Introduction
Making Whole is a non-traditional addiction recovery program in Asheville, NC that is rooted in the principles of craftsmanship and apprenticeship. They work in wood, metal, and architectural concrete making custom furniture and other objects like chess boards and art pieces. Instead of using a traditional curriculum, 12 step program, or set schedule, Making Whole requires just a few things: you work 8am to 6pm Monday-Friday, and you share lunch together every day at noon. During their workday, they focus on the process and the daily ritual of problem-solving, not the product or outcome.
In an interview with the publication The Bitter Southerner, founder Jeremy French shares that as apprentices learn to build furniture, they learn to gradually rebuild their lives as well. “This is Old World-style craftsman work…where the apprentice is on the mentor’s shoulder to observe and learn. There’s more of an ask in this scenario to show up and intimately connect. It’s less about learning specific techniques and more about taking as many cues as possible from how the mentor conducts himself and navigates through specific situations.”
At Making Whole they’ve thrived by learning that personal connections heal and teach and help us grow. They know that when they have someone to emulate and model their responses after—not in a prescriptive way, but organically by being engaged and tuned in—they have the foundation to rebuild their lives into something beautiful.
Before there was Making Whole, there Paul, writing a letter to the church at Corinth, offering them a similar apprenticeship opportunity. This week we’re going to look at 1 Corinthians 2 and the gift of God’s spirit and the example of Jesus.
I hope you’ll join us!
Laura and the Teaching Team
Text:
Communal Confession for Vine and Branch
Rejoice, Grace Church this time culminates our Sabbath day, our gift of rest and renewal.
We rejoice in this time for worship and wonder.
God gives us Sabbath as freedom from and freedom for.
God is worthy of worship, our Creator, Healer, and Inspiration.
Hang on Grace Church, we were never promised an easy road.
Jesus bids each and all of us to take up our cross and follow Him.
We have the promises and person of Jesus with us every step of the way.
Because we have this we will endure, even though we struggle.
We have the testimony of those who have gone before us to encourage and enlighten us.
Because we have this we will follow their example and receive their encouragement.
We have been given each other to rejoice with, grieve with, grow with and work with.
Because we have this community and all these things we will not lose heart or be forever discouraged.
Grace be to you now and forever in the Name of our Lord Jesus
Lord’s Prayer
Christ, who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who’ve sinned against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory forever. Amen.
