On The Table

Hi church,

For those keeping score at home - if you were bummed that you had to miss this past Sunday's worship service in the Anglican tradition, I have good news. Plans changed, and we'll be doing that service some time in June instead. (In place of the previously announced service, we shared a contemplative appendix to our series on St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, and, among other things, created this community response to that book of Scripture.)

As for this week, it's the fourth weekend of the month, and hence our monthly Service Worship weekend. It's also Memorial Day weekend, so we'll be gathering on Monday the 26th for a combined cookout / block party / woods and stream cleanup in the woodsy common area near Tina's and my house in Herndon. Here are the deets:

Please join us on Memorial Day, Monday, the 26th of May, starting at 2pm, for a combined "block party", Memorial Day cookout, and litter cleanup in our shared woods and stream (near the playgrounds). We'll grill hot dogs and hamburgers, share snacks and drinks, play some games, and spend a little time picking up the litter in our wooded common area.

You can find us at Mike and Tina's house (13337 Feldman Place, Herndon, VA) or in the common area near the playgrounds you'll see if you walk to the back of the parking lot and keep going. We'd love for you to contribute:

- Hot dogs, hamburgers, or other picnic foods or beverages.
- Paper plates, cups, or plastic ware.
- Trash bags to put litter in.
- Frisbees, balls or other toys for kids and kids that never grew up!

But if you can't, you're welcome to share ours!

Everyone is invited, including kids! Please come and enjoy good food and fun, get to know our neighbors, and help make our shared woods and stream cleaner and more beautiful!

* Rain or shine! (But if it's raining, we might cook inside.) *

And that's about all for this week. Take care, and may the wind of God's Spirit blow through you in this season of Pentecost.

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: Romans, service-worship

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:

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...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.

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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

Hi church,

Hey, it's me, Croghan, reporting from Common Table's satellite chapel near Charlotte, NC. I'm pretty sure you all know more about what's going on back in NoVA than I do right now, so if I get it all wrong, please feel free to ignore this message and do the real plan instead. I won't mind. :-)

Seriously, the time my family are spending together with my Dad right now is an immeasurable gift, and we all want to thank you all for your love and prayers. You rock, church family, and you are a rock in Tina's and my lives. Thank you.

So here's what I gather y'all will be up to this week.

This Thursday, April 17, from 6:30 to 8pm will be the second opportunity this spring to bring yourself and your gifts out to The Lamb Center for Karaoke night. These evenings are your chance to share friendship and song and love and laughter and to build deeper relationships with TLC's homeless guests, and it's a ridiculous amount of fun. Don't miss it!

Then, please join us this Sunday at 10am at Jammin' Java for the second in a three-part series on the book of Romans - just reading Romans together, as a letter (which it is, after all), with interludes of reflection and inspiration provided by a musical team including friends from Convergence. I hear this was an incredible experience of worship, music, and dwelling in the Word last week, and this Sunday's continuation promises to be at least as inspiring.

And that's all I know. If you know more than me...I'm not surprised. :-) Love you guys!

Peace, love,
Mike Croghan

Labels: karaoke, lamb center, Romans

We hope you can join us this Sunday at 10 at Jammin' Java as we begin a three-part series on the book of Romans. Which is to say, we'll be reading through the book of Romans in three chunks: no sermons, no theologizing, no agenda except to remember that this book (like most of the New Testament) is a letter, written to particular people in a particular place. In this way, we hope to see how our particular group can be more connected with our particular place, and head toward the future with a better sense of God's purpose.

The truly exciting development is that some friends of ours from Convergence will be joining us to add some groovy music to our times of contemplation, and to offer their own subtle artistic interpretation of what we're hearing. It promises to be a rich time of revelation and reflection.

But that doesn't mean we don't want to hear your artistry, though! Bring yourself and your gifts out to The Lamb Center for Karaoke night next Thursday, April 17, from 6:30 to 8pm. It's been a great time, and a wonderful opportunity for our friends at TLC to get to know us and one another that much better. Plus, it's a lot of fun.

Mike Stavlund

Labels: karaoke, lamb center, Romans