THE POTTER’S HOUSE

“One after another of her books came into being - books that seemed to always be taking shape in her most creative of minds.”_{-Elizabeth O’Connor}

Our Storyteller

Elizabeth O’Connor

For almost forty years, she had been faithful to her call to write, primarily interpreting growth in the spirit and life in community.

Since 1953, Elizabeth served as a support minister for The Church of The Saviour in Washington, D.C. She was a teacher, consultant, counselor, and leader of workshops. She was the founder of Sarah’s Circle, a ministry to and with the inner-city elderly poor. In her final years, she was involved in the creation of The Servant Leadership School, which exists to inspire, equip and support those who wish to mature and develop as Servant Leaders.

Dorothy Devers

The following is a tribute to Elizabeth, prepared by her friend, Dorothy Devers—a long-time member of the Church, excerpted from what was shared at Elizabeth’s memorial service.

"One evening in the third or forth year of the existence of The Church of the Saviour, there came through the door of 2025 Massachusetts Avenue a guest—Elizabeth O’Connor. She had come to please her friends but, before the evening had ended, she knew that she had come home…

I recall how shy she was, so inhibited that she had not the courage to read aloud even one verse of Scripture. She and I, both living in Virginia, rode to and from the School of Christian Living classes together. We talked about the inability we both felt about speaking out in a group and we determined to offer a class for others who had the same difficulty. We called the class "Proclaiming the Faith" and we knew that it was led by the Holy Spirit.

That same week an invitation was received by The Church of the Saviour from the nearby Church of the Pilgrims to send a speaker to address their well attended Easter morning breakfast. When this invitation became known, Elizabeth, without a moment’s hesitation, offered to give the talk.

The breakfast was attended by about two hundred people--and she delivered an inspired message. Her determination to do that and her courage in the doing of it gave indication of the tremendous potentiality encased in that slender frame of hers.

Her First Book

As Gordon Cosby’s vision of a church comprised of small groups with a focused corporate mission (such as the Potter’s House and the Retreat Mission Group) came into being, the momentum gathered strength. Other mission groups were formed, and by the early 1960’s a request came from Harper and Row for a book about this unusual ecumenical church.

Having believed for many years that writing was to be her vocation, and already haven written several articles, once again Elizabeth volunteered and began to write her first book, "Call to Commitment". It was published in 1963, and dedicated "To Mary Cosby, whose life is music in our midst."

When I finished reading it, I burst into tears and exclaimed to my husband, Bill Ham, "This is a great book." And it proved to be just that, having brought untold blessings to many persons in this country and abroad. Week after week, people have come to The Church of the Saviour in order participate in the life of dedicated commitment that is so vividly portrayed in those pages.

The books that have followed "Call to Commitment" have revealed the progression of Elizabeth’s own spiritual growth and served as a stimulus and guide not only for the community of which she had become so vital a member, and so clear a portrayer but also for countless others throughout the world…

Poetry in Prose

She could never have written the fundamental truths that flowed from her pen with such fervor, had she not experienced what she so beautifully expressed. She took great pains in choosing her words, so that every nuance would convey her thought clearly and concisely. Much of her writing is what I have always considered poetry in prose… One after another of her books came into being—books that seemed always to be taking shape in that creative mind of her…

No one can fill the place that was and is hers among us. It is difficult to imagine life without her physical presence, but we rejoice in the fact that she became a part of our life and left to us a heritage of lovely memories rich in wisdom that radiates from the pages of her writing. We live in the hope and with the faith that we shall all meet again in the mansions of that mysterious, glory-filled realm of the Beyond."

Her Books That Followed...

Call to Commitment

This is the beginning story of the Church of The Saviour, an ecumenical church in Washington, DC, out of which the Potter’s House and approximately 50 other ministries have been born. This exciting story captures how the Christian life can be a vital, life-giving, challenging experience. Sometimes called an "unconventional or non-traditional church", the Church of The Saviour is actually a church firmly rooted in the first-century church, where members are continually discovering again for the first time what it is that God wants to accomplish in and through them. In this book, O'Connor gives the full story behind the early days of this remarkable body of believers and their pioneering missions in the inner-city.

Journey Inward, Journey Outward

This book continues the story begun in CALL TO COMMITMENT, telling of the Church of The Saviour’s vital balance of engagement with self, God and others (the "journey inward") and how it proceeds from this solid base to involvement with the needs of the greater community (the "journey outward"). This church community not only leads members to increasingly deeper self-discovery, but also taps unsuspected wells of individual creativity in its renewed emphasis on the servanthood of the church. Contained here are the stories of some of the primary missions of those early days -- missions like the Potter’s House and For Love of Children and The Restoration Corps. You will be moved by the successes and struggles of ordinary people in creative partnership with God.

Cry Pain, Cry Hope

In this book, Elizabeth O'Connor reflects from her own journal on her abundant personal work with "call". As she shares her story, the truths she has discovered help us to see that God addresses each of us with a "good work" to do. When we discover it, we will not only accomplish something significant in the world but will find a completion within ourselves. What a compelling reason for any Christian to read these inviting pages.

This new edition includes a guidebook carefully prepared by Katherine Killis, educator and therapist. She developed the guide for her own work with individuals and small groups. In explaining why she developed it, she writes:

Cry Pain, Cry Hope struck me in the center of being, offering stories of the ongoing process of call, a call that is born out of our gifts and our longing to be wounded healers in a broken world. I wanted to enhance a personal or group engagement with Elizabeth’s vocational journey, as shared in these pages, with that of the reader’s own life journey.

Servant Leaders, Servant Structures

Gordon Cosby, co-founder and pastor of The Church of The Saviour, writes of this book: "The rarest and most needed gift for our time is the gift of authentic community. Elizabeth O'Connor traces the history and struggle of the Church of The Saviour as we have sought to be Christ’s people for over five decades. She uses the concrete history of a specific people to raise issues that any church anywhere must encounter and resolve if true community is to be experienced. More learning occurs from the varied stories of a struggling people than from the frequent reiteration of principles of community. Being an agent of in-depth community is by far the most difficult task I know. It is important that we gather wisdom from one another on this pilgrimage of healing ourselves and healing the grievous ills of society. Elizabeth is a masterful teacher for those on that journey."

Eighth Day of Creation

This book consists of writings by Elizabeth O'Connor on gifts and creativity. Originally written to give guidance to Church of The Saviour mission groups, it contains meditative materials and exercises designed to help us identify and use our God-given gifts. Inspired by Nicholas Berdyaev’s words, "Creativeness in the world is, as it were, the eighth day of creation," she believes that "our gifts carry us out into the world and make us participants in life."

O'Connor writes not only about the vital importance of discovering and using our gifts but also of the consequences of NOT using them. The exercising of gifts has to do with love. The exercises in this book are intended to prepare the reader for that. The writings by others which follow the exercises provide a wealth of guidance and encouragement.

Our Ragbone Hearts

In this essay on homelessness, O'Connor once again shares from her own experience -- this time on the subject of the homeless mentally ill. Her friend Morton Kelsey says of it, "Our Ragbone Hearts is magnificent. Mental illness and the homeless has been one of my deepest concerns for 40 years. All I can say is Amen, Amen, Amen! Don't let it go out of print. It is the best statement of the problem I have ever seen."

First published as an article in the January 1993 issue of Sojourner’s Magazine, one reader wrote in response to it, "I found Elizabeth O'Connor’s essay to be the best article I have read about one’s attitude toward the homeless. Particularly, I have fallen victim myself to minimizing the effect that homelessness has on individuals because they are mentally ill. I think this article really puts in perspective the realities of what a terrible dilemma a mentally ill person faces when homeless. Thank you for helping me redefine in a more Christian manner my attitude and commitment to the homeless." (Reprinted with permission from Sojourners, 2401 15th St. NW, WDC 20009)