On The Table

Give thanks to God!

Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the
fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those
who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of
your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and
the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
(from the collect for Thanksgiving Day,
Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church)

Nothing going on this weekend except time with family and time to be thankful for our many blessings! Since family most definitely includes our church family, please let us know if you're planning any opportunities for fellowship.

In particular, we will not be gathering at Jammin' Java this Sunday. Our monthly service-worship this month was combined with our All-Ages service, which centered on blessing others as we've been blessed. (And it sounds like our friend-families were as happy to receive their Thanksgiving baskets as we - Commoners of all ages - were to assemble them!)

This Sunday, however, does officially begin the Church season of Advent, in which we await the second coming of our Lord as we remember, with anticipation, his first incarnation at Christmas. In December, we'll be entering into this expectant season with a trio of different worship services, a chance to serve beyond our community, and, of course, the annual CT Christmas party! Stay tuned for deets!

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: Advent, Thanksgiving

This weekend is our church retreat! We'll be kickin' back, fellowshippin', and (for the bold) braving the outdoor hot tub. You're still invited! Let us know if you want to come!

(Please note: This means we will not be gathering at Jammin' Java on Sunday morning.)

But first - don't miss our LAST karaoke night for this year at the Lamb Center on Thursday, November 20th! We need to take a break until spring, because area churches will begin hosting homeless folks to protect them from the cold winter weather. So bring your best voice and your clearest eyes to see God at work, from 6:30 to 8pm.

And that's it! See you in the jacuzzi!

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: karaoke, lamb center, retreat

This Sunday morning, 10am at Jammin' Java, we'll be treated to the unveiling of a new initiative at Common Table: The All Ages Service! (We'll be having one approximately every other month.) A crack team have been collaborating to bring a full-featured worship experience that will be accessible to all ages. They've been a little secretive regarding details, but we have reason to believe we'll see some fresh liturgy and hand-crafted visuals and stories and an engaging project to enact, plus a whole lot more. So bring your kids and/or your own inner child and let's see what we can learn and create together.

Next Thursday (November 20), we will be gathering at the Lamb Center for the LAST karaoke night of this year, as area churches will begin hosting homeless folks to protect them from the cold winter weather. So bring your best voice and your clearest eyes to see God at work, from 6:30 to 8pm.

Finally, we will NOT be meeting at Jammin' Java next Sunday, as the 2008 Common Table retreat will be held November 21st-23rd. You're invited! If you wanna come, let us know, pronto!

See you soon,
Mike Stavlund

Labels: all ages, karaoke, lamb center, retreat

Hi church,

Well, if you made it to one or more of our gatherings this past weekend, I hope you had as much of a blessed blast as I did! Cox Farms Pumpkin Fest with a whole mess of kids (most of whom wouldn't have been able to go without the help of our fine friends at FACETS), a spooky Halloween party at the haunted Tennyson Manor, and finally an awesome collaborative All Saints service at Church in Bethesda with saints from a variety of local communities. It was a God-blessed weekend full of friends!

And we have more opportunities this week to bless others, enjoy friends, and praise God, starting with karaoke night at The Lamb Center (6:30 - 8pm on Thursday) - limber up your vocal cords and prepare to join friends old and new, in all kids of life circumstances, in songs of thankfulness and celebration. Possibly to include something by Rick Astley. But it's all good, really.

Then, on Friday, a bunch of us are road trippin' to Philly for the Emergent Mid-Atlantic Conference, featuring the Irish theologian/community-practitioner/provocateur Pete Rollins. The conference is taking place all day Saturday, and it's not too late to join this wagon train, so let us know if you want to hop aboard.

Those of us who are in town Sunday morning will be coming together at 10am at Jammin' Java for one of our new "simple" worship services. This service will be simple indeed, the idea being that all we really need to worship God together are two things: us, and the Holy Spirit. In this case, we'll gather for a contemplative time of Lectio Divina, followed by Holy Eucharist.

And that's the plan for this week. Finally, don't forget that the 2008 Common Table retreat is coming right up, November 21st-23rd. You're invited! If you wanna come, let us know, pronto!

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: conference, karaoke, lamb center, simple