On The Table

Hey church,

This weekend is Labor Day weekend, and it's also the last weekend of the month - the weekend that we typically don't gather for a worship service at Jammin' Java, but instead gather to help some friends - we call this "service-worship" or (following the Amish) a "barn raising".

This weekend will be no exception: No gathering at Jammin' Java, but we'll be lending a hand to the mighty mighty Chapmans (Becky, Ryan, Sophie, and Grant) who just bought a house (yeah!) to clean out their old condo (in Centreville) for renting and to move into their new place (in Chantilly)! There will be opportunities to help all (long) weekend long, from moving their stuff, to cleaning out their old place, to cleaning their new place, to taming the jungle in their new back yard. There are dozens of ways to help, so if you'd like to help, please contact us and we'll hook you up.

And that's it for next week, though next week includes a return to Karaoke at the Lamb Center (6:30pm Thursday) and a return to our series of worship services on the Psalms at Jammin' Java (10am Sunday). Please join us for any or all of these gatherings.

May these waning days of summer be warm and blessed!

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: Chapman, service-worship

Last weekend, I managed to indulge in both the camping trip and the pool party. Like a good father, I won't say which one I might have preferred, but I will say something noncommittal about the gorgeous weather in both the city and the country, and how fulfilling it was to just hang out with my CT peeps. If you weren't able to make it out to one or the other, I hope you at least had a nice reminder of the great importance of doing nothing.

This weekend, we're back to doing something:

On Thursday night from 6:30-8pm, we'll be piling into The Lamb Center for pizza, snacks, and Karaoke. Our energetic leader Martha is back from the beach, and says that the folks at TLC have been buzzing all week in anticipation!

This Sunday morning, we'll return to our regularly scheduled Psalm series at 10am at Jammin' Java. Stacy will be taking us on an inspiring journey to the heart of Psalm 66, and engaging us in a discussion around this audacious Psalm.

As the final weekend of the month, next weekend is our regular time to leave the comforts of Java and do a service project. It's also the anniversary of our church, which is a traditional time to eat outdoors and walk a labyrinth. So stay tuned to see if we can squeeze all of that into one (long) weekend, or if we'll need to stretch things out a bit.

Mike Stavlund

Labels: karaoke, labyrinth, lamb center, Psalms, service-worship

Hi church,

So this weekend's going to be an atypical one for us. (I think the last "typical" one was some time in late 2005, so hopefully this will not throw you off too much.)

First and foremost: we will NOT be gathering for worship at Jammin' Java this Sunday. If you go there anyway, please say hi to the staff, buy a tasty beverage, and sit down, relax, and enjoy it. Maybe pray a bit if you're so moved. If more than one person does this, then you've made the first sentence of this paragraph false. But in a good way. :-)

The "official" Common Table options for this weekend are twofold:

1) The third (?) annual Common Table Camping Trip will be hangin' from the trees Thursday the 14th through Sunday the 17th at Trout Pond Recreation Area in West Virginia - only about two hours from NoVA. Here are directions (scroll down to "Trout Pond"), and your best bet for finding us when you get there (where cell phones do not work) will be to look for the Croghan/Driskell station wagon (a blue Saturn with way too many bumper stickers). They have swimming and boating and hiking, it's a beautiful place amidst God's creation, and we'll just be having more fun than would be legal to have in suburbia. So come join us!

2) The other option will be a relaxed time of worship and fellowship at the Stavlunds' place, by the pool! Come at 10am Sunday for coffee, when Liz will lead us in a short look at a Psalm, and we'll do some swimming and lounging and then we'll grill up some food for lunch. Bring something to share, and something for the grill (there is a large refrigerator available, and the Stavs will provide beverages). Come to 3254 Valley Lane, Falls Church, VA 22044, and feel free to park in the driveway. Don't forget your bathing suit and towel. In case of inclement weather, we'll gather under the roof and watch it rain. In any event, we'll be having precisely as much fun as is legal in suburbia. :-)

Down the road, mark these dates: we will be gathering at Jammin' Java on the 4th Sunday in August (the 24th) for another in our current series on the Psalms, and our GNU Team will be leading us in a Service-worship project on the 5th Sunday, the 31st - but that's also Labor Day weekend and our church anniversary weekend, so keep your eye out for an announcement regarding our anniversary labyrinth service and celebration.

And that's it, I think. Hope you can join us for some relaxed enjoyment of God's gifts in creation and in one another this weekend!

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: camping, Psalms

Hey, Church--

Granted, August snuck up on us. And yes, Target is stocking school clothes and safety scissors aplenty. But Summer isn't over yet! We've got a few chances to squeeze a little more pleasure out of the season.

Karaoke is back, baby! Join our Lamb Center friends at 6:30 this Thursday for pizza, soft drinks, friendship, and klinky midi files set to random landscape backgrounds. It's a great time to laugh and connect and see God at work.

This Sunday, Amy and Pete and I will be doing our best to put the Psalms back to music, as we explore this ancient hymnal in our next installment of the Summer Psalm Series. Bring your singing voice, and a toe to tap, and maybe even a little passion, if you've got it. 10am, at Jammin' Java.

Next weekend, a bunch of CT folks will be driving on curvy roads two hours west to the cool mountains of West Virginia for several days of camping at Trout Pond. Several of us went last year and enjoyed two lakes, several hiking trails, and real bathrooms and hot showers, along with campfires and quiet and stars and coffee and food and all of the other pleasures that go along with camping. If you can make it any time between Thursday evening and Sunday, let us know so that we can save a spot for you.

Those of us who will be missing the camping trip have yet to decide if we'll muster around a more conventional worship service at Jammin' Java, or if we'll follow the leisurely example of the campers and plan to spend Sunday morning gathered around a swimming pool or some other venue of relaxation. Either way, we'll have an update and directions in this space next week.

Hope to see you soon,
Mike Stavlund

Labels: camping, karaoke, lamb center, Psalms