We at Eikon speak quite a bit about paradox. In all parts of life, we find seemingly contradictory things that fit together in a mysterious and beautiful way. Last night at our weekly gathering, we made an announcement that brings with it a new sense of paradox.
we couldn’t be any more excited to announce that we’ll be hosting david bazan, as a part of his “living room tour”, at eikon (518 w. 9th st.) on saturday, september 8 (8 p.m.). tickets ($20) go on sale on friday, june 15 at 1 p.m. (central time). click here to purchase tickets. (the only way to purchase tickets is through bazan’s website. there will be no ticket sales at/through eikon.)
it’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 3 years since our first informational meetings about this dream we had called eikon. then, it was early 2010 when we began meeting weekly and since that time, we’ve journeyed together as we’ve continued to figure out what it means to follow and be jesus to our community.
As I got older I let go of that old tradition of saying a prayer before your food. I let go of closing my eyes when praying. The “normal” way we pray didn’t mean as much to me. I found that connection in other things like music, writing, art, movies, friends, nature, and food. Food has become one of my biggest connecting points to any sort of higher power yet I seem to have lost the thankfulness for that food.
Over the last couple months, many of you have kept up with and volunteered your time and resources to our newest community connecting point, Open Doors. Each Thursday from from 3 – 7 p.m., we’ve opened our doors to our homeless friends and offered a space for laundry, showers, food and drinks and just a place to take a load off. In a very short amount of time, we’ve made quite a few new friends and have had the opportunity to share in the lives of the Little Rock homeless community.
Last Thursday as I arrived at Open Doors, there were at least 10 people standing at our door waiting for us to open. It was about 60 degrees that day, and they were all so eager and thankful to be let into the building to warm up. And all I could think…it’s only 60 degrees…I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like in about a month.
I am so thankful to all those who have volunteered to get Open Doors up and running! I know it has been a safe, comforting space for so many people who have nowhere else to go. I know we have a few people interested in volunteering their time or contributing, so let me offer this update…
for the past 6 months, we’ve been going, verse by verse, through jesus’ sermon on the mount. beyond that, for the last year, we’ve focused very specifically on the life, teachings & values of jesus. the most fundamental expression of our faith community is living in the way of jesus, so we’ve put a great emphasis on exploring what that means.
with our next teaching series, we’re committed to continue with that. we’re turning a bit of a corner, though. whereas we’ve dealt, largely, with more broad themes, we’ll begin to focus in on more specific theologies and issues. in order to do this, we wanted to choose a vehicle for doing so that was both engaging and in alignment with our values as a church.
so, we’re excited to announce, the gospel according to…
We all deserve a chance to have a shower, clean clothes and a fresh start. Most times our homeless friends are not welcome in laundromats or other places that would enable them to have this opportunity. We want to create an inviting space where people can feel comfortable coming to get cleaned up, to hang out and to get basic help…without having to do anything in return.
I have no idea how to best convey what I saw and experienced in Haiti. Had this been my first experience in a 3rd world country, I believe I would have been balled up crying after the first day. I have seen dire poverty before, but nothing close to what I saw in Port-au-Prince. Really, unless you personally go there, it is impossible to get an idea of what is going on. But I will try to paint a picture.
on february 2, we posted information about and photos of our new building.
154 days later and we’ve yet to post again.
[this is the point in which i’m hiding my face in shame.]