On Thursday Oct 20th, over 50 of us gathered to kick off a new season of City House and welcome our new Executive Director, Tom Esch.  With three new staff—and three mostly-new board members—there is a lot of “new” going on with our organization.  The City House staff chose the theme “Treasure the Transformation” because we feel we’ve been handed a precious gift by those who have preceded us.  We recognize that we are standing on the shoulders of others who have, with the support of the Spirit, built the foundation of City House.

Speakers that night included volunteers Joy Hayenga (Shakopee Prison), Sally Nunn (RS Eden), Jaime Gjerdingen, who recently completed the first City House Spiritual Listening training workshop, and Violet Johnson, a long-time City House participant who knows life on the margins firsthand. The mistress of ceremonies was Vivian Mims, Board member, who, coincidentally, also celebrated eight years of sobriety that night. This news was greeted with a standing ovation by the audience.

Not many social-spiritual gatherings include the diversity that was represented in the room that night.  When people who are coming out of addiction, homelessness or prison sit next to someone who is not identified as being an addict or in prison or lacking a home, magic can happen—and usually does.  It was a magical evening and surely portends more goodness to come. If you were unable to make it, don’t worry, before you know it spring will be here and we’ll have another gathering.