goings on

it has been tooooo long since our last post.  sorry about that.  it has been a beautiful and full month.  here are some illustrated highlights. (see our flickr page for more pictures)

we built a path along the east side of our home..here's sherry working hard.

we celebrated thanksgiving at the Samsons house with a wonderful crowd of people including one of our neighbors, Ms D and Dino, Aida, and Tarik (here's sherry, D, Aida, and Geoff)

we kicked off the series of Advent sunday gatherings at communality.

we're making time to enjoy downtown morning walks on these brisk Fall mornings...here's isaac and sherry leaping across the street.

the autumnal leaves have fallen to the ground but God still sends us color to enjoy in our backyard.

we celebrated the first east end (our neighborhood) tree lighting with friends, neighbors, and city officials.  here's sherry (below) with our neighbor, Judge enjoying some hot apple cider at the tree lighting.

...and last night we enjoyed fellowship with several hundred people at an event promoting the voting rights of former felons (in kentucky, even after you have served your time, it is very difficult to regain the right to vote - Virginia is the only other state with such laws).  it was a heavenly gathering of choirs and solo singers giving thanks to God and promoting restoration and forgiveness.

morning at the maddock's of lexington

lilly the dog and isaac the boy

aussie visitors

over the past week we have had the privilege of hosting some of our favorite people in the world.  First we had John and Glena Smith of Melbourne come and stay...they are life-long family friends of Geoff's family as well as co-workers in the founding of Communality over 10 years ago.  lot's of catching up about family and culture, mission and ministry, not to mention the very particular pleasure of face-to-face meandering conversation in the "australian language".  here's glena, geoff, and john at our favorite bakery, sunrise.

yesterday another dear friend and mentor arrived to stay with us - Mary Fisher.  Mary lives and works in Sydney.  here she is at our dining room table with Sherry and some other guests (from England and Columbus, OH).

civics 101

as the east end project liaison for the legacy center, sherry has been working with a local non-profit to host a grassroots leadership course.  last week they met at the city council building.  the vice mayor and several council representatives were there to greet the students and talk about how local government works.  it has been an important exercise in civic engagement and a key learning experience for those eager to make a difference in this city. many of the participants are neighbors and friends from our east-end neighborhood.  (sherry is standing on the far left).

here sherry and isaac cuddle in the back row of the council chambers.  and here's sherry talking with the vice mayor.

a new kitchen

last week we received the beautiful present of handmade kitchen furniture.   Sherry's dad (Paul) is a gifted furniture maker and crafted this piece from an idea-sketch Sherry had.  after our bathroom/kitchen disaster of  the summer '08 we made do with a potting bench from the shed as our kitchen countertop.  now we have this magnificent piece to use and enjoy.  thanks Papa!

and then there were 4

we added a family member this week.  sherry's sister had been fostering a dog in Birmingham Alabama for an animal shelter.  she told us about Lilly and after much prayer, discussion, worry, discussion (we talk a lot), and excitement we decided to adopt her (the dog, not sherry's sister...Dacy already has a family).  Lilly is an 18 month-old Kelpie - an Australian cattle dog.  how could we say no?  she just weaned her litter of 9 pups and has been spade so there's no more of that business.  she is house trained and a very sweet natured puppy - and hardly sheds any hair (very important).  isaac is over the moon and we can't help but love her too.  here she is enjoying the warm Fall sunshine today.

 

big weekend

another fun and full weekend here in lexington.  the annual roots and heritage festival bought hundreds of people to our neighborhood and around our home which is firmly planted at the heart of the action.  here are a few pics of the festivities...more at our flickr page.

taken in our driveway..sherry talks with her friend, Judge.

sherry and isaac explore the street market with Mrs R.

great band warming up before the parade.

our neighbors turned their front yard into a marketplace.

isaac, maggie, and seth take in the parade

our house is perched in the middle of this reflection (this marching band tuba has a wider angle of vision than my camera lens)

our driveway..sherry is eagerly twittering the event for her work.

labor day

on the labor day holiday (monday) we went out to our favorite orchard to pick up some of the early ripening apple varieties.  sean and seth gladding came with us.  it was overcast when we arrived and soon after there was a torrential downpour.  the boys and i stayed on the porch while sherry and sean braved the wet to finish out the fruit picking.  the afternoon was very relaxed back at home....some lego construction, yahtzee, reading, and a movie to finish of the evening.  all in all a very satisfactory celebration of work via rest.

 

placed people

we have been working on this project for almost two years now and we finally have a web site that describes 'placed people: a school for missional formation.'

(check out the website for more information.)

it is our attempt at creating a space in our work for mentoring those interested in learning more about what it means to engage in God's mission of love and justice.  this work has been an integral part of the life of communality for over ten years and this project represents a formalization of sorts.

over the summer we were delighted to mentor a student from Wheaton and a student from Asbury Theological Seminary in environmental stewardship and refugee resettlement respectively.  we appreciate your prayers (and advice) as we move forward  in this work.

magical evening

on friday night we enjoyed a remarkable event at duncan park.  it was the first of a series of concerts staged in the park to build community and celebrate the way music brings people together across race, age, and socioeconomic barriers.  much hard work has gone into the fruit of friday night and the 'stage one' initiative.  under the enthusiasm and leadership of Marty Clifford and alongside the partnership of neighborhood associations, city officials and east end/north side neighborhood residents this project is a sign of the goodness that can come when people work together for common good.

it was a special joy to revel in the tunes of Tee Dee+band with so many of our neighbors and communality peeps.  here are some pics that tell the story.