I’ve been in New York this week… I was able to get a flight roundtrip from Berlin for 300 Euros.

Since Daniel (our son-in-law) was here to read a paper, it seemed like a good opportunity to reconnect with friends and possible “Haus Nazareth” contacts here… and pick up a replacement for my dying laptop (RIP).

There are so many connections between Berlin and New York, especially in the arts and creative worlds. One NY gallery owner said: “Half of the artists I know are either in Berlin or want to be!”

I’m currently staying with our good friends, Roy and Laura De Young at their home out in New Jersey. You can see the skyline of Manhatten from their back porch! (But it is bitter cold in the eastern U.S.; I’m looking forward to getting back to Berlin to warm up!)

As Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent) comes up this next week, I wanted to share with you a “prayer” by T.S. Eliot in his poem (appropriately titled) “Ash Wednesday”:

“Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still.”

Pascal wrote that most of the problems in the world come from people not being able to enjoy sitting still in their own home…

Part of growing together as a fellowship in Haus Nazareth is discovering and losing one’s illusions about oneself and others.  Jean Vanier, the founder and leader of the “L’Arche” community describes this process:

“Communities need tensions if they are to grow and deepen… (these tensions) often mark the necessary step towards a greater unity as well, by revealing flaws which demand re-evaluation, reorganization and a greater humility… Every tension, every crisis can become a source of new life if we approach it wisely, or it can bring death and division…

There is nothing more prejudicial to community life than to mask tensions and pretend they do not exist, or to hide them behind a polite façade and flee from reality and dialogue.  A tension or difficulty can signal the approach of a new grace of God.” (Community and Growth).

We are all learning that we’re not perfect!  (Now, why doesn’t that surprise you?)  Please pray for us all: that, as a team and individually, we will move into the challenge of transparency and realism on this journey God has called us on: to touch this city and beyond with the Good News of God’s love in Christ, life by life!