Lunch Tomorrow
I’m in town. 
Anyone up for meeting me for lunch tomorrow about 12:30 at Busboys & Poets in Shirlington? Send a text or e-mail me and let me know.
HG tonight: Sarah sharing things learned at CCDA conference
Hey everyone,
I wanted to remind you all that I’ll be leading at HG tonight sharing thoughts/ideas/questions/things I learned at the CCDA (Christian Community Development Conference) that I went to in Chicago, the first week of Septmeber.
Please come with an open mind to hear about the amazing things that God is doing through His kingdom workers throughout the nation.
Also, please come with any questions that you have for John and I, related to our experience as community development workers in Chirilagua. We’d love to share about the things happening in our neighborhood here in VA, as well as open the floor to discussion and hear about what others think about how churches are changing and taking on social causes.
Hope to see you tonight!
Sarah
Opportunity to serve – Providing food for conference – Sept. 25th
Hi everyone,
A friend of mine that is part of Mujeres de Virtud, a women’s ministry in Chirilagua (and national wide) is hosting a conference for Latina Christian women, Sept. 25th in Fairfax, VA (I think, I’ll have to confirm the location).
In the morning they will have speakers on the following topics: Immigration Reform and what the law in AZ means for our ladies here in VA, Domestic Abuse, Financial planning, Physical and Spiritual Health, along with maybe one or two more. They are brining in experts from the community on these topics.
They’ve organized the conference because of felt-needs from different congregations and ministries in the area. The group is looking for someone to donate a lasagna and salad lunch, as they’re organizing this event on a volunteer basis and don’t have a budget for anything. They’re expecting around 100 women and will need the following:
- plates, cups, napkins, plasticware
- enough lasagna for 100
- ingredients for salad
- a few iced tea and lemonade mixes
Please let me know if you can donate all or part of this lunch or would like to help in any way. It would be a wonderful way to reach out to our immigrant friends and neighbors and show them our fellow Christian love.
Thanks!
Sarah
sarahedale (at) gmail.com
PS-To learn more about Chirilagua, visit www.casachirilagua.org
Encouragement for Brian
Jan and I are at a conference in Durham where Brian is speaking (not using his last name so this doesn’t show up in searches). Apparently things have been hard recently with the new book and everyone angry about what he’s been saying.
I know many of us have been deeply transformed by his thinking. If this is the case for you, would you send me a message of encouragement about how you’ve been impacted by his work that I can forward along to him? I know it would mean a lot to him right now.
Can’t wait to see you guys on Sunday!
Need a car Sunday & Monday
Would anyone be willing to let me (Matt Pritchard) borrow their car Sunday and/or Monday? Looking forward to being at Holy Grounds and burgers. Let me know if you’d like to meet up while I’m in town.
Hospitality Request
My friends Joe, Vladi, and Vicki (Vladi and Vicki are Russian exchange students) are doing some east coast travel and are in need of a place to stay this Friday and Saturday night. Anyone up for hosting them? They are planning to do a bunch of site seeing in DC and are happy with couches or air mattresses or whatever makes sense.
Love and miss you all so much!!!
Scott & Sasha Send-Off
Hey guys!!!
So… Scott and Sasha will be back in town this weekend, and we’d like to give them an official send-off!
Here’s the plan… we’ll all meet at FPC (3846 King Street Alexandria, VA 22302-1993) in the parking lot at 6:30, and then we’ll all carpool over to Guapo’s in Shirlington. If you want to come, but think you’re going to be a little late or can’t meet at the church, leave a comment here, and we’ll know to add you to the tally at the restaurant.
Hope to see you there
We’ll all miss Scott and Sasha, but we sure are glad that we got to know them while they were here!
Converge Mid-Atlantic Community Gathering
This gathering brings together people from communities all over the Mid-Atlantic region to teach, conspire, and dream for God’s beautiful kingdom on Earth. A combination of seminars, practical skill shares, concerts, and plenary sessions will make this a great time together.
Join us at Eden Valley Center (edenvalleycenter.org), a beautiful 100 acre farmland just 45 minutes north of D.C. We’ll be camping out, so bring tents, stoves, rain gear…more info to come on what to bring.
We hope to draw co-conspirators from around the region to share in this wonderful event. We’ll gather at 7 pm on Friday, look for more details about arrival, set up, and departure.
We will have to close the registration at 100, so register today! Last day to register is July 23!
New Date for Visit to Pittsburgh Aug 13-15
Ok, after talking to many of you, I’ve changed the Pittsburgh trip date to August 13-15. Can’t wait to have a bunch of you here. We’ll hang out. I’ll introduce you to the many great people I work with here. We’ll have a party and it would be a complete blast. Let me know if the dates work for you guys and if you’re planning to come so I can arrange sufficient accommodations.
Game Night!
Alright Kids… Since I’m pretty sure we haven’t been spending enough time together recently, and since Stephanie and John both have birthdays this weekend, and since it seems like a good idea, I think we should have a game night this Saturday (June 5).
For convenience, we’ll be commandeering the basement at FPC. So what I’m thinking is we’ll start up the grill with some burgers and brats at about 6. We’ll have the grill by the back door to make things easy. Come and go as you’d like. We have the meat for the grill, but please bring drinks, sides, or desserts as you’d like.
We’ll have a Wii hooked up, so feel free to bring your Wii-motes with your Miis loaded if you want (if you have a Wii but have no idea how to take your Mii with you, shoot me or Josh an email and we’ll take care of you 
). We’ll also have a lovely selection of board games and the like. Feel free to bring along your favorite games too 
Ok, I think that covers it. So to review… Saturday, 6ish, basement, burgers, fun.
Be Ruthless in the Living of Call (House of St Michael the Archangel)
I thought you all might be interested in knowing that I’ll be blogging regularly at the House of St Michael the Archangel. My first post is now available. Here’s a preview:
I have many friends who work in areas where life and death are truly in the balance. There’s always a sense that if I work a little more, one more street child will be safe, one less person will die of aids or starvation, or one more slave will be set free. Even in my pastoral work, there’s a sense that if I just spend a little more time with people it will make a difference. These thoughts are evil! They are a proclamation that you are the one holding the world together, that you love them more than God does. Only when we are confident in our call and the character of our God, can we say no with the peace that God doesn’t need us to save the world, he needs us to do and be exactly that which he has built and called us to do and be, nothing more and nothing less. The Kingdom of God comes when we each, with reckless abandon, fall into submission to God, not when we each pursue that which we think will maximize the work of our hands.
“Could Your Church Survive if There Were no Sermons?”
Don Miller made a post today about. Thought you all would enjoy it!!!
Looking for Summer Housing
One of my sister’s best friends from UVA (Meikle Paschal) is looking for a place to stay for 1-2 months this summer. He will be working for the Dept. of Homeland Security in Crystal City. He starts work on June 7th and will work til the first of July or end of July depending on what housing arrangement is available; so he is flexible. He will not be able to pay full rent because he will still be paying rent in Charlottesville, VA – anyone want to swap for the summer!!?? lol But he could contribute some on rent; things are negotiable. He is a super fun guy, originally from Boston, very outgoing, runs for the track team and will be a 4th year in the fall. Let me know if you have any suggestions or anything availble for those dates.
If you have space or any ideas, e-mail him at mpaschaljr@gmail.com.
$9 Tickets to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
Hey guys, just got an e-mail about $9 tickets to Madame Tussauds (usually it’s $20). I want to go sometime in the future, so I’m getting a couple. Thought it might be a fun group activity.
They are only on sale today through this thing called a Groupon which I’ve been using a bunch lately. Essentially you buy a gift certificate for a lot less than the face value.
Take a look at the Madame Tussauds deal.
Dinner Wednesday Night with Matt
I’ll 
be back in town for a couple of days this week and would love to grab dinner with you all! I miss you all so much!!!!
Here’s the plan:
Guapos in Shirlington
6:30pm
Wednesday, April 7
Shoot me a text and let me know you’re coming so I can get an appropriately sized table: 434.962.4927. Can’t wait!!!
Buy and Review Brian McLaren’s Latest Book “A New Kind of Christianity”
We got to share dinner with Brian McLaren last spring. Brian graciously gave his time to us along with a bunch of books and CDs. We asked if there was anything we could do for him and, after thinking about it a little while, he asked us to read and review his new book “A New Kind of Christianity” when it comes out.
I’m reminding everyone of this request as the book has been out for a couple of months. Jan has a copy and so do I and we’re happy to allow you to borrow it if you want. It’s good stuff!
Once you’ve read it, review it on Amazon.com, your blog, or anywhere else you can.
Love and miss you all so much!
Wendell Berry Speaking in Arlington May 4th
Arlington Reads 2010: Literary Legend, Farmer Wendell Berry
- “The Memory of Old Jack” is featured title
- Berry, urban farmer Novella Carpenter to speak
- Book club kits available
ARLINGTON, Va. — Our food takes center plate this spring as Arlington Reads 2010 looks at the movement away from industrial mass production back to safer, healthier meals grown through local, sustainable means.
Arlington Reads is Arlington Public Library’s annual one-book, one-community initiative to promote discussion and the joy of reading throughout the County. It is made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.
This year’s featured Arlington Reads author—literary legend, essayist, poet and Kentucky farmer Wendell Berry, who declared that “eating is an agricultural act,” — is widely credited with inspiring the “food movement.” Making a rare public appearance, Berry will discuss his life’s work and vision of people honoring and reconnecting with the soil at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 4 at Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy St., Arlington. This special event is free and open to the public.
“Wendell Berry actually began the national conversation about food, agriculture, the environment and health decades ago,” Library Director Diane Kresh said. “Without him, we probably wouldn’t have a vegetable garden on the White House lawn or Wal-Mart selling organic produce.”
This year’s Arlington Reads celebrates not only Berry’s “remarkable career as a writer of more than 30 novels, essays and collections of
poetry, but his prescience in encouraging readers to ‘think globally and eat locally,’’ Kresh said.
Cornerstone Benefit Concert-this Saturday
HG Women’s Small Group dinner & planning mtg.
Chirilagua Women’s Group Fundraiser
sarahedale (at) gmail.com