When I pray, coincidences happen;
when I stop praying,
the coincidences stop happening”
William Temple
I have been intentionally praying for this man, Randal Torres, for a few months and since Ash Wednesday last week I have been more focused on my prayers. Yesterday as I left the gym he was sitting outside on the bench waiting for the bus after shopping at Burlington Coat Factory. A bit over a month ago he was on the street in ripped and filthy clothes and by God’s grace he ended up in jail and got back on track. We had a great talk, a man who a short time ago would only open his mouth to yell and curse.
I asked him today if I could pray for him… “yeah, let me through this sh*t out” and he tossed his cigarette way as an act of reverence to God….
“How can I pray for you?”…..
“Guidance. I want God to give me guidance”
Last Week’s Update…stay connected!
Hey Family,
A beautiful day spiritually and weatherly!
The day got off to a blazing start with two ladies from GHCBC (Greater Hartford Chinese Baptist Church) helped me load up the van in twenty minutes and then prayed deep, rich prayers for the service and me and the message that were deeply answered. As I was checking in to get the van, Will asked if I had help loading up and if not asked if he could help me. The service last week really touched him.
I rolled up downtown to Charlie (whom we haven't seen in a while), Edward, Brother Bensen, Robert, and Veronica from River of Life Church soon to be joined by Nick and Jennifer Yang (and her dad and aunt!), several first time helpers from River of Life Church who will be with us monthly, a couple of guys from CrU (Josh and Derrick and the whole CrU-crew will be with us next Saturday).
Bensen opened us up in prayer as Evelyn, Derrick, and Brendan gave great readings. The crowd gathered slowly and steadily and ended up a good size. There were a number of new faces and some who have not been around in a long time... like Ahmend and his wife. They had not been there for seven years they told me, and she is now wheel chair bound with COPD.
Set up was really quick even though I forgot the speaker poles and the altar table! I put the table on the cart with the chairs so that it would not happen again, and the speakers worked fine on the table we used.
Carmen was with us along with Chino who stayed for the whole service. Maria showed up at the end, "red hawk" was back too. No Randall though.
I shared about Ash Wednesday and Biblical Repentance and Jesus's temptation after his baptism and how God does internal changes in our lives, not simply behavior management. I gave the call for faith and baptism and Suzane was all in (as always) and we waited until a new young man named Matthew came up to receive Jesus and be baptized. We prayed up a storm over him and Nick and Jen spent a good amount of time with him discussing next steps.
We split into prayer groups that lasted a good while and the lunch line grew and we just ignored it. Brendan grabbed the communion to help out which was really nice. The line coming up was long and again many came who have not walked up before. You could feel the Spirit today in power. It was stunning.
Jen's dad served lunch along with others and the Jacob's were there with soup. The hygiene table was well staffed and the folks from River of Life church handed out their hats and knit gloves. They had brought several coats as well but asked if we would rather bring them back and hand them out next week which we did. They also had a dozen backpacks with great stuff which we will keep and hand out to the desperate and unhoused....
and then there was James...
James came by today for the first time asking if we served lunch and when. I told him we serve around 12:30 and he was welcome to stay or simply come back then, no pressure. He said he would come back but ended up staying.
As we were loading up at the end, he walked up to me and asked if he could help us pack up. He jumped right in. When we were finished I asked him where he was staying and when he mentioned a warming shelter I asked a few more questions and learned he relapsed and has been homeless for six days. I mentioned my sobriety and he became very focused listening to my story and then he became very vulnerble;
"I was sitting over there just listening to the music and I don't know why but I just started to cry. I can't cry here so I had to do something so I jumped up to help. I don't know what came over me. I couldn't control it."
So I gently shared that he was brushed by the Holy Spirit of God, and that it was beautiful and he was. His eyes were chestnut brown like Hannah's, it was a deeply holy moment. I told him there was no pressure but an invitation from God is something you want to accept. He asked for my number which I freely gave him. He even asked if he could join our closing circle and when Nick shared about his conversation with Micheal who was baptized, James was eating every word.
(pray that James comes back this week)
and then Gloria drove by in her bus for a second time blasting the horn and shouting out the window.
This place.
These people.
Our God...
I would not want any other life.
love you all,
b
From the Community Churches
“Remember that you are dust,
and to dust you shall return”
I was asked last week if I would be willing to hold an Ash Wednesday Service at Arden Court where we have gathered a community church.
The entire facility is dedicated to those affected by memory loss and imparment and they are all at varying stages….
When we sing, everyone is attentive as music is processed by a part of the brain that is not effected by memory loss… it is remarkable… but we see the Word of God and the sacraments Jesus asked us to continue reach the Deep Place. It is a very Holy Thing.
and so Mary and I shared the readings for the day that spoke about rending hearts and not garments and I gave an enthusiastic message of Jesus’s bearing of all the things that we need to repent of and then walked around looking into eyes and asking if they wished to recieve ashes… and heads nodded and leaned forward if they could not speak, some looked me right in the eyes, others brushed aside bangs….
These people and this palace have been used by God to humble me. I want to die like them.
…He was a good man,
full of the Holy Spirit and faith…
Acts 11:24
The Street Church Collective communities
Arden Court Community Church (Farmington)
Brookdale Chatfield Community Church (West Hartford)
Harbour Community Church (West Hartford)
Farmington Station Community Church-memory care Farmington)
Farmington Station Community Church-independent living (Farmington)
River Ridge Community Church (Avon)
The Street Church (Hartford)
West Hartford Health and Rehab Community Church (West Hartford)
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Bryan
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bryan@thestreetchurch.org