A Word from Laura: Interconnection

            As we continue to discover how to be a community of faith where some of us are on zoom and some of us are in-person, I remain hopeful that we might reconnect with those in our community whom we haven’t seen since March 2020. I’m particularly concerned about the connections with those who have previously been identified as guests of Miriam’s Kitchen.

            Before the pandemic, one of the things I would tell people about Western is that if you worshiped with us, you might be worshiping next to a former ambassador or a neighbor experiencing homelessness. You might not know either detail about the person by looking at them – we just happen to have some of everyone! I’m looking forward to being that kind of faith community again.

            We’re that kind of faith community because of who God is and who God calls us to be and because of our close partnership with Miriam’s Kitchen. Being out of the building so long meant that for many of us, it was difficult to find ways to be in community with our neighbors who live without permanent shelter. Yet we know this is essential to who we are as those who hold dear Jesus’s words in Matthew 25.

            This Sunday Miriam’s Kitchen executive director Scott Schenkelberg will be with us to celebrate more than thirty years of connection between MK and Western. Scott reminds me frequently that Miriam’s Kitchen’s location in a church building is essential to their ability to serve Foggy Bottom, that paying market rate for the kind of real estate we occupy at 24th and G would hamper their work seriously.

            As they reoccupy the downstairs, complete with new bathrooms thanks to their fundraising and Sterling’s supervision, I give thanks for the interconnections between Western and MK and for the intertwining of our communities.

            This Sunday, I invite you to recommit to this partnership through your own presence in worship. The deacons join me with the added incentive of a donation to Miriam’s for every person who worships with us in-person! And as you consider your annual pledge to Western’s ministry, as we work to increase our overall pledging by $20,000, I hope you will connect supporting our community of faith with supporting the interconnections of the vitally important, life-giving, home-providing work of Miriam’s Kitchen. 

            Giving thanks for each of you, and for the community we share,
            Laura 

PS – I will be gone this Sunday for a family funeral. (My husband) Scott and I remain grateful for all of you who have expressed your love and support for us. Thanks for being a community who knows how to “pastor the pastor.”