Enough with The Rev. Kenya Thompson

Scarcity is loud. It tells us there's not enough money, not enough compassion, not enough hope, and not enough time to help. In our final Summer Shorts episode, The Rev. Kenya Thompson, Vicar of Church of the Common Ground, offers a different narrative rooted in the miracle of Matthew 14:13–21, where Jesus feeds the 5,000. Miracles, she reminds us, are signs of God's presence breaking into ordinary life, revealing abundance where we assume there's only emptiness.

In this episode, Melissa has a conversation with Kenya about everyday miracles, Jesus' creativity, and what "enough" really looks like. Together, they explore practical ways to show up for our neighbors—especially the most vulnerable—even when we feel our own resources are limited. Listen in for the full conversation. 

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Indianapolis, Kenya attended Howard University, graduating in 1992. She later earned a master’s in education from American University in 1996. For over 20 years, she worked in education, including as a high school guidance and college counselor for 15 years. Kenya joined St. George’s Episcopal Church in 1995 and was confirmed that year. After discerning a call to ministry, she earned her M.Div. from Candler School of Theology – Emory University and was ordained in 2018. Her time working in China deeply impacted her spiritually, as she witnessed God’s love through the kindness of strangers, even those not Christian. Since ordination, Kenya has served in various roles, including Vicar at Church of the Common Ground, Associate Rector at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church, and Director of Leadership Development at Emmaus House. She is passionate about caring for the forgotten and the unwelcome. She considers being a priest an honor and a blessing and looks forward to future opportunities to love and serve God.

Transcript

More Than Material Resources

The Rev. Kenya Thompson 0:00

We have to understand that it's not just about material resources. If I'm a community organization or if I am a church, if we don't have the funding to feed people once a week, maybe we do have some kind, open-hearted people be willing to go out to a park and hand out water, offer words of encouragement, say hi, make people know that they are still loved and they are seen and they are important. And we have to look at Jesus as a model of creativity.

Welcome And Summer Short Series

Melissa 0:31

Welcome to For People with Bishop Rob Wright. You can find a link to this week's For Faith and a link to subscribe in the episode's description. Bishop Rob has been away for the month of July, enjoying continuing education opportunities and Sabbath. And so this is our last week where we have guest contributors writing his weekly devotion and joining us on For People for our annual Summer Short Series. Today we have with us the Reverend Kenya Thompson, who is the vicar of Church of the Common Ground. Welcome, Kenya.

The Rev. Kenya Thompson 1:21

Thank you. Thank you, Melissa, and thank you for having me this morning.

Melissa 1:24

You bet.

A Devotion Called Enough

Melissa 1:25

So your devotion you called enough, and you based it on Matthew chapter 14, verses 13 through 21, and it goes like this. We don't talk much about miracles these days. Surrounded by stories of division and suffering, we have become skeptical. The world tells us there is never enough, not enough resources, compassion, and hope. We wait and pray for a miracle. The feeding of the 5,000 invites us to understand miracles differently, not as dramatic supernatural events, but as signs of God's presence breaking into ordinary life and revealing abundance in a world obsessed with scarcity. Jesus takes what seems insufficient, blesses it, and somehow there is enough for everyone. That miracle continues today. Sometimes it's dramatic, but often it appears in quiet, ordinary ways. We see it when forgiveness overcomes bitterness or when someone who has lived in isolation finds a community where they are welcomed, loved, and accepted. These quiet acts may never make the news, but they are signs of God's kingdom. Each Sunday we gather at Christ's table with our fears, doubts, and frustrations. Christ receives what we bring, blesses it, and reminds us that there is enough grace for everyone. Perhaps the greatest miracle is not that five loaves and two fishes fed thousands, but that God continues to transform ordinary people into a community where no one is forgotten. Love is multiplied, and there is enough for all. So Kenya, please, please tell me. I would love to know what your experience firsthand with miracles is.

Kenya’s Unexpected Miracle Story

Melissa 3:12 The Rev. Kenya Thompson 3:20

Oh my goodness. Well, for me, when I you know when I think about um miracles, I think about things that happen that are unexpected, right? That are that are unexpected in in our lives. And um when I when I reflect on my life and sort of my path and how I came to be in this place and in this time, um wow, there's so many of those miracles. But I think I will just simply start with um part of how I came to to the the priesthood, and I was admitted um to Candler School of Divinity, and like many students, I still there were a lot of question marks, such as, um I'm leaving my full-time career and how will I pay for this? And um miraculously, um my my aunt, my aunt, who I had not been in contact with for numerous years, um, we reconnected literally um months before I was to attend, and she offered me her her residence to live in while she was traveling um for the upcoming years, three to five years or so. Um and that in itself, you know, was a miracle, and it's it's it seems very ordinary, right? But I think we have to move away from the mindset that miracles are these extraordinary occurrences that uh you know the sky lights up, but actually they're just very ordinary acts of kindness and and compassion um that were unexpected. And so that's one example of how miracles have operated in my life.

Why Miracles Need Participation

Melissa 5:03

I love that. The the bread and the fish. I think about that miracle, and I I don't know, I feel like so many of us just want a miracle to happen for us, but I think we forget that Jesus never performed miracles without the participation of people around. You know, uh, and so I wonder, I wonder how you've seen people step up and step into ordinary miracles.

The Rev. Kenya Thompson 5:28

Yeah, you know, community. Community is such a huge part of miracles because without community, without other people around us, um then certainly we would not have the opportunity for miracles to even occur. And I know just on a very regular and a practical basis, um, weekly, you know, I'm blessed to see miracles happen right before my eyes in our in our morning prayer at Church of the Common Ground, where often um the crowd seems to seem to increase. And it feels like the more water or lemonade or coffee we serve, the more people who will show up, the more pastries hand out we hand out, the more people will show up. And miraculously, uh we never typically we don't run out. Typically we see people who are sharing from what they have, but but most importantly, we see the sharing of kindness, of love, of encouragement. So when we think about uh when we think about miracles and we think about uh scarcity, it's not just about material sustenance, but it's also about kindness and compassion and love that are unlimited, right? They're unlimited. And so there's plenty, there's more than enough of those things to share.

Melissa 6:47

Yeah. You know, I was thinking too about Jesus and the disciples. And the disciples, I think, had a scarcity mindset. You know, they said, There's not enough, we're not going to be able to feed these people. And Jesus said, No, like we got this, right? Maybe Jesus didn't necessarily miraculously, or let's just say magically, because I think a lot of people confuse miracles with magic. And I don't know that Jesus performed magic. I just think maybe he had the abundance mindset that you draw out in your devotion, whereas the disciples didn't. So can you tell me what you think about the perspective or making that shift from scarcity mindset to abundance mindset?

From Scarcity To Abundance Mindset

Melissa 7:18 The Rev. Kenya Thompson 7:27

Yes, and that's um, I think that's an important question to contemplate. I I think that, as I said, scarcity can be uh scarcity can be very overwhelming because that's usually what we hear the most about, particularly when it comes to helping folks that don't have much. And I think the the shift that has to be made is that we we have to understand that it's not just about material resources. If I am a community organization or if I am a church, if we don't have the funding to feed people once a week, maybe we do have some kind, open-hearted people who be willing to go out to a park and hand out water, offer words of encouragement, say hi, make people know that they are still loved and they are seen and they are important. Um but we have to we have to embrace and we have to um look at Jesus as a model of creativity, right? I think Jesus is a very, very creative. Jesus was not worried at all when he told his disciples to, hey, bring them back here. He wasn't concerned because he knew that things were going to work out and he knew that the people amongst themselves would be a part of that.

Support Message And Return

Melissa 8:45

Right. And so, how how have you seen that? I'm just curious. So, can you say a little bit about common ground, the ministry of common ground, and and how you're inviting people into miracles every day?

The Rev. Kenya Thompson 9:19

Yes, yes, I'd be happy to.

A Church Without Walls

The Rev. Kenya Thompson 9:21

So at Church of Common Ground is a church without walls. And so one of the ideas upon our founding was that there is enough, right? And that there is enough for this community who happens to be unsheltered at this point in their lives. And so it is our responsibility to go out into the community and share the gifts that God has given us, right? The material gifts, the spiritual gifts, etc. And so we see this on a regular basis. And we've come to recognize and to learn that it's not just about what we can give people, right? But it's also about how they return that to us. It's also about the community that we've developed, it's one that welcomes everyone. It's one that people feel can feel that their dignity is honored. Um, we think it's very important to give people choices. It's it's again, it's little things like, hey, how much cream do you want in your coffee? Every cup of coffee is a conversation, it's an act of compassion. Um, it shows that you are my sibling in Christ, and you are important. I mean, you're so important that we want to listen to you, we want to be there for you, um, we want to provide for you. And I think as we think about the shifts that we can make, we really do have to think outside of the parameters of what we can give people and send them on their way, right? Because that's kind of what the disciples wanted to do, right? Let's just give them something and send them on their way and Jesus. Let's fix it. Let's fix it. Yeah. Right. Yeah, we're not we we are incapable of fixing. But what we are capable of doing, and this is the miracle, of standing in these spaces where people are lacking so many things and just providing what we can, right? What can I provide? Maybe it's a listening ear, maybe it is a pair of socks, but maybe there's something else.

Melissa 11:28

So how does one well I've this is kind of a two-parter. Common ground means that it's where everybody is common. It's not so much the haves and the have nots, right? Where the haves are serving the have nots, right? But it it sounds to me like it's a really it's really about communion and it's about shared dignity and mutuality. How can folks become involved with common grounds ministry?

How To Get Involved Consistently

Melissa 11:53 The Rev. Kenya Thompson 11:53

Yeah, thank you. That's uh that's a great that's a great question. Um we have all of our all of our programming is held outside. And so, you know, there is Sunday worship, we have two days a week, Mondays and Wednesdays, where we have morning prayer, we have a Tuesday non-medical foot clinic, and it's really easy to become involved. There are a number of different ways. Some churches and organizations sign up uh through our website to donate the lunches we serve on Sundays, and that is a very valuable part of our ministry. Um, but another real valuable part is again actually to be in the community on a regular basis. People so much appreciate other people outside of us to talk to sometimes. So, for example, attending our Tuesday foot clinic, and no, you don't have to actually provide the pedicure, but you can help serve lemonade, and you can you know be a sounding board for someone, or you can pass out you know a pastry if we have that. Um, certainly for morning prayer as well. A lot of it is about, and what's really, really important is the consistency, right? The consistency. You would be surprised how quickly people will learn your name and remember you. You know, you might come one Tuesday in March and then you'll come back, you know, again in February, and people will remember exactly who you are. Um, and and so that's a way to get involved. It's pretty much just contact Vicar at Church of the Common Ground. And I would be more than happy to talk with folks and even to help them discern how they would like to be involved. You know, that's also part of it as well, because you know, we have our gifts, but they, you know, we want our gifts to be in in the places where um they're really needed.

Melissa 13:38

Indeed. So it sounds to me like you get to witness miracles every single day.

Housing Breakthroughs And Giving Back

Melissa 13:39 The Rev. Kenya Thompson 13:44

Yes, and you know, it's it's funny. I was I was reflecting as I was preparing, and I actually I wrote my um one of my essays to enter seminary um on miracles, and I could not find it any place because I'm very curious as to what I wrote. But I guess every every day, like I said before, you know, the certainly we have the miracles and the large things. Um, through one of our partnerships, um, we have been able um to support and assist in the housing of over 150 members of our community. That indeed is a miracle in and of itself. There are a lot of our volunteers, for example, today on Tuesdays, which are Toes days, are folks who previously were unhoused and now they are housed, many of whom have um have employment, um and they are in a place now where they can give back to Church of the Common Ground. That is a miracle. Um, totally unexpected at the time we entered that particular partnership. Yeah, we had to uh it took a considerable portion of our budget to make that happen, but thanks be to God, it happened, and that miracle has really lived itself out in some very significant and important ways.

Thanks Follow And Subscribe

Melissa 15:03

That's great. Kenya, thank you so much for highlighting the fact that we all can be miracle makers. We're grateful for your ministry, we're grateful for the Church of the Common Ground. And listeners, we're grateful to you for tuning in to For People. You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Bishop Rob Wright or by visiting www.forpeople.digital. Please subscribe, leave a review, and we'll be back with you next week.