This morning at FC of the BH we had breakfast. It's only our second one ever, so I counted heads. There were about 25 people all told.
Mostly guys, one family of 4. Some of the guys work as roofers, some as chicken catchers, some are on disability pensions, a few on welfare and working odd jobs when the opportunity arises.
To feed our flock, we went through (if I remember correctly)
So I tried to beg off breakfast, but the consensus was that if I wasn't going to be there, it wouldn't work. We actually talked about postponing it til next week. Fortunately, it turned out that Mr. Claiborne was also speaking in the evening. (We just got home. It was very good.)
I have to say that throughout the day when we were trying to resolve this, I kept thinking how weird it would be to be sitting there in a pew, hearing Shane telling me that I should be serving the poor and pursuing justice which is exactly what I would have been doing if I wasn't sitting there in a pew listening to Shane telling me that I should. It's the kind of logic disconnect that Captain Kirk used to use to make the evil computer go insane and blow up.
So, close call.
Anyway, church was kind of cool. Very low key, but there was a glorious undertone of hope. We only sang a few songs (Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart, Battlehymn of the Republic, Bridge Over Troubled Water and an impromptu duet on Desperado). We started reading through the book of Mark.
We talked about gratitude and how important it is to remember to be thankful for the good stuff. 'Cause there's always good stuff.
One person said how cool it was to be getting up early and turning on their rent-to-own computer, to get on the MSN chat thing, reconnecting with an estranged daughter before she goes to school in the morning. A huge answered prayer.
E.'s ceiling has been put together again and several people have had good news of one kind or another. Somebody said, "It's going to be a good summer."
We remembered to pray for M. and M. They're a couple who are looking for housing. They've been bunking in with a friend who lives in one room for the last several weeks, since the motel they were living at kicked them out because fishing season starts soon and the tourists are willing to pay more than M. and M. were able.
The note of hope, I think, started at Dinner on Wednesday. I was sitting with a friend on the stoop after Dinner listening while she told me that she was probably going to be moving. To a town half an hour away. A fresh start. She's had some obligations to meet here and now that's coming to an end and she wants to put the past behind her.
She said how good it is to have her faith back again. It had always been there, she said, buried under addictions, but now she has it back.
So when she needed to make a decision, she'd take her Bible, and her tunes and head for the beach. In order to get there she'd have to walk through a neighbourhood she knows a little too well. So she'd hold her Bible close to her chest, crank her tunes, put on her shades and start for the beach. Sometimes she'd have to go a block or two out of her way to avoid a driveway where she knew stuff was going on, but she'd fix her eyes on that glimpse of the blue of the lake and just head straight for it. No eye contact with anybody, no talking to anybody, no stopping.
"Just stay focussed", she said.
And that's just what she's done. She's stayed focussed.
She's been what she doesn't want to be and she's becoming what she does want to be. She's done every little difficult thing she's had to do to get from where she was to where she is. She's done the work, jumped through the hoops, had the conversations, freed herself from the unhealthy and feasted on the good. She'll tell anybody who'll listen how good God has been to her and how much he's done for her. She's been strong at the right times and weak at the right times.
The distance she's come since I've known her is freakin' amazing and I have nothing but admiration for her.
She's become the most beautiful example of God's redeeming work I've ever known. If she moves, I'll miss her. But her story's become part of me now and I'm grateful.
r
Mostly guys, one family of 4. Some of the guys work as roofers, some as chicken catchers, some are on disability pensions, a few on welfare and working odd jobs when the opportunity arises.
To feed our flock, we went through (if I remember correctly)
- 3 dozen muffins
- 2 1/2 loaves of toast and jam
- 30 or 40 pancakes
- 4 litres of orange juice
- a 9 x 13 x 3 inch casserole dish of hashbrowns
- 18 cinnamon buns
- 1 large assorted fresh fruit platter
- 6 dozen scrambled eggs.
So I tried to beg off breakfast, but the consensus was that if I wasn't going to be there, it wouldn't work. We actually talked about postponing it til next week. Fortunately, it turned out that Mr. Claiborne was also speaking in the evening. (We just got home. It was very good.)
I have to say that throughout the day when we were trying to resolve this, I kept thinking how weird it would be to be sitting there in a pew, hearing Shane telling me that I should be serving the poor and pursuing justice which is exactly what I would have been doing if I wasn't sitting there in a pew listening to Shane telling me that I should. It's the kind of logic disconnect that Captain Kirk used to use to make the evil computer go insane and blow up.
So, close call.
Anyway, church was kind of cool. Very low key, but there was a glorious undertone of hope. We only sang a few songs (Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart, Battlehymn of the Republic, Bridge Over Troubled Water and an impromptu duet on Desperado). We started reading through the book of Mark.
We talked about gratitude and how important it is to remember to be thankful for the good stuff. 'Cause there's always good stuff.
One person said how cool it was to be getting up early and turning on their rent-to-own computer, to get on the MSN chat thing, reconnecting with an estranged daughter before she goes to school in the morning. A huge answered prayer.
E.'s ceiling has been put together again and several people have had good news of one kind or another. Somebody said, "It's going to be a good summer."
We remembered to pray for M. and M. They're a couple who are looking for housing. They've been bunking in with a friend who lives in one room for the last several weeks, since the motel they were living at kicked them out because fishing season starts soon and the tourists are willing to pay more than M. and M. were able.
The note of hope, I think, started at Dinner on Wednesday. I was sitting with a friend on the stoop after Dinner listening while she told me that she was probably going to be moving. To a town half an hour away. A fresh start. She's had some obligations to meet here and now that's coming to an end and she wants to put the past behind her.
She said how good it is to have her faith back again. It had always been there, she said, buried under addictions, but now she has it back.
So when she needed to make a decision, she'd take her Bible, and her tunes and head for the beach. In order to get there she'd have to walk through a neighbourhood she knows a little too well. So she'd hold her Bible close to her chest, crank her tunes, put on her shades and start for the beach. Sometimes she'd have to go a block or two out of her way to avoid a driveway where she knew stuff was going on, but she'd fix her eyes on that glimpse of the blue of the lake and just head straight for it. No eye contact with anybody, no talking to anybody, no stopping.
"Just stay focussed", she said.
And that's just what she's done. She's stayed focussed.
She's been what she doesn't want to be and she's becoming what she does want to be. She's done every little difficult thing she's had to do to get from where she was to where she is. She's done the work, jumped through the hoops, had the conversations, freed herself from the unhealthy and feasted on the good. She'll tell anybody who'll listen how good God has been to her and how much he's done for her. She's been strong at the right times and weak at the right times.
The distance she's come since I've known her is freakin' amazing and I have nothing but admiration for her.
She's become the most beautiful example of God's redeeming work I've ever known. If she moves, I'll miss her. But her story's become part of me now and I'm grateful.
r
Comments