On The Table

Hey, Church--

Once again, we are enjoying one of those strange Common Table weekends where we kinda turn 'church' on its ear, to simultaneously give ourselves some rest and to challenge ourselves to put our words into action. If you haven't participated in this dance before, don't worry... I'll do my best to show you the steps.

Step One: we will NOT be meeting at Jammin' Java on Sunday morning. Or anywhere else, for that matter (though you can certainly get together with anyone you'd like ;-). Instead, you are encouraged to take this one Sunday each month to do something sabbathy and restful-- sleeping, eating pancakes, going for a walk, and reading the newspaper are all popular choices. Take a breath, shrug off that guilt, and enjoy your Sunday morning. Amen.

Step Two: we WILL be getting together, though. This month, we'll be joining The Amazing Martha at The Lamb Center, where we'll help with breakfast and cleaning and laundry, and where we'll be taking every opportunity to connect with these good folks who live outdoors and/or who are making huge transitions toward housing and employment. The Lamb Center is open from 8am to 12:30pm, and our team will be joining them for those hours (though if you'd like to come at 7 to help set up breakfast, you're welcome to do so). They've asked us to limit the size of our group, so if you're interested, please email the GNU Team so that we don't overwhelm them with our kindness! (If too many people sign up, we'll have an alternate service project.)

Step Three: after that project, anyone who's interested can join us at Mike and Tina's place for a little lunch and our Congregational Meeting. If you're interested in CT, we'd love to have you contribute as we update everyone on our community, and as we look toward our future together. These meetings have a very open format, though we do try to conclude them in 90 minutes or so. Hope to see you there.

Mike Stavlund

Labels: congregational meeting, lamb center, service-worship

Hello, Church:

He is (almost) Risen!

I just finished a great book in preparation for Easter, wherein a high-church, British Anglican takes Christians everywhere to task for their sedate celebrations of Easter. Rather than lighting a few candles, he commends the commissioning of every man, woman, and child with a candle, until the churches are luminous! Instead of a single morning of celebration, he wants to continue the party for days and weeks! He wants the celebration of Jesus' resurrection to overflow the confines of Easter and to change the very nature of our world.

Well, I can't promise any dancing in the aisles, but we're definitely going to pull out a few stops this Sunday. With the fasting and repenting and re:Lenting of the Lenten season behind us, we'll turn on the lights and spend some time reveling in the resurrection as we celebrate a unique 'Stations of the Resurrection' together. We've found (and adapted) a really interesting Catholic liturgy, and we'll be pairing it with music and visuals and other surprises for a rich experience of Easter. Hope to see you at Jammin' Java at 10.

On the following weekend, we'll be practicing resurrection as we step away from Jammin' Java and head over to the Lamb Center on Saturday morning to join with our friends there. We'll plan to have lunch together afterward, then have a Congregational Meeting during the early afternoon. Stay tuned for more details to follow about that Saturday from the GNU Team and the Leadership Team.

Eagerly,
Mike Stavlund

Labels: Easter, lamb center, service-worship

This weekend, we begin our final steps in this journey of Lent, as Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and the holiest week of the Christian year begins. This coming Sunday (10am at Jammin' Java), we'll gather for a Palm Sunday worship service that looks at Jesus' entry into the holy city, as well as several peculiar interactions between our Lord and fig trees. Please join us as we continue our Lenten journey in repenting of our safe and tame ideas about the Nazarene.


As Holy Week continues, we aren't planning any specifically Common Table gatherings for Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, but if you're looking for a deeper experience of Jesus' journey from Palm Sunday to Calvary to the great reversal of his Resurrection, let me know - as our resident (Anglo-)catholic, I can hook you up with some options for liturgical worship.


Looking further out, the last weekend in March will bring us our monthly service-worship (it sounds like we'll be working with our friends at the Lamb Center - stay tuned for deets from the GNU Team) as well as a congregational meeting to discuss, among other things, what God is calling is to do with this newly debt-free community of ours.


Peace,

Labels: congregational meeting, Holy Week, service-worship

Hey, Church--

First of all, let me remind you of the tragic news that we will lose an hour between Saturday and Sunday. Spring forward, change your clock, and kick yourself out of bed, and all of that.

Motivation, is that what you need? A reason, perchance, to bid your pillow adieu and go to Jammin' Java on Sunday morning? Well, we've got three reasons, and they're really good ones:

1. The Cobalt Season will be joining us all the way from California, playing some of their great folk/alt/rock tunes and helping us to see our world a little more clearly.

2. We're continuing our re:Lent series, letting Jesus deconstruct us through his parables. This week, we'll be looking at the stark Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, and the combination of this counter-cultural teaching with the music of Cobalt Season will be incendiary, indeed.

3. As we continue to forgo our usual lunch comforts during Lent, we'll be having some Stone Soup at Israel's place in Arlington, the famous Culpeper House (2428 S. Culpeper St Arlington, VA 22206 - note that Google Maps is wrong: 25th street doesn't touch Rt. 7; take Chesterfield instead). Please bring something from your refrigerator or cupboard to contribute.

Can't wait,
Mike Stavlund