By By Mary Ellen Mitchell When we were 24 (in 2005), Meridith and I took a trip up the east coast to visit intentional Christian communities and imagine what our futures might be. Our last stop was the Bruderhof, which Meridith described as “kind of Amish, kind of Catholic worker.” We stayed with a family, worked in the laundry, and saw their peace barn. Years passed, Lydia’s House was born, and we looked to lots of places to get help and inspiration for this work. In 2019 Bethany Kurtz came to us, as she was leaving the Bruderhof, having discerned that
Our New Atrium Space
Our new Atrium space is finished and open for children to interact and learn about God! The past month our friends Dan Aerni, Dane Miller, Dennis Bishop and Steve Whitlatch have been hard at work preparing our new classroom space for our Wednesday night Atrium religious education program. We put in a new wall in order to have two separate classrooms to divide up our age groups, repainted, and set up all of the different interactive stations. Putting in the drywall and getting it painted. About two weeks ago, all of the construction was completed and
HOUSE NOTES
By Mary Ellen Mitchell Can it be said enough that it’s been a strange year? At Lydia’s House we have nothing to bench mark this against, but we keep on keeping on. Through later summer and into fall we continued to operate our shelter in socially distanced “suites” with kitchenettes and private bathrooms. Meals were largely discontinued while we considered options and scoured the latest updates on the CDC website for where Covid spread was occurring and how to stop it. There were times we felt really low about the lack of community and engagement, and we kept returning to
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras, translated as: “Fat Tuesday”, is a celebration to enjoy all rich, fatty foods before the lent fasting season. So on Sunday February 23, Lydia’s House family and friends gathered together for this historic celebration. Food and drinks covered the tables, pizza, fresh veggies, and even green frosted brownies, a real feast. Everyone just milled around reconnecting with those they hadn’t seen in a while or those they had. Or danced to Will Smith’s “Getting Jiggy Wit’ It”. Others got in line at the photo booth to get their pictures taken. Still others raced around the room after children.
New Birthday, New Bethany
Growing up in my house, birthdays were huge celebrations. At 5:30 am, my entire family (all 6 siblings and of course my parents, too) would get up, light candles and come into my room singing happy birthday. Then the celebrations would begin. My mom would prepare us our favorite breakfast. “Honey Filberts,” “sticky buns” or croissants– whatever we wanted she would make (knowing that we wouldn’t eat it because of the excitement). Then we would open gifts and do everything else that comes with a birthday. But it didn’t end there. When we got to school celebrations continued with more
