https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news daily 0.75 2023-05-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1494017720929-83Y0R2K7GM88FQ7OZGQF/Camp+Lake+Louise.jpg Blog https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2023/5/3/cultivate-newsletter monthly 0.5 2023-05-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/11fbc8ac-ba6e-4b6d-ad00-06c6df7c1eaa/David+Wycliffe+Hall.jpg Blog - Cultivate Newsletter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2021/5/11/five-easy-steps-to-becoming-a-christian monthly 0.5 2021-05-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1620746139116-E3ZED3ENZ4129Y44DCO5/Five+Easy+Steps+To+Becoming+A+Christian.PNG Blog - Five Easy Steps To Becoming A Christian - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2021/2/16/i-dont-know-how-to-do-this-learning-to-live-in-a-liminal-season monthly 0.5 2021-02-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1613523904122-44C6SXX9MSR36R9KLP76/Road.jpeg Blog - 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Pastoral Letter | March 18, 2020 https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2020/3/14/why-your-church-should-cancel-because-of-covid-19 monthly 0.5 2020-03-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1584198976500-XZYXRVCYWDSXV3TTR7YF/Worship.jpeg Blog - Why Your Church Should Cancel Because Of COVID-19 https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2019/10/21/further-up-and-farther-in monthly 0.5 2019-10-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1571677428719-NSLM7G3LNTKIJ40YBH95/Fall+Trees.jpeg Blog - Further Up And Further In https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2019/10/1/a-resilient-faith-chosen-strangers monthly 0.5 2019-10-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1569946711636-HIPRXN2Q505OML7KGJLP/Sunset+Field.jpeg Blog - A Resilient Faith | Chosen Strangers https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2019/8/7/remember-who-you-are monthly 0.5 2019-08-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1565198982337-EXUTM40XWO4XSY0CD38G/Remember.jpeg Blog - Remember Who You Are https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2019/8/6/a-third-way-people monthly 0.5 2019-08-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1565102187381-FJEDKHXYAMLEA9PNZBV8/Third+Way+People.jpeg Blog - A Third Way People https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2019/6/28/transformation-through-cultural-conflict monthly 0.5 2019-06-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1561733656480-REQ5XFSCM3SJSWTZ3W1K/Washington+DC.jpeg Blog - Transformation Through Cultural Conflict https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2019/5/20/on-liminal-spaces monthly 0.5 2019-05-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1558388145303-G76V4MI54FEVP0Y8NDDO/David+Liminal+Spaces.jpeg Blog - On Liminal Spaces https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2019/5/10/so-you-want-to-hire-a-pastor monthly 0.5 2019-05-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1557513504392-4RBY0T8T71ELM69PX8VI/Josiah+Hiking.JPG Blog - So, You Want To Hire A Pastor? https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2019/2/21/wilderness-time monthly 0.5 2019-02-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1550757030710-GH78FWC8Q9KXB53XDI0H/2The+wilderness+constantly+reminds+me+that+wholeness+is+not+about+perfection.+I+have+been+astonished+to+see+how+nature+uses+devestation+to+stimulate+new+growth%2C+slowly+but+persistently+hearling+her+own+wounds.+%281%29.png Blog - Wilderness time https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2019/1/26/what-lies-dormant monthly 0.5 2019-01-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1548517761685-58GQYVZ2U08OGBAV9AXC/Winter+Dormant.JPG Blog - What Lies Dormant https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2019/1/9/text-subtext-the-importance-of-cultivating-discernment monthly 0.5 2019-01-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1547052377229-AZ2ZDTQ01RRBLJALVIJA/Winter+Tree.JPG Blog - Text + Subtext: The Importance of Cultivating Discernment https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2019/1/3/please-be-kind-2019 monthly 0.5 2019-01-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1546535556902-V2BABJ23O9Q5TO1VPN7A/First+Snow+2019.JPG Blog - Please Be Kind, 2019 https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/12/11/thoughts-on-sustainable-pastoral-ministry-from-a-novice monthly 0.5 2019-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1551126670765-NTU6OT8JOMH0X98745WW/Ten+Thoughts+On+Sustainable+Pastoral+Ministry.png Blog - Ten Thoughts On Sustainable Pastoral Ministry https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/11/17/snowy-apples monthly 0.5 2018-11-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1542459916681-61C7SQGUSEBPIWVDJCZD/Winter+Apples.JPG Blog - Snowy Apples https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/10/22/on-the-passing-of-eugene-peterson monthly 0.5 2018-10-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1540244509510-EJW6DQ70AWTXVWDA8LPG/peterson+two.jpeg Blog - On The Passing Of Eugene Peterson https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/10/19/everything-good-takes-time monthly 0.5 2018-10-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1539980710772-EMM7028L1GXQRJCZTKZY/Greens.JPG Blog - Everything Good Takes Time https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/10/17/psa-for-church-folks-as-we-look-toward-christmas monthly 0.5 2018-10-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1539793455844-5Z78KITQYMJHDSRVBW2B/christmas+tree.jpg Blog - PSA For Church Folks As We Look Toward Christmas: https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/10/8/so-i-head-to-the-river monthly 0.5 2018-10-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1539013854438-XK85K8CBBQWOWHQ1TZYE/Au+Sable.JPG Blog - So I Head To The River https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/9/10/do-you-want-to-get-well monthly 0.5 2018-09-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1536601857681-PCPDPRLJ7GQ65N6OZMUJ/Cross+Hartwick.jpg Blog - Do You Want To Get Well? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1536601408296-8R6B1S468NEV1YSXP91H/Jeimer+Candelario+Walk+off.jpg Blog - Do You Want To Get Well? https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/8/27/what-pastors-do-in-the-dark monthly 0.5 2018-08-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1535390273693-DFLMJZ706T015VZOUJBX/Fail+Quote.jpg Blog - Shame, Isolation, and Pastoral Leadership https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/6/19/its-ok-to-be-afraid-its-not-ok-to-stay-there monthly 0.5 2018-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1529444164233-5HMLSRV1UTYF0MHVHR4G/Paco%27s+Tacos.JPG Blog - It's ok to be afraid; it's not ok to stay there. https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/5/26/culture-wars-and-the-way-of-jesus monthly 0.5 2018-05-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1527340329570-D3M339V2PI3HWFOC7SSI/2017-02-10+15.20.23.jpg Blog - Culture Wars and The Way of Jesus https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/5/5/four-years-youre-building-something monthly 0.5 2018-05-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1525546774611-HYO1L18YHGP960MV4JRB/Immeasurably+More+2.JPG Blog - Four Years (You're Building Something) https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2018/4/6/the-struggle-is-real monthly 0.5 2018-04-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1523042006116-039NYIZUZ69JBCVDM4NF/Rohr.PNG Blog - The Struggle Is Real I want to invite you into something that I wrestle with deeply in my heart on a weekly basis. It goes something like this: 1) I care deeply about the formation of people into citizens of the Kingdom of God, here on earth, just as it is in heaven. 2) I think it's possible, and actually our proper place in the created order, to seek after the Kingdom of God in the here and now, discern what God's Spirit is doing in and among us, and order our lives to join God in God's work of renewing and restoring all things. 3) That means how we spend our days, what we do for work, how we raise our children, how we pursue our marriages and relationships, how we use our money and resources, how we vote, how we treat our enemies, and how we organize our communities - these ALL have connections to how we live into our faith in the present moment of everyday. 4) Faith is NOT an abstraction, or simply something that is going on inside of me. If faith is to have any value at all, it MUST have bearing on our real lives. Faith must have a tangible expression in our everyday living, from what we buy, who we spend time with, where we work, and how we order everything else in our lives. 5) Why follow Jesus? I truly believe, as Andy Stanley says, that following Jesus will make your life better, and make you better at life. I think this is true no matter where you are in your faith journey. Jesus continues to invite you to follow after his Way, which is the most difficult way, but the most life-giving way too. 6) I'm a Pastor by vocation, so I spend my working life leading, organizing, and dreaming about new and old ways of invite those connected to my church community into a deeper, more holistic expression of faith in the world in which they live and move and spend their days. 7) I know for many people who were raised in the Church, being part of a local faith community as adults has become something that has fallen to the back burner. It is not a priority For some this is because of bad experiences, which I completely get as someone who has had bad experiences in the Church world. 8) Perhaps I'm really bad at this work (see number 5), but my general impression is that the majority of folks that I'm attempting to lead, especially those close to my age (20s-40s), are not that interested in being part of a church community that would, in my opinion, help them live more deeply into their faith in a holistic way, especially in their work, their marriages, their parenting, and their normal, everyday lives. 9) I'm not sure what to do about this (above), other than to continue to make the invitation clear that our church is FOR you, that we are working hard to make this a space and a people that values you, and that we think there is a place for you to belong here. 10) My hunch, as a 36-year-old parent of two young children, is that, for many of my peers, faith has become more and more a private expression and experience, therefore many folks simply don't see the need to be connected to a larger faith community or tradition. 11) The problem with that approach, in my view, is that it ignores the theological nature and the biblical imperative of Christianity being a communal activity or expression. Meaning, you can't be a Christian all by yourself. You can't be a Christian all alone in your head. You can THINK of yourself being a Christian, but you cannot fully PRACTICE Christianity as an isolated individual. Confession, reconciliation, hospitality, care of souls - all of this only works in the context of a faith community. 12) This quote from John Ortberg has startled me out of some of my thinking and, and it's working its way into my behavior too: "Again and again, as we pursue spiritual life, we must do battle with hurry. For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them." -John Ortberg 13) I don't want to skim my life, and I don't want you to skim your life either. I want you and I both to fully live our lives. 14) I believe many folks my age who will not commit to being part of a local church use a sort of logic that goes something like this: "I don't find the experience valuable, so I guess it's not for me." This is what I would call the mentality of a well-verse consumer. I get this, because I feel this way about so many things, including church at times. 15) But this mentality is allowing us to divorce ourselves from the community of Jesus followers that has planted itself in the middle of our lives. At the church I lead, we have done SO MUCH work over the past four years to create environments that are geared toward folks in my generation. We're continuing that work in earnest over the next two years. All that to say, we're creating a community that is FOR the missing generation, or two, that have walked away from the Church. 16) Here's my deeper concern: many of my peers are so addicted to busy and hurry, that the practice of being part of a local church is simply not high on the priority list. As a pastor to many folks in my age group, I see how busy your lives are. I feel that same weight of busyness too. 17) John Ortberg asked a mentor over 20 years ago what he needed to do to be spiritually healthy, that mentor (Dallas Willard, no less) told him one thing. What do you suppose that one thing was? Read your bible everyday? Pray everyday? Spend more time with your family? Go to church more often? Get involved in more causes? Give away your money? Volunteer your time more? Here's what Willard told Ortberg: "You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." That's it. Everything else can flow forth from that. It must flow forth from that. As a pastor, I want to invite you to live into this invitation today, and into this spring quarter. Perhaps there's something (or many things) you need to stop doing in order to do what's most important? Perhaps there are ways in which you want your life to look like, but you're choosing the easy path, the path of least resistance? As Richard Rohr says, "What are you going to do with your now resurrected life?" I pray that you'll slow down, so you can spend time listening to the Father, who is speaking to us, if we make space to listen. Will you pray this for me too? I pray that you'll choose to organize your life to be part of a local church. God is indeed doing something in the world, and often that something is centered in the Church. For all of it's foibiles, I'm still here, choosing to renew and reform from the inside. I'd love for you to join me in this work. And if you don't know where to begin, I can help with that. I am a pastor, after all, who dreams and leads on behalf of those who often can't see what God may be inviting them into. I can help. You have to make the first move though. See you Sunday. https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2017/11/1/the-most-difficult-path monthly 0.5 2017-11-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1509556382450-B84X40UPUHFJ04VMMT1W/Pike+Place.jpg Blog - The Most Difficult Path https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2017/9/9/the-way-its-always-been monthly 0.5 2017-09-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1504986390635-MFKFO13LJNET7LY050VH/liturgy+ordinary.jpg Blog - The Way It's Always Been https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2017/7/30/on-turning-36 monthly 0.5 2017-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1501427112393-62K67800WGBHAW2ZMH1Y/image-asset.jpeg Blog - On Turning 36 https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2017/5/29/paying-attention-to-my-life monthly 0.5 2017-05-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1496064559752-JZ8TLIRPQ7JUVA480M2C/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Paying Attention To My Life https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/2017/5/5/three-years monthly 0.5 2017-05-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1494017372724-DOG395G6K9KW8TAXTQ6D/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Three Years Three Years. Today marks three years since I began my role as Lead Pastor of Markey Church. When I stepped into this role, I had a lot of hope, a lot of ambition, a lot of idealism, and no idea what I was doing, or getting myself into. David Kinnaman from The Barna Group has identified one trait that is common among pastors who thrive over the long haul. That trait is resiliency. When I began my work at Markey Church, my resiliency muscle was pretty underdeveloped. I stepped into a faith community that had been led very well for 33 years by our previous pastor. Jim was and is an incredibly gifted pastor relationally, and he did an amazing job w/ our financial resources as well. His season of ministry fruitfulness was long, and abundant. He took a small, country church, and led those folks into a growing, community-oriented faith community that impacted hundreds of people over three decades. No small feat! But, like everything else in life, seasons come to and end. Jim knew that for Markey Church to thrive into the next season of life, his leadership needed to come to and end, so someone else could step in and lead the church in a new direction, with a new vision, in order to connect with new generations. Enter a 32-year-old me, armed w/ a small amount of experience, a couple degrees, and some big dreams. Over the past three years, I’ve worked with and led a large group of folks as we’ve changed virtually everything about who we are, and what we do, as a faith community, all while staying true to the specific ethos of who we’ve been for over 100 years. What I call, "A Church For The Sake Of Others." We’ve made A LOT of changes in the past three years. We’ve changed our kids ministry. We’ve changed our student ministry. We’ve changed our music. We’ve changed our atmosphere. We’ve changed our staffing structure. We’ve changed how we do pastoral care. We’ve changed how we engage w/ our community. We’ve changed how we spend time together on Sundays. We’ve changed how we spend time together on Monday-Saturday. We’ve changed how we give. We’ve changed virtually every ministry within our church. We’ve changed staff members. We’ve changed lay leaders. We’ve changed our communication strategy We’ve changed our assimilation process. You get the idea. We’ve changed…..everything. To say this has been difficult simply doesn’t capture the complexity of how change works, and what leading change in any organization, let alone a church, can do to one’s soul. Anytime change comes about in one’s life, we all experience that change as a form of loss. Even if the changes have the potential to benefit us in the long run, it still hurts. Change is painful. And as I’ve learned from Rob Bell and others, change = loss, loss = pain, pain = grief. If we don’t grieve the losses in our lives, that pain will continue to resurface in unexpected ways, over the course of our lives. I know this pain well. I know it in my own life, as I’ve had to embrace changes that came unexpectedly over the past three years (my Dad died five months into my time here, among other losses). And I know this pain in the lives of others. Often this pain from others has been directed at me in the form of harsh personal criticism, stubbornness, gossip, put-downs, insults, and the like. As they say, hurting people hurt people. And I’ve been both on the giving and receiving end of hurt. Many folks have been unhappy as a result of the changes I’ve led at Markey Church. Most of those folks have made their unhappiness clear to me. But many have been eager to embrace these changes too. Why? Because they see how, as a direct result of change, we’ve been able to help people in our broader community begin to know that God is FOR them, that God LOVES them, and that being part of the local church might just save their lives. I’ve seen people, over the last three years, come to know that God is FOR them because of the changes I and others have led at Markey Church. I’ve had people tell me they are now ready to say “yes" to following Jesus because of the way we’ve been able to communicate and demonstrate, through our church, how a relationship with God is accessible to them, even though they didn’t grow up in the church. I’ve seen people who thought they were far from God, realize that God is so much closer than they thought. And because we’ve made changes - because some of YOU have embraced these changes - many of these people now KNOW they can have a life marked by the Way of Jesus. I love telling that story. It's such a good one. As we continue to embrace change, there will inevitably be more. More people who come to know that God is FOR them. More Christians who begin to follow the Way of Jesus (lots of Christians need Jesus too). More brokenness made beautiful. And much more change. I know this because, 1) our community is full of brokenness, 2) God is all about taking broken things/people and making them beautiful once again. That’s what God does. And, 3) constant change is here to stay. We can either ignore it, until we explode, or we can embrace it. So has all the pain, all the heartache, all the loss and conflict and hurt people hurting people been worth it? Yes. Emphatically, yes! Have I made mistakes along the way. Yes. Emphatically, yes! But God has been growing within me a measure of resiliency that I’ve never known before. And that has made all the difference. I still cry at night, from time to time, because of all the hurt people who are hurting people. But that is happening far less these days. Also, I see a counselor, I take my days off to play with my family and have a life away from my church work, I see a spiritual director, and I’m slowly learning to care less about everything, and care more about the right things. The painting above was commissioned by my Wendy, and was made by our dear friend Phil Nellis. Phil titled this painting “Pastoral”, and it was a gift from my family to me as I embarked on this journey of leading Markey Church three years ago today. This painting still makes the blood rush around my body, and all kinds of emotions swell to a crescendo. It shows a small child, working with his Father, to help cultivate the land where new life can flourish. It depicts the church being the source of this life, where the Spirit of God waters the ground that the Father, with the “help” of the small child, has so lovingly tended. I am that child. I'm "helping" God do God's work. Isn't it sweet? As if God needs my help... I am but a child, playing at the pastoral vocation, mimicking my Father, who loves me more than I could ever imagine. This painting reminds me that I cannot force people to embrace change, or to grow. That I cannot force myself to grow either. This painting reminds me that my ONLY job is to work alongside of the Father, “helping” as a child does, working to create the right conditions where growth can happen. It is not my job to make people grow. To believe this is my job is idolatry. Only God can help people grow. That is what God’s Spirit does. My job is to create the right conditions, and then make the invitation. But people can always say “no” - that is their choice. So pastors, may you remember your calling, to cultivate the conditions where those under your care have the opportunity to choose to grow. People of God, may you know that your Heavenly Father has created the conditions you are in, because he loves you, and because there is an invitation on your life, to walk with God in relationship, even when things are terribly painful. People who are CONVINCED God is irrelevant - may you see the local Church in your specific community who is FOR you, and who desires to help you see that God is FOR you too. And may we all come to see ourselves as children in the garden, “helping” our Father tend to his beautiful creation. Row by row. Plant by plant. Person by person. Here’s to another three years. https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/tag/Church monthly 0.5 https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/tag/Ministry monthly 0.5 https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/tag/Cultivate+Cohort monthly 0.5 https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/news/tag/Pastoral monthly 0.5 https://www.davidwilliamrice.com/home daily 1.0 2025-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/1607361528178-Q31990W8SY2EWX0P00W4/profile+pic.jpg Home - Hi, I’m David. I’m here to help you on your journey toward healing, health, and wholeness. I do this through pastoring, writing, coaching, and leading retreats. If I can be of help to you, please reach out. 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If you have something you want to pursue next, but you aren’t quite sure how to get there, then Spiritual Leadership Coaching may be for you. I help people take their next step by gaining clarity in their lives, and then by working with them to design their life as they want it to be. I’ll walk with you as you explore past hurts, and help you create a plan to move into future healing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/536bb0b1e4b0098a7649bdd9/78b547b9-8f45-4d1f-9491-79d6fe385d4b/Annecy.jpg Coaching - Sabbatical Coaching Are you interested in taking a sabbatical, but not sure where to begin? I work with Christian leaders who need a break from the relentless pace of ministry to reconnect with God, others, and themselves. 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