MLK march article

sherry and isaac get a brief mention in this article from today’s Lexington newspaper.

link

MLK day march

today we remember the life and legacy of Rev. King today.  it’s always such a moving experience to march through our city streets singing “we shall overcome” with all kinds of different people.  King’s Jesus-inspired words against war, poverty, inequality, and hate continue to be relevant, and hearing his dream speech again this morning while we waited to march brought fresh tears for that which remains unfulfilled.  as a new citizen to this remarkable nation i am grateful today for this man and his dream…

 

this weekend

we are about to head out and march in somber tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King (i’ll post some pics here later today).  in the mean time, here’s a weekend update.  we had a full couple of days which included some time with the Koch family, a birthday party, saying farewell to the Basses family who are headed back to their home country of Togo to serve in ministry, and on sunday evening our regular fellowship gathering.

last advent of ‘09

a special night last evening to celebrate the last advent reflection.  here’s the text from our community liturgy and some pictures to go with it….

In this final week of Advent, almost upon the inbreaking of Christmas, we conceive of reality in which the Messiah is right here. Imagine the coming of Messiah. Break out of cynicism and pessimism. Challenge yourself and others with the presumption that God is acting and that creation is being drawn into redemption - conceive the re:creation that starts with Jesus and continues with us.  Conceive of a love as genuine, as tangible, and as pervasive as the struggle which we more readily perceive. Let that conception be birthed in your actions.

This is the stuff of faith.... a substantial outworking of what we haven't fully seen yet; the kingdom of God, just within reach.

God calls us to the same radical re-visioning of life to which the people of God have been called throughout Scripture. We are called to "see" through the eyes of God's redemptive story. Mary is told that she will become an unwed mother, and she obediently rejoices. Zechariah hears that he will be a father, contrary to reason and biology, and loses his voice for his unbelief. Joseph moves his family to Egypt on the word of a dream and the trust of his faith. Magi journey to see in flesh the child whom they have glimpsed in the stars.

And the beauty of submitting to the dreams of God is that they become reality.

Some suggestions for action:

• Give $10 when asked for a quarter by the guy on the street. Imagine that God can change a life with grace.
• Take lunch with a coworker whom you've written off as "impossible". Imagine that you can appreciate them without antagonism.
• Imagine an hour without cynicism, skepticism, fear, distrust, or something else that you struggle with.... and then meditate on your feelings within the context of the whole redemptive story of God, and the ultimate hope of new life.
• Imagine your own action, and post a comment here.
• read these scriptures and let them shape your imagining: Isaiah 2:1-5, Isaiah 11:1-10, Isaiah 35:1-10.

east end christmas

here's some video from the east end tree lighting a couple of weeks ago...this was a neighborhood event that involved many of the organizations sherry is partnering with in her community liaison work.

 

for the grandparents

this one's for you, grandma, mimi, poppa, and papa.  sherry cut isaac's hair on the weekend and he looked pretty sharp so i took some head shots with the late afternoon window light.  enjoy.

k's

these are a couple of the dearest people in the world to us.  they will be moving back home to eastern europe next year and, though we are so glad they can move home to be with family, we dare not think about how this will break our hearts.  for now we are cherishing time with them and dreaming of visiting them in their native land.

family portraits

i have had the good pleasure of taking a couple of family portraits this Christmastime...very informal and geared low for my level of expertise.  i'm learning so much each time i do something like this and on both these occasions learned some valuable lessons about lighting (one is natural/outdoors and the other with a flash).

despite my incompetence these are some good looking families.

 

friday night fun

had some kids over last night.  it was part-michael-jackson-dance-party (isaac is currently obsessed with the former king of pop),  part-old-fashioned-christmas-story-time.  here's the crew.

tree goes up

our tree (a ceder harvested by farmers porter and koch at three springs farm) went up today.  smells and looks like christmastime in our living room.  not only that but it was our first snow today for this 09/10 winter season (isaac was especially thrilled).  'tis the season...