Dear Caldwell,
It’s an exciting weekend for our community of faith. Our five Gambrell Hope Interns in Social Justice move in to the dorms at Queens University tonight and report bright and early Friday for duty here at Caldwell.
Each of these college students has distinguished themselves on their campuses and has been hand-picked for their summer with us. They will work to advance social justice at area non-profits, walk with us at Caldwell and study with Gail, Parish Associate Rev. Diane Mowrey and me.
Encounter: in front of + counter to
Our theme for the summer is “Encounter.” We will walk with the interns as they encounter the issues facing those on the margins of our city and come to understand their complexity and potential solutions. No doubt, they will encounter residents of our city with compelling stories along with the richness of life in our congregation.
All of you are invited along for the ride. Specifically, the church is invited to dive into the second “Caldwell Reads” adventure by reading A Riff of Love: Notes on Community and Belonging, by Rev. Greg Jarrell. Greg and his wife, Rev. Helms Jarrell, run QC Family Tree, a Caldwell partner and a compelling witness to community in the city’s west-side Enderly Park. Greg writes beautifully with insight about injustice, inequity and resilience in city through story telling and a faith perspective.
The church will provide books for those who need it. Just ask John or Gail. Copies for sale will be available beginning Sunday or you can order it online via Amazon by clicking here. Greg will preach on June 16 and we will also arrange an evening “book talk” sometime this summer.
Second, if you’d like to dive in deeper, you can read along with the interns each week as they look critically and faithfully at issues ranging from race to affordable housing and poverty to mental illness. The reading list with links is available here. Most readings are online. Contact Lisa Raymaker here if you want her to send you others in digital files. A limited number of printed copies of the reading is available – contact John or Gail.
Radical Welcome – and Thanksgiving
We begin, appropriately, with the theme of “radical welcome.” Gail preaches on that Sunday and we encounter Christ’s radical inclusion in Holy Communion.
Dozens of members and friends and partners are involved in making this amazing experience happen – from Hope Committee members to mentors and dinner hosts. I am deeply grateful for their passion and the leadership of Lisa Raymaker, who has shepherded this initiative from a spark of an idea into a rare experience for these emerging servant-leaders.
So let the summer of encounter begin as we come face to face with the challenges and their solutions in our city and through each other.
Watch for CTW Saturday.
In Christ,
John