Hope A Future&A Table of HopeBy Kelly Johnson

Every Tuesday afternoon as we finish the mid-afternoon prayer, Dave invites everyone within hearing range to gather for afternoon Bible study at the twenty-foot table in the center of the room.

“It is a very exclusive table,” he says each time. “Only sinners allowed!”

The Lamb Center, a day shelter for homeless and poor individuals, recently moved to a bigger, better-equipped building. Three times the size of the old building, the new space enables us to serve our guests in a num-ber of new ways. In spite of the improvements, though, the heart of what transpires continues to happen around the old table in the center of the room, the only piece of furniture that made the move from the old building to the new. Built lovingly by a volunteer who has since passed away, the table was created especially for The Lamb Center. Staff, volunteers, and guests couldn’t imagine a Lamb Center without this table–a symbol of hope, healing, and transfor-mation for so many.

I understand the attachment to this special table. I too have sensed God’s presence there and have been repeat-edly moved by the vulnerability, compassion, and hope I have experienced within this community during the years I have been leading Tuesday afternoon Bible study. If I know anything at all about the kingdom of God, I’ve learned it at this table.

All are welcomeEveryone is welcome at The Lamb Center table.

Whether sharing a meal, gathering for Bible study, or engaging in conversation during the hours in between, there are no requirements for a seat at the table except a willingness to pull up a chair. This is a place of radical hospitality. Whether guest, staff, or volunteer, we are all invited to come as we are. We can show up hungry, show up confused, show up with a smile, or show up with tears in our eyes. We can show up in our finest clothes or show up in our last filthy shirt. We can share our perspectives or sit quietly and listen. The table is a safe place, and we are all there by God’s invitation. My friend Dave often says to those who hesitate at the edge of our circle, “We won’t be complete without you.” At the table and in the kingdom, we are loved, our stories are valued, and our presence mat-ters.

THANKSGIVING 2016

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The Lamb CenterP.O. Box 1385, Fairfax, Virginia 22038-13853160 Campbell Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22031Phone: (703) 691-3178 Fax: (703) 273-9643

Hope & A Future THANKSGIVING 2016

A Table of Hope

People are messyThe Lamb Center table is raw, honest, and real. Life is

hard, and many of our guests are living in difficult circum-stances. My friends at The Lamb Center are under no mis-conceptions that they have their lives under control. The pride and self-sufficiency which plague many of us with comfortable homes and money in the bank has long since been left behind by my friends who sleep in the woods. They know they need help because the situations in which they find themselves leave them no alternative. Around this holy table, masks of invincibility have no place. We laugh a great deal, but we also shed a few tears because life is both beautiful and burdensome. We cling to the promises of God, we cheer each other on, and we revel in the power of me too as we find we have more similarities than differences. At the table and in the kingdom, we learn to trust each other, and we find that courage is often found in community. God is in charge

When I began leading Bible study at The Lamb Center years ago, I arrived in a flurry of planning and preparation, with an outline and thoughtful follow-up questions at the ready. I soon learned I was not the one in charge. Now, I show up with a handful of Scripture and with my eyes wide open, eager to see what God is going to do. Like the young boy who offered up his meager lunch of a loaf of bread and a couple of fish (see Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:10-17, and John 6:5-15), sometimes I feel like more of an observer of miracles than a participant. During the many hours I have spent with my friends at the table, I have learned to slow down and listen to God in a

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John MacPherson, Executive Director; Dave Larrabee, Director; Patti Brown, Assistant Director;Deb Haynes, Senior Case Manager; Pablo Gutierrez, Case Manager Gloria Kasey, Case Manager;

Bill Stell, Case Manager; Nella Farley, Administrative Assistant to Staff

The Board of DirectorsTom Basham; Carol Dieterle, Secretary; William Hudson; Kelly Johnson, Chair;

Sharon Jones; Cathy Liverman; Brenda Norman; Vic Rinaldi; Tara Ruszkowski; Nancy Stone;Coleman Tyler; Jaren Van Den Heuvel; Caroline Walsh, Treasurer; Dan Wolfe

deeper way because I know I am in over my head. I know I can’t “fix” my friends at The Lamb Center, so I don’t even try. I can’t orchestrate their healing, get them hous-ing, keep them sober, or undo the pain they have suffered in their lives. So I lean in and follow the One who can.

My experiences at the table have taught me the free-dom and joy of trusting God to do more than I can imag-ine. At the table and in the kingdom, our good God has the answers to all our questions and a plan for each of our lives.

Originally published on The Glorious Table.

Hope & A Future THANKSGIVING 2016

I scanned the room to find her and, there, near the end of the table she sat, a slender figure with straight brown-ish hair listening intently to pastor Beth talk about Jesus. She was in-the-moment, so focused, her eyes convey-ing absolute interest. I sat at the other end, not want-ing to take her from what we do best here –Jesus. A few minutes later, Maggie walked over with beaming joy and whispered, “I came to the Bible study, but also want to tell you that Fac-ets got me an apartment! The Lutherans completely furnished it, and I am so happy!” I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of thanking Lutherans for her success, but there’s wisdom in seeing how we are all interconnected—Lu-therans past and present from all over the world in some way or other did have something to do with making her home warm and functional.

Maggie’s story is one of relations. I remember clearly the day she walked in to meet me just a few months prior. Her soft-spoken demeanor paired with resil-ient resourcefulness was inspiring, but the way she talked about her the people in her life had a driven quality about it. Her face lit up while talking about pastor Pat Deavers

A Front Row Seat

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By Pablo A. Gutierrez, MA, Case Manager from New Hope Fellowship. Maggie was homeless, caring for a family member and pursuing a post-secondary de-gree. With an almost stoic resoluteness, Maggie said that she was “doing what she had to do”.

I look forward to working here because, honestly, it’s sort of like getting a front-row seat to a play in which God is the main character and director (and while I’m on this metaphor, the script is sometimes ut-terly wacky). Like when Maggie wrote her name down on the case manage-ment list to meet with me and share the joy she felt for getting a unit through Facets. Yes, that is how case management is done here at The Lamb Center at times: a meeting in which our guests talk and live out their faith, painting a picture of a landscape in which a simple Bible study matters more than having a place to live.”

“Had I been home-less for that long and then given a key to a fully fur-nished apartment, the last place I would have gone to is a Lamb Center Bible study—and I absolutely love them—but that’s ex-

actly what Maggie did before going to her new home. She walked in yesterday, put her name on the case manage-ment list and then wrote “Pablo housing thanksgiving, got apartment today!”

The Lamb Center is hoping to add a dental clinic soon. We have worked out an arrangement with NOVA CC’s School of Hygiene, but we need dentist(s) to provide a few hours of supervision. For more information, contact John MacPherson @ 703-691-3178 or johnmacpherson@thelambcenter. org

Volunteer Dentist Needed

Hope & A Future THANKSGIVING 2016

“I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”

—Matthew 25:36 Help, Thanks, Wow, are the three essential prayers

mentioned by the popular author, Ann Lamott, that popped into my mind as Lamb Center Volunteer, Noreen, gently tapped me on the shoulder during Bible Study.

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” she said, “but there’s a new guest in the restroom who has soiled her clothes and has nothing to wear from the waist down.”

Not the easiest situation to handle at any time of day at The Lamb Center, but extremely difficult with closing time just 30 minutes away.

Upon entering the ladies’ room, I met a sweet, gentle

‘There’s a Naked Lady in the Bathroom’

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By Rev. Patti Brown, Assistant Director soul wrapped in a towel, peacefully waiting for assistance. We chatted for a while and I offered to help in any way possible.

As I walked over to the laundry area, a professionally dressed donor walked over to the laundry area at the same moment handing Noreen a plastic bag. We nearly fainted as we discovered brand new ladies’ underwear, socks, a shirt, and a pair of purple slacks. (Purple is the Lord’s fa-vorite color you know!)

As I described the miracle we had just witnessed to the donor, she too stood in wonder and amazement.

The Lamb Center guest left overwhelmed with a radi-ant smile on her face, knowing that she had been clothed by the Lord in a glorious manner. Those of us in the laun-dry left with joy in our hearts having witnessed a miracle up close and personal.

Help! Thanks! Wow! Wow! Wow! Lord!

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

—Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NRSV)

I spent the bulk of my work hours on Veterans’ Day with a veteran who is still on the battlefield. Now his en-emies are trauma, mental illness and alcoholism. At stake in this battle is his life with his family. We talked about the many times he has gone into a detox program and left early to go have drink, we cried a bit, we researched alter-native programs and even discussed including his wife in the decision if she was willing. At one point a half empty

God SightingBy Deb Haynes bottle of cheap whiskey fell out of his coat

pocket on my office floor. Just as I thought we were making progress toward another detox at-tempt, he became furiously paranoid that I was lying to him and stormed away. For him it is not yet the season to accept treatment.

I went about my tasks for the day feeling it was a time to weep and to mourn, when a Lamb Center guest from the past arrived to cel-

ebrate good news. An alcoholic who has come far in re-covery, in part by relying on the AA meetings here and the love and guidance of our staff and volunteers, he has suc-ceeded in surmounting a huge hurdle. He has recovered his driver’s license that was revoked years ago on DUI convictions. There is a lengthy and expensive program to complete after serving one’s sentence including many proofs of sustained sobriety before a license is restored, and he made it. He brought us symbols of his new em-ployment and ability to drive. I immediately placed this on my key ring so that when I drive to work, I am reminded that he is driving to work too!

I thanked him for bringing me hope. That indeed for everything there is a season, and his time now to build up and to laugh was preceded by a time to weep and to mourn. In God’s perfect time, the angry alcoholic veteran will also find a time for peace.

Hope & A Future THANKSGIVING 2016

The Executive Director’s Corner

Waiting for a MiracleBy John MacPherson

God always answers our prayers. Sometimes he gives us the answer we all love. “Yes!” Sometimes the answer is no. Not the answer we want to hear, but at least it’s an answer. Sometimes the answer is something different altogether. We ask for “A” and God gives us “B.” And sometimes the answer is wait. No one likes that answer. Sometimes we would prefer ‘no’ to ‘wait’.

We see miracles here at the Lamb Center on a regular basis. We run out of toothbrushes and a bag full of them shows up. A guest says he doesn’t believe in God or in miracles, but shares that he needs a pair of size 9 boots. Dave adds the request to the clos-ing prayer at our morning Bible study, then goes into his office and sees a pair of 9.5 boots under his desk. Okay—so they were a half size bigger than the guest requested, but I am inclined to believe that God knew the man’s size better than he did.

This past summer, after many years of being told “no” by various property owners, public officials, and more than a few lenders, the Lamb Center moved in to a brand new 10,000 square-foot building that cost $4.5 million. Several times over the years, we couldn’t understand why God was saying “no.” Once we made an offer on a build-ing and the owner took several hundred thousand dollars less from another buyer, rather than sell to us. This was even harder than the times he said “no.” God was saying “wait.” At the time hearing God say “wait” was even hard-er than all the previous “no’s.” I complained about this to one of our volunteers and he said, God is never late, but he is seldom early!

So finally God had said “yes,” but He wasn’t done. The day of our Grand Opening, God sent us a donor who paid off the remaining $500,000 allowing us to use all of our resources on ministry and not a mortgage! We were stunned. God does indeed own the cattle on a thousand hills.

Now you would think this miracle was not the big-

gest one in my life that week, but it wasn’t. You see my son Matthew has been suffering from kidney disease, had to have both kidneys removed last spring. He was on di-alysis, and was waiting for a donor. The same day of our Grand Opening, we were supposed to meet for dinner with Steve, who had agreed to give Matthew one of his kidneys and was a perfect match. Three days later, they both un-derwent surgery, and both are doing fine.

How do you repay a gift like that? Okay, so I paid for dinner, but somehow that seems a little out of balance. How do you repay someone for the gift of life? There was and is nothing we could do for Steve to repay him for the gift he has given. Steve told Matthew to pay it forward, and that seems to be the most appropriate thing we can do.

It has been an incredible example of grace to me. A gift that is undeserved and that cannot be repaid at any cost. And all that Steve did was give up a kidney. Okay, I real-ize how ridiculous that sentence is. Just a kidney. I find myself cheapening a gift that I cannot begin to repay.

It has made me think of what Jesus did for us on the cross. No matter what little good I may do in my life, it will always pale in comparison to what Jesus did for me. And to think that he would gone to the cross to atone for my sin alone, or yours, or just one of our guests.

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The Lamb Center

Non-ProfitUS POSTAGE PDMERRIFIELD VAPERMIT NO 586

PO Box 1385Fairfax, Virginia 22038

In 2015, The Lamb Center had 31,171 guest visits and provided:• 44,538 meals

• 11,015 showers• Over 10,000 group and individual counseling sessions

• Over 600 job counseling sessions• 364 AA meetings

• Plus haircuts, Bible studies, computer skills classes, job and housing searches,and relationship building

Thanks for your support of The Lamb Center in providing Christian fellowship and services to homeless individuals in central Fairfax