Monday evening we worshipped with the Festival Church, at the Festival Center down the street. The Festival Center houses various ministries, including the School of Servant Leadership, which is in summer recession, and the Spiritual Support Groups that I shall mention later. The Festival Church has seven active members.... remember membership requires commitment to tithe, be active in a mission group, and to undertake personal spiritual disciples. There were about 15 people worshipping that evening, including three children. The worship was very similar to the other churches we'd attended. Each of the seven members takes a turn at preaching or providing a preacher on a rotating basis. The service is very personal and prayerful. Festival church has some great musicians who brought the group in to the different parts of the service with sung responses and invitations. They also serve communion every time, and have a children's sermon and church school class. This group is presently going through a discernment process of seeking to discover God's call to them now. Past ministries they've had have changed with the changing demographics of their group. As usual, they were very gracious and welcoming to us.
Tuesday morning we ventured two doors down from Andrew's House to Jubilee Jobs. There was already a line up of people waiting for the doors to open. We were ushered in with all of them and invited to be seated in the waiting room. Most of the folks were there for the last session of their orientation to the program. Some were being sent out to job interviews. The program, which has been placing people successfully in entry level jobs since the 1980's has more applicants then ever before. People are guaranteed job placement if they can comply with the strict rules. They must attend all of the orientation sessions, work with a job counselor, and show up on time, dressed for success. (We were on time, though not dressed for success.) The next morning we got an interview with the director of the program, Terry. She has been with Jubilee Jobs since its beginning. They started with just a desk and a phone and now have their own building, and 12 employees. It is a busy and popular place. There is a minister in Portland that we know that has also visited this project, thinking it is something that might be replicated there. We will take the information we have back and see what comes of it.
Wednesday evening I went back to Seeker's church to learn about creating liturgy with the Celebration Circle there. Before I went, Paul and I attended worship at the Potter's House with the Potter's House and the Jubilee Churches. Actually, it was impossible for us to tell who belonged to which church. This church service was run much like the other churches; prayerful and meaningful. However, what was different was the mix of people. It was not predominately white as the others. There also were people of different mental abilities and disabilities. It occurred to us that this was more like the early churches in the bible... people from many different nationalities and walks of life. Everyone was encouraged to participate, and many did in their unique ways. The sermon was more of a discussion by the group. (There must have been about 25 people there. It gradually filled up as the service progressed.) The leader read the lectionary gospel reading, and then asked the people to respond to it. There wasn't a lot of liturgy, and there was little planning. In contrast, I spent the rest of the evening doing some serious liturgy creation with the seekers. The the two groups are quite a contrast liturgically, but the vitality of their worship is similar.
Thursday evening, we attended the Spiritual Support Groups at the Festival Center. Spiritual Support Groups are a ministry of a brand new church, the Church of Christ Right Now. The groups are intended to be multiracial and multicultural. Many of the participants are recruited from the Jubilee Jobs applicants. Many of them are ex offenders who face additional difficulties in finding jobs because of prison records. (many of them are black men.) The groups are run sort of like AA groups, except that they are centered on Jesus Christ instead of a "higher power." It was really quite amazing to sit down with folks that I wouldn't normally be sitting down with, to share deep and personal things. For those who choose to stay in these groups over time, very close relationships have been developed among very different kinds of people. The Church of Christ Right Now wants to continue in some way to be an advocate and partner with ex offenders. It will be interesting to see what becomes of that calling in the future.
Friday evening was "Open Mike" night at Potter's House. We hadn't planned to go to it but a woman we met there last week contacted me and invited us to come, because she was planning to read some of her poetry. We we had a great time. There was an assortment of musicians and poets that took their turns performing. Each was enthusiastically encouraged. We were actually among the few attendees who didn't perform. There seemed to be a number of people who come and perform each month and so they know each other pretty well. As we enjoyed the evening's entertainment, the skies just opened up and poured down rain for about a half an hour, clearing out the mugginess of the last couple of days. By the time the entertainment ended at 9:30 p.m. the sidewalks had already dried off.
We've been sight seeing every day in addition to Church of the Savior activities. We've been to the National Museum of American History, The National Portrait Gallery, and the National Art Gallery, the National Museum of Natural History...not even covering all of the exhibits. We also finally went out to dinner for our anniversary, at a nearby Belgium crepe/beer place, which was delightful. There's still a million more eateries to try. I've walked through the zoo several mornings and just love being there with the animals minus the crowds. Today I connected with the gorrillas, the pink flamingos, and the bald eagles. There's always something new to discover there.
It sounds like we've been really busy, but the pace is really quite leisurely for us. One of the best lessons I've enjoyed learning on this sabbatical is how NOT to hurry! I hope this is a lesson that stays with me for a long long time.
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