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Upcoming Events at Circle of Hope

michael_heneghan — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:37:19 +0000

Public Reading of Luke
Tonight! Wednesday, September 1st, 7pm @ Circle of Hope Broad & Washington – 1125 S. Broad St.

We’re all set to do 1 Tim 4:13: …”devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture.”

We are going to go through the WHOLE book of Luke this Wednesday. We have our readers (one under twelve!) and are eager to gather an assembly of listeners! Everyone is welcome to get the scripture like the writers expected you to receive it – mouth to ear, spirit to Spirit.

It will be mostly reading – but we’ll have a few snacks, a complementary spiritual exercise or two, and some good visuals. It will be an evening of retreat and deepening!

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First Friday – Young Artists Exhibit

Friday, September 3rd, 6:00pm – @ Circle of Hope Frankford & Norris – 2007 Frankford Ave.
Come out and help us celebrate the work of our local young artists.Featuring art created by children from The Art Factory (Norris Square), Kids Club (Kensington), Simple Way Art Camp (N. Kensington), Pops Playground Art Camp (Fishtown), and Spark Creativity (Circle of Hope Broad & Washington).

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Monthly Leadership Training
Saturday, September 4th, 9am @ Circle of Hope Broad & Washington – 1125 S. Broad St.
This month’s training will focus on discerning and utilizing our Spiritual Gifts.

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Circle Thrift Labor Day Work Day
Monday, September 6th 9am-2pm @ Circle Thrift, 2233 Frankford Ave.
Spend your day off serving others! Use your labor to help the poor and oppressed worldwide by volunteering at Circle Thrift as they revamp the store and make world changing profits.

In the Know 8/25/10

michael_heneghan — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:34:13 +0000

Evensong
Saturday, August 28th, 7:00pm – @ Circle of Hope Frankford & Norris – 2007 Frankford Ave.
A night of worship, prayer, and a complete reading of Matthew’s gospel out loud together. Want to sign up to be a reader? eMail Rob Wetherington – robexplosions@gmail.com to sign up.

FN Stakeholders Meeting
Monday, August 30, 7pm @ Circle of Hope Frankford & Norris – 2007 Frankford Ave.
An open meeting for anyone who feels they have a stake in our mission at Frankford & Norris. We’ve already started the dialogue – check out the FN Stakeholders Blog to get warmed up and add your voice.

Celebrating our Youth and Young Adult Visiting Partners

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:05:17 +0000

Over the course of the past three months, five groups have partnered with Circle of Hope for short term service and learning experiences. All groups were affiliated with the Atlantic Conference of the Brethren in Christ denomination, in which Circle is a part of.

In late June a group of young adults from Manor Church in Lancaster, PA, arrived in Philly to learn and become aware of the work people are doing with refugee families. The 13 college-aged students spent time with Jeremiah Alexander and the work he does with refugees. Manor Church has recently taken in a refugee family in the Lancaster area and this trip proved to encourage and challenge them as they returned to their own community to serve.

From July 18th through July 21st, a group of 15 high school students and leaders from Manor Church trekked over to Philly to work with various Circle mission teams. After attending the 5 o’clock public meeting at Broad & Washington, this group had the unique opportunity to stay with people from the Circle network who volunteered to be hosts, in which lessons were learned about living in community and extending hospitality. The energetic group worked with Matt and Amanda Staples in Germantown by clearing land for a future orchard, painted and did yard work at the Shalom House, and cleaned alleys in South Philly with the guidance of Art Bucher. Before leaving the city, the group had the privilege of taking a drumming class from Jay Beck at the Croatan Studio.

Elizabethtown BIC sent 5 young adults to Philly on a Saturday in July in which they worked with Rachel and Dan at the Frankford garden. Piles and piles of weeds were pulled as plots were prepared for future planting.

Manor Church sent another group of 14 high school students and leaders to Philly this past weekend, as they served and learned from Thursday, August 5 through Sunday, August 8. This group met up with Julius Rivera and his outreach to meet and play with kids at the playground in Kensington. Throughout their time in the city the comical and hard working group painted and ate lunch with clients and the staff at Congeso, facilitated by Josiah Lash. Thorough cleaning, painting, and weeding was done at the Circle Counseling space and the group also volunteered at both Circle Thrift Stores. A highlight for this group was being challenged by the drumming class they took from Jay Beck. Students went away being compelled to think and question the previous judgments and stereotypes they have had about justice, reconciliation, and worship.

Five college-aged interns from the Atlantic Conference of the Brethren in Christ denomination came to Philly to serve and learn from Sunday, August 8th through Tuesday, August 10th. The crew stayed at the Shalom House and took part in the Monday night potluck, served at Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission, and Circle Thrift at Broad & Washington.

With all of this said, Circle can celebrate the fact that people across the denomination have become so excited about what Circle’s mission is here in Philly and Camden that in many ways they want to be a small part of it too. High school students and college students are being challenged to question their previous notions of what it means to be a Christ-follower in this world, in order to pursue how Jesus is calling them to live. Seeds are being planted through the Circle community that are spreading even across the broader community of the Brethren in Christ denomination.

(Submitted by Heather Eisenberger, Summer Intern)

In the Know: 8/11/10

michael_heneghan — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:49:14 +0000

Baby Goods Exchange:
Sunday, August 15, 10am-12pm – FREE – @ Circle of Hope Broad & Washington 1125 2. Broad St
Stop by 1125 S. Broad St. at 10am this Sunday to swap baby clothes, toys, and other goods. A great place to meet new friends and neighbors, as well as to connect to folks in our community.

Mini-retreat: Making Decisions — the Life of Ciarán of Clonmacnoise
Sunday, August 22, 9am – 2pm @ Circle of Hope Broad & Washington 1125 S. Broad St.
Sign up for what is sure to be an insightful, meditative time.

Contact Rod White at rod@circleofhope.net to sign up.

Welcome, to our new summer intern, Heather!

sarah — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:45:47 +0000

We’re delighted to announce the arrival of our new Network summer intern, Heather Eisenberger, and to welcome her to our city and community!

She is joining us from now through mid-August, as part of the Brethren in Christ’s Summer Internship Program. Heather, who hails from Lancaster county, has just completed her sophomore year at Messiah College, where she is studying Congregational Ministries. This summer, her work with us will be focused on compassionate service and outreach. As part of her mission, Heather will be living with Shalom House and participate in their day-to-day communal life. She will serve and partner with a variety of our mission teams and engage in the compassionate work they are doing throughout our neighborhoods.

So, when you see her out and about, go say ‘hello’ and give her a big, warm welcome!

Heather, we’re so thankful you’ve come to share your sweet spirit and partner with us in the work God is doing in this great city. So, thank you, for spending your summer with us.

Introducing our new Covenant Members!

melissadipento — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:40:59 +0000

Resurrection and a fig tree: musings on our Urban Farming

sarah — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:23:48 +0000

(Joel McIntosh writing)

There is a fig tree outside my window on my roof, sitting in a container I built, that I’ve been caring for now for a little over two years. Actually, it’s more of a bush right now, but it does bear fruit. In the past few weeks it’s started producing it’s first leaves and I love it. Like many other things around this time of year, it’s come alive again with almost perfect synchronicity to the Season of Easter. It’s caused me to think and draw some metaphors (just for the first time this year, for some reason) to the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree (Mark 11:12-14, Matthew 21:18-22). This story has probably caused endless debate, and my own speculation has some theological holes in it, but observing the tree come back to life feels like some kind of curse has been broken or reversed. Personally, the winter this year definitely did seem like a curse to me, and so much pondering death and dying during Lent was additionally exhausting.

I was thankful the other night when someone in my cell reminded us that Resurrection is not something you can just understand from picking up and reading in a textbook. You have to experience it. You have to be part of the cycles of life and death that are all around us. Jesus incarnates new life through his resurrection this season, and to me the fig tree sitting on my roof is a reminder of it. I am intrigued by Ched Myers’ interpretation of the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree (found in his books “Say to this Mountain” and “Binding the Strong Man”). Ched says that in the Hebrew Bible, the fig tree was a symbol of peace, security, and prosperity in Israel. Jesus’ cursing the fig tree, who’s time had not yet come to bear fruit, becomes a symbol of judgement and lament of those who would not heed to the coming Kingdom of God. However, Jesus immediately follows this by an admonishment for faith that will move the powers of earth into the seas. What an incredible charge for change!

So, I start thinking of the times and season we’re in when I observe my fig tree. I also think about the projects and ambitions of the Urban Farm Team this year (which was supposed to be the focus of this blog and I somehow so far have just talked about Jesus cursing figs). I am excited about the opportunities that this team is providing to experience resurrection through compassionate service. The season is ripe for advocating for vacant land in North Philly to be put in community hands through a land trust. Abandoned land is being revitalized, old windows are being built into coldframes and greenhouses, biodegradable waste is being diverted to nutrient-rich compost piles, rooftop rainwater is being reclaimed for irrigation, and need I mention the hundreds of vegetable seed packs that Art Bucher salvaged and redistributed from the dumpster?. We’re participating in transformation, seeing dead (“cursed”) spaces in our urban landscape become healthy and even grow food. There are 3-4 projects in our Circle of Hope network now that are connected in the efforts of urban farming, and many in our community are taking up small food growing projects of their own in their homes. We’re offering friends and neighbors the chance to see and learn how this happens, dig around, get dirty and participate.

I hope by this point you want to get involved with us. Here’s one way: May 1st we planning a Network-wide Urban Farming Day from 11-5pm. Stay tuned for more information!

Here are a list of our lead people, you can contact, who are tending gardens in their neighborhoods:

Germantown: Amanda Staples- amandastapes@gmail.com

Kensington: Rachel Summerlot, thayloos@gmail.com

Camden: Rob Lairmore, rlairmore@gmail.com

South Philly: Art Bucher, artbucher@netzero.net

What Happened: Men’s Retreat 2010!

sarah — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:18:23 +0000

(Paul Kohl reporting)

The men retreated last weekend (4/9-4/11). We retreated from the things that scare us, drive us, box us in and cover us over. We sang, we prayed, and we spent time in the furnace of solitude. We slept in bunks made for 14 year olds, we ate camp food, we endured teenagers on a zip line. We made up our own song and sang it. We got precious little sleep because some of us breath loudly when we sleep or we simple did not go to be until late. We ran ourselves to exhausting on the basket ball court or the soccer field playing Frisbee or we learned a new board game. We explore the limitlessness of God and how we can tap into that by creating art from what we found in nature. We grew in trust by sharing intimate feelings and thoughts with one another. We learned at the feet of wise men. We gained access to the David as a boy, as a man, as a king, as an old wise man. We built a fire and tended it as the High Priest we are and worshiped in truth and light. We are learning to take our own internal fire seriously and to tend it as well. We are definitely doing this again next year.

Exciting things are going on in Camden!!!

mike — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:49:21 +0000

Our Camden brothers and sisters have been working their tails off since they were planted last fall, but in the last few weeks an even bigger push is underway to secure a building and meet new partners.

I would like to highlight the tremendous efforts of the Camden’s Next Site Team.

They are lead by Rob Lairmore and so far his partners are John Londres and Lindsey Markelz.

The team is charged with finding a permanent space for their young congregation to call home. Although it’s only a few miles away, the landscape of Camden, New Jersey is amazingly unique when compared to Philadelphia. This presents many different challenges that Frankford & Norris and Broad & Washington never had to face. To carry out God’s work amidst these challenges takes dedicated and imaginative Christ followers. I think it’s safe to say that we are blessed enough have those kinds of people in Camden.

Some of the major hurdles that the team is working with include, interpreting laws involving zoning and the geographical landscape. Camden County is very spread out and driving is just about the only way to get anywhere. This means that they are going to have to paying attention to things that Circle of Hope hasn’t had to pay attention to before. One example would be ensuring that our meeting space has enough parking spots to accommodate 100+ people. Another would be dealing with a very different commercial real estate market. In short, we are in a new realm and the team is responding to that creatively and faithfully. We are counting on God to do the heavy lifting in this process, but we are also positioning ourselves to respond to the spirit.

A few ways that the Network can help their efforts are as followed:

Continue to pray faithfully
Bring your cells across the river to a PM
Let your friends and family in New Jersey know that we exist in the Garden State

What’s Happened: Good Friday Vigil at the Shooter Shop

sarah — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:19:59 +0000

On Good Friday, Shalom House, our West Philly community of proactive peacemakers, led us to partner with Heeding God’s Call to hold vigil at the Shooter Shop in Kensington . It was a powerful way to collectively engage and reflect on Jesus’ death and mourn victims of gun violence in our city. In 2009, in Philadelphia , 173 people were killed by firearms.

A group of 32 people from Circle of Hope processed from our building at Frankford and Norris and met with at least 30 more people from our church community. Circle of Hope really came out strong! We gathered outside the gun shop with neighborhood families, some who have lost loved ones to gun violence, and 39 other faith-based groups that partner with Heeding God’s Call. We are calling on all gun shops in Philadelphia to sign the Code of Conduct that would help eliminate guns from illegally entering our streets.

Photographs are courtesy of Jamie Moffett (link: http://www.jamiemoffett.com) More images are posted here

outside the Shooter Shop/NRA counter-protesters