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	<title>Wonderings and Wanderings</title>
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	<link>http://www.melissahatfield.com</link>
	<description>Random Thoughts from the Journey of Life</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:48:13 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Female Pastors Are Evil</title>
		<link>http://www.melissahatfield.com/2010/03/11/female-pastors-are-evil/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melissahatfield.com/2010/03/11/female-pastors-are-evil/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:47:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mhatfield</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Formation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[female pastors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycle your faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[women pastors]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melissahatfield.com/?p=768</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; or so I&#8217;ve been told &#8211; (and yes, it is a direct quote.)  As a female pastor in a Baptist church, I am a rarity indeed.  When I was growing up, I did not consider going into ministry because I did not know any female ministers in the Baptist world.  I just accepted the common notion that, as a female, I would volunteer with the youth at a church, rock babies, collect money for missions or serve in some other volunteer capacity while men assumed the official roles of pastors.
Ten years ago when I first began serving as an associate pastor in a congregation, I was sensitive to the judgements of others regarding my &#8220;call&#8221;.  There was a great deal of judgement from other pastors and congregations who strongly opposed females in leadership.  I even had some friends who did not agree with obedience to my calling. What bothered ...]]></description>
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		<title>Thoughts on Dominican</title>
		<link>http://www.melissahatfield.com/2010/02/01/thoughts-on-dominican/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melissahatfield.com/2010/02/01/thoughts-on-dominican/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:51:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mhatfield</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dominican Republic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Servant's Heart Ministries]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melissahatfield.com/?p=765</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I returned Saturday evening after eight days in the Dominican Republic working with Servant&#8217;s Heart Ministries. I led a team of six others from our church.  It was an amazing week of ministry, of relationship-building, of warmth! (literally since it is snowy here and sunny there).
I love to travel, to immerse myself in other cultures, to meet the large family of God.  I find joy in bringing a team along &#8211; especially newbies who remind me of the first-time awe and joy of a mission trip.
I&#8217;m grateful for the physical reminders of what daily life is like for the majority of the world.  Did you know that if you make $35,000/year, you are in the top 5% of the wealthiest individuals in the world? Rich is relative.  Riches are relative.  I&#8217;ve met more joyous and grateful individuals in my travels around the world then I do in my community here. ...]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Leaving On a Jet Plane</title>
		<link>http://www.melissahatfield.com/2010/01/21/leaving-on-a-jet-plane/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melissahatfield.com/2010/01/21/leaving-on-a-jet-plane/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:22:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mhatfield</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ministry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dominican Republic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FBC JC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Servant's Heart Ministries]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sosua]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melissahatfield.com/?p=761</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;.But I do know when I&#8217;ll be back again. (if things go according to plans which you never know.)
I head out early Friday morning with a team to the Dominican Republic.  We will be working with our partners, Servant&#8217;s Heart Ministries, in Sosua, Dominican Republic.  We usually spend a week with them each June doing a mobile medical clinic.  However, we are coming this week to help begin construction of a permanent medical clinic at a location where we use to do a mobile clinic.  How exciting to see the community come together and provide for this great need.  There is no care for thousands of people in these areas.  What little care there is they often cannot afford.
The clinic is being built onto a local church and it has been the pastor of this church that has dreamt this project and seen it into reality. To me, it is ...]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>We Are Family &#8230; Whether You Like It or Not</title>
		<link>http://www.melissahatfield.com/2010/01/17/we-are-family/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melissahatfield.com/2010/01/17/we-are-family/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:15:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mhatfield</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sermons]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Today I was blessed to have the opportunity to preach at FBC-JC.  I always enjoy the opportunity to share and the church family is always very gracious.  We are in a sermon series titled &#8220;Singing God Songs and Telling God Stories&#8221;.  We are basically working through various stories in the Bible and I was assigned the story of Cain of Abel.
Here is the link to the sermon if you wish to read it.
]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Hope for Haiti</title>
		<link>http://www.melissahatfield.com/2010/01/15/hope-for-haiti/</link>
		<comments>http://www.melissahatfield.com/2010/01/15/hope-for-haiti/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Jan 2010 06:10:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mhatfield</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Current Affairs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Making a Difference]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Earthquake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Haiti]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.melissahatfield.com/?p=747</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Since Tuesday afternoon, our hearts and thoughts have been held captive by the aftermath of the 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti to its core.  As stories are told and media is shared, we are seeing the awful reality of the death and destruction that is the reality now for the millions that call the area around Port au Prince home.
It is so heartbreaking to imagine what these men, women, and children are going through.  It is unfathomable for most US citizens.
And it is just one more thing to happen to a country that has endured disaster after disaster and years of abject poverty.
Each evening as I head to bed  I think about the thousands that are still buried alive in the rubble and have yet to be found. People who, hurt or not, are in complete isolation and have been wondering for 50+ hours if anyone will find them or ...]]></description>
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