mercy
... continued... so, Saturday mornings, before I go to HPI, I go to the Mercy Team meeting at Grace Covenant Presbyterian, my church here in Williamsburg. It's a committee made up of about 20 people, newly-formed.
Throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, God reveals himself to us as a God who cares about the poor, the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, the needy. And he calls us, his people, to reflect these concerns in our own lives. In order to more fully embody in our own congregation God's heart for the needy, we are forming a "mercy team" to help our whole congregation grow in our heart for, and commitment to, meeting practical mercy needs in our community.
That was the announcement in the church bulletin (I know.... it's so weird to be back in a church that has *bulletins*) several weeks ago, where I first found out about this new committee. It's born out of an idea espoused in Grace's vision statement--
... We believe that the hope for our own lives, Williamsburg, and the whole world is the gospel, the good news of salvation and reconciliation that comes only through Jesus. And so we seek to be a community that loves Williamsburg and the world by proclaiming the gospel in both word and deed. We believe that involvement in mercy and justice isn't simply an addition to the gospel, but a vital part. By engaging in acts of mercy and justice, we are participating in God's work of redeeming all of creation, a work that we see in part now, but which he will one day bring to it's full flowering...
Basically, what happened was, I got back from eight months at Lagniappe wondering how, in a world that hasn't been decimated by a hurricane, I was going to find ways to live out the truths of serving in love and grace that I'd learned in the Bay. Well, clearly, there is so much wrong with that line of thinking. To begin with, Hurricane Isabel?? Yeah, happened here just in 2003... recovery efforts clearly still ongoing... also, need is present anywhere there is even one person. There are people in prisons with no foreseeable future, people in hospitals who despair and are lonely, people who are addicted to all sorts of substances with no motive to seek help. These people have an equally great need of help as those in the Bay, it's just a different sort of help they need. Instead of shingles & drywall they need companionship, to be taught life skills, medical attention, etc. And where do these people live? That's right. Right here in Williamsburg. They live where you live, too. (And, never to forget, people in need of help live right where I live, in my dorm room. Which is a single, by the way. :P )
Anyways, so, like I said--got back from Lagniappe, looking for ways to carry on the ideas of lagniappe here in Williamsburg, walk into church, and guess what? I'm not the only one. There's a whole group of people here in my home church with the desire to love & serve. (Another way this ties into Lagniappe... four people on the committee, including my pastor, were on the team Grace sent down to Lagniappe in July... they're going for a return trip to the Bay this August, by which time, God willing, I'll alredy be back there as well.) This morning, we split up a list of local relief agencies, each volunteering to contact some, with the goal of finding 1) what needs exist in the community, 2) how those needs are being met currently, & 3) how Grace can help in filling the gaps between the two. (Basic idea taken from Tim Keller's book Ministries of Mercy.) One of the names on the list, which I volunteered to work with is... HPI. How amazing is it how all things come connect? HPI, the people on the Mercy Team, the roofing team that worked in Biloxi, Lagniappe... it's amazing. :)
Anyways, the point being... this is the beginning of a story of how Lagniappe is inspiring others and stimulating participation in God's work in other parts of the Kingdom. Narnia is thawing (not literally... it's about 17 degrees here) all over. I'll keep you updated. :)
~~~
And the wheels just keep on turning,
The drummers begin to drum--
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know what I've become.
--Coldplay, Kingdom Come
... Life isn't static. As people and children of God we're constantly growing to see how the Kingdom is lived out in all times and all places.
Throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, God reveals himself to us as a God who cares about the poor, the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, the needy. And he calls us, his people, to reflect these concerns in our own lives. In order to more fully embody in our own congregation God's heart for the needy, we are forming a "mercy team" to help our whole congregation grow in our heart for, and commitment to, meeting practical mercy needs in our community.
That was the announcement in the church bulletin (I know.... it's so weird to be back in a church that has *bulletins*) several weeks ago, where I first found out about this new committee. It's born out of an idea espoused in Grace's vision statement--
... We believe that the hope for our own lives, Williamsburg, and the whole world is the gospel, the good news of salvation and reconciliation that comes only through Jesus. And so we seek to be a community that loves Williamsburg and the world by proclaiming the gospel in both word and deed. We believe that involvement in mercy and justice isn't simply an addition to the gospel, but a vital part. By engaging in acts of mercy and justice, we are participating in God's work of redeeming all of creation, a work that we see in part now, but which he will one day bring to it's full flowering...
Basically, what happened was, I got back from eight months at Lagniappe wondering how, in a world that hasn't been decimated by a hurricane, I was going to find ways to live out the truths of serving in love and grace that I'd learned in the Bay. Well, clearly, there is so much wrong with that line of thinking. To begin with, Hurricane Isabel?? Yeah, happened here just in 2003... recovery efforts clearly still ongoing... also, need is present anywhere there is even one person. There are people in prisons with no foreseeable future, people in hospitals who despair and are lonely, people who are addicted to all sorts of substances with no motive to seek help. These people have an equally great need of help as those in the Bay, it's just a different sort of help they need. Instead of shingles & drywall they need companionship, to be taught life skills, medical attention, etc. And where do these people live? That's right. Right here in Williamsburg. They live where you live, too. (And, never to forget, people in need of help live right where I live, in my dorm room. Which is a single, by the way. :P )
Anyways, so, like I said--got back from Lagniappe, looking for ways to carry on the ideas of lagniappe here in Williamsburg, walk into church, and guess what? I'm not the only one. There's a whole group of people here in my home church with the desire to love & serve. (Another way this ties into Lagniappe... four people on the committee, including my pastor, were on the team Grace sent down to Lagniappe in July... they're going for a return trip to the Bay this August, by which time, God willing, I'll alredy be back there as well.) This morning, we split up a list of local relief agencies, each volunteering to contact some, with the goal of finding 1) what needs exist in the community, 2) how those needs are being met currently, & 3) how Grace can help in filling the gaps between the two. (Basic idea taken from Tim Keller's book Ministries of Mercy.) One of the names on the list, which I volunteered to work with is... HPI. How amazing is it how all things come connect? HPI, the people on the Mercy Team, the roofing team that worked in Biloxi, Lagniappe... it's amazing. :)
Anyways, the point being... this is the beginning of a story of how Lagniappe is inspiring others and stimulating participation in God's work in other parts of the Kingdom. Narnia is thawing (not literally... it's about 17 degrees here) all over. I'll keep you updated. :)
~~~
And the wheels just keep on turning,
The drummers begin to drum--
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know what I've become.
--Coldplay, Kingdom Come
... Life isn't static. As people and children of God we're constantly growing to see how the Kingdom is lived out in all times and all places.
posted by jersey ryn at 8:40 AM
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