Posted by Lisa Miller on June 30, 2009 under Announcements | 
so i was reading my daily comics and came across this one.
after laughing really hard, it caused me to wonder…
is our theology or belief system the philosophical equivalent of monkey underwear? are we doing the things that are spiritually challenging and helping us to grow, or are we secure in our faith because we are spiritually supported? honestly, i don’t think this is what the comic artist intended, but it is worth pondering. besides, i wanted to share a smile 
Posted by sreinitz on June 28, 2009 under Announcements |
Hey friends! Couple things upcoming for Holy Grounds…
First, here is the schedule for the month of July:
July 5 – Church History: Redeeming our common history (Phil/Lauren)
July 12 – Forgiveness & Letting Go: Redeeming our relationships (Lisa)
July 19 – Peacemaking: Redeeming our relationships – Jessi? (Matt, please confirm with her)
July 26 – Church History: Redeeming our common history Part 2 (Phil/Lauren)
Second, it’s time for our second planning meeting of the summer. I thought it worked out pretty well last time so I’m thinking we’ll go with the same plan. The next planning meeting, therefore, will be SUNDAY, JULY 12 at 4:30 pm. At the moment, I’m thinking we should talk about whether or not we want some kind of liturgy for HG (for example, some kind of prayer routine, always doing music, including some kind of small group element, having a more contemplative focus from time to time, etc). There’s also been some discussion about Holy Grounds needing to incorporate some sort of service element/outward focus. I think it would be good to start that conversation as well.
If you have other things you’d rather discuss, let me know – I’m definitely open to suggestion. If you can’t make it but have thoughts to contribute, feel free to e-mail me!
Thanks all!
Posted by sreinitz on June 27, 2009 under Announcements |
Remember to bring something yummy to Holy Grounds tomorrow! Dinner at 6 pm.
Posted by Corey on June 26, 2009 under Announcements |
Don’t have plans on July 4? I’ll be on the D.C. Metropolitan Police Harbor Patrol Unit’s pier, located at 550 Water Street, SW (Southwest Waterfront, next to the dock for the Odyssey and Spirit of Washington). The families of the police officers and firefighters stationed there throw a mean barbecue, which will be followed up by the fireworks around 9 p.m. (there’s a great view of the Washington Monument from the pier). I’ll probably be there around 6 p.m., and I’d love for any of my Holy Grounds friends to join me!
The officers have the meat catered (pulled pork and chicken, usually), so if you think you might attend, please let me know via email. The rest of the meal is potluck, so you’re welcome to bring a dish to pass. If you don’t, that’s okay, too. Trust me, there’s always plenty of food.
Also, let me know if you’re interested in carpooling. If you’re a Metro rider, the Waterfront-SEU station is about a 5-minute walk.
Hope to see you there!
Corey
Posted by Lakesha Bradshaw on June 18, 2009 under Announcements |
Holy Grounds- June 21st
During our time together we will rediscover and explore the ancient Christian practice of contemplation–and the sense of wholeness and peace that it offers.
During contemplative prayer we center our full attention on the presence of God, on the will of God, and on the love of God. We will use two prayer forms Centering Prayer (a method designed to facilitate the development of Contemplative Prayer by preparing our faculties to receive the gift of God’s presence) and Lectio Divina (a way of sacred reading and listening to the texts of scripture as if we were in conversation with Christ and He were suggesting the topics of conversation). Contemplative prayer is centered on faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, by which we can know the presence of God in very real ways.
The following are quotations about the nature and experience of contemplation, drawn primarily from Christian mystics and authors throughout the centuries.
The secret of Christian contemplation is that it faces us with Jesus Christ toward our suffering world
in loving service and just action. Catherine of Siena
Finding God in all things. Ignatius of Loyola
Looking deeply at life as it is in the very here and now Thich Nhat Hanh
Further reading in preparation for our time together.
We will begin promptly at 6:45pm, to respect the time of those who will need to leave at 8:00pm
What Does “Contemplative” Mean?
The word contemplative has many meanings today. It comes from the Latin roots cum (with) and templum (temple), connoting a sense of the sacred.
Stated simply, the classical tradition understands contemplation as a loving quality of presence in which one is open to things just as they are in the present moment.
In Christianity and other traditions that understand God to be present everywhere, contemplation includes a reverence for the Divine Mystery, “finding God in all things,” or “being open to God’s presence, however it may appear.” When referring to prayer or other spiritual practices, contemplation is classically distinguished from meditation.
Generally this means that meditation seems like something we “do” by means of our own effort and intention, while contemplation always seems to come as a gift. Further, the reverence for mystery implies an openness to unknowing, a willingness to be led and guided by God without having to comprehend what is happening.
In this understanding, contemplation is in no way opposed to action. In fact, our sense is that truly effective, responsive action in the world needs to be undergirded and informed by contemplative awareness.
Also, although silence and solitude play a role in the contemplative life, contemplation does not mean withdrawing from the world. On the contrary, it is a responsive, participative presence in and with God, oneself, one’s neighbors, and all creation. Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation
Small Group Norms
Listen attentively, honor spaces between words, let each other finish.
Use “I” statements rather than “ we or “they”
Commit to confidentiality
Self disclosure appropriate to focus and trust level
Say only what you really think and feel
Respect time and timing
Be responsible for your own learnings
Resist moving into discussion, debate or problem-solving
Look forward to seeing everyone!Peacefulness
Posted by Matt Pritchard on June 17, 2009 under Announcements |
I am trying to round up all of Jan’s commentaries from our Matthew Study. If you have one, would you please 1) let me know and 2) give it to me next time you see me? Thanks a bunch!
Posted by Matt Pritchard on under Community |
Posted by sreinitz on June 14, 2009 under Announcements |
Hello all – Below you will find the schedule for the summer at Holy Grounds, as it currently stands. As you can see, we still need someone to lead on July 12 on the issue of Forgiveness/Letting Go. Kim and I would also love input or ideas for the August focus. Let me know if you’re interested in leading. Thanks everyone!
Theme: Redemption
Redeeming Our Relationship with God, One Another, and the Rest of the World
June 14 – Redemption: An Introduction (Phil)
June 21 – Contemplative Service (Lakesha)
June 28 – Discipleship: Redeeming relationship with God(Matt’s friend)
July 5 – Church History: Redeeming our common history (Phil/Lauren)
July 12 – Forgiveness & Letting Go: Redeeming our relationships – ?????
July 19 – Peacemaking: Redeeming our relationships – Jessi?
July 26 – Church History: Redeeming our common history Part 2 (Phil/Lauren)
The month of August – Redeeming our relationship with the rest of the world: Justice, Poverty, Money, Stewardship (Steph & Kim will coordinate but we’d love others input and help with this if you have thoughts, ideas, would like to lead, etc…)
Posted by Joanna Geiger on June 10, 2009 under Announcements |
The Power of Goose
I was sitting amongst the cuddliest group of kids I’ve ever been with, thinking. I had a cuddle bug to my right and to my left, as did most of the people on our team. I wondered how hard it would be to leave, for them, for me. There are twins that just melt my heart and little girls that give me drawings daily. We were sitting in a big circle. They like making circles, they get to all fight over holding our hands. I had one of the twins on my left playing with my panda watch, which I bought as a joke and would give it to him if there weren’t 16 other little ones who would be jealous. To my right is a young girl, about 13 who passed me notes and drawings all day that say, “I love you.” I didn’t expect to make such strong connections. So here we are, in a circle, playing, “Duck, Duck, Duck…GOOSE!!!”
It’s at odd times that Jesus just shines through to make a point. I’ll be on a ferry to the orphanage that we’ve been working with, thinking, about poverty. When you think you’ve seen dismal conditions, just wait, you’ll see something more dismal yet. Cambodia is the first country where the poverty is this tangible, in the capital never the less. I wish some more remote regions were on the itinerary so I could see what some less “developed” regions look like. I saw three hammocks strung in a circle and had a sense that that was were the old women in one of them slept. I have seen more naked children here and have no doubt that it was either food or clothes.
As a child I hated Duck Duck Goose. I never was fast enough to catch whoever had chosen me and would be happy to never be chosen at all. However, the kids requested the game and we found out that they REALLY loved it, regardless of the fact that most of them don’t know what a duck or a goose is and is likely to never come in contact with one or the other. There are about 50 children and as Michael starts around you start to hear the choruses of “Cho me!!! Teacher, cho me!!!” The latter part of chose seems to have escaped them and it sounds a lot like “chew.” Many, as the game goes on, start to plead the phrase wanting desperately to be chosen. It was as I watched the kids put their hands up and yell out, “Teacher, cho me” that I realized the power of goose.
As a child, “goose” just meant I had to run and show everyone how slow I was. But now, I see it through an orphan’s eyes. They rarely are told they are special, chosen for anything. So here we are playing a silly game and I get to tell them that I chose them. For a few moments, running around the ring, their faces light up. I start to cry but it isn’t the time for tears so I put a smile back on my face and tickle a little girl of about two who plops herself in my lap. Jesus chooses us but how often we see it with a privileged perspective. I think we all need to go back to seeing things as spiritual orphans. Maybe then we can see the power of “GOOSE!”
Posted by sreinitz on June 9, 2009 under Announcements |
Hello friends -
Many of you have been a part of Monday night burgers at Crystal City Sports Pub. Very sadly, our usual wonderful server and friend, Jarrad, recently announced he’s leaving the sports pub for new job opportunities. We thought the best way to deal with our depression over losing him was to do something nice for him as a send off.
If you would like to contribute to a gift for Jarrad, you can give money to Steph, Dave, or Matt. We will collect it all and pass it along to Jarrad. If you want to write a check, you can make it out to me and I will get them all cashed. We’re looking into doing some sort of scholarship for his son, but if that doesn’t work we’ll come up with a new plan.
Jarrad’s last Monday is June 29 so please have it to us before then so we can give it to him that night. Thank you everyone!
Posted by sreinitz on under Announcements |
Thank you to everyone who came out on Sunday for our planning meeting. There are a couple decisions we made that I wanted to update everyone on.
First, we want to try and experiment with different ways of doing dinner together. Therefore, June is potluck month! Everyone is invited to bring a dish to share and we will eat together prior to Holy Grounds. We’ll try this for the rest of June and then decide if we want to continue. Time to show off your cooking skills (or your skills at swinging by Giant on the way to church)
Doing dinner before service also means a slight schedule change. Starting next week, we’re going to try the following schedule:
5:30 pm Prep for dinner for those who need it
6:00 pm Dinner & social time
6:45 pm Holy Grounds “program” portion
8:00 pm Dismiss
Let me know if you have any questions! I look forward to seeing what everyone brings!
Posted by Matt Pritchard on June 8, 2009 under Of Interest |
Jan wrote about changing cultures last night and posted a link to an NPR story about ‘Retro Talk’. After listening to it NPR suggested Sex Without Intimacy: No Dating, No Relationships.
A few quotes…
“It’s a lot easier for me to go for [a hook-up] than really inviting them into my life and into my inner-circle and the people who are closest to me, who I’ve had all these shared experiences with. To me that seems like a bigger step–that kind of emotional intimacy. “
“For many of us, the requisite vulnerability and exposure that comes from being really intimate with someone in a committed sense is kind of threatening.”
And the thought of being in love with someone, Wilkerson says, “is the most terrifying thing.”
Questions surrounding sexuality continually come up as I hang out and talk with people.
Part of it certainly emanates from our experiences with broken homes. It is certainly also true that church’s have been co-consipirators with our culture in creating a fear of intimacy.
How do we live out intimacy with all the fear and pain that so often goes with it? How do we develop deep and real romantic and friend relationships with others? How do we truly grapple with the difficult questions of sexuality and intimacy?
A couple of books that have been helpful to me as I’ve thought about this over the years are Lauren Winner’s Real Sex and Rob Bell’s Sex God (I have copies if anyone wants to borrow them).
Still, I believe that we (meaning both the Holy Grounds community and the church universal) have a long way to go in exploring the call of Jesus in the realm of sexuality and intimacy.
What are your thoughts?
Posted by Lisa Miller on June 5, 2009 under Announcements |
Good Morning!
I don’t know how many of you saw Brian McLaren’s recent writings on Plurality 2.0 on pomomusings, but I found it really got to the heart of one of my own most vexing questions of faith. He frames the question “What about people of other faiths?” into the question “What about us?”
I found it really illuminating and challenging and hope you will also!
Posted by Matt Pritchard on June 4, 2009 under Community, Of Interest, Planning/Collaboration |
This summer the community of Fairlington Presbyterian along with Pastor Jan Edmiston will be taking a sabbatical to explore God’s calling on us in the coming seasons. It will be a wonderful time of reflection. Follow along with thoughts from people throughout the congregation and Jan’s travels on the Fairlington Sabbatical blog.
Posted by Jumoke on June 1, 2009 under Announcements, Community, Of Interest |
Friends,
Ellen Quaresma’s family is in need of emergency financial assistance. The Quaresmas emailed Grace Community Church last week. Due to the economy, some people have stopped sponsoring the family — but their expenses remain the same. Futhermore, recent illnesses have caused them to spend more on healthcare — and this is likely to continue as they move into the winter season.
Would you consider making a $10, $25, $50 or $100 one-time and/or recurring donation to help Ellen’s parents, Mazinho and Ana, take care of their still growing family of 39?! Any and all gifts -big or small- matter right now. Click here to donate now! (This link will take you to the Action International Ministries online gift site).
Here’s why… Ellen’s family has had to take out a bank loan to pay for food and healthcare. Not only do they need money to pay back a bank loan, but they also need more supporters to help sustain their ministry in the future. Ultimately, they will need more supporters as a long term solution.
Please spread the word about this family and make a financial contribution if you are able. You can go to www.quaresmafamily.org to learn more and this will link you to the action international website; click on the orange button that reads “Donate to Mazinho and Ana” and that will take you a secure online giving site.
If you have any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them for you, OR you can talk with Matt. We’ve both been to Brasil to visit this family and seen this ministry in action. This family is very dear to my heart and as we share their story with the rest of the world, the hope is that more people will want to help them out as well.
All the best,
Jumoke
Posted by Matt Pritchard on May 28, 2009 under Community |
I’m thinking about going to a conference in Grand Rapids, MI: Poets, Prophets, Teachers with Rob Bell, Peter Rollins, and Shane Hipps July 5-7. Want to come with me? The cost is $250, but it covers two people (I’ll cover this cost). Flights are about $212 round and I think we can probably find someone to put us up while we’re there. I’ll cover the rental car as well. You’d need to pay for your meals.
Let me know if you are interested.
Posted by sreinitz on May 10, 2009 under Announcements |
Hello all –
IJM recently launched Wednesday volunteer evenings at our office. More details below:
Main projects include entering contact cards from speaking engagements into the database, mailing followup letters, and other one-time projects. Delicious pizza dinner is provided. Great mix of IJM friends, longtime and new alike!
DETAILS:
Wednesday Evenings
May 13, May 27, June 10, June 24
5:30-8:30pm
http://www.ijm.org/getinvolved/volunteerwithijm
Please RSVP directly to Bronwyn Holst at volunteer@ijm.org.
If you’re unfamiliar with IJM, check us out at www.ijm.org.
Posted by JDBorden on May 4, 2009 under Announcements |
“The Starfish and the Spider”
Starting in two weeks—Sunday, May 17th at 9:30am
The “Sunday Morning Conversation Series” is a way for our community to discuss, converse, and grapple with how to best love God, one another, and our neighbors in the 21st Century.
For four weeks, beginning Sunday, May 17th and running until Sunday, June 7th, we will be tackling the recently published influential business and organizational theory book, The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations. This book has been described as “a must read” and “a breezy and entertaining look at how decentralization is changing many organizations.”
The book is available for purchase for $10 in the Cowsert Parlor.
Sunday, May 17th, we will be discussing the Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2 (the first 56 pages). However, we will give a brief overview of each week’s reading so all are welcome to these conversations, even if you have not already read the section
Posted by Karen Vroom on April 28, 2009 under Planning/Collaboration |
So, I thought maybe we should have a running e-dialogue or planning dinner about the summer season. My immediate thought after Lent is that it’s time to look outward now instead of inward, to think about mission and outreach. I think Kim’s discussion on “evangelism” is a great segue into this realm. We are a commuter church, so I have no idea who our neighbor would be. Whom should we love?
One way to explore what this means is to study Acts. I’ve seen our old church do this after easter and it seems to flow naturally, and to fit with the above. What do you all think?
Posted by Matt Pritchard on under Announcements, Planning/Collaboration |
This year we are planning a collaborative Pentecost worship gathering with the morning worship and Holy Grounds communities. It will merge the elements, styles, and people of both communities. This is where you come in, we need people passionate about planning and helping lead this gathering.
On Sunday, May 31st we worship outside in the front yard at 11 am followed by a picnic with the entire FPC community.
Let me know if you are interested in helping plan and/or lead this worship gathering: matt@fpcusa.org.
