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.”