let the little children...

Last Sunday afternoon at Veteran's Park, surrounded by witnesses and a table full of food, our faith community vowed to raise a handfull of children in ways that will bless this world and honor God. Maria showed the children how to anoint each other. They did so reverently, and then got busy playing.

As the oil was applied, a joyful shout came from a crowd of parents watching a little league game. This reminded me of another afternoon when Jodie and I came to this park to watch kids play ball. We hardly had time to appreciate the miniature uniforms and the kids' game faces before parents all around us were shouting at their kids. Reminders included:

• "Keep your eye on the ball";
• "Be ready for a grounder";
• "You don't have to be right on the bag, honey".

Many of these shouts had a degree of urgency.

Then a ball was hit soundly and a lot of action ensued, with a corresponding increase in parental shouting. This concluded with a play at home plate, where the runner was tagged and called out. Half of the parents' voices raised in pitch and volume. Whatever this teenage umpire was being paid, it was not enough. I was soon embarrassed for these parents. I repressed an urge to cut a hole in the fence in left field and set these kids free from this.

We were not able to stay after this. Jodie and walked away from the scene and talked about how the tendencies we observed are likely in us too, waiting for the arrival of a child who will esteem our opinions more than we probably deserve. With what would we replace these tendencies? How could we honor our kids instead?

To hear Sherry read that children come through us, not to us, and that they are not our belongings, was a beautiful corrective. This points toward another way to love our children. We are watching the parents around us honor their children by protecting them, denying them some things, letting them play, letting them make choices. Here is another way in which we continue to be blessed and healed as we watch and pray with this body.

World Refugee Day

June 20th is World Refugee Day.
This year the theme is courage: the courage it takes to overcome staggering adversity and to survive resettlement.
we celebrate the profound gift of courage and how much we can learn from these dislocated people who make their homes in a strange land.

If you are in lexington please come and celebrate and remember with us at Phoenix Park (downtown, next to the Central Library).
11:30am-1:00pm
It is a brown bag event and there will be
children's activities
and great music courtesy of the Big Maracas.
There is also a small photo display on the second floor of the downtown branch of the public library.
T-Shirts (with the map and text above) will be available for purchase...

if you live in other places, check out the UNHCR page or your local Refugee settlement agency for celebrations near you.

we relish the chance to care for the stranger in our midst because it is an essential part of the good news of the kingdom coming.

just because i wanted to tell...

I have a little story to share and I'm sure it has a point (probably not very unique), but telling the point isn't my point -- I just want to tell about it because it made me happy. Yesterday I was out for a bike ride and I was going up and down the streets around Duncan Park, sort of daydreaming. And I went by this little house on that street that comes out by the church there (Greater Soul Deliverance?) and there was this old African American man sitting on the porch by himself reading. He was probably in his late '60s. And there was the chain link fence, and trash lying about and me on my green bike and he in his metal folding chair and the hot sun glaring down and it was really quiet and no one else was around. And I was just whizzing by him -- or actually, sort of meandering, if you can meander on a bike -- and just as I passed him I caught a glimpse of what he was reading: The Chosen, by Chaim Potok. It was an old scrubby paperback version, like the type book you would get at thrift store maybe, which is exactly where I got my copy. So I hesitated a moment and then wheeled around and came back to him and pulled my bike up to his fence. He was pretty engrossed so I hesitantly sort of called out (twice actually): "Hey. ... Hey! [embarrassed smile] Hi. Are you reading The Chosen?" He looked up, blinked at me, confused, and nodded. I said, "By Potok?" (It occurred to me there might be many books with that title.) He nodded silently again.

Then I grinned pretty big because I really loved that book too. And I told him how much I liked it, he sat up and smiled, and we both chatted about how good it is. He said, "Yeah, I'm almost done here. In the last chapter now." And then I told him there's a sequel and we talked a bit about that as well. I felt good and he was sort of smiling too, maybe both of us aware of how incongruous the moment was. But then I didn't have anything else to say so I sort of ventured, "Umm, well, okay... goodbye!" And he waved and I rode off.

But it just gave me a little burst of happiness. He and I probably couldn't have been more different; yet there we were sharing our mutual enjoyment of a novel about two Hasidic Jewish teenage boys growing up in Brooklyn in the 1940s.

Well, that's all.

moving mountains (continued)

there is an important week coming up.
for those of us interested in the universe of justice issues needing attention in Kentucky, mountain top removal is a critical matter that demands attention. Communality is hosting the event (below) on June 15th and the High St House (112 W. High St) will be a base of operations for the weeklong leg of the Lexington campaign. here's a brief statement about mountain justice summer...

Mountain Justice Summer is a campaign of concerned organizations and individuals that will put thenational spotlight on the devastation caused by mountain top removal mining. Participants are committed to outreach, education, and non-violentcivil disobedience in our drive towards environmental and social justice for the residents of theAppalachian coalfields. We will visit West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania and beyond in witness, and in action, to save the land and people from the gluttonous greed of King Coal. You are invited to spend this summer defending our mountains and our heritage. Please join us, as we put an end, forever, to mountain top removal mining!

see here for the previous related post with links to more information.
...and here's the role-call for June 12th-17th:


Mountain Justice Summer
For an End to Mountain Top Removal Mining in Kentucky!

Wednesday, June 8 – Sunday, June 12
MJS Direct Action Training Camp
near Louisa, KY
Please visit www.mountainjusticesummer.org and complete a registration form to attend these workshops on forest skills and scouting, first aid, and conducting safe and effective acts of civil disobedience.

Sunday, June 12
Mountain Witness Tour
Kentuckians For The Commonwealth brings the city kids and suburbanites out to see and hear for themselves the impacts of MTR mining on Eastern Kentucky’s landscape and communities. Please contact Kevin at kpentz131@earthlink.net to attend.

Monday, June 13
KFTC Coal Haulers Survey
Overloaded coal trucks are a constant threat to the lives and safety of residents in Eastern Kentucky. Join us as we interview coal truck drivers for a fresh perspective on how King Coal attempts to divide workers and environmentalists, and collect valuable data to support ongoing KFTC lawsuits. Contact kpentz131@earthlink.net to participate.

Tuesday, June 14
Mountain Top Removal Film Festival
The Kentucky Theater, Lexington, KY
Five Films for $5! Showtime is 5:30 pm.
5:30 “Mucked - Man Made Disaster: Flash Flooding in the Coalfields”
6:35 “To Save the Land and People” 7:40 “Kilowatt Ours”
8:45 “Sludge”
10:00 “The End of Suburbia – Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the
American Dream”

Wednesday June 15 – Thursday June 16
Banner, Sign & Puppet Making Parties
Help us craft materials in peparation for the rush hour rally in Lexington. Please contact Stephanie at steph@tenantsrights.net to donate your cloth, paints, creative ideas, and artistic abilities.

Wednesday, June 15
Clean Water Act Workshop
Lexington, KY
Members of the Kentucky Waterways Alliance present an illuminating workshop on changes to the Clean Water Act, introduced by our federal government, that streamline mine permitting, and the terrible consequences for Kentucky’s water systems. In the days following the workshop, join us at the banks of threatened waters as we test for key water quality indicators, and collect data to be submitted to the EPA. Please contact Dave at davecooper928@yahoo.com to attend and participate.

Thursday, June 16
Downtown Canvass
Lexington, KY
The Lexington Environmental Action Project’s canvass of Lexington. Tell
Kentucky Utilities: No more coal from MTR mines!
Please contact Perrin at kyheartwood@alltel.net to participate.

Friday, June 17
Rally to End Mountain Top Removal
Lexington, KY
Bring your banners and drums to Triangle Park at 4 pm. Hear speakers, songs, and learn ways to achieve a sustainable future for Kentucky, a future beyond coal! Followed by a march past the Kentucky Coal Association and Kentucky Utilities to demand an end to mountain top removal mining!

The Slacker Leadership Model

speaking of leadership (flowing from the last post)
check out this great article from the ooze.

the community, the novitiate, and leadership

we're reading the 'new monasticism' book in our discipleship group.
we're up to chapter 6 - "Intentional formation in the way of Christ and the rule of the community along the lines of the old novitiate." the chapter deals primarily with ways of entering into a community of disciples. expectations (demands?), responsibilities, commitments, obligations, renouncing old ways/things, etc.

in our discussion last night the chapter also raised questions about leadership and community formation. questions that came up:
how can we have a flat structure and still move together with intentionality?
who will lead?
how do we identify leadership gifting?
what kinds of leadership are there?
who is gifted in what ways?
(personality, character, recent/past experiences, formal training, holiness, etc.)
how do we hold leaders accountable?
how do leaders hold the wider community accountable?
what leadership structure is already in place at Communality? (is it working?)
is there enough intentionality about discipleship at Communality?
(ie. are we given enough ritualistic gateways to inspire deeper commitment?)

we talked about how Communality had evolved over 6 years - starting with the pioneers, self-selected leadership, newcomers distinguishing themselves with faithful servanthood, 'visitors', tourists. we wondered what stage of development we were at as a community and wondered if different stages require different (styles/forms of) leadership. we wondered about how we can visualize our community in terms of the visitor-novitiate-leader concepts - concentric circles?, color spectrum? (light to dark), 3-D cone (ala roxburgh in the "missional church" book ). can we avoid hierarchy? should we avoid hierarchy?

anyway, no real answers to be found in this post. just questions.

welcome to the samson family

hey samsons,
we're glad you made it and we couldn't be more excited about your joining us in community as we "seek the welfare" of this city together (Jeremiah 29). exile is a lot more manageable when we journey (and settle) together...


...and all of you who are not the samsons....check out this wonderful post from Will.

...and this blog from lisa about their settling in on west third...

being there....as missionaries

i've been wondering about some things i vaguely recall from books i sort of read.
namely, i've been thinking about being a missionary and how we (the community i belong to) might be missional. every now and again i feel like the foreigner that i am [it is often sparked by cultural flash-back (world-view whiplash) usually prompted by being reminded of something that is virtually absent from this place but irrevocably embedded in my aussie-ness (eg. cricket, australian football, gum trees).]

anyway....in these moments when i feel most foreign i experience a recalibration of sorts and many of the layers/filters that surround my perception are parted like the waters of the red sea. recently this experience sent me back to the basics and i thought about something i hadn't pondered for a while (remember: vague book recollection).

as missionaries we will serve the kingdom's cause most effectively by 'dropping' the roles of
teachers
sellers
and accusers/judges

and becoming
learners
traders
and storytellers/troubadours.

perhaps we can add to this second list; mystics, poets, activists, artists, builders, gardeners, guides. any other imagery that gives life to the missionary vocation?







.

the family meal

on monday evening two people came to our back door and asked if they could take photos of us as we ate. we had invited some friends over and were eating in our yard. we said 'sure'.
turns out the photographer is douglas adesko and he is creating some work with the family meal as the subject. he was passing through on some commercial work assignments and we guess he just randomly happened upon our place and saw the card table and chairs in the yard. he's hoping to publish a book with the images he creates.
check out his web site here. there is some amazing photo journalism under the 'apt building' portfolio.

the family meal has become one of our most treasured and sacred rituals as a community of faith. it was a sweet and serendipitous occasion.

urban seed:church

for a wonderful read, go here.
it is a blog by mark pierson as he leads the urban seed community into church midwifery. we had the great pleasure of meeting mark back in april at the WALP conference.

and check out marcus curnow's blog (also from urban seed) as he rewrites this familiar song....

moving mountains

a couple of weeks ago we hosted a friend here in lexington by the name of john johnson. he came to teach us about forestry issues and how to participate in the protection of some of the most stunning wilderness on the planet. john is from this community in tennessee. over several years we have been enjoying a community-conversation with some the folk from svi. we have experienced the most wonderful cross-pollination of ideas relating to activism, environmentalism, spirituality, and theology. those of us who have had the chance to engage in longer conversations have been profoundly nourished and seriously challenged to become more involved in the environmental movement as a duty/discipline of the christian way. as well as being challenged to be more involved in protecting god's good creation, we have been ambassadors of the good news that cherishes ALL of life - let us just say many of our friends involved in activism are surprised when they meet jesus-followers who don't think we can just trash the planet because "it's all gonna burn." the 'funny' thing is, such a creation-treasuring approach might actually be more like an old-school, orthodox perspective. this is nothing new! - if you are interested in a more rigorous account of how the people of god have approached environmental issues down through the ages, let me know. Joey, our resident practicing, enviro-theologian has put together a paper summarizing such matters.

SO ANYWAY....
here's a chance for our theology of "it's not all gonna burn" to come alive.
during the third week of june the 'mountain justice summer' team will focus on bringing the action to lexington. this is a 'heads-up' to keep some time open that week (11th-17th). more details will be posted as we get them.

in the mean time....
* take time to check out the 'campaign' web site at www.mountainjusticesummer.org

* also, there was a stunning article in the april issue of Harpers Magazine by a local writer/professor (not available on line, but we do have a couple of community copies for anyone wanting to read it).

* for a shorter read, check out this article from the Herald-Leader.

some of us are finding this an incredibly important issue as it brings together human rights, environmental justice, economic issues, and all of this right in our own backyard. it is a shame to say that we are often more animated by issues across the world than we are by injustice in our own neighborhood.

Bike Lexington '05

just returned from the Bike Lexington Rally. it was a beautiful morning and a good turnout to celebrate riding a bike as an alternative way to get around (gas prices, pollution, andallthat). Also to promote a more bike-friendly city. the holy father of biking for lexington (papa BF) gives his blessing (right)






here are some pics....brooke won a prize!

























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pentecost 2.0

amazing happening at our place on friday.
sherry and isaac were upstairs. no-one was downstairs.
the door was locked but our back, kitchen window was open with only an insect screen to make a barrier between our kitchen table and the great outdoors.
so....
someone cut the screen with a knife, reached in and took some letters perched on the table. they read the letters and then wrote this note on the back of the envelope.

the letters they read detailed some thankyou's about refugee donations and also some information about a world vision child we sponsor.

as you might gather from the note, this would-be-burgler had an attack of conscience and thought it better to repent....s/he was cut to the heart (acts 2:37).

we wish we could find this person and have them for a meal and a chat and perhaps become a friend. we are thankful for whatever grace appeared and we are hopeful we might be just as ready to turn as our would-be-guest was.

guilt, fear, and good talks

I have a friend who is at least a bit wary of religion. She would say she grew up in a "very religious home," and that her upbringing did little to endear the church to her. She reported that she once became irate when she thought a friend of hers asked if she "knew anything about Jesus," as if this friend was working a covert angle of friendship evangelism, and was choosing her moment to pounce with a gospel message. As it turns out, her friend was wondering if she "knew anything about cheeses," (which is actually a mistake that has stymied North American missionaries for generations.)
Well I was talking to this irreligious friend of mine recently and I shared a bit of what I had learned at a meeting about mountaintop removal in West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. I told her how convicted I got from the meeting, and how I was trying to take cold showers and such. She stepped in and warned me about allowing a conviction, either one religious or one environmental, to reap guilt in me. This would not be productive. This would only generate more guilt when I fail to live up to my own standards.
This from my supposedly irreligious friend; this from one from whom I did not expect such a beautiful lesson. Fear and guilt is clearly not the appropriate or loving response to the presentation I experienced. Nor do I think Jesus would have us cowering before the rulers of this world, despite their large machines and poor decisions to date. I think He'd have us spontaneous, free, loving, gladly renouncing some freedoms so that less coal may be used to keep our lights on.
And I know my non-religious friend wouldn't want me to live in guilt and fear. When these things reign they leave no room for surprisingly good talks.

pentecost

As Pentecost draws near, our imaginations are primed by the signs and wonders that sparked those first followers of the Way.

Last week a miracle occurred in Lexington. The miracle involved two men - broken, addicted, lonely, and seemingly without hope. It came in the shape of two men receiving the divine gift of dignity. They moved from their tiny one-room dwellings in pitiful, income-based housing (picture a prison cell) into a real house. One of the two described it as “a real nice shotgun” with “nice thick carpet” and a backyard that will be “just right for grillin’ out.” As we drove the 5 blocks to their new place these men dreamed dreams about having people over (an impossibility in their old places), sleeping through the night without being woken by fighting over drug-deals gone bad, and sitting out on their porch on nice days. It was a small glimpse of holy anticipation and, for just an hour or two, these men without hope for their future, were caught up in privilege and self-worth.

Now, lest this picture seem unreal and sugar-coated, let me say some other things.
(there's more)
These guys are friends of ours. They bring candy (lollies/sweets) and cakes for Isaac and they keep us up to date with their lives. We visit them and they visit us. We share food and coffee and tea. One of them even lived with us for over 9 months. We know them well. It is clear that these men still drink too much. They both have serious mental disabilities and learning difficulties. It is likely that they will never work any ‘important jobs’ or contribute to the ‘greater good’ of the city of Lexington through taxes or civic service. They collect their checks each month (disability and armed services veteran) and quickly spend them on alcohol and chewing tobacco…and more alcohol. And perhaps, if they are really conscientious, some cans of beans. Yet they are beloved ones of the Maker of the Universe. If God came in the flesh in this city, this week, we imagine he would celebrate their new place and spend time sitting on their dilapidated porch listening to their stories of misfortune (impoverished childhoods, wrecked marriages, violence, estranged children, mental breakdowns and other illnesses). As they tipped back their heads for another hit of cheap vodka, they would admit much of the misfortune was self-inflicted. And Jesus might nod knowingly, biting his tongue so that this moment of quiet dignity could carry on a few more minutes.

As we carry on this work of church-in-mission we are regularly confronted with moments like these and they feel far off from the earth-shattering majesty of Pentecost. Yet we are discovering that peace and grace and justice sneak up on us at times like this and, like blades of tender grass that shatter concrete, can be easily missed or underestimated. We keep looking in the thin places of your lives for Pentecost signs and wonders that remind us of divine workings in this God-loved world.