About Spirit Sightings and the Authors

Spirit Sightings are intended to lift up international news stories and current events, linking these to the lectionary passages for each Sunday.

Adults, clergy, and adult Bible study leaders might visit this section of the website each week to enrich Bible study, for personal reflection, or to prepare sermons. Spirit Sightings is posted in conjunction with each week of Seasons of the Spirit.

Phil Hoffman  is a Uniting Church minister in Adelaide, South Australia. His previous “lives” have been included living in the Middle East (Israel/Palestine), being a member of the “Flying Fettuccinis” Comedy Troupe, and serving as an adviser in the Prime Minister’s Department in the capital, Canberra. Phil’s passions are his five children, three of whom are adopted. After that, there’s a bit of time for current affairs, humour, and a range of odd sports not well-known in the Northern Hemisphere including cricket and Aussie rules football.

Fraser Macnaughton has been minister of St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland since 2002. He also has served as minister in Ayrshire, University of Dundee, and Glasgow. He has taken church groups to Malawi in central Africa, and also hosted groups from Malawi. Having previously been coach to Scottish Universities Rugby team, he now coaches the Orkney Rugby club. He maintains a lively interest in bird watching, conservation issues, and history, as well as having his life enriched by his wife and two teenage daughters.

Ray McGinnis is author of Writing the Sacred: A Psalm-Inspired Path to Appreciating and Writing Sacred Poetry, published by Wood Lake Publishing, www.woodlakebooks.com. He is a former national staff person for youth and young adult ministries in the United Church of Canada (1986-95). He worships at Canadian Memorial United Church in Vancouver, Canada.

Sandra Rooney served sixteen years as Executive for Mission Education and Interpretation for the United Church of Christ (USA) Board for World Ministries. She retired in 2001 and recently moved from Cleveland, Ohio, to Green Valley, Arizona. In her local church in Ohio, Sandra served as chair of the Spiritual Life Committee and the Committee for Our Church’s Wider Mission. She also served on the Stewardship Committee and sang in the choir. Before her move to Arizona she served as Moderator of her congregation for two years.

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