On The Table

Hey church,

Thus week, we have several happenings that combine joy, fellowship, and praise in new(ish) ways. So here they are:

First, this Friday is the third Friday of the month, which means we can join Pastor Pat and our friends from New Hope Fellowship for Movie Night at the Lamb Center. This is the cinematic counterpart to our Karaoke Nights, which means fun, fellowship, and the presence of the Spirit right smack in the middle of a diverse crew of God's people. You can arrive at 6 to help set up, at 6:30 to join in singing, or at 7 to watch the movie and share pizza. Don't miss it!

Second, this is week two of our open experiment with worship music before our regular Sunday morning service, from 9:30 to 10am at Jammin' Java. Whether you're interested in leading, playing/singing, or just enjoying some praise-filled music, this time is open, and yours to enjoy. Bring an instrument (unplugged or BYOA[mp]), bring your voice (spoken word is great too), or bring a friend!

And finally, at 10am at JJ, please stay for our Music Team's latest genius idea. This will be another worship service honor of this extended Season of Pentecost that we sort of made up. (But gosh, there's plenty of Ordinary Time between Pentecost and Advent - why not spend a little of it in an ongoing, wild celebration of the gifts of the Spirit??)

Please join us for the No English Service. That's right: after the explanatory introduction (which is NOT TO BE MISSED and will happen very shortly after 10am - you've been warned!), none of us will be allowed to communicate with each other using our native language. But fear not! We will be communicating our little hearts out - with each other, and with God. But we'll use drums, and rhythm. Strums of guitar, or tinkling keys. Dance, or sign language, or Italian-style wild hand motions. Spanish, or Swahili. Hugs, or tears. It's up to us, and really it's about openness, and listening. Let's see how the Spirit moves us.

(Also, we'll be using the floor for this service, All-Ages-Service-style, so please bring a blanket and/or cushion to sit on, or to share. Sitting on chairs or standing/walking/dancing will be fine too!)

And that's it! May the Holy Spirit fill us all with wonder, joy, passion, and a restless call to action this Pentecost Season (which we kinda made up).

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: music, Pentecost

Good things are bubbling up all over Common Table, and it's really nice to see.

We're pleased to announce that this week begins an open experiment with worship music that will take place before our regular meeting-- from 9:30 to 10am. It's a chance for anyone who wants to join in to lead some music, or anyone who wants to enjoy some music to gather and spend some time focused on God. Bring an instrument, or some words, or your voice, or a harried soul that's looking for some refuge. Many thanks to the folks who have taken the initiative to make this happen!

Once we're warmed up, our Creative Team will be leading us in a consideration of-- and hopefully an experience of!-- 'the presence of the Lord'. Through a variety of practices, we'll be trying to tune our various ears in to God's Holy Spirit during this season of Pentecost. So bring the eyes and ears of your heart to Jammin' Java at 10am this Sunday morning. Can't wait to see you!

Mike Stavlund

Labels: music, Pentecost

Hey church,

So did anybody else have one of those "rushing-wind-and-tongues-of-fire and speaking-in-tongues-till-people-think-you're-drunk" days on Sunday? No? Just me?

(Well, it was kind of like that. People seem to think that just because I'm an Irish Anglican, it's perfectly plausible that I'd be drunk at 9am. Apparently Galileans have to deal with the same sort of prejudice. 'Srude, if you ask me.)

But seriously, it seems like I have been blessed with some extra opportunities to see the Spirit at work since this season of Pentecost began. And I can let you in on a couple more!

This Thursday, from 6:30 - 8pm, we'll be at the Lamb Center again, among friends and neighbors in a wide range of economic circumstance. We'll be singing Karaoke, cheering each other on, and generally sharing God's love. And pizza. It'll be awesome!

Then, on Sunday (10am at Jammin' Java), we'll gather for our first official worship service of Pentecost. It'll be a Simple service in which we'll invite the inspiration of the Spirit and claim our creative identity as children of the Creator God. So please bring whatever might help you respond to inspiration: eg., if you're a musician, bring your guitar or doumbek. If you're a poet, writer, visual artist, or sculptor, we'll probably have you covered. If you don't think you're creative at all, then remember that you're made in the image of the Creator, and come see what happens!

And that's all I got for you. Remember that the Holy Spirit blows where she will. Stay alert.

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: karaoke, lamb center, Pentecost, simple

Hey church,

This week, the season of resurrection we call Easter draws to a close, and this Sunday we commemorate another day when everything changed: Pentecost, fifty days after Easter, when the Holy Spirit came, and the Church - women and men, old and young - was set on fire, and sent to bring that fire into the world.

We won't be celebrating Pentecost with a service at Jammin' Java, since it's the last weekend of the month. But we will be remembering that day in an appropriate manner: by coming together around the Table in one of our occasional congregational meetings. We'll invite the Spirit to inspire the thoughts, words, and prayers of each of us - women and men, old and young - as we try to discern together what God is calling us to, both within our community (particularly on Sunday mornings) and in the wider world (through our giving of relational presence, volunteer time, and maybe even money). We'll gather at Kate and Matt and Lizzy and Maddie's house at 11am on Sunday. Everybody is welcome around the Table (this means you!) as we talk, pray, and hope to discern together where that wild old Spirit is leading us now.

And that's it for this week. Next week: it's Karaoke Thursday at the Lamb Center again (6:30-8pm)! If you're chasing the Spirit this Pentecost, I recommend checking in there. :-)

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: congregational meeting, karaoke, lamb center, Pentecost

Hi church,

First of all, I just wanted to say thanks - especially to Sam, the genius of trees, but also to everybody, for the tree planting this past Sunday - for the Sister we didn't know, for Will, and for my Dad. It was (and, as the trees grow and flourish, will continue to be) a thing of great beauty and sacredness. Thank you.

Likewise, the gatherings we have planned for this week will also be all slathered in sacred beauty of various flavors. First of all, this Thursday, March 1st, from 6:30 to 8pm, will be another awesome Karaoke Night at The Lamb Center . Friendship and song, love and laughter, and building deeper relationships with TLC's homeless guests. And so much fun it ought to be illegal.

Then, please join us this Sunday at 10am at Jammin' Java for our third and final "living room" service reading the book of Romans together, with a musical team including friends from Convergence. I'm really looking forward to hopping in for the final part of this series, to worship with y'all and spend time immersed in this remarkable letter. I hope I didn't miss any of the good parts. ;-)

Looking ahead, please mark your calendar for something a bit different next Sunday, May 11th, which is Pentecost. We won't be meeting at Jammin' Java in the morning, as we'll be joining with our friends from Convergence and Holy Grounds at the worship lab at Convergence in Alexandria at 5pm. It promises to be a great time of mass collaboration as we celebrate the somewhat chaotic coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2.

And that's it, I think. Blessings of new life to you all, dear friends, in this season of Easter! The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia.

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: karaoke, lamb center, Pentecost, Romans

Dear Friends,

It is a somber week as we honor the life of Tom Croghan, who died on Monday. We're grieving with his wife and family, and especially with our dear friend Mike and his wife as they were caring for Tom and are now in North Carolina making arrangements for the funeral in Clinton, NY on Monday. Lord, have mercy.

It seems appropriate that our usual worship meeting will be dark this week, as we follow our normal schedule of forgoing a regular meeting in favor of service on the last weekend of the month. Many thanks to our GNU Team, who has given us a couple of important projects for this weekend. Here is their invitation:

---------------------------------

...we have two great opportunities for you to enter into worship, using your whole body and mind to honor God with your actions as well as your thoughts, desires and words.

Option #1 : Hang out at the Lamb Center for any portion of time from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 26th to meet and greet and sit and talk with the guests who come in that day. It is a great opportunity to begin the process of steadily building intentional relationships with those who come through the Lamb Center. Dave Larrabee (director of the Lamb Center) mentioned that he has a youth group helping with the laundry on that day, so our main goal is to connect with the guests.

Option #2: On Sunday, April 27th, a group of us will gather (rain or shine) to help plant a tree in honor of William Stavlund, and one for Tom Croghan. Sister Pat has also asked us to plant an additional tree, as one of the other memorial trees has died and we will have the honor of re-planting the tree for another family.

Plan to gather at the monastery at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday morning. The task should take about two hours to complete. All are welcome, but only a small group is needed to actually plant the trees. Our very own Sam Doan, arborist extraordinaire, will be heading up this project. Sam will bring all the necessary tools and materials.

-----------------------

Looking ahead, on May 4, we'll be reading the last four chapters of Romans at Jammin' Java as we bring this great series to a close, and as we thank our friends Jay and Amy for bringing such amazing music each week.

On Pentecost Sunday, May 11, we won't be meeting at Jammin' Java in the morning, as we'll be joining with our friends from Convergence and Holy Grounds at the worship lab at Convergence in Alexandria. It promises to be a great time of mass collaboration as we celebrate the somewhat chaotic coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2.

See you soon,
Mike Stavlund

Labels: GNU Team, lamb center, memorial, Pentecost, Romans

Friends,

Here is what's going on this week:

Design Team Meeting, Friday, June 8, 7:00 PM, Bulanow Home: The Design Team will be meeting on Friday evening to begin pulling together ideas for our summer series, which will use films to explore our faith and spirituality. This will be a family-friendly time, so feel free to join us!

Worship Service, Sunday, June 10, 10:00 AM, Jammin' Java: We'll continue our "Fire" series on Sunday by looking at how fire is used in our communication with God, sometimes from God to us and sometimes from us to God.

Enjoy the rest of your week,
Deanna (with links by Croghan)

Labels: Fire, Pentecost, summer

Friends,

Just a couple of events on the calendar this week - I hope you can join us at one or the other!

Saturday, June 2, 5:00-8:00 PM, Doan home: Beer+, our spiritual friendship connecting place, makes its triumphant return this weekend. This group is designed to be a place where we relax and open ourselves up a bit -- challenging each other to grow as individuals and as a community. This week, we plan to not only catch up on the latest goings on in our lives, but to put several potential small group ideas on the table and see how we might be able to continue to come alongside each other in intentional ways. If you're interested in joining us and would like more information, please feel free to contact any member of the Leadership Team.

Sunday, June 3, 10:00 AM, Jammin' Java: We'll gather for our first worship service of the Pentecost season this Sunday, as we begin a three-week series inspired by Fire. This week we'll allow scripture to inspire us as we consider two examples of God appearing to and communicating with his people through fire. (See Genesis 15 and Acts 2 if you'd like to read-ahead.)

Enjoy the rest of your week,

Deanna

Labels: Fire, Pentecost

Hi church,


The Easter season, with its rebirth of blooms in riotous color, open to God's gifts and full of the seeds of potential, comes to a close this week. This Sunday is Pentecost, and with it, the seeds that sprouted during Easter turn to tongues of fire, as the Spirit forges in us the beginning of a new covenant, lights a beacon of connection with God and neighbor, and blazes outward in uncontrollable wildness, carrying these seeds of the Kingdom.


What better way to begin this season of fire than with a service-worship project, bringing a little spark of the Kingdom to a friend in need? So this coming Monday, May 28th, we'll be helping Jackie's friend Adriana with some home improvement work (mowing, putting up awnings on her windows, putting up a gate at the top of her stairs, power washing her deck, and any other tasks that our time allows). We'll meet at Adriana's home in Herndon (402 Madison Forest Drive, Herndon, VA 20170-3300) at 12 noon. We'll plan to work at her place until around 3 pm, and then proceed to the Bulanow home (1001 Elden Street, Herndon, VA 20170) for a good ole fashioned cook out. J4CK and P3T3 will provide the meat and buns and would love us to bring our own beer and a side dish to share.


In honor of Pentecost and as a hint of the worship series on the theme of "Fire" which we'll begin the following Sunday, June 3rd, we'll have a blazing firepit at the cookout and we'll roast some marshmallows. But since it's service-worship week, there'll be no worship service at Jammin' Java this Sunday (the 27th).


So may the Spirit be with you in this season of fire, and have a great holiday weekend! Hope to see you on Monday.


Peace,
Croghan

Labels: Fire, Pentecost, service-worship