Being the Church

We are exploring our call to be The Church in the City through our 2023 Lenten series and devotional, but what does it mean for an individual to actually do this? Two of our members shared how they have been called to live their Christian lives in the world.

Kathryn Loder
The Makers Project | the-makersproject.com

Kathryn Loder has attended St. John the Divine for several years and has been an active member of our Young Adult Ministry. One way she shares her faith in Houston is through her non-profit, The Makers Project.

Q: How have you been called to be a part of the Church in our local community?

A: I started a non-profit named The Makers Project to walk kids, teenagers, and young adults through the most difficult moments of their lives and inspire them to be who they are made to be. We work with underserved communities, mostly in homeless shelters, to ignite self-worth and purpose through self-exploration with different mediums of art.

Q: What does it mean to you for the Church to be in the city?

A: Being the Church in the City means to live your faith and walk in love. It means letting God use you in mighty ways to love his beloved children.

Q: What advice do you have for someone who wants to be involved in their community, but isn’t yet?

A: My advice is to be brave and put yourself out there. God can use you in many mighty ways, that you could have never imagined, to love others recklessly.

Q: Anything else you want us to know?

A: It’s ok to not feel worthy or good enough for what God is calling you towards because it is in those uncomfortable places where God can work and make others feel a little less lonely. Your discomfort makes you human and by going where God is calling you, you can create a safe place
for others to find refuge.

Sam Newman
Little Red Box Grocery | littleboxgrocery.com

Sam was confirmed at St. John the Divine in 2017 and has been an active member since then, including serving on one of the Community Engagement Project teams. Sam opened Little Red Box Grocery Store in Houston’s Second Ward (3401 Harrisburg Blvd Suite G, 77003) last year, as part of an effort to increase access to good food in one of Houston’s food deserts.

Q: How have you been called to be a part of the Church in our local community?

A: I think the most important thing for us at Little Red Box is to open our doors to one and all, and to be welcoming and kind to one and all. We serve a broad swath of customers which is not surprising given the diversity of Houston in general and of our Second Ward neighborhood specifically. My hope is that we can create an environment where people shop shoulder to shoulder with someone who’s living a fundamentally different life than theirs.

Q: What does it mean for you to be a part of the Church in the city?

A: What this store provides me—standing behind the counter each day, talking with customers about their lives (some share more than you can imagine)—is the opportunity to live into the fruits of the spirit with every conversation with vendors, my team, shoppers, partners, and of course myself. We can be our own worst critics, can’t we? But after nearly a year of running this place and messing up more times (a day!) than I can count, I’ve learned the healing power of grace—giving it for myself and extending it to others.

Q: What advice do you have for someone who wants to be involved in their community, but isn’t yet?

A: There’s no market shortage for dedicated and enthusiastic people willing to roll up their sleeves and help. Discern one area or one topic (food insecurity, healthcare access, homelessness, whatever), find an organization working in that space, and offer to help. Maybe that’s cracking boxes open at a Saturday morning food drive, maybe that’s providing part-time marketing support. You know what you bring to the table, and to the extent that you have the ‘reserves’ to gift, do it. We leverage the heck out of the goodwill-based skillset of others.

Q: Anything else you want us to know?

A: Come shop with us!