On The Table

It's getting spooky out there. Isn't it? No? Then I suppose you don't know about what's happening this weekend:

BOO! No worship service at Jammin' Java this Sunday! (Aaaagh! Scarey! Well, no, actually, that's what we always do on the last Sunday of a month.)

GROAN! The March to Keep Fear Alive on Saturday on the National Mall! (Too terrifying? Prefer calm and level-headedness? Then consider the Rally to Restore Sanity instead!) If you want to meet up with the fairly large group of CT folk who are attending these, and you're not on the Core List (our internal email group), please contact us and we'll hook you up.

HOWL! The awesome Halloween Party at Mike and Tina's Haunted Mansion on Sunday! If you're reading this, you're invited - but please RSVP so we don't mistake you for a roaming zombie. Here are more deets on the party:

• Adults and kids of all ages are welcome! You can trick-or-treat in our neighborhood if you want.
• Costumes are strongly encouraged. Dooo eeet! (But if you're really too shy, of course you're still more than welcome.)
• Please bring some kind of food or beverage to share. (We'll provide yummy stuff too!)
• Show up any time between 5pm and 10pm - it's OK to leave early or come late.
• There will be karaoke for those who dig that.
• VERY IMPORTANT: everyone old enough to use one safely should bring a hand-held garden tool of their choice. We will not tell you why. It's a sekrit.
• Y'all come, and get yer spook on, yo!

Trick-or-treat safely, kids!

Peace,

Mike Croghan

Church,

Next weekend we will not be meeting at Jammin' Java on Sunday. Instead, in our tradition of Service Worship, we will come together on Saturday, October 23rd to serve at the Laurel Learning Center in Reston, VA, in partnership with Reston Interfaith. Our church has worked with Reston Interfaith in the past and are thankful once again to come alongside them in their vision of helping "clients build more stable lives by connecting them to vital resources that solve their needs for housing, childcare, food or financial assistance."

We will start out with a short service (geared toward the kids, but all are welcome) and then finish up with a reflection after the painting activity, the goal of which is to engage our children and help them to understand that they are following in Jesus' way through this service. Children are especially encouraged to participate in this activity, as we enter into this type of worship together as a community.

Throughout the years at Common Table, we have had different models of service worship. We do not wish to limit ourselves to supporting one organization, so please do continue to look for ways and ideas of your own as you cross paths with those who may be in need. We as a church would like to come together to help you help others you may have a relationship with. Doing so has both created and deepened relationships over the years: Hamida and Hassan come to mind, TJ and her family (they have since moved out of the area), as well as several others. So let's always be looking to connect our church's resources (financial, friendship, and otherwise) to the needs of the people in our everyday lives.

Please join us!

Since we will be there over lunchtime, we may order pizza together, so bring a couple dollars to chip in for some pizza, or pack a lunch of your own.

Thanks, and we hope to see you on Saturday!

Jackie (for the Kids Team)

Have you ever noticed that we usually make some comment about the weather in these updates? I guess we're making smalltalk. Or we're making grand theological statements about God's power and beauty being made manifest in creation. Or both. *shrug*

Anyway, it's been gorgeous out lately, no?

Now that we've got that out of the way...please join us on Sunday at 10am at Jammin' Java, as we gather (finally!) to liturgically celebrate the gifts Jackie and Amy are bringing to our community in their new(ish) roles as members of the Leadership Team. We also plan to take the opportunity to explore one of the only foundational documents for Common Table, our Heart Document. What is (or should be) the role of these values in shaping our community? And vice-versa - how might the community we have now become re-shape this statement of values? We hope that you can be present to lend your heart and voice to this service!

And that's all I've got for this week - stay tuned in coming days and weeks for news of exciting developments with the kids of our community...service-worship projects...parties...and more!

Peace,

Mike Croghan

So they say this weekend is going to be full of that Awesome Sauce species of perfect fall weather. I think we'd better enjoy it.

To that end, a bunch of us are planning a trip to the Maryland Renaissance Festival on Saturday. It's about an hour away in eastern MD, and it's not so cheap ($18 for adults, $8 for 7-15-year-olds). But there will be feasting and revelry, so if you want to join us, shoot me an email. Huzzah!

Then, on Sunday morning, please join us for our worship service at 10am at Jammin' Java, as we engage with the readings from this week's Revised Common Lectionary. As was the case last week, the psalm (Psalm 66) is rather challenging, and there are a number of hard questions presented by these readings. So come help us dig in, and we'll see what we find. Also, The Mighty Craig has rebooted our tradition of 9:30am Club worship music before the service - so if you feel moved to join us at 9:30 and help make (or just enjoy) the joyful noise, you are most welcome.

And that's all I got - but, like I said, let's get out there and enjoy the gifts of this potentially perfect (weather-wise, anyway) weekend.

Peace,

Mike Croghan

Well, it feels like maybe Fall is finally here (knocks on imitation wood grain), which is good, because 95+F degree heat in September is bad, but in October it would just be STUPID.

Speaking of global warming, it's only 9 days until 10-10-10, which means only 9 days until 350.org's Global Work Day. As of right now, there are 5593 events registered in 183 countries, and quite a few in the DC/Northern Virginia area. Regardless of your political affiliation or personal stance on global warming, these events tend to be targeted at care of shared spaces and are a great way to get to know folks in your community. Please consider signing up!

And speaking of big, unpleasant things about which it is easy to get depressed, our gathering (on Sunday at 10am at Jammin' Java) will focus on this week's lectionary readings (from the Revised Common Lectionary, in case anyone was feeling a sudden panic that we may have become Captive to Rome), starting with chipper sentiments of Psalm 137. Come ready to listen, engage, and react (and if you want to read ahead, we're using the Habakkuk passage for the second reading, because it's just fun to say "Habakkuk". Seriously. Try it.).

Afterwards we will adjourn to Chipotle as per usual, where everyone will get a 10% discount for saying "Habakkuk" to the person at the checkout (not really, but we wish that were true).

Hope to see you this Sunday!

Snuggles,

Moff