Daily Routine

For now, at least. Seems like I and my household never have routines that stick for very long. But for this week, at least, I have a lovely, quintessential sabbatical routine:

Spend the morning in the studio making as many pots as I can -- today it's plates and serving bowls.
Stop at the Garden of the Five Senses in Lancaster County Central park to meditate and reflect for a while.
Hop over to the county pool and meet Jess and the girls, where Esmé has just finished swim lessons, and swim a bit.
Then back home to be with the girls while Jess goes to work for the afternoon.
Close the day out with garden and farm-stand-fresh goodies and a glass of home brew.

Next week I'm out of town all week, so the routine will change yet again. But I'm so grateful for what I have at this moment. If nothing else sticks, this at least is a generous gift of a sabbatical learning -- gratitude for what I have today.

Steelton Visit

Last Sunday Jess, the girls and I visited Steelton Mennonite Church for their 75th anniversary worship service.

Jess' earliest church memories are at Steelton, where her family attended from a few months after her birth until she was 4 years old. She continues to recall very formative memories there.

Steelton is a mill town a bit downriver from Harrisburg, PA.

The church was a Lancaster Conference outpost started by missionaries back in the 1930s. In the 60s, the only two Mennonite churches in town, one black and one white, merged out of a sense of calling in solidarity with the civil rights movement.

Jess remembers it as local, multiracial and not oppressively bound to Mennonite ethnic traditions.

The stories we heard last Sunday confirmed this. There were literally hours of storytelling within the Sunday morning service, including from pastors that served from the early 60s to the early 90s. Their theology was refreshingly open. Not much "Lord and Savior" language. But lots of talk about the love of God, supportive community and caring embrace of each other during hard times. The man who pastored in the 1960s was not from Mennonite background, but had become a part of the church in his youth. Several of his siblings followed and have remained pillars of the congregation for 50 years. This was a powerful example of a congregation that has transcended ethnic and cultural boundaries for decades with seeming grace and enthusiasm.

There were also stories of pastors who lived in a parsonage across the street opening their home to any and all in the neighborhood for meals, playtime and fellowship (Jess has memories of this too). I could tell from the stories that pastors and congregants were deeply rooted in this little town and committed to its well-being in their daily lives -- not just on Sunday morning. In its welfare they found their welfare. Sounds like they lived how church is supposed to be, in my estimation. 

Last Sunday the church was packed out. It's hard for me to tell what life is like there on an average Sunday these days, but I guess it's not nearly so full. I hope they still embody some of the vibrancy that made for such a meaningful history. I'm so grateful for the impact Steelton had on my wife and, by a degree of separation, on me and my kids. That little neighborhood church shaped Jess' theology, her way of being in the world and her sense of how to "do" church way back in those earliest years of her consciousness. What a gift.

Back in the Studio

This week I've been back to work throwing pots in the studio. Here's a glimpse of what I have been working on this week -- a series of small vases that will be part of a project related to an exhibit I have opening this November. The show will be at CMCL's Parrot Gallery.

I continue to be amazed with how much work I'm able to get done with consecutive days in the studio. What a treat!

Church Visits

When I proposed my sabbatical, I had in mind two focus areas for my summer activities: 1. studio art work, and 2. visiting progressive, multiracial churches. Turns out I did not have the time and energy this spring to plan the second very well. So when June 1 approached, it was clear my heart was really in the first focus of getting back into studio work (also helps that I received a small grant to support it). Furthermore, as I got to work in the studio, I quickly realized that will keep my plenty busy for the summer.

That said, I am enjoying at least visiting some area churches on Sunday mornings, if not traveling much further.

In June, my parents and I visited Bright Side Baptist Church in Lancaster. I've had the opportunity to interact with Louis Butcher a couple times, and as many of you know, Glen Lapp's memorial service was there. So I have been wanting to visit the congregation for worship sometime.

And yesterday I walked a few blocks to visit Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church on South Duke Street. It's one of the oldest churches in Lancaster (built in the 1760s), and the building itself is worth a visit. The service was a lovely mix of high church, old fashioned mainline worship combined with thoughtful, progressive clergy. The sermon was by their resident scholar, and Lancaster Theological Seminary prof, Greg Carey. The presiding pastor was Sadie Pounder, who has been an active, prophetic voice on prison issues in the County (coincidentally, she was quoted in the paper yesterday).

Greg's sermon was spot on, one of a series on civility in public discourse. It was a good palate cleanser after a week of rather uptight feelings as a delegate at the Mennonite convention.

I hope these old churches like Trinity find was to hang on long into the future. They feel like kindred spirits to me. And they offer a compelling mix of tradition and progressive thinking. Most of the people in the room were over 65 years old, so who knows what's in store for them. But they are an active and valuable presence in the neighborhood.

Wood Firing

Last week I enjoyed a highlight of the first half of the summer. I had about 75 pots in a wood-fire kiln at Laurelville for a 40-hour firing. Below are a few pix from the weekend. I got some great pots out of the firing. And I had a blast with my firing buddies -- Dennis Maust, Joe Delphia and Keith Hershberger. It's a treat and an honor to collaborate with 3 artists who are so knowledgeable and so enjoyable to spend time with.

BEFORE

AFTER