Thursday, March 30, 2017

Grace, Coffee, and Discernment in the Liminal Space

I wrote last week about the grace that Nina and I experienced offering prayer and coffee to the commuters. This week, we heard from one driver who stopped just to thank us for being there. Then today, there was a voice mail from another commuter who thanked us for making a difference in her day a week ago. She couldn’t stop because she was running late, and she was in the far lane. She had been having a rough time at work and didn’t feel good about getting there. Just seeing us helped her to feel encouraged and able to face the work situation. She took the time to look up our phone number to call and let us know.

Our intention has been to offer this during the season of Lent. I think that there is a need for this to continue on as regular a basis as possible. We have an incredible location for interacting in some way with commuters in the mornings. This reminds me of part of my walking prayer. I pray for mercy on Christ Crossman church, all who are members, all who call it home, all who worship here, all who park here, and all who pass by. This is a way of making that mercy visible to people.

Could you volunteer one Wednesday a month or every other month? Two volunteers each week are all that would be needed. The coffee is not hard to make. We now have a cart on wheels to make it easy to take it out.

On another note, this past Sunday as I talked about living in the metaphorical riparian zone—a place where footing can be tricky and yet there is great possibility of life—I shared the discernment that has come from that liminal space. In June, I will be retiring from the itinerant ministry. That doesn’t mean I will retire from all ministry. It does mean that I will have new opportunities to serve with God in the time ahead. My last Sunday in worship with Christ Crossman will be on June 11, though I will have a study leave and vacation from May 15 to June 5. I ask for your prayers. I give thanks for you. My heart is full. And you will always be in my heart.



"Consider a mustard seed. When scattered on the ground, it’s the smallest of all the seeds on the earth;  but when it’s planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all vegetable plants. It produces such large branches that the birds in the sky are able to nest in its shade.”

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Cups plus Waves equal Grace

It wasn’t a dark and stormy night; instead, it was a bright and windy cold morning. Nina and I offered coffee, tea, and prayer for commuters from 7 to 9 a.m. this Wednesday. As usual there were not many takers of the coffee or tea. And many probably didn’t realize that they were takers of the offer for prayer. As we waved, with many returning our waves, we offered greetings and silent prayers for those passing by. I have to say that I had two favorite return waves. The first was a man holding and talking on a cell phone. He waved his pinky finger at me. The second was a young girl riding with a man I assumed was her dad. She waved at me while their car was several places back in line at the light. As the line started moving, I waved again and she gave me a big grin and another wave.

I am fairly sure that I speak for Nina as well as myself when I say that we felt the presence of God’s grace this morning. Early on, Brenda, a woman we have met in previous years, stopped by for prayer and a coffee. Then came Joyce who drove past us and then made a turn down the street to come back by. She was going to visit a friend in DC who has just been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. Then Larry walked by with a cane. He was on his way to physical therapy and felt that coffee might help him with his focus. He has been out of work for three months.

Suddenly in the midst of the two packed lanes of traffic, a car wouldn’t start up once the light turned green. On the way to a doctor’s appointment for her sick son, her car ran out of gas. Of course, cars were pulling out around her and traffic was building up. We blocked the traffic, and with the help of a fellow driver, we helped her coast across the two lanes and into our parking lot. The doctor’s office is kitty-cornered from our lot. While she took her bundled up kids to keep the appointment, Nina drove to get her a gallon of gas in properly designated container.

Yes, there are people who drive past so quickly that they don’t seem to see us, as well as the drivers who determinedly keep their eyes straight ahead even when stopped right next to us. As a rule, people acknowledge our greeting, some getting a pleasant kick from it. Instead of being invisible tucked behind the trees, the derelict Miller House, and our large parking lot, Christ Crossman becomes a presence of God’s grace even for those who do not stop.

If you are interested in waving and offering coffee, along with mostly silent and some spoken prayers, let Nina or me know. The more often we have folks out there, the more people will begin to look for us, and that’s what relationship with God is like. The more people see God at work, the more they begin to look for the signs and then the more they than can see.

Hebrews 13:1-2

Keep loving each other like family. Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it.