Hi Church,
We’re beginning to settle into our new rhythm (discerned at our recent congregational meetings) of doing a little fewer worship services, and a little more service-worship, where we follow after God by serving one another – whether the folks we’re serving are part of our church community, or our neighbors. That being the case, we won’t be gathering at Jammin’ Java this Sunday. Instead…well, you can find out in the following paragraphs I plagiarized from Mike Stavlund:
In what once was and will hopefully once again be a regular part of our Common Table life together, Heidi is hosting a ‘barn-raising’, a metaphorical play on the old-time tradition when a community would gather around a person or family to join forces to pull off what only a community can do. And to enjoy some fellowship and food, too, of course.
We often find that we are too busy working on our individual to-do lists, so why not share your list, have a little work party, and then your friends can do the same? Besides, it’s way more fun working with your friends than slaving away in solitude. And your friends have excellent tools, and expertise, and funny jokes.
Enter Heidi, whose awesome place in Mt. Ranier, MD needs just a little attention. She has wisely grouped the tasks into smaller distinct projects, so you can grab something that interests you, enjoy that feeling of accomplishment, and go on your merry way.
- Clear out patch of angry locust trees and other thorny nonsense in that same area–probably needs a chainsaw and/or pruners/loppers, definitely needs heavy gloves. Heidi’s got twine to tie it all up and take it to the curb.
- Take out stumps. Or run with Tina’s idea about hollowing them out and planting things inside them. Maybe Ken can use his chainsaw to carve the stumps into twin statues of Tina holding bowls of flowers aloft?
- Clear out and mulch 2 flower beds. Heidi will have yard waste bags and plenty of mulch.
- Mow the back 40. Heidi’s electric mower has a short cord, so we’ll need a string trimmer and/or a gas lawnmower to knock down the weeds and tall grass all the way back to the fence. Extra credit if you bring a scythe. Or a machete.
- Install a ladder into the opening for the attic. If you are a carpenter, you know how this works. Come on out, pour yourself a cup of coffee, take a look at how you’d like to frame this out, and we’ll send you up the road to the Home Depot for supplies. And we’ll give you a helper or two when you need a hand lifting the ladder into place.
- Remove the remaining paint from the front concrete patio. Heidi will have a scraper/wire brush/wire wheel on a drill, but definitely feel free to bring your own favorite paint removal tools.
This all begins at 10:30am on Sunday at Heidi’s house in Mt. Ranier. If you want to join in, contact us for directions! (Don’t worry – it’s not really that far.) Heidi’s not the sort to slouch on food for her helpers, neither….
Also, speaking of Mike Stavlund, you might want to check out this opportunity to hang out with Mike and our friends at Convergence (a church of artists in Alexandria) and engage with Mike’s excellent book on life and grief:
A Force of Will: The Reshaping of Faith in a Year of Grief
Book Signing and Discussion with author, Mike StavlundJune 15th, 2013 at 4 pm
in The Gallery at Convergence
1801 N. Quaker Lane, Alexandria, VA 22302Join our conversation with Mike Stavlund as he discusses memoir, creativity and his wrestling with God in the midst of personal tragedy of losing an infant son as described in his book , A Force of Will: The Reshaping of Faith in a Year of Grief.
That’s the scoop! Have a great weekend.
Peace,
Mike Croghan