http://VrienDuineN.tripod.com
http://VrienDuineN.tripod.com a day in the life of jon
here is the second newest mass email
Family and friends,
We've now been at The Open Door Community for just over a month and continue to marvel at how much we are being challenged. To sum it up best, we are learning how to put ideas into action, and, how to reflect and think about those actions. A term that educator and overall genius Paulo Freire uses to describe this is "praxis". Biblical texts (such as the Matt 25 passage) have come to mean something different to us and we are learning to view events, the world and our own privilege through the lenses of social justice.
To give you all a little idea of what we are doing here at The Open Door Community, here is what I (Jon) did on Wednesday.
Deb and I both got up at 5:30 to attend an informal Ash Wednesday service in the backyard here. One of the highlights of the service was our act of writing down one specific sin that we will try to work on during Lent and then placing it in a fire. We later took ashes from that fire and put crosses on each other's foreheads - a wonderful reminder that as a community we carry each other's burdens and together work for transformation.
After a quick breakfast, I then went out on the streets with Ed (one of the founders). Ed is an interesting guy to say the least - his long gray "scraggly" hair and his off the wall personality don't fit the general stereotype of a Presbyterian preacher with a PhD in church history. Every week he "visits" his friends on the streets - seeing as they are all homeless, visitation means he walks the streets and visits dumpsters, food kitchens, alleyways to find them. It's more, however, than just visiting friends, Ed (and The Open Door Community) strongly believe that Christ comes in the guise of the stranger, of the poor, of the homeless, and so, Ed and I went on the streets
looking for Jesus.
And we saw him a couple of times in the various people we met. We greeted about 50 people (mostly homeless) that knew Ed; we bought a man a razor so he could shave, we bought lunch and tampons for a woman we found digging through a garbage can, we visited the hospital that provides care for people without health insurance (we found that the wait to get a prescription filled was about 10 hours - and this is even before the proposed Medicad cuts), we climbed 18 flights of stairs for exercise, we harassed the wealthy by asking them for money, we sang Amazing Grace to a woman, we talked to a cop, a shoe salesman, a preacher, and a law clerk.
And along the way Ed did a little preaching of his own. Our question of the day for people was, "What should Jon do with his life?" We told them I was a civil engineer for 4 years with a college degree and all the privileges that come with being a white middle class male, and that I was looking for something more fulfilling to do with my life. I got answers from "follow your heart" to "why would you quit" to be involved in your community" and "you are at a good place [The Open Door] right now." Maybe this is where I am supposed to be. (We are open to suggestions from all of you too!)
When we got back to The Open Door I went to "Table Talk" (an hour and a half book study) where we are currently discussing sections in the book Community and Growth by Jean Vanier (founder of the L'Arche communities). It's an amazing book and a must read for anyone interested in community living.
After this, I helped make pancakes for dinner (we eat all of our meals together - and sometimes have to be in charge of putting the meal together), ate, did dishes, talked to a guy from Washington who is staying with us for a week, took a shower, and now I am here typing at 10pm. A full and satisfying day.
The following is the web site of The Open Door Community for those of you who are interested in learning more, maybe you can be the next Resident Volunteer here :)
http://www.opendoorcommunity.org/
Peace,
Jon (and Deb)
I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.
Matthew 25:35-36
