Friday, September 19, 2008
Potluck in the Park is Saturday at 12:00 at the picnic shelter at the Hargraves Center. These potlucks aren’t actually sponsored by The Well - one of the folks at The Well read about a similar event in a magazine and thought it was a great idea. She brought the idea to us and it struck a chord with us, so we’ve been helping her with it from the beginning. It’s a community event. The idea is that sharing a meal together is a great way to build community, so we try to get people from all walks of life and all parts of Chapel Hill and Carrboro to get together for a potluck meal. Some bring a lot of food, some bring napkins, an instrument or a game, some bring a friend and a smile. For some, it’s the best meal they’ll eat for a month, for others, it’s just another day. By coming together we build relationships and grow to understand one another better.
If you’re in town, come by for lunch!
Peace,
Matt
Posted by mcarter
Thursday, September 18, 2008
On October 5 The Well will celebrate Sustainability Sunday, a day dedicated to focus on social justice and environmental concerns. These are two primary concerns in our community. It’s easy to see: we have a considerable and visible homeless population, and we’ve recently experienced a major drought. As a community, we care about the poor and oppressed. As a community, we are concerned about sustaining, conserving, and preserving the earth that we live on.
Social justice and care for the environment are two things that God says a lot about. Join us as we join this conversation from a Christian spiritual perspective. We’ll hear a message from God and we’ll have opportunities to make a difference in these areas on the spot.
Sunday, October 5th, 5:00 at the Arts Center.
Hope to see you there!
Matt
Posted by mcarter
Monday, September 15, 2008
A church is a community of people who are gathered around their faith. The members of the community don’t all look alike, and they don’t all agree on everything, but there is a common bond of faith. Our dream for The Well is to be a true community. People who are involved in one another’s lives. People who work together for common causes. People who are honest with each other, support and encourage each other, and challenge each other. People who are committed to Jesus and to each other.
Join us this Sunday at The Well as we explore together what it means to be a community and what Jesus and we want our community to be.
Posted by mcarter
Monday, September 08, 2008
At our grand opening worship time, we heard a message from God from the 4th chapter of John in the Bible. The story is of Jesus meeting a woman at a well on a hot dusty day. This woman is from a group of people (Samaritans) who are traditional enemies of Jesus’ Jewish culture. She’s also lived a hard life, and is an outsider in her own village. By the end of the story, Jesus and his followers are sharing life with this Samaritan village, and the woman has again become a part of her community.
Jesus breaks down walls that divide people. Race, gender, politics, economics, nationality. None of these things matter to Jesus, and they don’t matter to us at The Well, either. But Jesus doesn’t just break down walls, he builds community. Community is more than the mere absence of malice; it is a true sharing of life, and we see this represented by Jesus’ invitation for everyone to come to the table to share communion.
Our goal is to emulate Jesus in being a church without barriers. But more than that, we emulate Jesus and invite everyone to the table. Like God, we want to turn walls into tables. Come join us at the table.
Peace,
Matt
Posted by mcarter
The Well has launched! We had our first official worship assembly as a new church Sunday, September 7, 2008. It was a day of celebration and unity as about 65 folks gathered to worship at the Arts Center in Carrboro. I couldn’t be happier to be a part of such a wonderful group of people and I am excited to see where God takes us over the next few months. May He work on us to help us become the people he wants us to be, and may He work through us to influence the community around us for good.
Peace,
Matt
Posted by mcarter
