Lifestyles Transitional Homes
Morning devotions · Bible study · Prayer
A ministry is not a building and it is not a statement of belief. It is a set of practices that get kept, week after week, by people who show up.
These are ours. Every one of them happens in the house where our household lives, and every one of them is open to anyone in the community who wants to come and learn.
Saturday
Saturday morning the house gathers in the living room — Scripture read aloud, prayer, a teaching, and the week laid down before it begins again. Nobody has to lead anything they are not ready to lead, and nobody has to say anything at all. You come as you are and you sit with the family.
It is not a service to sit through and drive home from. It is the household at worship, in the room where the rest of the week happens, with the door open. If you want to come and listen before you ever decide anything, that is exactly what the door is for.
Our gatherings
Every weekday morning, before the day begins
We start the day with the Word. Scripture is read aloud, a short teaching follows, and the morning is given over in prayer before anyone heads out the door. It is the hinge the whole day turns on, and guests of the household are always welcome at the table.
In the house, and open to everyone who wants to join
Weekly, in the evening
A long table, open books, and a slow reading through the weekly portion and the Scriptures that surround it. Questions are welcome here and so is disagreement; we are reading to understand and to live it, not to finish on time. Study is open to the household and to anyone in the community who wants to learn with us.
In the house, around the table
Daily, and a dedicated hour each week
Prayer is not a program here, it is the practice. Requests sent to us are carried by name by the prayer team, and nothing shared with us is passed along. If you need prayer, ask. You do not have to be part of the program, and you do not have to explain yourself.
In the house, and by phone for those who cannot come
Saturday morning, and unhurried on purpose
Saturday is when the whole household comes together to worship — Scripture read aloud, prayer, and the week laid down. Anyone who wants to come and learn is welcome at it.
In the house, in the living room, with the door open
Friday evenings, as the week closes
The week ends at a set table. Bread is broken, a blessing is spoken over the household, and the meal is unhurried on purpose. Everyone at the table has a place and a part; this is where a house becomes a household and strangers become family.
In the house, around one table
A short series, offered a few times a year
A guided study for anyone new to reading Scripture from a Torah perspective, and for anyone in the community who wants to learn. We cover how we read, how we keep the Sabbath and the feasts in a shared house, and how a household of very different people lives as one family. No prior background is assumed.
In the house, and online
Exact times are shared with the household and with anyone who asks, since they move with the season and with the house. Call (480) 268-5787 and we will tell you when the next one is.
Who carries this
There is no office running this from somewhere else. A house manager lives the life alongside the household, and a teacher comes to teach Scripture and to minister.
Lives the life alongside the household
There is someone in the house who lives the life with everyone else — up for devotions, at the table, keeping the chore list and the house rules with the household rather than over it. They are the steady presence a person can bring a hard thing to at any hour, and the one who makes the call when something needs a call.
Comes to teach Scripture and to minister
A teacher comes to the house to open the Word and teach it plainly — from the Torah perspective, at a pace people can actually follow, with room for questions and disagreement. What is taught at the table is meant to be lived the same week, in the same rooms, in front of the same people.
How we keep it
We are not the only people doing this, and we do not claim to have it perfect. These are the things we hold to, and you are welcome to come and ask us about any of them.
Scripture is read in the order it was given, and everything else is read in its light. We are not in a hurry, and we do not skip the hard portions.
The week is built around it. Friday evening the table is set and the household gathers; Saturday is unhurried on purpose, and nobody is expected to be anywhere.
None of this is private religion practiced behind closed doors. It happens in shared rooms, at one table, in front of children, and with people who are different from each other.
Any gathering we keep is open to anyone who wants to come and learn — whether or not they live in our house, and whether or not they have ever read Scripture before. Our arms are open to anyone who is drawn to what we keep: reach out, and we will sit down with you and talk it through. Every person who is interested in living here is interviewed first, so both sides can see whether it is a good fit. Nobody is ever pressed to become anything.
Our prayer team keeps a list and prays through it. You do not have to live in one of the house, you do not have to be local, and you do not have to explain yourself. If you would rather it stayed with the team alone, say so and it will.
Send a prayer request