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14th and Vermont: The Luther Place Sacred Commons

Luther Place Memorial Church is an historic Lutheran congregation located in

downtown Washington, DC that has been attentive to missions both inside and

outside our doors since the early 1900s. The mission and purpose of the

congregation converge around biblical hospitality and social justice. We are a

welcoming and diverse community that practices what we call “rainbow

hospitality.”

Over the last year, we have been working with a group to engage our space with

gardening and art, and we are advancing our vision of the land around Luther Place

as a “Sacred Commons.” A Sacred Commons is a notion of place that is both

community oriented – open to all and available to all – yet sacred: sacred in its roots,

its development and in its offerings. Regular gardening, an installation of a new

garden, and the painting of a door of St. Francis are all part of bringing the Sacred

Commons to life. We are seeking to create a space of peace, beauty and joy in the

midst of a frantic urban scene.

To expand our work with the Sacred Commons we are seeking to work together

with other ministries that use our common space. For example, we are reaching out

to a congregation that utilizes space at Luther Place – Unity Fellowship Church. This

congregation has an excellent and vibrant drumming ministry, and Luther Place

hopes to learn drumming from Unity.

Over the next 9 months, we hope to continue gardening, develop liturgies that

include drumming, dedicate new doors (including a new Martin Luther King Jr. Door

and Dorothy Day Door), and feature outdoor art shows.

Yale Institute of Sacred Music
PO Box 208273, New Haven CT, 06520
409 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511
Tel: 203-432-3187 Fax: 203-432-5296

© 2010. Yale Institute of Sacred Music.