stuck between sublimity and sorrow
 
tomorrow morning at 11am e.s.t. kellie and i are going to close on our first home. we're purchasing a quirky, 2 bedroom condo that is just off cabot street and right behind the majestic cabot cinema. we're thrilled about settling into our new home and finally having space for relational ministry (our current residence is about the size of the closet in my parents master bedroom...hell, i've lived in dorm rooms bigger than this apartment).
 
the previous owners of the condo are andrew and megan defranza, who are close friends and absolutely remarkable disciples. megan was the registrar at gcts for several years, where she worked with the 'incomparable' bill levin, recently finished her mdiv degree and is on her way to ph. d. studies at marquette. she is one of the most thoughtful, engaging thinkers i met during my time at gcts. if they don't hire her at some point in the future i am going to summarily withdraw my non and probably never-existent contribution to the seminary's endowment. evangelicalism need more female theologians like meg and less upper middle class white guys debating the merits of patriarchy, oops...i mean complementarianism. andrew is one of the most aggressive, effective proponents of christian compassion that i have ever met. for the past five years he has been the outreach coordinator at beverly bootstraps where he has pioneered the afterschool program (that i serve in), kept dozens of benevolence programs running smoothly and responding to multiple crises every day. i wish i could provide a more adequate description of andrew, but his character and passion refuse the limitations of words. perhaps the highest compliment i can give him is that he is, like my papa pep, truly a man above reproach. i have never heard a negative word spoken about andrew or papa, and i doubt that i ever will. so, needless to say, we, as well as the rest of the beverly community, are torn up about the defranzas departure. i would live in this rat trap apartment for another five years if it meant that we could keep them in the community.
 
thus, i find myself in the midst of another tension. i am incredibly excited about our condo, but am heartbroken about their departure. of course, true to form, through their generosity the defranzas made this purchase one of the greatest gifts i have ever received, but i'll save that story for another entry.
 
thank you andrew and megan for who you are and what you've done for this community. damn you for leaving us!