Woke up this morning and realized that it’s not winter anymore. Amazing.

The week in weather: Monday–heavy snow; Tuesday’s low–9 degrees; Wednesday’s low–9 degrees; Sunday’s forecast–high of 79.

Welcome to Richmond.

When I read the forecast on Sunday morning, I admit I was skeptical. 8-12 inches of snow? In Richmond? In March? Really?

Well, this time they weren’t  kidding.

And the official measurement on my deck was 7 inches.

The city pretty much shut down.

So, how did you use your snow days?

I once heard a rabbi explain that Sabbath is like a snow day. A bonus. You’re not expected to work because nobody can get to work. You stay inside, play games with your family. Enjoy the opportunity to relax.

Sabbath as snow day. I like that.

During our 40 Days of Love small group gatherings this week, we’re focusing on how love is patient and kind.

Here’s another framing of patience (courtesy of Inward/Outward):

The Patience of Ordinary Things
By Pat Schneider

It is a kind of love, is it not?
How the cup holds the tea,
How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare,
How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes
Or toes. How soles of feet know
Where they’re supposed to be.
I’ve been thinking about the patience
Of ordinary things, how clothes
Wait respectfully in closets
And soap dries quietly in the dish,
And towels drink the wet
From the skin of the back.
And the lovely repetition of stairs.
And what is more generous than a window?

Source: Another River: New and Selected Poems

Our Lenten study this year is 40 Days of Love. We promote it as a church-wide  spiritual growth campaign, but it’s actually what churches have been doing for centuries: using the 40 days leading up to Easter to deepen and develop our faith.

Logan Jones is Northminster’s Worship and Arts Director. He says to me, “Let’s make the promo video interesting.” Here’s Logan’s idea of “interesting.”

Tuesday is a historic day. We have these two giant screens in our worship center, so we thought we’d invite the neighborhood to join us in watching the inauguration.

We sent invitations to about a zillion people.

You can see some of the local coverage and pictures of Ben Dacus’ invitation here.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

UPDATE: We had 54 neighbors and friends gather for the event. What a great spirit in the room!!

Seemed like a good idea to look back on the just completed year and to look ahead to what we’re doing January-February. (The pastor seems a bit tired to me.)

Here we are 2 weeks+ into the new year, and I have to say that for me the start has been kinda bumpy.

My friend Carl died the last week of ‘08. We celebrated his life with an amazing worship service, but I learned long ago that pastors have to postpone their personal grieving until the public memorial is over.

So I headed to SC for a rescheduled family gathering with a heavy heart, and after fighting traffic on I-95 all day, found myself in the ER helping my brother Lee deal with his bipolar disorder. Sitting in the waiting room with someone in the throes of a manic episode was just a tad stressful. Back at work the first full week of the year, we were dealing with several major initiatives, most of which I had planned. Of course, when I planned them I had no idea what the end of the year would be like.

When the road is bumpy, you just have to slow down, take your time, and trust that things will get smoother.

The road got smoother for me a couple of days ago. And I’m very, very thankful.

Melissa Ruggieri came to the Free Market yesterday and wrote a nice article that appears in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch. You can read the article here (minus the great picture of Cassie presenting Denise with her new bicycle that’s in the print edition).

Saturday was the second Free Market in the Big Room. When I arrived, an hour before the Market opened, there were 100 people waiting patiently at the door. Volunteers were everywhere—folding clothes, carrying donations from the parking lot, fixing refreshments. The energy was electric.

What’s the Free Market like? Glad you asked. Here’s a minute and a half of raw footage…..

A few months ago, Terry and Cassie showed up at our weekly food distribution with some items that had belonged to a friend (who the friend was and how they came to have the items is a story for another time). They set up a table and offered the items to whoever wanted them. Cassie and Terry were so moved by the response that they have been gathering things to give away ever since. They named their mission the Free Market.

One of the principles we operate by at Northminster is to find where God is already at work and join in.

Our leaders decided to ask the whole church to participate in the Free Market during December. We produced a simple video to encourage people to help.

The stories are amazing. Morgan brought her wedding dress and a woman who is getting married in May was exactly her size. An older man came looking for shoes and when he found a pair that fit perfectly, walked out saying, “I got what I came for!” A little boy rode of on a Razor Scooter with the biggest smile on his face. As we moved into December the Market grew so large we had to take over the Worship Center. Amazing.

Here’s what it looked like last weekend:

If you’d like to help, here’s a current list of needs: Men’s large pants, Gloves & Coats, Underwear, White athletic socks, Children’s gently used toys that we can recycle for Christmas gifts, Housewares, Sheets & towels, Makeup, Lotions, Slippers, Sweatshirts, Old Christmas Decorations