Visiting the Gladstone Community

Gladstone Community

It was my first visit. With humid Cincinnati heat penetrating all skin pores, we walked from the car to the old church building in Mariemont, the one with a slate roof from a Medieval English parish church from the 1300s, making it the oldest roof in north America. 

Pew and pillow

            Old wooden pews stained with dark stain, stone floor, and young adults in the pews. A clock counting down to start was showing on the big screen in the front.  The service started punctually, at 9:00 a.m. sharp.

“Sacrifice of Praise” was a section where several people came to share a testimony of God’s faithfulness. They came prepared. Several had struggled hard in life – really hard, despite their relatively young age. Raw moments of truth were shared, covered with the knowledge that God is there, to cleanse, forgive, renew. Others had been challenged by Gods command to be more outgoing and sharing the gospel – and they were clearly out of their own comfort zone. God is there. He cleanses, forgives, renews, and by His strength they live, and so do I.

Congregants, community

            An old church house was filled with young people, most in their late 20ties or in their 30ties. Many were young men. They were laughing, clapping, listening, and later singing, sharing the bread and wine, praying, and talking to people. I wondered about the communion, and Jon explained: “we normally take communion with other people.” I thought that was nice. No eclectic Catholics here, I thought. But that is not what he talked about. “I am ready when you are ready,” I said, and we walked towards the communion table. We broke off a piece and dipped it in the red juice.

Communion table

 Then we went back to our seats and Jon prayed a thanksgiving prayer. The he and I ate the bread. That is what he meant: we share the bread and wine – with other people!

There was no ‘church coffee’ as we have it in our tradition in Kviteseid. But everybody was invited to lunch at one of the community houses. The church is a community of people in this context, and they call themselves a church, but it is not the organization they refer to. It is the community. This community has bought up several small houses on the same street, Grace St. in Mariemont. 

Grace St.

People live together – a men’s house, a girls’ house, a family house, a house for guys with a troubled past, a community meeting place, and office house, etc. They run a business, a handyman connection, and I noticed a landscaping business. They have a young guy who works as the community gardener, and he oversees the vegetable gardens, green houses and flowerbeds. They raise chicken and quale, too. Jon told me they try to buy adjacent properties, so that they can utilize the space between them, take down fences and create space for life in the back.

Lunch in the  'En Gedi"house

            Everybody contributes some to the fellowship, volunteering time and means, and it resembles an urban kibbutz. The community is quite structured, with leaders who function as elders, and responsibility is distributed to many. I will learn more about this in the coming weeks… volunteering is the thing.

How would you like to live in a church based community? How would you like to share meals, have a close network of friends and fellow believers who see the importance of being there, supporting one another, encouraging one another in the faith and in life in general? Old and young, singles and families, organizing are living together in community…being a positive building block in the local society. The thinking is green, using sub-urban space to enrich lives and provide some healthy food.

 

from the garden and nursery

The garden: for enjoyment

chicken and quail coops