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Who we are becoming
One of the great gifts of God’s church is that it is a "third place." The church is not our house and it is not where we work or shop. It is a place set apart. It is a place for meeting an unexpected new friend. It is a place to hear a great story from a fellow traveler about their joys and their struggles. It is a place to really "see" one another and greet one another in the name of the God who created us. It is a place where we remind one another that we are the holy and precious children of the living God. It is a place as Parker Palmer has said, “To take a deep bow to who we are and a deeper bow to who we are becoming.”
The Episcopal Church has always maintained wonderful "third places" that are tucked into tiny towns and giant cities all across the United States. Some are incredibly prominent parts of the civic landscape. Some you would miss if you blinked.
But whatever form these "third places" take, baked deeply in our commitments to be the church are commitments to be a part of the neighborhoods we inhabit. At our best we are offering ourselves and our sacred spaces as a free gift to our communities.
There is something really strong in the DNA of this particular community of faith that owns that calling and vocation very deeply. We love to try creative and grace-filled ways to give our sacred spaces away. This fall, we will lean into that calling ever more deeply as we begin a new weekly gathering called “Community Cafe”
Beginning Wednesday, September 6, and continuing until the end of the year, we will throw open the doors of the Allen House and offer lunch to whoever wants to show up. There is no agenda and no aim other than to offer this amazing third place to our community in a new way. I invite you to think about who you know that would value this time of fellowship and community building and bring them along.
The amazing thing about following Jesus together is that we never really know what God is going to show us next as we travel the way as God's people.
I hope you can join us on Sundays and I invite you to consider taking part in the other upcoming fall opportunities that are offered in this weekly email to deepen our relationships and give thanks to God for the gift and beauty of this place, the gift of life and the simple gift of one another.
See you Sunday!
David
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