The terrorist attacks of September 11, profoundly affected our parish and without a doubt made us stronger and more connected. She ran outside and took a look at the enormous gash surrounded by flames and billowing smoke. Rushing back inside she called out to the pastor, Reverend Kevin Madigan, that the plane had hit the building. Fr Madigan looked out the window and saw the almost instantaneous response of fire engines and ambulances, and he hurried out to find out where the wounded were. Debris blew everywhere from the second impact; many larger pieces were on fire.
Fr Madigan rushed back to St. Thinking quickly, Fr Madigan led the assistant chaplain down into the nearby subway station where they took temporary shelter with transit police officers and emerged safely after some of the dust had settled. Roman Catholics were the most represented faith group of those lost in the attacks. The church was open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for the workers until the end of October when martial law was lifted and workers returned to work downtown. Everything was in disarray," Fr Kevin Madigan stated. Late that morning, he was in the North Tower lobby surrounded by rescue workers when the South Tower collapsed.
The force of the building falling on itself blew cement dust and debris at speeds estimated to be mph. The impact of the implosion was so violent that parts of the compromised North Tower building fell. Obscured by the cloud of dust, it was only after the incident that the men nearby saw that Fr Judge had been struck down and killed. Smith, another fire chaplain from Patchogue, NY blessed the body on curb.
Eventually his body was carried by two firemen, an FDNY medical technician, a police lieutenant and a civilian bystander into St. Fr Fussner, a priest at St. Fr Fussner added that the firemen pulled two of the candles close to either side of his body and a Franciscan friar later pointed out that the resulting pose resembled a bas-relief sculpture of Christ immediately behind the body. You do what God has called you to do. You get on that ring, you go out and do the job.
No matter how big the call, no matter how small, you have no idea of what God is calling you to, but God needs you. He needs all of us. God needs us to keep supporting each other, to be kind to each other, to love each other. We love this job, we all do.
What a blessing it is! Turn to God each day -- put your faith, your trust, your hope and your life in His hands. And this firehouse will be a great blessing to this neighborhood and to this city. Two days after the attacks, Ground Zero looked and felt like hell on earth. The ground was scorched, the air held the odor of incinerated building material and felt heavy with the weight of thousands of departed souls. Long shadows of autumn sun and lights erected to illuminate the wreckage gave the area an amber glow.
Police, firemen, first responders and many volunteers began to search the rubble for a few survivors and scarce remains. Many of the men who flocked to the site to volunteer were experienced hands that knew how to cut steel and move rubble so the search could continue and the area cleared. A volunteer construction worker named Frank Silecchia discovered the cross in a carved out area of the pile in the lower core of Building 6. There he spotted a cross made of steel standing upright. Fused to one side of the cross was large piece of melted metal that resembled a rumpled cloth which brought to mind the cross and shroud of resurrected Christ.
Frank Silecchia fell to his knees as did many who came to see it later. Many of them came back again and again over the course of eight months to reflect, worship and hope. Fr Jordan saw it as a sign. Fr Jordan then reached out to Fr Madigan who agreed to host the cross. In October , a group of about workers from the site, relatives of those killed in the attack and onlookers watched over as volunteer workers labored to move the 6,lb steel cross three streets and set it down outdoors on the side of the Church at Barclay and Church streets. People from all over the world and all faiths came to see the cross.
On August 11, , a new custom cross was installed to stand in the same place on the side of St. Crafted in Malibu, California, the cross was transported through sixteen states to reach New York. I personally though I admittedly still struggle have made the decision not to worship the idol of safety and to remember that my life and the life of my children are in the hands of God. However, safety is still a priority but it is the safety of all children not just mine. If I work to make the neighborhood I live in a safer place for all children, then it becomes a safer place for my children!
If I pray fervently for the place God has put me than when God answers my prayers all of my community benefits, which includes my family. So although it is extremely challenging, I have learned that wherever I end up making a home I must actively seek the welfare of that place. I may not always necessarily get to choose the most comfortable place but I can always choose to actively pray and seek the welfare of wherever I live. Do not make decisions to please family members, or for fear of hurting feelings but also be aware just like bullets have no name they also have no zip code.
So even if you decide to live outside of the inner city you must pray often for the place you live, because if you do not it is a sign that you do not believe there is brokenness where you live as well. As I pen this blog our community is presently dealing with the news of two young girls, eleven and twelve years old being shot this weekend.
I just found out this morning that one of the girls passed away while the other fights for her life. I must be honest and say that the trauma children and parents from our communities endure on a daily basis can be overwhelming and there are no easy and simple solutions. May 1, in Parish Stories. As I mentioned in the first blog post in this series, one of the core principles of ABCD Asset-Based Community Development is to focus on the assets, or as I prefer to call them, the gifts, of a local community.
In other words, it is about addressing the needs of the local community by first detecting and connecting the gifts at hand. One of the most precious gifts that we have found in the last year has been getting to know Ewa Karpinska. In fact, meeting Ewa was one of those serendipitous encounters that I can only describe as a gift in itself. Flashback to early August I am walking our then small puppy Rio by the Edgbaston Reservoir. After just a few minutes of grazing on blackberries and chatting with Ewa, I find out that:.
She simply needs a place to connect her passionate gift for cooking. By being connected to a community of neighbours and friends, Ewa has shown herself to be a skilled community-based chef who has a real gift for pulling people together around food. In fact, she has become a key character in the story of our neighbourhood, someone who is weaving the fabric of care and love one meal at a time.
Which makes me think: Could it be that neighbourhoods like Summerfield are filled with Ewas? April 26, in Parish Stories.
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THIS is where life happens and where peace is made real. The time was incredible as the room filled with pastors, leaders and practitioners from countries spanning the world who created a dynamic environment of collaboration, excitement and activism. The mysterious and enlivening story of Jesus was palpable.
As we taught through our content on Everyday Peacemaking, we told story after story of ways peace — which we define as the holistic repair of relationship — is not only being realized in the midst of global conflicts, but on the streets of our neighborhoods. With each story I told about my kids, wife and faith community all whom have committed to live the Jesus Way on the streets of our neighborhood of Golden Hill , I was stirred more and more with gratitude for the gift of a community of practice.
Teaching, training and inspiration matter, but only in so much as they move us to everyday practice in place. That is the discipleship challenge. Jesus LIVED the content he taught in the muck and messiness of everyday life on the streets of his Galilean neighborhood. We live in a culture that values hype. Our neighborhoods whatever the may look like! The day after I got home from the conference, my community came together for our weekly worship gathering that rotates between our homes in our neighborhood.
It was a cathartic experience. Just like anything, Christian conferences can become yet another opportunity to simply consume for consumptions sake. Sadly, that actually distracts and demobilizes the Church from being the Church. Friends, we were made for so much more than a one-off high. And, the world desperately needs the Jesus Community to live into its vocation as an instrument of peace every single moment of every single day in the unique contexts we inhabit. What a gift to come together and celebrate our common hearts and vision. April 25, in Featured Posts , Parish Stories.
Jodi Theut reflects on the importance of patience, and living now for future generations. The proposed plans prioritize everyone having access to amenities, limits the amount of private development, and seeks to form greenways from the neighborhoods down to the banks of the Detroit River.
This vision facilitates a new commons linking the heart and the soul of the city. Of course, my imagination was big enough to imagine my neighbors enjoying it too, but really my first thought was how amazing it was going to be for me. So, like, I might not really benefit from, enjoy or even see the dreams for my place realized? Not only did it force me to come face-to-face with my race towards midlife, but it also made me pause to ponder how so much of our neighborhood love, the big and small dreams of our todays, are not just about now, but also for—and maybe mostly for—the next generation.
These verses from Joshua now come to mind as I engage with the life of my neighborhood and the city. It makes me long to hear the stories of Old Detroiters and the ways God has shown up in big and little ways. While it may take decades to change the zoning, install new parks and gardens, and build housing for the twenty-first century, the opportunity is there if you take it. At the same time, there are thousands of smaller changes that can make a huge impact. Sometimes these acts can end up inspiring the bigger projects as well.
April 23, in Parish Stories. Our parish of Summerfield is known for its great diversity. Here, variety and difference run rampant — for good, but sometimes unfortunately for division and lack of conversation. After relocating to Summerfield parish in along with another family, the Ahos , we wanted to have genuine conversations with local people about the neighbourhood.
The concept of Neighbours Nights is simple and two-fold: On the first Wednesday of every month, we invite neighbours to share what they bring — both 1 food that they are willing to bring and share, and also 2 anything they can offer that will contribute to the well-being of the local community.
In this way, instead of taking on issue-based approach to community organizing which starts with a litany of problems, we take an asset-based approach. Why are the queues at the local GP surgery taking so long? When is the council ever going to sort rubbish collection and the chronic litter problem? Think of an after-hours jazz club, where musicians gather because they want to play their music together…they start playing something. It sounds wonderful, and even though they may not have ever seen each other before and have spoken only a few words, wonderful music emerges.
To an outsider it is magical. What is operating is a clear structure, but if you are not part of the jazz culture, the rule and customs that make the music possible are invisible. Similarly, properties of gifts, associations, and hospitality are the hidden structure of [abundant] community life…. The invisible structure of gifts, associations, and hospitality creates the possibility and are the rule of a competent community.
They are always available and essential. Like the jazz jam session, Neighbour Nights is becoming a social space for neighbours to share their gifts, associate for a common purpose, and to extend hospitality. For now, we simply want to pause and celebrate the good news that we are already beginning to experience together: This story was originally published by Companions For Hope. April 6, in Featured Posts , Parish Stories.
If you take five minutes to scan through your facebook feed or even the headlines of the news, it sure does seem like there are good reasons to start freaking out. Nations constantly at war. Oh, and, Um… Donald Trump. But, regardless of whether you are Republican, Democrat, or something in between, if you care about the future of the church you probably also find yourself shaking your head in bewilderment these days.
People fear things are getting out of control.
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And maybe they are. So where do we find hope? In recent years there has been a diligent hunt for signs of life within Christendom. But if we are honest, our search has left us wanting and confused or do you need to check Facebook again? We find ourselves asking: Are there any signs of life beyond the forms and structures of church that have dominated the mainstream Christian imagination? Church leaders are scrambling to attract more people to their church community, particularly Millenials, in order to increase their cultural impact.
Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions and looking in the wrong direction. While some may grieve the conclusion of church forms of the 21st century, there is, in fact, great hope out ahead of us. Beyond our church growth charts and measurement sticks there is a movement bursting up from the ground, a counter narrative to the anxious grip of the past. A movement is growing to reclaim the ancient idea of the parish for the 21st century.
When we say the word parish, we mean that people are weaving their lives together in actual places large enough to live much of their live live, work, and play , but small enough to be known as a character within the story of that place.
In neighborhoods, suburbs, villages, and towns followers of Jesus are learning how to be the church in the everyday context of their actual lives. Communities of faith are taking shape by letting go of the small story of church growth and embracing the big story of joining God right where they are. The signs are everywhere! Rather, these signs are drawn from stories, pictures and expressions of what God is already doing to love the world. Saying that Christ is at the center is not just a statement of belief but a commitment to a way of life together.
As communities we commit to love one another and grow together with Christ within the grime and beauty of our everyday stories. Rather than trying to be all things to all people, we are learning to accept our limitations as a gift from God, live with intentionality, be known by our actual neighbors and tangibly love those around us. Trusting that God is at work, we draw together in worship to remember the larger story of our faith, rehearse the kind of people God desires us to be in the parish, and encourage one another in love and discernment. Just as important, we are learning to collaborate with neighbors from other traditions, faiths and experiences as we journey alongside the suffering and pain of those around us.
If ever there was going to be a robust movement of unity in the 21st century church it will likely be lay-led, local, and in the neighborhood.
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When unity and trust grow between us, it is amazing how we can work together and build peace for the common good. Actively connecting with other Christian communities across parishes regionally and globally, we grow in mutual learning, friendship, and life giving partnership. We live in the most interconnected moment this world has ever experienced. We are learning how desperately we need one another if we are going to step into the challenges and opportunities set before us.
Not only do we need to trust God but we are committed to learning how to trust one another as well. We should say in conclusion that these five signs are not a new gimmick or fad. After all, the Church through the ages has certainly been living into these themes since the beginning.
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But it does feel like there is something new in the air. And while there may be plenty of confusion and frustration swirling around our broader culture and within the church, we find ourselves brimming with hope. July 30, in Parish Stories. Around midnight we had to call because of a disturbance with possible gunshots in a park on the next block. This park has a rough history, but has been reclaimed for good in recent years. This morning, I woke up to an alert on my iPhone that three police officers were killed in Baton Rouge.
This comes on the heals of multiple, horrific episodes of violence in Minneapolis, in Dallas, in France, in Turkey, in Bangladesh, in Iraq and other places in our country and around the world. It comes in the midst of the harshest, most vulgar and divisive election season in memory. As followers of Jesus, what can we do? How do we deal with the monumental problems facing our national and global society?
We lose touch of our senses, priorities and relationships. We become more irritable. Our relationships become more mechanical and forced. Our attention span shortens. An anxiety about our individual and collective future breeds paralysis. The distance between those of different cultures, traditions and ethnicities grows.
We pour more time and energy into our political allegiance than our Kingdom allegiance.
We borrowed a tool to trim a tree from another neighbor. Randy lives in the Mark Cooper House, a transitional housing center in our neighborhood for veterans recovering from addiction. Randy spends most of his day on a park bench a block from our house reading books and watching people. Especially the black kids with sagging pants and the blind people who work at Lighthouse for the Blind. We smiled when we spoke to strangers. We walked to the neighborhood fruit stand and bought tomatoes and blueberries. Do these small choices make a difference? Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like the smallest of seeds that when planted grows to become a large tree in which the birds can find shelter.
The Kingdom looks small, almost invisible, but it has tremendous effect. The exciting thing is that these kind of Kingdom outbreaks — these small steps fostering human connection and love are taking place in neighborhoods across our country. People are loving their actual neighbors and it is making a difference. We just returned from a trip to Oregon in which we walked and heard stories of redemption in three different cities and towns. We celebrated Independence Day in a cul-de-sac in Corvallis, Oregon and participated as believers were sowing Kingdom Seed in the midst of sparklers, burgers, and micro-brews.
We hear stories from friends in Florida who have just opened their home to provide a safe place for kids whose parents are in drug rehab. These same friends facilitate a bible discussion in their home with neighbors of various faiths. We are learning that ministry consists, not primarily of activities and events, but of the everyday, the mundane and the ordinary in a particular place over time.
Dallas Willard writes about the Kingdom impact unleashed when we learn to love our neighbors.
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Investing in a few relationships. Planning to do it. Learning as you go. The place of spiritual disciplines in all of this. What we do know is that when people get to know their neighbors, good things start happening. Real relationships are formed. And these relationships make a difference.
Neighbors start to work together. They shovel driveways, get to know aging neighbors, notice strangers walking around, and help each other in a pinch. Please create an account to get started. You are browsing the archive for Parish Stories. Embracing the Paradox of Hospitality May 21, in Parish Stories In this blog series, we have been discussing three core components of abundant community: To sum up the arc of our conversation: