On The Table
The Weekly Announcement of Common Table ChurchTuesday, November 27, 2007
November 26 through December 2
I'm not liturgically reared or inclined, so the Christmas season-- er, I mean Advent-- still seems a little strange to me. I'm told that Advent is a penitential season, and so it's considered inappropriate to begin the celebration of Jesus' birth until the actual holiday is upon us. Until then, it's to be a time of waiting for Jesus, and all that he brought, and all that we're still waiting for him to bring.
Which is a pretty nice way to do Chris... --Advent, I must say. I cheat a little, to be honest (it was fun to listen to some Christmas songs at the Peruvian Chicken spot where my daughter and I had lunch yesterday, for example). But focusing on Jesus, and remembering the generations of longing that preceded his arrival is a very good practice.
At Common Table, we'll be doing our best to help in this regard. We'll have some daily meditations going out on our Core List (contact the iTeam if you'd like to be added to that busy email list). They're wordless cartoons to spur thought and to perhaps provide a way to talk to your kids about the holiday (we've got some nice tie-ins to use with the kids on Sundays, too).
On Sunday mornings, our friend Ryan P. will be leading us through a fascinating comparison of the legendary birth narratives of Caesar Augustus, and the parallels we find there to the Biblical account of Jesus' birth. It promises to be a great lens through which we can see how our own waiting for the traditional Advent themes of Hope, Peace, and Joy is both fulfilled and piqued by Jesus. Join us if you can for the next three weeks at Jammin' Java.
Please mark your calendars for the annual Christmas Party and its attendant non-competitive competitions related to chili, gingerbread, and whatever else we can throw on the fire. This is a great time to hang out, to catch up, and to see the old friends who always seem to drop by. We'll be holding it again at the Fairfax Railroad Museum on the evening of Sunday, December 16.
We're also excited to be joining forces with our friends at Fairlington Presbyterian Church and some other kindred congregations on December 23 for a Christmas Service. We'll have more details as the planning for the service develops, but if you'll be in the area for the holiday, plan to turn out for this great partnership with our friends Matt and Jan.
Wishing you fruitful waiting and fulfillment this Advent,
Mike Stavlund
P.S. from the other Mike - the one who is liturgically reared and inclined - there is a Christmas season too; it starts on 25 December and lasts for 12 days (hence the song about lords-a-leaping and French hens and whatnot). But I also cheat during Advent, and will be busting out the Christmas tunes to decorate the tree this weekend. :-)
And after that there's a season called Epiphany, but that's another story....
Which is a pretty nice way to do Chris... --Advent, I must say. I cheat a little, to be honest (it was fun to listen to some Christmas songs at the Peruvian Chicken spot where my daughter and I had lunch yesterday, for example). But focusing on Jesus, and remembering the generations of longing that preceded his arrival is a very good practice.
At Common Table, we'll be doing our best to help in this regard. We'll have some daily meditations going out on our Core List (contact the iTeam if you'd like to be added to that busy email list). They're wordless cartoons to spur thought and to perhaps provide a way to talk to your kids about the holiday (we've got some nice tie-ins to use with the kids on Sundays, too).
On Sunday mornings, our friend Ryan P. will be leading us through a fascinating comparison of the legendary birth narratives of Caesar Augustus, and the parallels we find there to the Biblical account of Jesus' birth. It promises to be a great lens through which we can see how our own waiting for the traditional Advent themes of Hope, Peace, and Joy is both fulfilled and piqued by Jesus. Join us if you can for the next three weeks at Jammin' Java.
Please mark your calendars for the annual Christmas Party and its attendant non-competitive competitions related to chili, gingerbread, and whatever else we can throw on the fire. This is a great time to hang out, to catch up, and to see the old friends who always seem to drop by. We'll be holding it again at the Fairfax Railroad Museum on the evening of Sunday, December 16.
We're also excited to be joining forces with our friends at Fairlington Presbyterian Church and some other kindred congregations on December 23 for a Christmas Service. We'll have more details as the planning for the service develops, but if you'll be in the area for the holiday, plan to turn out for this great partnership with our friends Matt and Jan.
Wishing you fruitful waiting and fulfillment this Advent,
Mike Stavlund
P.S. from the other Mike - the one who is liturgically reared and inclined - there is a Christmas season too; it starts on 25 December and lasts for 12 days (hence the song about lords-a-leaping and French hens and whatnot). But I also cheat during Advent, and will be busting out the Christmas tunes to decorate the tree this weekend. :-)
And after that there's a season called Epiphany, but that's another story....
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
November 19th thru 25th
Dear church,
Be thankful!
Love,
Mike, Dee, and Mike
(Have a great holiday, enjoy family and friends, and thank God! See you in Advent.)
Be thankful!
Love,
Mike, Dee, and Mike
(Have a great holiday, enjoy family and friends, and thank God! See you in Advent.)
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
November 12 through 18
Dear Church--
Once again, in our semi-regular way, we're going off the grid over the next couple of weeks, to keep our life together non-routinized, and to focus on relationships within our body and service to our neighbor.
This weekend, November 16-18, we'll be away at our annual retreat, and so not meeting at Jammin' Java. But we won't be far, so if you're in the area, please stop by Algonkian Park in Sterling, VA to hang out in one of the cottages. We'll be there from Friday evening until 11am on Sunday, eating and walking and sleeping and staring at the Potomac and doing life together. It'd be great to have you join us.
Due to the upcoming holiday weekend, we've moved up our regular service-worship project to this Friday night, when we'll be assembling some yummy Thanksgiving food baskets (thoughtfully delivered in multi-functional laundry baskets!) for some local families. We may also make a couple of extra pies for our own consumption (call it quality control!).
Tonight (Wednesday the 14th), a bunch of us will be gathering at The Lamb Center, a daytime gathering point for the homeless and those in transition. Martha and Jay are rallying folks to bring a fun night of Karaoke for our friends there between 6:30 and 8pm, and your voice is needed! Plenty of parking is available at the Asian market a couple of doors down, or across the street at The Home Depot. It's the next best thing to American Idol, and you just might spot Jesus there.
Okay, I need to get back to serenading my daughter with my set list for tonight, and with excitedly plotting our menu for a couple of meals this weekend. Hope you're doing the same...
Mike Stavlund
Once again, in our semi-regular way, we're going off the grid over the next couple of weeks, to keep our life together non-routinized, and to focus on relationships within our body and service to our neighbor.
This weekend, November 16-18, we'll be away at our annual retreat, and so not meeting at Jammin' Java. But we won't be far, so if you're in the area, please stop by Algonkian Park in Sterling, VA to hang out in one of the cottages. We'll be there from Friday evening until 11am on Sunday, eating and walking and sleeping and staring at the Potomac and doing life together. It'd be great to have you join us.
Due to the upcoming holiday weekend, we've moved up our regular service-worship project to this Friday night, when we'll be assembling some yummy Thanksgiving food baskets (thoughtfully delivered in multi-functional laundry baskets!) for some local families. We may also make a couple of extra pies for our own consumption (call it quality control!).
Tonight (Wednesday the 14th), a bunch of us will be gathering at The Lamb Center, a daytime gathering point for the homeless and those in transition. Martha and Jay are rallying folks to bring a fun night of Karaoke for our friends there between 6:30 and 8pm, and your voice is needed! Plenty of parking is available at the Asian market a couple of doors down, or across the street at The Home Depot. It's the next best thing to American Idol, and you just might spot Jesus there.
Okay, I need to get back to serenading my daughter with my set list for tonight, and with excitedly plotting our menu for a couple of meals this weekend. Hope you're doing the same...
Mike Stavlund
Labels: Jesus, lamb center, retreat, service-worship
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
November 5 through 11
Dear Church:
I hope you can join us this Sunday, as we conclude our series on 'Context and Community' by looking at L'Arche (French for 'The Ark'), a network of communities which serve adults with developmental disabilities. One of the many things to learn from and love about them is their upside-down structure: the disabled adults are called 'Core Members', and those who serve them are called 'Assistants'. And though they have much success at helping their Core Members find a fuller life, what they seem to spend much more time talking about is how transformative the experience is for those who come to 'help'.
We're especially honored to be joined by Jen's friend, Mandy, who is an Assistant at L'Arche of DC. She'll be sharing about her experience there over the past two years.
I hope you can join us this Sunday, as we conclude our series on 'Context and Community' by looking at L'Arche (French for 'The Ark'), a network of communities which serve adults with developmental disabilities. One of the many things to learn from and love about them is their upside-down structure: the disabled adults are called 'Core Members', and those who serve them are called 'Assistants'. And though they have much success at helping their Core Members find a fuller life, what they seem to spend much more time talking about is how transformative the experience is for those who come to 'help'.
We're especially honored to be joined by Jen's friend, Mandy, who is an Assistant at L'Arche of DC. She'll be sharing about her experience there over the past two years.
For your own chance at upside-down living, come out next Wednesday the 14th, to join the mighty Martha (and the team she and several other Commoners lead) for the second ever Karaoke Night at The Lamb Center (Fairfax county's only daytime homeless shelter), from 6:30 - 8pm. Last month's event was full of song, joy, and the presence of Christ, as Lamb Center clients and teen and adult volunteers alike got in touch with their inner ham. Don't miss it!
Next weekend, we're off to our church retreat. There's still room, especially if you're one of the readers of this email who has yet to join us in actual, physical time and space--it'd be a great time to get to know us, and vice versa. Please make out a check for $50 per person (kids are free) to the church, and prepare to be dazzled by my Swedish pancakes ;-).
Stavlund
(that's Swedish for ski-bush)
Next weekend, we're off to our church retreat. There's still room, especially if you're one of the readers of this email who has yet to join us in actual, physical time and space--it'd be a great time to get to know us, and vice versa. Please make out a check for $50 per person (kids are free) to the church, and prepare to be dazzled by my Swedish pancakes ;-).
Stavlund
(that's Swedish for ski-bush)
Labels: context, karaoke, lamb center, retreat
Thursday, November 1, 2007
October 29 thru November 4
Hi church,
Whoopsy - this week's update is going out a bit late - sorry!! Thankfully, the Wiser Mike put just about everything you need to know in last week's update. So here's the scoop, with some added details.
Our friends Ryan and Holly Sharp (aka, The Cobalt Season) are currently touring the country in their Prius (with their one-year-old!). They'll be doing a house show in DC on Friday, November 2 at 8pm. It promises to be a soul-stirring night of great music, and a chance to connect with interesting people from around the Metro area.
Saturday, November 3: We'll be hosting several FACETS families on a trip to Cox Farms from 10am to 2pm. It'll be the annual weekend of post-Halloween Pumpkin Madness, so you won't want to miss the big, splattery mess. Fun for the kids and the young-at-heart. We'll be meeting at the Breezeway Motel in Fairfax to pick up our guests ay 9:30 Saturday morning, and driving to Cox Farms in Centreville. We'll hang out (enjoying the Cox Farms activities, each other's company, and some bag lunches we'll bring) until 2pm, and then head back to Fairfax to drop off our guests. If you can help with transportation, please let Israel know (540-287-4154) ASAP.
Sunday, November 4, we'll be meeting at Jammin' Java to join Kriss and Ben Buss on an exploration of Holden Village for our current series on Christian communities and cultural context. Also: It's "Wear Your Boots to Church" week. Why? Don't ask me. Ask iPete.
Finally, a reminder:
November 16-18 - Common Table Retreat: Cost will be $50/adult, payable to the church (please write a separate check, as the retreat will not be tax-deductible).
I think that's all the news fit for pixels. Hope you had an appropriately spooky All Hallows' Eve, and may all saints - and all souls - be blessed this week.
Peace!
- Mike (Croghan)
Whoopsy - this week's update is going out a bit late - sorry!! Thankfully, the Wiser Mike put just about everything you need to know in last week's update. So here's the scoop, with some added details.
Our friends Ryan and Holly Sharp (aka, The Cobalt Season) are currently touring the country in their Prius (with their one-year-old!). They'll be doing a house show in DC on Friday, November 2 at 8pm. It promises to be a soul-stirring night of great music, and a chance to connect with interesting people from around the Metro area.
Saturday, November 3: We'll be hosting several FACETS families on a trip to Cox Farms from 10am to 2pm. It'll be the annual weekend of post-Halloween Pumpkin Madness, so you won't want to miss the big, splattery mess. Fun for the kids and the young-at-heart. We'll be meeting at the Breezeway Motel in Fairfax to pick up our guests ay 9:30 Saturday morning, and driving to Cox Farms in Centreville. We'll hang out (enjoying the Cox Farms activities, each other's company, and some bag lunches we'll bring) until 2pm, and then head back to Fairfax to drop off our guests. If you can help with transportation, please let Israel know (540-287-4154) ASAP.
Sunday, November 4, we'll be meeting at Jammin' Java to join Kriss and Ben Buss on an exploration of Holden Village for our current series on Christian communities and cultural context. Also: It's "Wear Your Boots to Church" week. Why? Don't ask me. Ask iPete.
Finally, a reminder:
November 16-18 - Common Table Retreat: Cost will be $50/adult, payable to the church (please write a separate check, as the retreat will not be tax-deductible).
I think that's all the news fit for pixels. Hope you had an appropriately spooky All Hallows' Eve, and may all saints - and all souls - be blessed this week.
Peace!
- Mike (Croghan)
Labels: context, service-worship
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