Backstory
Vol 1, Issue 2
I’m sitting at the dining room table in Richmond, VA thinking about two other dining room tables. One is in Saugatuck, MI and the other is in Louisa, VA. Both have offered me and my family hospitality this summer. Both have left an indelible mark on my heart. Let me explain.
The Rev. Dr. Jay E. Johnson is an old friend. He’s currently serving as the rector of All Saints, Saugatuck. This is the second summer we have visited him and his dog, Judah. Jay embodies radical hospitality for me. Inclusive, passionate, brilliant, he gives all he has to his community and his friendships. I love Jay. He’s recently moved from the seminary to the parish and is leading his congregation with vision and purpose. And though this is hardly easy work, I can see his ministry bearing fruit.
Br. Stefan Andre Waligur is the founder of Community of Peace in Louisa, VA. He and I attended the Graduate Theological Union together. A monastic, a musician, and an all around good guy, Stefan has started a new venture in Louisa.
The Community of Peace near Charlottesville, VA, in Louisa County will offer a warm welcome to all, a beautiful sung prayer, a dialogue for peace and racial reconciliation, solidarity with and service to the most vulnerable in society.
Over the next few weeks, my podcasts will include interviews with Jay and Stefan as well as others connected to their communities. I am still digesting what I learned from them this summer. The Holy Spirit is at work. I’m just trying to align myself with what is afoot.
Do you know what I mean?
I hope you will tune in.