Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Last August, I began working for a non-profit agency that serves individuals and families in eight west suburban communities of Minneapolis. We respond to emergency needs (such as food, housing, employment, childcare, etc.) and work hard to move people from poverty toward stability and positive change. Two nights ago, there was an event at our facility where over 150 people from 18 different worship communities in the immediate area came together. We learned about the dramatic rise of poverty in the suburbs and the complexity of issues we face. Until recently, I had a certain naiveté about poverty in the suburbs. It is, after all, mostly invisible. It wasn’t until preparing for my first interview with Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners that I began to seriously think about poverty in the suburban areas of this beautiful city. Now that I work there, I am in relationships with real people ...

Today, we begin the second week of Lent with the Spirit driving Jesus out into the desert for forty days.   Lent is an intentional desert time to reflect on God and deepen our relationship with God.   It requires a change from ordinary life.   Today’s society is so busy there is no desert time.    It is easy to see why you don’t realize the deterioration of a relationship until you run into a problem.   Recently, I came across a rough patch.   I failed to see God’s blessing in the midst of it, because I was doing all the talking.   I failed to stop and listen to what God might be saying to me.   Just like a human relationship, our relationship with God requires intentional time and listening.   Sometimes we let our own agendas and other things distract us from listening to God or take precedence over God. This Lent, I feel the Spirit driving me into the desert for deeper listening.   Where is the Spirit leading y...