By A house is like a living, sighing, leaking creature, and it always needs a little help somewhere. The house that holds St. Lydia’s has been standing for a century, and received some loving attention this week. We residents inside the house have seen the friendly faces of Georgia and Dennis Bishop popping up in the windows. This couple, our regular building maintenance volunteers, are taking on the long-term improvement project of installing new storm windows. The house’s original windows are still in place but have not always provided the most security from the weather, especially cold winds. We really appreciate
After The Election
From the Lydia’s House Community, co-authored by Marykate Glenn and Mary Ellen Mitchell Leading up to and following the election, we’ve been unsettled by the story of Zacchaeus from the Bible; unsettled recognizing in the character of Zacchaeus his modern day equivalents around us. As a tax collector Zacchaeus was notorious for extorting money from the poor on behalf of the Roman Empire. In Zacchaeus we see those who today believe they can profit from ever growing militarization, mass incarceration, destruction of natural resources, and on and on. Zacchaeus was also a Jewish man who turned against his own people
The Woman at the Well
Each month we worship together in order to share life in a deeper way, share the core community’s faith in Jesus, and give guests and former guests an opportunity to learn about the Bible in a setting that’s familiar to them. In July, Meridith offered the sermon, reflecting on the Samaritan woman at the well, and the surprising encounter she had with Jesus. The full text of the scripture is below, followed by her sermon. Jesus and the Woman of Samaria Jesus left Judea and started back to Galilee. 4 But he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to
May Update
On the last day of the month, here are a few photos of some house happenings in May! We had a Mother’s Day service to celebrate the many mothers in our community. With former guests and volunteers, and lots of kids, it was like a Lydia’s House reunion! Meridith did a reflection for the prayer service, and all the kids gave their mothers flowers. After dinner, we even managed to get everyone attending on the front porch for a group photo. This May we also got together and planned a house outing. After a few months without one, we wanted