By 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
Welcome, Baby Jacob
On April 16, we welcomed Jacob Walker Eilerman at 9:50am, born via emergency c-section at Mercy Hospital Anderson. He weighed 8 pounds 3 oz and was 20 ½ inches long. When Jacob is a little stronger, he’ll have a regular place at the Lydia’s House table, and for a brief moment (before our next guest has her baby in mid-May) he’s the newest member of the Lydia’s House community. For the time being, I’m taking maternity leave, which means I’m editing the newsletter from home, fielding the occasional intake question, ruminating over bigger issues with Meridith over lunch, breastfeeding hourly,