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| A place or religious community regarded as sacredly devoted to God Free On-Line Dictionary I love wandering around our city; finding the most interesting things in somewhat random places.
A few Saturdays ago we were in search of a
particular food cart that specializes in grown-up grilled cheese sammies,
cheese plates and well, a lot of things “cheese.” The cart is located on Northeast Alberta, an
area we often frequent. We dined al
fresco on melted goodness – mine was layers of roasted golden beets with
habanero cheese – delightful! Lonny’s choice was pickled egg with dill
cheddar – more toasty gooeyness.
Deciding to walk around the neighborhood, we
discovered an adjacent vacant lot with graffiti on the wall. No big deal, right? After all, we do live in a city; you see the
scrawls all the time. However, as we
approached the side of the building the word “Zion” had been sprayed over the
multiple layers of writings. Lon snapped
a quick picture with his phone. Fascinating…the
end. Not quite.
Maybe, this was a “writing on the wall”
moment. You see, Portland is
exceptionally un-churched and is very much a me-centric culture; yet at the same
time very community minded. The profound
message to me was Zion, which represents God’s chosen, was present in this
abandoned lot. It was inscribed over the
top of the existing scribbles.
As we live
in our communities are we etching the word “Zion” over the unoccupied places in
people’s lives? There’s a lot of
lost-ness happening…even with what looks like successful lives. Look at the expressions you see.
Zion also stands
for community. When you are out walking,
eating at a food cart or attending a concert in the park, participate, engage
in conversation. Our lives should be the
“writing on the wall.”
Wandering and discovering ~ Missy
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One of my favorite movies is “A Good Year,” starring Russell Crowe. It’s a fun little romp through the South of France, filled with wine, romance and very poignant moments of clarity. Max, is a driven, pompous business man who is willing to use, abuse and finagle his way to the top, and then gloat. He is never satisfied with his accomplishments. "Good morning, lab rats,” indicates his ‘tude. Fanny, on the other hand, is a bicycle wielding, passionate woman. She is suspicious, short-tempered and very jealous, yet content with her way of life; minding the business of others. The storyline is obvious: opposites attract, love blooms and then blows up. Reflecting on the vast difference in their existences, this dialogue is uttered: Max: This place does not suit my life. Fanny: No Max, it’s your life that does not suit this place. Makes me wonder how many times I have said no to things because it didn’t fit into my prec...
A sign I saw in Portland says, "Keep Portland Weird" ZION is desperately needed there.
ReplyDeleteThere certainly is a lot of "weirdness" here ... people who are desperate. That's why we are here.
DeleteVery thought provoking. I did not know Portland was an "un-churched" community. That could start a long conversation. Especially since I'm relatively new here.
ReplyDeleteWe are relatively new as well ... almost two years, and are still discovering so much. The need is great in our City. It gives us a sense of purpose and mission - loving God and loving people.
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