One Whole Cloth

@jonnyrashid

I'm a pastor for Circle of Hope (circleofhope.net). Our Sunday meetings are at 2309 N. Broad St. at 5 and 7 p.m. Father and husband. Learner and lover. Justice seeking and peace making and church planting. Pie and braised meat enthusiast. Home is where my knives are. jonnyrashid.wordpress.com

290 posts

Lightness of heart

My parents came over for dinner last week and I made them a few things. Dad texted me today to remark on my good cooking and asked me how I learned it all. It's embarrassing to say this, but it was pretty affirming. I'm tempted to say "too little, too late," with him.

But I'd rather give him the benefit of the doubt. He'll never be the father I wanted when I was young, but it seems to me like he's trying, little by little now. He probably doesn't know how to talk to me. I was probably hard to parent too. I don't put much of this on myself, but my heart is softening and I'm forgiving him. It's better to have a light heart, than a heavy one. In Arabic we'd say it's better to have "light blood," than "heavy blood."

Gulp

My wife is getting a haircut at a salon they put into an old school. They also put in a bar on the top floor and other things. "But they also host things like the graduation." I start muttering things about how they should give it to the school for free, or better yet, get taxed more heavily for taking over public infrastructure for bullshit no one needs. More about neoliberalism, late capitalism, etc. The usual Jonny Rashid treatment. She says, "I'm just trying to tell you where I'm getting a haircut." I say, "I know, I'm just making a point. This is what people like you call 'value-added.'" She doesn't get the joke. Then I realized I'm the one that reads business and consulting blogs. I take a deep gulp of irony.

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

71. Robert

Robert keeps starting the first day of the rest of his life. Many things that he thought he'd be working with for the rest of his life haven't proven to be as permanent. He's OK with that. Right now he is teaching and making films. "The way to growth us letting go."

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

70. Russ

Russ is from Ukraine and he teaches English literature at Temple to international students. He loves what he does! He has a degree in theology and was particularly interested in talking to me about that. He focuses on Jewish and Old Testament studies. Here’s what I learned from him: early Christians were Jews, disciples of Jesus. In general, they had a laid back approach and wanted to accept all people. On the other hand, early rabbinic Jews were more strict. They were trying to maintain a sense of their culture, and often rejected others–but they accepted all Jews.

These days, Jews in general discourage conversion. We all have access to God, even if we’re not Jewish. For example, the seven laws of Noah apply to everyone. You don’t need to be Jewish, according to Russ, to interact with God.

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

69. Stacy

Stacy is a not a traditional student, but she is proud to be in school. She's quite ambitious too. She started a nonprofit called Multi-Color Pearls. Check out her website here: Multi-Color Pearls.

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

68. Jeromy

Jeromy play on the defensive line for Temple football. He described himself as a bad kid growing up. His mom said he'd be in jail or dead. He got suspended all the time. He did go to church, but never believed that there was a god. One day during his junior year of high school, he started arguing with a girl in the cafeteria. He was obscene. And he got called down to the office. The administration thought the incident was much more, that Jeromy threatened to assault the girl. He was suspended indefinitely. He went home and prayed and he prayed for hours. The next day they told him he could come back to school. Jeremy thinks God answered his prayer.

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

67. Johnna Johnna thought thought her calling was to be a singer. Went to college to please parents. Spring semester junior year, she dripped out. Wanted to pursue music. Living with an artist and a producer. Mom said you had to be signed. She got revelations in pursuit of getting signed. She went back to school. Changed majors and didn't work and agree was getting sick. She prayed for guidance from God. That same day, kicked out, became homeless. But she was always provided for. Add time went by, she got peace and grace from God. Have an internship at a school. Worked at convenient store. God made everything out of nothingness.

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

66. Jeff

Jeff is suffering with some heart break. So much so, his semester almost flipped upside down. But he was able to pull it together to finish it, with the help of some gracious professors. He is channeling some of his heartbreak into stand up comedy. Good way to do it.

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

65. Jac

Jac was born several months before his due date and he thinks his whole life is a miracle. His mother was pronounced dead for eight minutes at the hospital he was born in! But she survived! He had many "Vine-sized" visions form his childhood. He has one that occurred in the middle of major back surgery he was having when he was five. He swears that he had a vision of waking up in the middle of surgery in a strange room. The doctors offered him a toy and told him it wasn't his time yet. Interestingly, enough, none of this actually happened--as far as he was concerned this may have all been a vision from God and a close encounter with the next age.

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

64. Sarah

Sarah wants to be a costume designer! How cool! She loves living on Temple's campus, even though she's from the suburbs (not to far away). It's given her a chance to open up and get out there and make friends. She actually thinks her independence has given her some courage and compelled her to open up. One example, was our our very conversation!

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

63. Sara

Sara is from Northeast Philly and she went to Calvary Christian. Her parents emigrated to the U.S. from Southern India. She's a kinesiology major at temple, in her second year, hoping to be a physical therapist. She's a Bible study leader at Intravarsity. She meets with people, offers them care, and prays with them. Sweet person.

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

62. Nelly

Nelly is full of charisma. She's an ambitious person who has her own interior design business: Personal Space (what a great name). She has a great instinct about color and design, as it relates to who someone is as a person. Love that. She grew up Catholic, and through various recent experiences, is wondering more about her faith and spirituality. I think we'll be friends!

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

61. Ally

Ally is quite precocious. She was visiting Temple to interview a professor, who is an epidemiologist. She skipped school to do it. She describes herself as a passionate student and I agree. She's not sure where she'll end up, but she's excited for her future. Maybe Temple will be her home. Find her on Tumblr here.

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

60. Ryan

Ryan is enjoying his second year in Philly. He's from the 'burbs, Plymouth meeting specifically. His sophomore year is doing well, studying media and production. He's not sure where he'll go from here, but he hopes to help product variety shows one day.

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

59. Michael

Michael's had a long week. His financial aid got messed up and he was informed he owed Temple $12,000. After going through some stress, the university realized it has made a mistaken and now they are reimbursing him and taking the hold off of his account. A small miracle!

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

58. Daniel

Daniel was on his way to lecture in a communications class. He was interested is what I was doing to stop to chat. I foun dhis work particularly interesting. His "flips businesses." It's not unlike flipping houses. His company finds functional businesses that have a good product and a decent market share. They buy the company, develop it further, and then they sell it. The business owners make money, and so does the company. Pretty cool stuff.

I want to meet 300 people this year. The heart of the work of the church is relationships. God came to us in the form of a person, and we can share his love just by getting to know each other. That’s the basis of Circle of Hope, too. I’m documenting who I’m meeting on this blog. If you want to meet, I’m totally down for that.

57. Colin

Colin had an extremely interesting story. The other day he was hanging out with friends and drinking. His younger sister sent him a photo; it was a rather peculiar image, but funny enough to send to his friends. As he was typing out the message, he accidentally sent it to his parents! It was a photo of a penis in a high heel shoe! Naturally, his parents were startled. He wanted to protect his sister so he didn't reveal the details of the how he got the photo. His parents may think it's his! Now his folks think he's in a strange group chat. Lesson learned: don’t text when you’re drinking.

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