shared life experiences
HOSTING COMMUNITY MEALS
Over decades of doing ministry, some of our most fruitful times and best spiritual conversations have happened around a dinner table. An intimate meal has the potential to be welcoming, comforting, and disarming, creating space for real conversation and a deeper connection to happen. Last Spring, we invested in a wood-fired pizza oven for our backyard with the intention to create a fun and inviting eating experience. Since then, we have hosted a multitude of pizza nights for neighbors and others in our wider community. We have already seen these dinners go a long way in building community and being a catalyst for us to invite people to other ministry-related activities, Bible studies, and community groups that we lead through the Oikos Project.
“There is a spiritual thing about food. It’s the magnet that brings people to the table. Through food we connect to our roots and to each other.”
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We may not reflect on it very often, but food plays a central role in all our lives. Food can also be pivotal in how we understand and connect to our spiritual journey - from the fruit that caused the Fall in the Garden, to Jesus' pronouncement of the New Covenant during the Passover, to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb which we will one day experience in Christ's Eternal Kingdom - it provides a powerful platform from which we can relate to each other and to our Creator.
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There are many records revealing that practicing a communal meal was part of the weekly habit for the Early Church. Eating together and inviting others to join has been a central Christian practice since the beginning of our movement. Jesus was often found eating with (and feeding) others during his earthly ministry. He was both celebrated and ridiculed for this.
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“It is through the daily practice of the table that we live a life worth living. Through the table we know who we are, where we come from, what we value and believe. At the table we learn what it is to be family and how to live in responsible, loving relationships. Through the table we live our neighborliness and citizenship, express our allegiance to particular places and communities, and claim our sense of home and belonging. At the table we celebrate beauty and express solidarity with those who are broken and hungry.”
– Chef Simon Carey Holt, Eating Heaven: Spirituality at the Table
WE ARE LOOKING FOR GOD TO PROVIDE $1,000 TO OFFSET THE COST OF HOSTING THESE MEALS. A GIFT OF $100 WILL COVER ONE DINNER WITH 10-12 GUESTS.
(Please indicate in the notes if you would like your donation to be applied specifically toward our hosting of shared meals this summer.)
SUPPLEMENTAL APPEAL
IN NEED OF REPLACING AGED AND DAMAGED VEHICLES
In March, when our family was returning from a trip to the mountains in Jill’s SUV, it started making loud grinding noises as we were exiting the highway on the final leg of our journey home. As Josh was backing it into the driveway, there was a loud pop and jolting. He got it into the driveway, but there was a trail of dark fluids leading from the road into the driveway. There was a failure between the transmission and transfer case. After diagnosing the problem and waiting on parts for over a month, we got her vehicle fixed, but it was an expensive repair. We decided to go ahead and sell her vehicle and planned to look for a replacement after our return from Nebraska.
Then, on May 9th, two weeks before we were preparing to leave for Maranatha, our community was hit by a massive hail storm that lasted about 45 minutes. Our neighborhood in particular was hit really hard. Some of the hail stones were over 2 inches in diameter! As a result, our two remaining vehicles took a beating. One was completely totaled and hauled off. The other one, Josh’s truck, we are deferring any action on until July so that we could use it for our summer travel needs. So, we are waiting to determine if Josh’s truck is salvageable after our time in Nebraska. Additionally, our house and property sustained some significant damage.
While we have a good insurance plan in place for all of our vehicles and property, we were not anticipating the major repair and subsequent sale of Jill’s SUV. These sudden and unexpected events have put us in a position to replace these vehicles which are critical to our livelihood and ministry activities.
WE ARE ASKING FOR A LOVE OFFERING OF ANY AMOUNT TO HELP US RECOVER SOME OF OUR RECENT LOSSES AND AID US IN THE PURCHASE OF NEW VEHICLES AT THE END OF THE SUMMER OR EARLY THIS FALL. WE THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING GIVING TO US IN OUR TIME OF NEED.
(Please indicate in the notes if you would like your donation to be applied specifically toward helping us with the purchases of new vehicles.)
“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”