Facilitators Geoffrey and Brenna were in Amherst, MA visiting Immanuel Lutheran Church at the beginning of August. Immanuel Lutheran is in our distant learning cohort in our current RIH learning community. It was a powerful weekend of relationship building with their hub team and learning about their relationship with their neighbors at Craig’s Doors, an organization that supports unhoused neighbors. Facilitator Brenna preached that weekend about The Woman at the Well at worship on Sunday focusing on how that story is an example of Jesus having a one to one with a neighbor. It is well worth the watch!
We asked the team at Immanuel to reflect on their experience of the weekend. One of their team members, Ruth Rinard wrote the following piece about her experience.
“There’s the Surface and then there’s the Depth”
Written by Ruth Rinard, Immanuel Lutheran Church Team member
We didn’t know you, but you came.
Curiosity lead to questions.
We began to feel a connection.
Then there was a “squirrel” moment.
And we plunged deeper.
You held space for vulnerability.
We felt a tingling of the Spirit.
Unlikely conversations happened.
We were all the richer for them.
We learned we could go as deep with others
As we go deep in ourselves.
Thank you for coming!