The King's Jubilee - Shout for Joy unto the Lord!

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Our Name

A few people have asked me what is the meaning of our name: The King's Jubilee. The jubilee in the Law of Moses was to happen every 50th year. There were to be Sabbath years every 7th year, where the fields were to lie fallow and Hebrew slaves were freed for the year to give them opportunity to earn enough to buy their freedom permanently. The 50th year was a Sabbath of Sabbaths. It followed the 7th Sabbath year and included the cancellation of all debts, the freeing of slaves, and the redistribution of the land. The details of this can be found in Leviticus 25-27.

Bound into this plan was the proclamation of the truth that "the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof." Land, the most fundamental "capital" in an agrarian society, cannot be owned by men. It belongs to the Lord. So it can only be used for a time. Also, our God is a God of 'second chances' and the jubilee reflects this. One may make bad decisions which land one in poverty, debt and bondage. The Sabbath year comes along and gives a break and an opportunity to possibly work into a better situation. Every 50 years comes a radical redistribution, and another shot to live in freedom. The start of this year was marked by the blowing of horns and the lifting of a great shout!

The Jews never truly observed the Sabbath years or the Jubilee. That is why they went into captivity. They were in captivity for a year for every Sabbath year they had neglected.

In Isaiah 61, the ministry of Christ and his Church is described as a continual Jubilee: "to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." The Church was quick to get about the business of the Jubilee. The Epistle of St. James promotes economic equality and balance saying "Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low; because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away." (1:9-10) The Apostle Paul spent one of his journeys collecting to provide for those suffering from a famine "that there may be equality." 2 Corinthians 8.

So the "Jubilee" in our name stems from the desire to fulfill the Lord's ministry of facilitating His abundance to flow to those in our society in desparate need of a second chance. It is "The King's" because it belongs to Jesus Christ the King of Kings, along with all that is given, all who serve, all who receive, and the very streets, parks, houses and prisons it is shared in.

Making it Personal

For four years (1985-1988), I worked full time as a volunteer prison chaplain and coordinated the work of over 500 volunteers in 10 separate prison populations in Philadelphia & Montgomery Counties and Graterford State Prison. While serving in that capacity, I learned firsthand of the glaring disparities between rich and poor, whites & blacks & browns, suburbs & city. I saw Montgomery County become one of the wealthiest in the country because of white flight from Philadelphia.

It seemed to me that if I were to have any kind of authentic voice to speak to these large and complicated issues, involving land use & zoning, discrimination, addictions, welfare dependency, absentee fathers, the depersonalization of our society, etc., I needed to do something personally to be more a part of a solution and less a part of the problem. The inmates at Graterford told me I needed to help care for the homeless in Philadelphia. I took that as my "Macedonian call" and started to serve homeless people a meal one night a week with Deacons Marvin Walker and Les Bodger.

In February 1989, my wife, Bethann, and I and our four daughters and a few friends formed The King's Jubilee. The first thing we did was to take full responsibility for one of the nights of feeding homeless people in Center City Phila. to assist a storefront church that was going out three nights each week at that point. The next year, Nancy Karpinski wanted to start serving meals and sharing clothes among the poor (especially the children) on the streets of Pottstown & Stowe. We helped organize that and oversaw that work for several years. One thing led to another until The King's Jubilee had weekly outreaches in seven towns in 5 counties in 2 states. In addition there were other deliveries of material aid to various ministries on various occasions. Plus we did free concerts and picnics in parks, a Monday Evening Bible Institute, etc.

Some of these ministries were continued under local leadership. Most discontinued as conditions changed or volunteers got tired or passed away. We always saw that as OK. "It is accepted according to what a man has, not what he has not."

We still feed between 50 and 175 people each Thursday evening in Center City Phila. in Jesus' Name. We have met a lot of interesting people along the way. What we do is not burdensome or sacrificial any more than having family is burdensome or sacrificial. "He ain't heavy. He's my brother."

The Point

This ramble down memory lane has a point, I think. I wanted to introduce many of you to some of the background of The King's Jubilee. But the real point of this is to say that it is possible to share the mercies of God in tangible ways that make a difference in people's lives. It doesn't take a committee or a bureaucracy or a whole lot of resources. (The peak year for cash income of The King's Jubilee was about $30,000. Most years have been under $8,000.) Mostly, what it takes is a selfish willfulness to do the right thing.

Ephesians 2:10: "For we are His workmanship; created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." If I do not do the good works which God made me to do; I'm like square wheels on a wagon. But if I do what God made me to do, I am in a very happy situation!

The Present

St. Philip's community fully received The King's Jubilee at the same time they welcomed me and my family into Orthodoxy. Our vehicle leaves St. Philip's parking lot every Thursday at 7pm full of sandwiches, fruit, clothing, toiletries and goodies to share. We pick up other parishioners on the way and more meet us downtown where we serve on the street. Three times, we have received grants from Food for Hungry People and the local members of the Order of St. Ignatius helped us buy a van.

Why "Schematic"?

The name of our newsletter (as irregular as it is) is "Schematic". Martin Luther King, Jr., said "I have a dream!" And that's a wonderful thing if you are a charismatic, national leader of millions of people. But, on the local level, day to day, you've got to have a plan. So in January of 1989, I wrote a paper called "I Have A Scheme." It is a plan for a five pronged approach to tackling social and economic inequities in our region in the New Testament spirit of the Jubilee. So "Schematic" is just the name for the paper that reports on the progress and helps push it along.

The Logo

Our logo was designed by Wallace W. Wolff, a founding partner of DWKCB Architects. It is people of different races holding hands in the air lifting a shout. They form a crown. The ideas that we hope to convey with this logo are: "The Lord inhabits the praise of his saints." "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof." And the idea that everyone we meet has something unique of the glory of God to reflect and to bring into His kingdom.

The Ad

"Come and See" Icons, Books & Art was started with the hope that it would provide a steady income with flexible hours to facilitate my involvement in service with The King's Jubilee. The website has over 1,000 different icons on it. We have signed royalty agreements with about twenty iconographers of a variety of styles. The collection is growing all the time. We have shipped to all 50 states, and to thirty other countries on six continents. We average about 9,000 hits per day on the website. Please come and browse our collection at www.comeandseeicons.com

The Appeal

We can only do what we do, because there are many others who share the resources God has given them with us. Donations are gladly and gratefully received. In addition to checks and cash, personal size shampoos, soaps & lotions are always welcome, as well as men's clothing in season.

Checks can be mailed to:

The King's Jubilee
27 N. Front St.
Souderton, PA 18964-1148

email: TKJ@shoutforjoy.net

Thank you. May the Lord bless you as you bless the poor in Jesus' Name.

Peace,

Cranford Joseph Coulter

To be added to the mailing list please write or email us with your address. Tax-deductible contributions gladly received.

email:
tkj@shoutforjoy.net

Snail-mail:
The King's Jubilee
27 N. Front St.
Souderton, PA 18964-1148

Thank you. May God richly bless you.

- Cranford Joseph Coulter