David O. Bales was a Presbyterian pastor for 33 years. After retiring he taught Biblical Greek, World Religions, Biblical Hebrew, and Ethics at the college level. He has researched, written, and edited for Stephen Ministries. His stories, sermons, and articles have appeared in Preaching, Pulpit Digest, Lectionary Homiletics, Preaching Great Texts, Emphasis, Feasting on the Gospels, and StoryShare. He is the author of several books published by CSS Publishing Company. Bales is a graduate of the University of Portland and San Francisco Theological Seminary.
Peter Andrew Smith lives in Antigonish, Nova Scotia with his wife, Meredith, daughter Hope, and dog Sophie. A graduate of the University of New Brunswick and the Atlantic School of Theology, he is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada who has served congregations throughout Atlantic Canada and currently serves at St. James United Church and as a visiting chaplain at St. Francis Xavier University. Smith is the author of All Things Are Ready (CSS) a book of lectionary based communion prayers and a number of stories and articles, which can be found listed at www.peterandrewsmith.com.
Robert C. Cochran is currently Senior Pastor at First Lutheran Church in his hometown of Findlay, Ohio. He also teaches English at the University of Findlay. Prior to returning to his hometown, he served pastorates in Michigan, including a stint as campus pastor at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. He is a graduate of Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio.
George Reed, O.S.L., has served as a minister in the United Methodist Church for over thirty years. He holds degrees from Wright State University and United Theological Seminary and has studied at the Institute of Formative Spirituality at Duquesne University. He is a contributor to "The Immediate Word," which is part of the online pastoral resource SermonSuite as well as the Sermons on the Gospel Readings series. Reed and his wife have three grown children.
Molly James is the Dean of Formation for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Hartford Seminary and the University of St. Joseph. She serves as the co-chair of the Young Clergy Women Project and on the board of the Society of Scholar Priests. She and her husband have two children.
