Multiblogging!

For the season of Lent I will be cross-posting my writing from a collaborative blog called Many but One that I am writing with six colleagues from around the United States.

To the faithful assemblies gathered around Word and Sacrament, and apparently around the LCD flat screen, grace and peace be to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. I bring greetings from the church that meets at the corner of Salisbury and Lancaster streets in the city of Worcester. My name is John Longworth, and I serve as the Associate Pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. My call has a special focus on education, catechesis and young adults. As part of my work with young adults I spend some of my time each week ministering to students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a university in the same neighborhood as the church building.

I live in Worcester with my wife Sara. Sara's daily work involves driver examinations for the Central Massachusetts Safety Council Auto School, though her calling is centered around handmade clothing and fine arts. Fortunately, Worcester has a growing arts scene and is a very diverse immigrant destination. This makes two of our favorite activities, exotic cooking and exotic dining, quite possible.

Beyond its status as an immigrant and refugee destination, Worcester has a rich history as an industrial center, a medical/biotechnology hub, a college town, home to New England's only diner factory and to several classic diners, and a bastion of independent punk and hard rock, from the days of Wormtown radio and the shows at the Paris, Palladium and Tammany Hall to weekends at Ralph's Diner (Punk Dive Bar par excellence!)