On The Table

GONE CAMPIN'!

Yep, we're campin' this weekend. Again. If you're someone who would really like to join us for worship, and you're wondering whether we ever actually do show up at Jammin' Java on Sunday mornings like we're rumored to do...we hear you, and we miss you, honestly. This is just how we are: the call of the wild, it can't be refused.

But...come join us! We'll be camping at Big Meadows Campground in the Shenandoah National Park, only a couple of hours away, from Friday afternoon through at least Sunday afternoon (and I think some of us are staying until Monday). We'd love to have you along. If you're interested, please contact us. If you're worried about transportation or gear or lack of experience - no worries! We'll sort it out.

And next weekend...we won't be at Jammin' Java either. This is our normal pattern for fourth Sundays, and this particular fourth Sunday will be the occasion for our quarterly congregational meeting, in which we will begin, in our semi-chaotic fashion, to try to discern what we're going to do next, together, as a quirky little community of faith. If you care about the Common Table, you are invited to this meeting, which will probably take place in someone's home on Sunday the 27th - watch this space for deets when we have them.

And that's all I got. Enjoy the cooler weather, the company of friends, and all of God's many blessings!

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: camping, congregational meeting

Hi church,

We didn't carefully plan it this way - honest - but we're in the middle of a long stretch where we're mostly away from our usual location at Jammin' Java: we went camping two weeks ago, and had our church anniversary picnic this past weekend....weekend after next, we're camping again, and the week after that, we'll gather for our postponed quarterly Congregational Meeting, where we'll work on discerning where our communal adventure might take us next.

But this Sunday, right in the midst of all this gallivanting around, we'll gather at Jammin' Java at 10am for our only proper worship service this month. It'll be a Simple Service, and sort of preparatory for the congregational meeting: we'll spend some time exploring, together, some of the ideas that most excite and motivate us. And before that, at 9:30, we'll be making joyful noise with the 9:30AM Club, our pre-service, free and open worship music space (you're welcome to strum, drum, sing, dance, or just listen.) Please join us for one or both of those Sunday morning gatherings!

And that's the news on this lovely, breezy early-autumn week.

Peace,
Mike Croghan

P.S., Feel free to spare some prayers, and also some envy, for the Stavlund family and other friends who are outside Chicago this week talking theology with Jurgen Moltmann!

Labels: camping, congregational meeting, simple

Hi church,

Free weekend!!!!!!!!!

We were going to have a congregational meeting this Sunday, but it turns out that we're not, because hardly anyone can make it, what with school right around the corner, etc. And since it's the fourth Sunday of the month, we're not gathering for a worship service at Jammin' Java. So, it is indeed a free weekend around the Table, though I do have a couple of suggestions:

Friday evening is Movie Night at the Lamb Center, brought to you by Pastor Pat and our friends with New Hope Fellowship. Setup starts at 6, pizza at 6:30, movie at 7. It should be fun, and a good time to hang out with the good folks (many of whom are homeless; all of whom are rewarding to get to know) of the Lamb Center and New Hope.

Then on Sunday, since we're not officially doing anything, it might be worthwhile to attend another church service, either at New Hope, or with another community that's dear (or just interesting) to you. When we do come together for our next congregational meeting (stay tuned for rescheduled time and place) we'll be discussing what we're going to do now, together, as a church community - so if you do visit another community, you might think (and talk to the folks there) about what they do together. Food for thought. Just a suggestion.

And next weekend: Common Table Camping Trip!! We don't yet know where we're going. Story of our life. :-D

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: camping, congregational meeting, lamb center, New Hope

What is your life like? How do you manage all of the pushes and pulls on your schedule? How do you (presumably) stay sane? And how in the world do you honor God in all of it? This Sunday, our own Matt Maisel takes us on a journey through The Sounds of Life, featuring actual sound bites from the lives of our own Common Tablers. Come to Jammin' Java at 10am this Sunday to share the joys and pains of our everyday lives, and the ongoing struggle to live after God in the midst of them.

And if you're up for a brief time of relaxed worship music, plan to come at 9:30am. Bring an instrument, or a song, or your voice, or a listening ear. Or just bring yourself and fill a chair as we make space in our busy lives for some refreshment.

Next week we'll be taking our regular break from meeting at Jammin' Java. In its place, we'll be having one of our quarterly Congregational Meetings (time and location to be announced). Plan to come to talk and listen as we journey together as a church community, and continue the blessed and neverending work of discerning where that adventure might take us next.

And the weekend after that, we'll be going on the first of two Common Table camping trips. In true CT and camping fashion, we have not yet settled on exactly where we will go camping, but we'll get around to deciding that sometime before the first wave of campers depart Northern Virginia. Well, probably. One thing is for sure: it'll be within a couple hours' drive, and it'll be very relaxing and a ton of fun. Oh, wait, that was two things. Or maybe three. But who's counting? It's camping! And you are most certainly invited.

Mike Stavlund

Labels: camping, congregational meeting

Hi church,

So this weekend's going to be an atypical one for us. (I think the last "typical" one was some time in late 2005, so hopefully this will not throw you off too much.)

First and foremost: we will NOT be gathering for worship at Jammin' Java this Sunday. If you go there anyway, please say hi to the staff, buy a tasty beverage, and sit down, relax, and enjoy it. Maybe pray a bit if you're so moved. If more than one person does this, then you've made the first sentence of this paragraph false. But in a good way. :-)

The "official" Common Table options for this weekend are twofold:

1) The third (?) annual Common Table Camping Trip will be hangin' from the trees Thursday the 14th through Sunday the 17th at Trout Pond Recreation Area in West Virginia - only about two hours from NoVA. Here are directions (scroll down to "Trout Pond"), and your best bet for finding us when you get there (where cell phones do not work) will be to look for the Croghan/Driskell station wagon (a blue Saturn with way too many bumper stickers). They have swimming and boating and hiking, it's a beautiful place amidst God's creation, and we'll just be having more fun than would be legal to have in suburbia. So come join us!

2) The other option will be a relaxed time of worship and fellowship at the Stavlunds' place, by the pool! Come at 10am Sunday for coffee, when Liz will lead us in a short look at a Psalm, and we'll do some swimming and lounging and then we'll grill up some food for lunch. Bring something to share, and something for the grill (there is a large refrigerator available, and the Stavs will provide beverages). Come to 3254 Valley Lane, Falls Church, VA 22044, and feel free to park in the driveway. Don't forget your bathing suit and towel. In case of inclement weather, we'll gather under the roof and watch it rain. In any event, we'll be having precisely as much fun as is legal in suburbia. :-)

Down the road, mark these dates: we will be gathering at Jammin' Java on the 4th Sunday in August (the 24th) for another in our current series on the Psalms, and our GNU Team will be leading us in a Service-worship project on the 5th Sunday, the 31st - but that's also Labor Day weekend and our church anniversary weekend, so keep your eye out for an announcement regarding our anniversary labyrinth service and celebration.

And that's it, I think. Hope you can join us for some relaxed enjoyment of God's gifts in creation and in one another this weekend!

Peace,
Mike Croghan

Labels: camping, Psalms

Hey, Church--

Granted, August snuck up on us. And yes, Target is stocking school clothes and safety scissors aplenty. But Summer isn't over yet! We've got a few chances to squeeze a little more pleasure out of the season.

Karaoke is back, baby! Join our Lamb Center friends at 6:30 this Thursday for pizza, soft drinks, friendship, and klinky midi files set to random landscape backgrounds. It's a great time to laugh and connect and see God at work.

This Sunday, Amy and Pete and I will be doing our best to put the Psalms back to music, as we explore this ancient hymnal in our next installment of the Summer Psalm Series. Bring your singing voice, and a toe to tap, and maybe even a little passion, if you've got it. 10am, at Jammin' Java.

Next weekend, a bunch of CT folks will be driving on curvy roads two hours west to the cool mountains of West Virginia for several days of camping at Trout Pond. Several of us went last year and enjoyed two lakes, several hiking trails, and real bathrooms and hot showers, along with campfires and quiet and stars and coffee and food and all of the other pleasures that go along with camping. If you can make it any time between Thursday evening and Sunday, let us know so that we can save a spot for you.

Those of us who will be missing the camping trip have yet to decide if we'll muster around a more conventional worship service at Jammin' Java, or if we'll follow the leisurely example of the campers and plan to spend Sunday morning gathered around a swimming pool or some other venue of relaxation. Either way, we'll have an update and directions in this space next week.

Hope to see you soon,
Mike Stavlund

Labels: camping, karaoke, lamb center, Psalms

I've recently had the pleasure of indulging in several conversations about our church with some new friends. Which is fun for me, but which must be challenging to them, since we're so peculiar in so many ways. Which usually leads me to invite them to just come and see for themselves, but which suggestion is perhaps the most challenging, since our schedule is probably the most idiosyncratic and (intentionally) confusing part of our culture. At the end of every month, we interrupt our weekly Worship Services to engage in Service Worship-- a chance to develop relationships outside of our church and to put into practice the hopes and dreams that we talk so much about.

On months like this one (where we have 5 Sundays), schedules get even more confusing. But the chances to get out of our normal routines and connect with others is all the more evident. Hope you can join us:

This weekend, we've got a two-pronged offering (though you can certainly do both!). Led by the Chief Camper himself, a bunch of folks will be heading two hours west for a little mountain getaway. Feel free to join them anytime between Friday, July 20 and Tuesday, July 24. Sam can get you the details, or you can contact us if you'd like to join in.

If you'd rather stay close to home, a bunch of us are gathering at Burke Lake on Saturday, July 21 for a good cause. We'll be walking and running in the 1-mile and 5-mile events that are being organized to raise money for children's cardiac research, and to support the families of these kids. If your funds are tight, please just come out anyway to lend your support (or contact us, and we'll find you a sponsor).

Next weekend, we'll be gathering with our friends at Culpeper House to meet up with some local Sudanese Lost Boys for an Information Exchange. We'll learn about Dinka culture and the harrowing lives they have lived, and we'll offer them some basic help with typing and use of email, etc.. The exact details are still being worked out, but please block out the evening of Sunday, July 29 for dinner and a chance to meet these amazing men (and plan to bring a laptop to donate or for training purposes, if you've got one).

Mike (Stavlund)

Labels: camping, service-worship