In the spring of 1998, a group of Reba Place Fellowship
members began to draw together for the purpose of forming a new household.We met for nearly a year as a small group,
getting to know each other better and building deeper relationships.Over many meals we discussed ideas, hopes,
expectations, lifestyles, personal quirks -- anything we could think of that
might have an effect in close quarters.We absorbed and appreciated the experience shared with us at a couple of
these meetings by Linas Brown, and Jeanne and Allan Howe.
While this was going on, we were keeping our eyes open for a
place to live, preferably among the Reba Housing or Reba Apartments
properties.Eventually the house at 727 Reba Place
became available.After the remodeling of
the kitchen and a few wallpaper-removal-and-painting parties, the house was
ready for us.Chris Evans and her son
Carl already lived on the third floor.The rest of the group consisted of David and Penny Lukens, Anne Gavitt,
and Brad, Susan, and Rachel Flecke.The
move took place on April 15, 16, and 17, 1999.We still have the shaky-cam video of the move, including the arrival of
the piano and the initial encounter between the Flecke cats and the Gavitt cats
--two events which generated identical levels of tension.
The population has changed somewhat over the years, with the
departure of Chris and Carl, as well as Brad.Over those same years, Cana has hosted
guests and family, and made a home for apprentices and summer interns.In 2005 Tim and Joanna, a couple moving to
the U.S. from Canada, stayed
overnight, planning to take some rooms in a house across the street.In the morning, between the time everyone
woke up and the 8:00am arrival of the first helpers on the move, something like
the following conversation took place:"Good morning, Penny.""Good morning, Joanna.Did
you sleep well?""Yes, we
did.You know, we were talking before we
got up, and we really like it here.We
feel much happier than we did at the other place when we saw it. We kind of wish we could stay here."Penny said, "I was thinking the same
thing."So after one or two quick
little meetings, Tim and Joanna moved right in.They lived here for ten fun and active--and sometimes, admittedly,
tense--months.They finally took an
apartment in the neighborhood, and continue as Cana Small Group members.
Cana
has also hosted Monday
Night Potlucks since their beginnings, though it is a bit difficult to
precisely pin down those beginnings.In
our first year or two we put together a few gatherings on Wednesday nights, and
a number of singalongs on Saturdays, which brought friends from church,Fellowship and neighborhood together.By the time the Internship Program started in
the summer of 2001, Mondays had been settled on.A seminar was held in the third-floor
apartment, which was where all two of the first interns lived.At this time, the potluck was attended by a
dozen or so people sitting around our dining room table.In the fall and winter of 2006-7, more than
sixty people regularly crowded into the house for dinner, and for the seminar
that followed.A committee was formed to
address this wonderful problem.In the spring of 2007, four additional households took on the hosting oftheir own potlucks, and the seminar was moved
to the RebaPlaceChurchMinistryCenter.Most weeks, twenty to thirty people still
show up here for dinner on Mondays.
The name "Cana"
was suggested by Sara Belser, who had grown up in the house.Cana was the
place where Jesus miraculously supported a family's celebration by turning
water into wine.As we have continued
together, the name has become an apt reminder of what we believe is our
calling:to practice hospitality, to
share joy (and even silliness), and to celebrate community with Jesus as the
source in our midst.It has not been
easy or perfectly successful, but God's care and loving-kindness have seen us
through and brought blessing.
