On The Table

Hi church!

I don't know about you, but I've been digging the cooler weather. This is what I call spring! And new life continues to bust out all over - which is, like, a pretty good metaphor for this ongoing season of Easter.

So please join us on Sunday morning (10am at Jammin' Java) for our All-Ages worship service, as we join together in looking at these themes of Easter, Resurrection, and new creation through the eyes of our kids. My guess? They'll see this stuff way more clearly than us old people do.

And then, if you're interested, everyone is welcome to come to Tina's and my place (13337 Feldman Pl., Herndon, VA, 20170) on Sunday afternoon for a combination Barn-Raising and Garbage Plate Cookout! (Say what, now?) "Barn-Raisings" are something we've been doing for a year or so (since Maranda had the genius idea - though we'd actually been doing them for years without the cool Amish-inspired name) where we come together as a church to help someone accomplish a "many hands make light work" sort of task. In our case, we'll be replacing flooring in our (very small) dining room, and also building a raised-bed garden box. And Garbage Plates? Well, just read this, bring me some meat, and I'll grill it and make ya a plate. Cool? Cool.

Work will probably begin around 2pm, and we'll shift into food/party mode between 5 and 6pm. You're welcome to join us at any time - there is no need to participate in the Barn-Raising to come to the party. It's a party, yo.

And that, as they say, is that. Happy Easter!

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: all ages, barn-raising, Easter

Hi church!

Spring, and the Easter season, proceed apace, and both are chock full of blessings, if we have eyes to see them. One such blessing: it's the return of Karaoke at The Lamb Center! THIS Thursday, May 7th, from 6:30 to 8pm. Come and join us as guests of the shelter and volunteers alike let our hair down, sing, encourage each other, nom some pizza, and see what the Spirit is up to as we make some joyful (if not always tuneful!) noise. :-)

Then, please join us on Sunday morning at 10am (yes, srsly, 10am - not 10:25 - srsly!) at Jammin' Java for our May Simple Service, as we try to live into this season of Easter, of Resurrection. We'll sing some Easter hymns, and have some discussions about this weird thing we call resurrection: what did it mean for Jesus two millennia ago, what might it mean for us one day, and (last but not least) what does all this mean to us now, as the Church of the Common Table in Northern Virginia in AD 2009?

And that's all I have to say. Except, you know...he is risen! Alleluia!

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: Easter, karaoke, lamb center

Easter continues as we make our gradual return to (what is commonly referred to as) 'normalcy' at Common Table. This Sunday, we'll be back at Jammin' Java, finding our creative groove as we consider 'Spring' and Psalm 77. As you notice the fresh greenery all around, and as you experience the sustaining rains over the next few days, consider the new life that God is nurturing in you just now. Then bring those ideas to our communal encounter with this remarkable piece of Scripture.

In other news, a team of folks from inside and outside our church are announcing that we'll be returning to our tradition of hosting Karaoke at The Lamb Center again, beginning Thursday, May 7, from 6:30 to 8pm. These fun and transforming get-togethers will continue on the first Thursday of each month. And don't forget that we're welcome to join New Hope Church's movie nights there on the 3rd Friday of each month, too.

He is Risen,
Mike Stavlund

Labels: Easter, karaoke, lamb center, Psalms

Hi church!

I hope you're feeling God's blessings during this beautiful spring season. As the third Sunday of Easter approaches, remember: we are a people with every reason to hope for astonishing reversals and amazing grace.

And this Sunday, we'll return to a place where such things happen all the time: New Hope Fellowship, where Jen will be leading worship music Sunday at 10:50am. We'll probably continue joining New Hope on "last Sundays" as we further pursue our friendships there, so please join us for worship and a shared meal. Remember it's helpful to leave our cars at the ball fields just north of the community center where New Hope meets.

Or, there's an alternate opportunity for a shared lunch and fellowship on Sunday. If you're one of those who is hooked into that leafy-green-logo-thing called "Emergent Village", you might be aware that there's a Big Meeting going on this weekend, right here in DC, to discern the future of that organization - or at least the beginning of a way forward for its leadership and structure. Some of the folks who will be here from out of town are interested in getting together with local DC folk, and to that end, we've got a private room reserved at Guapos in Bethesda for a 1pm lunch gathering this coming Sunday, the 26th. Everyone's invited, so please join us!

And that's all I've got. :-) I'll keep saying it until Pentecost: happy Easter!

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: Easter, Emergent Village, New Hope

Labels: Easter

Hi church,

It's Holy Week. In this, the most sacred time of the Church year, we remember our Lord's last days on this earth. We recall his final acts and teachings. His sharing of bread and wine and the tender service of foot-washing. His betrayal, arrest, Passion, and death. And, on Easter Sunday, his Resurrection: death overcome, Love triumphant.

Just as we've journeyed through Lent together, we'll be sharing the celebration of Easter with our brothers and sisters at New Hope Fellowship, Sunday at 10:50am. You can join us for breakfast at 9am, and stay for a celebratory feast after the service. If you don't mind the short walk, we can relieve some parking burdens by leaving our cars at the ball fields just north of the community center where New Hope meets.

But before that celebration, it would be good to spend some time walking through this last, dark week with Jesus. There are many ways to do that, including moving liturgies of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday in the area - please contact us and we can let you know of some.

One powerful way to encounter Holy Week would be to journey through the creative, participatory Stations of the Cross that have been crafted by folks at our sister congregation, Holy Grounds, on the lower level of Fairlington Presbyterian Church. Some Common Table folks also contributed to these stations, which have been designed to arrest, challenge, and even accuse the one who journeys through them, in a deeply personal way. They'll be available for pilgrimage at the following times:

Wednesday 3:30-4:30pm and 8:30-9:30pm
Thursday 6:30-7:30pm & 8:30-9:30pm
Friday 7-9pm
Saturday 10am-12pm

And that's all, for this holiest of weeks. May the remainder of your Lenten journey be transformative, and on Easter, may you share the joy of abundant life - sprung wondrously, gloriously, impossibly, from evil and death.

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: Easter, Holy Week, lent, New Hope

Hello, Church:

He is (almost) Risen!

I just finished a great book in preparation for Easter, wherein a high-church, British Anglican takes Christians everywhere to task for their sedate celebrations of Easter. Rather than lighting a few candles, he commends the commissioning of every man, woman, and child with a candle, until the churches are luminous! Instead of a single morning of celebration, he wants to continue the party for days and weeks! He wants the celebration of Jesus' resurrection to overflow the confines of Easter and to change the very nature of our world.

Well, I can't promise any dancing in the aisles, but we're definitely going to pull out a few stops this Sunday. With the fasting and repenting and re:Lenting of the Lenten season behind us, we'll turn on the lights and spend some time reveling in the resurrection as we celebrate a unique 'Stations of the Resurrection' together. We've found (and adapted) a really interesting Catholic liturgy, and we'll be pairing it with music and visuals and other surprises for a rich experience of Easter. Hope to see you at Jammin' Java at 10.

On the following weekend, we'll be practicing resurrection as we step away from Jammin' Java and head over to the Lamb Center on Saturday morning to join with our friends there. We'll plan to have lunch together afterward, then have a Congregational Meeting during the early afternoon. Stay tuned for more details to follow about that Saturday from the GNU Team and the Leadership Team.

Eagerly,
Mike Stavlund

Labels: Easter, lamb center, service-worship

April 2 through 8

Dear Church--

As we journey through this Holy Week, I hope you're finding some time to reflect on the story of this week: of the growing darkness and death and defeat that precedes the unexpected triumph of the Resurrection. If you'd like to commemorate collectively, Mike Croghan has invited us to join him at The Church of the Holy Comforter in their services all week , most especially the special Tenebrae service tonight.

On Sunday, we'll be having our own special Easter celebration at 10am at Jammin' Java, complete with home-grown music, art, and words to tune in to the message of that new life that resonates and grows even now. It promises to be a great fulfillment of the waiting and scarcity of Lent, too, as we return to our beloved Chipotle for lunch (He is risen, indeed!).

Two save the dates:

We'll be having a Baptism for Kieran Tennyson and Eleanor Stavlund next Sunday, April 15, at Jammin' Java.

Service Worship: we're switching up some dates to do our monthly project on Saturday, April 21, beginning at 9am. We'll be installing a new laminate wood floor at the Chapmans, and hopefully relieving Ryan of his serious allergies to their carpeting. We'll need everyone we can get to move furniture, rip out carpeting, clean up the concrete subfloor, install the new flooring, and put everything back. Oh, and we'll probably eat lunch, too, and we'll have the kids just up the road at the Doan's place. So please plan to strap on your toolbelt for a day of hard work and constructiony fun.

Mike

Labels: Easter