Dreaming Dreams
Joel 2:23-32 Six years ago, I began attending a church that worshiped on the streets of Newburg, NY, a city known for its violence, unemployment and drug use. The church was called Ecclesia and we met on a sidewalk, with sawhorses and a wooden board as a Communion table. People came from down the street and from outside of town and together we gathered, sang, broke bread and wrestled with the meaning of the Scriptures. At the end of the first service, while I was still a stranger, Pastor Steve walked over to me and gave me a cross necklace, just like he gives every new person, and said, “You are called by God.” Just like that. I looked down at the cross, which said “ecclesia”, the Greek word for church, which literally means called out. It was a bitterly cold January day and yet the circle around the sawhorses was full – there was a woman from the suburbs who showed up because she was spiritual hungry. There were people who were homeless who showed up because they were physically hungry. There was an inspirational man who had been sober for years and there was Ruth, Steve’s spouse, who played the flute for us even though it was cold and we were outside. There we were, all of us, called out by God, anointed by the Spirit. In the book of Joel, God says, “I will pour out my […]
