By As our Bruderhof volunteer Marion Zumpe heads to New York this late May weekend, we’d like to share a recent reflection she wrote about her time with Lydia’s House: Growing up on an intentional community, I always believed that God had called me to that way of life. Although I still feel that to be true, stepping outside the community to work at Lydia’s House has helped me grow in my faith. I have put faces and names to the people Jesus referred to as the least of these. I have learned that some of them are the strongest people
Sabbath Rest
On Sabbath Rest and What God Wants For Us by Mary Ellen Mitchell I often look to the Old Testament to imagine what God was designing for humanity, albeit re-told through the eyes and minds of humans. If we look to the Garden of Eden, theoretically the best version of life God could offer, we lived outside unencumbered, were provided for daily, and were friends with the Creator. From here, we fell, out of a desire to know more, to have more agency, to taste of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. We were then consigned to wearing
The Warmth of Other Suns
A book review By Honna Brown One positive fruit of limited life at Lydia’s House (due to the pandemic) is that we have been able to set aside some time for shared reading. Together as a staff we have been reading Isabel Wilkerson’s book “The Warmth of Other Suns.” The book follows three main characters on their journey during a time in American history known as The Great Migration, which is one of the most underreported stories of the 20th century. The book, based on more than a thousand interviews, retells the story of each character and why he or
A Year With Lydia’s House
by Bethany Kurtz The last weeks of November had us all stuck in a Covid quarantine. The days seemed to last for years and the nights even longer. But as I spent that time by myself I was able to reflect on the year at Lydia’s House, just as my time was coming to an end. Coming to Ohio was a huge decision for me. I spent most of life in NY and when I landed in West Norwood, it was a leap of faith. It’s been one incredible year working here at Lydia’s House. When I began working
LOVE EMBODIED
Honna Brown, volunteer coordinator, reflects on 2 years at Lydia’s House as she prepares to leave the role. “Wait, don’t leave- please don’t leave!” This might be one of the most squealed phrases from the mouths of the children of Lydia’s House. However, this young friend of mine was more persistent than many others. He draped his small body over the railing, continuing to holler, “Please!” I looked back, smiled, waved and told him I would be back soon. His mother poked her head out the door and told him to come back inside with everyone else. No sooner than
