I love waking up a little later on Tuesday mornings. It is great to sleep in a little and see Carrie of to her place of ministry. Then for the next few hours I get to read, play guitar, make lunch, and email. I love it. Then from noon on out I spend my time and energy giving myself to community, friends, and ministry. I go to a pottery studio for people off the streets called Just Potters. This is a place for people to come who cannot get normal employment otherwise. There they can make a wage making pottery pieces to be sold as handmade pottery. They do a great job taking time for each piece and making it look great. Great enough people want to put it in their homes. I get to work along side people making pieces with intensions of making more than a nice dish or something, but meaningful relationships for God to do what he wants with.
Then from there I go straight to the downtown eastside (poorest postal code in Canada) where there is a great deal of hurting, drug use, and people dying of hiv and hepatitis. This is a place of great suffering and despair. I get to go down and give my time at Jacobs Well (www.jacobswell.ca). This is a place wherer the whole goal is to be intentional about creating deep relationships in the lives of those on the downtown eastside. These people may not have anyone who cares for them otherwise. On Tuesday evenings we sit down with our friends and have a meal together around the table; which is sacred in this communtiy. This is because around the table all identity falls away and we all can share life and it's experiences. Our hope is to give people some dignity and community which they lack otherwise.
1 Comment:
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September 9, 2007 at 12:06 PM
Glad you found the pleasure of "alone time" as this is a true sign of maturity...comfortable with just yourself (or said another way..in your own shoes). We have all known people who cannot stand being alone. When i am alone, I feel space to talk to God and really reflect. Everyone should have a "Tuesday Morning" at least once a week! :-)