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Five Fingers

Hello –

I just tried an odd thing. I went to Mapquest and got the blinking dot in the middle of the map to be at St. Paul’s. I then took my right hand and, with my palm hovering over St. Paul’s, successfully put my thumb and four fingers on five places that are or soon may be places where we serve together.

County. My thumb went up to Terra Linda and the County Community School where, with Nativity Church, we serve hot breakfast Monday through Friday at the County Community School for probationary youth.

* St. Monnica’s. We don’t yet know where this housing community will be but hope for Lincoln or the Canal, so I placed my pointer finger there. Imagine a place with a kitchen and dining table where we share meals with the residents, a playground where we play with the children and rooms for tutoring.

The Tube. The tube is the place at San Quentin where we wait to go past security and into the prison to visit. We wait there alongside people from all over California, many of them family of inmates. The tip of my middle finger rested on the Prison.

First Pres. My ring finger was curled back to land on our neighboring church. This is where our youth have been jointing the Spirit Circle and then serving and sharing meals with the Marin Street Chaplaincy. Bobby and Ginny are exploring the possibility that soon all of us will be welcome to join that good work in strengthening our community with our homeless neighbors.

Activity Room. My pinky, almost tucked under my palm, touched on the San Rafael Health Care Center where we lead beautiful little services twice a month. (We’re in need of a piano player- only basic skills are needed- to bang out a few simple hymns.) We’ve been visiting folks there since the late 1970s when my predecessor, the Rev. Hugh Hardin, had his parents living there.

I invite you to picture yourself in one of those locations on a regular basis, maybe weekly. All are close by, and in all of them the good work of friendship in the spirit of Jesus is being done. The door is open to you. Email me and I can hook you up. (c.h.mrtn@gamil.com)

Blessings,
 
Christopher