Dear friends,
Anne Lamott says that there are basically two kinds of prayers: “Help me, Help me, Help me” and “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.” I feel pretty in touch with both those forms of prayer in this season of my life.
Rosetta Day and I are doing well. Babies are always a mystery- they come bringing wisdom from the Great Silence and yet they also come needing so very much help. Rosetta started crying a whole lot about the time Richie’s went back to work and a couple of weeks ago I was not sure how we were going to get through this newborn phase. But through the wonders of care from Autumn, baby-whisperer and chiropractor at Cafe of Life, Rosetta is able to rest more and cry less and we are all feeling more settled.
Richie is also very supportive of my work (he has all three munchkins out at Whole Foods right now so I can have some computer time) and I know we will settle in on our life/work balance in the coming months. Thank you for the ongoing prayers and food and attention.
And welcome to our other two newest community members, Jacob Kyle Lunn, born to Reagan and Ashley on Sept. 29th and Sunshine Madelyn Stoneham, just born on November 21 to Cara and Carl. Please continue to shower love and affection on these families.
I return to worship this Sunday, November 28, for the start of Advent and launch of our Advent theme, “Nothing is Wasted.” The theme is more of a mantra really, and it comes from an experience that Clint had while sitting in silence during Genny’s Quaker meeting in July. His story gifted me with a new image of God-as a holy composter: One who recycles our weary, worn out bits and converts us into deeper and more potent beings.
So I bought us a Church in the Cliff composter at Lowes. She’s a 60 gallon beauty.
We will install it on Sunday into a little enclosed garden by the west entrance to the Kidd Springs Recreation Center. I am currently working on a liturgy of the composter which will be part of our service. (No we don’t have official permission, per se, but how much trouble can we get into for donating a composter to a garden?)
Ross has procured buckets which we will distribute this Sunday and next for anyone who would like to collect your veggie scraps during Advent and drop it off in the composter on your way to worship.
What does a composter have to do with Advent? This is the season of holy and growing darkness, of darkness that is alive! Advent darkness holds a lot inside, like rich back dirt. The liturgical color, deep blue/black, has a velvety depth and reminds us that dark can be a color of its own. And that God is at work in the dark. And we wait in this season for the Christ Child but also we wait and watch for our own transformation: trusting that nothing in our lives is ever wasted. God can recycle our failures, and hold our sadness, grief, and confusion. Still not sure what a composter has to do with Advent? Won’t it be fun to talk about it and figure it out together? Join us this Sunday and beyond.
Peace of the Season,
Courtney
PS We are reintroducing Community Meals for Advent. The first one is Dec 1. Please RSVP (details below) so we can get enough free books for folks.
Teri and the Horsey House are hosting a book release/de(re)construction party for Common Prayer: Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, a new resource compiled by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. This party is open to the public and we need everyone to register. Come and meet some new folks and join us for a lively conversation as we talk about where and how we pray our lives. And maybe go home with a free book!
7pm, Wed. Dec 1st The Horsey House Communal Home830 N Bishop Ave Dallas, TX 75208