Second Letter to Shalom United Church of Christ.  Thursday, November 04, 2004

MORE ON MY EAST COAST SOJOURN

Dear Friends --

Greeting from the East Coast. As many of you know I have continue my sojourn in the east for another year. I wanted to update you on some of the particulars of my life.

Since the beginning of September, I have been living in Baltimore and staying at a place called Jonah House. Jonah House is a very beautiful house located in West Baltimore which is a very economically pressed part of the city. However, I often forget about life struggles of our neighbors because we live in a 22 acre cemetery that is an oasis of beauty. The cemetery is no longer active but provides not only a home but also an economic base for the Jonah House community. Jonah House supports itself, in part, by maintaining the grounds which includes both woods and grass fields.

I was attracted to Jonah House because of their emphasis on non-violence. Last year in DC, I kept running into the JH people at a variety of venues and was impressed with how well they linked their faith with nonviolence. I also was drawn to them by their other two defining characteristics which are resistance and community.

People at Jonah House have a deep commitment to a non-violent way of life. The command “not to kill” is taken to heart and expressed as a profound respect for all human life and creation. However, JH goes beyond that and actively resists unjust policies, practices, institutions and institutions that diminish life. Since 1973, JH people which have included Phil Berrigan and Elizabeth McAlister, etc., have committed themselves to speaking out on the connection between war making and homelessness, hunger, and poverty. JH has particularly been a leading voice in the opposition to nuclear arms.

Community life at Jonah House helps to hold the values of non-violence and resistance together. The community lives, prays, studies, teaches, writes, and does manual labor together. Our normal workday starts at 7:00 am with morning prayer where we read and reflect on the reading for the day from the Lectionary. After prayer, we plan our day which may include cooking, cleaning the house, mowing the grass, cutting firewood, cultivating the garden, showing up for street actions, planning for retreats, distributing food from our pantry which is supplied by the Baltimore Food bank etc. On Sundays, we have liturgy at the house for the wider community. After the Sunday liturgy which usually includes reading scripture, reflecting, and sharing the Eucharist, we share a meal.

I am finding much richness in community and finding my faith and probably more importantly my humanity is deepening as I learn and experience more and more what it is to be more human. As before, you have an open invitation to visit me here. For more information about JH check out at our website the website at www.jonahhouse.org.

PAX,

-- Mike