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Read "Hope Lives in the Darkness"
Read "Two Tales of the City"

“Sabbath is designed to restore us ...
we set aside time to enjoy being alive, to savor the gifts of creation,
to give thanks ... it is a day of delight, a sanctuary in time.”
— Wayne Muller, Sabbath

A Place Apart in the Middle of the City

Sabbath House is located at:
3228 Portland Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55407
(612)822-2623

Here at Sabbath House, you will find:

• space for quiet time, renewal, prayer, reading, walking

• the healing presence of plants and a garden

• books and music

• simple earth-friendly meals and snacks, herbal teas

• friendly hostesses

• space to let your spirit grow

We welcome individuals for a private, personal day of renewal.

We offer space for small groups of 6 to 10 people to meet.

We offer events throughout the year, including Practice of Sabbath gatherings, Advent Evening Prayer, and Soup & Sabbath.

Donations are accepted:
Day with 1 meal – $15 per person
Day with 2 meals – $20 per person

Sabbath House is accessible by City Bus Routes 21 and 11.

After their September meeting, Sabbath House prayer planners designated “Hope Lives in the Darkness” as the theme of this year’s Advent Evening Prayer series. Reflecting on the various darknesses in which we live, the prayer planners knew we all need fanning of our hope. Once the theme was set, the need to “keep hope” kept appearing!

The September 21 issue of a Catholic weekly presented hope as a basic belief in a positive outcome to the happenings in our lives; it is a virtue that shapes our presence in the world, the antidote to succumbing to the darkness.

An Advent/Christmas booklet from the Liturgical Press at St. John’s, Collegeville, calls us to “wait in hope.”

A writer in a newsletter from Nicaragua wonders if the Divine cannot be found in Darkness as well as in Light.

Our ancestors became afraid of the increasing darkness of the winter season. They gathered around a fire and preserved the coals. They took part in elaborate rituals to bring back the daylight, to make the days longer once again. And, following the solstice, the days did, indeed, become longer! Thus was born hope.

Light does not need hope; all can be seen and experienced. In the darkness, whether it is inside of us or outside of us, we hold hope. We hold it precisely because we cannot see or feel. Once we are experiencing light, hope can fade back into the darkness until it is needed again.

Advent is a season of hope. Hope is a spark in the dark. Our hope lives in the darkness; we will find it there. And long we have heard, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” That candle must be hope.

Two tales of the city

Tale #1
It was the Friday before Christmas and it was snowing. As I walked out the front door with my ergonomically correct snow shovel, I saw the neighbor across the street doing the same. I crossed over and asked if he’d clear the walk of the guy next door who was out of town. “Sure.” And he cleared not only that sidewalk but those of several other neighbors.

Two days later there was a repeat snow with repeat shovelers. This time I had cookies ready. I kept running out with a plateful and saying, “Here are some cookies. Would you please shovel _____?” “We were just thinking of that,” said Noel, across the alley. Soon he, his visiting mother, his sister and small son were removing the snow from our parking area!

And so it went all that day: seven plates of cookies out, seven plates of cookies in!

When I returned on Christmas Day from being with family, the whole walk was again cleared by yet another neighbor (part of the cookie brigade.) There has been no substantial snow since in our neighborhood, but substantial good will!

P. S. The cookies were baked and decorated by Sister Ruth Lentner.

Tale #2
Some anniversaries are welcome; some are not. The 10th annual candlelight service “Out of Darkness, into the Light,” praying for the children of Iraq and other child victims of war, is one of the latter.

The Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls were one of the sponsors of this event at St. Joan of Arc Church in Minneapolis. Our Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation office sent a donation. I represented our Community as I read a reflection after I lit a Candle of Hope. We hope for an end to this ruining of the lives of children and we hope that we do not have to continue this prayer service for more years.

Sister Joanne Klinnert

Events at Sabbath House