Were you there?

We gathered before sunrise on Easter morning, despite the rain, to sing “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” The women carrying spices punctuated our song with a report that the tomb was empty! After we saw the empty tomb with our own eyes, Tracy played the trumpet joyfully as we processed to the cross, filling that place of death with beautiful spring flowers. Though repeated, this tradition is always an opportunity to ponder anew the hope of the resurrection in the face of all that does not bring life.

During the service, our Congolese friends announced that after ten months of transitional housing at Jubilee, they had found a house big enough for their large family to rent. They sang and then prayed for the community. They shared that they see Jubilee as their family, a home they will return to often.

This month another former resident needed to leave an exploitative housing situation. We were glad to have space to offer her family of five for the week between the old and new housing. Once the Congolese family started working, they made contributions to an emergency rental assistance fund at Jubilee instead of paying rent. Their family’s contributions covered the security and utility deposits for the young family in need of new housing. Both families joined in the Easter celebration and brunch. Together, we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.

People from around the country have been generous with us and we are grateful to see the ripple effects of that generosity. More than housing alone, we are grateful for the threads of connection that form as a result. In a time of division, may we live into the reality described in 1 Peter 2:10 “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”