valuable spiritual practice from which we can all......
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I was in an introductory Bible class at my first church in Iowa City when I first heard about Sabbath: a day of rest dedicated to God, His fourth commandment. At the time, I was a resident in internal medicine working 60-80 hours a......
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by Jessica Eckert Paul Sinclair has been coming to Eastbrook for almost nine years. During that time, he also served as our Missions pastor for two years before retiring in 2018. He and Lisa, his wife of 43 years, reside hours north of the......
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The word ‘pilgrimage’ makes me think of a journey. Even in my personal life, the past couple of years have been a journey: figuring out, in the “post-pandemic” world, what I’m doing and where I’m going with my life. Since spring of 2020, I’ve......
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Imagine sweeping mountain views, picturesque villages with cobblestone streets, golden wheat fields dancing in the breeze under endless skies. These images only represent part of the beauty to behold on the Camino de Santiago, a network of intersecting trails all over Western Europe ultimately......
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by Seth Herlinger For almost two decades, Eastbrook’s annual Wilderness Trip has provided a summer backpacking experience for high school students. This year marked my eighth Wilderness Trip; I have done three as a student, one as a junior leader, and now four as......
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One thing we must do as a church is to speak out about how we have experienced the good work of God in our lives. Our quarterly magazine gives us the opportunity to remember that God is at work all around us, both individually, and in our life together as a church. Speaking out about God’s work in our lives gives us a chance to say together: “it is good to live life with a God like that!”
