Racial disparities and the Church

West Charlotte	Myers Park
High School Graduation Rate =  56%	High School Graduation Rate = 98%
HS/MS test proficiency = 20%	HS/MS test proficiency = 20%
Average Age of Death in Enderly Park = 64 years old	Average Age of Death= 78 years old

30% of the population of Charlotte/Mecklenburg is black

83% of the Jail population in Charlotte/Mecklenburg is black

We have a problem.

I have a lot of questions for the Church.

Why is the church allowing for these and other disparities to exist?  Does the church believe these disparities exist because people of color are less capable, less willing, less interested, less worthy? Does the church believe that these disparities are not a concern of the church?  

Surely this cannot be the case.

My observation is, most often the church's response to these disparities has been either to ignore, to fear, or to commit missional colonization.  All of these approaches are problematic.

I want to scream at the Church, "What are you thinking?  Who are you thinking about?  Do you remember who you are?  Don't you remember the way?"

The people of Enderly Park are our neighbors and our family.  They are brothers and sisters in God's Kingdom.  How can anyone let themselves benefit from others' suffering and pain?

If you're with me, if you're screaming at the top of your lungs or you've got a lump in your throat.  If when you look around at the disparities, you feel queasy with righteous anger, then join me.  Tell me about your ideas.  Tell me about what you're doing.  Show me that the Church isn't all lost.

QC Family Tree is working toward another way: a way of solidarity, mutuality, and empowerment.  Through practices of prayer, hospitality, and creativity, we are laboring for "on earth as it is in heaven".  We're not perfect.  We've got our hang ups and our blindness- everyone does.  But, we're trying.  Here are the ways we've recently been addressing these issues and building family across economic and racial divides:

Speaking Out on Issues- Involvement in Advocacy and Action on issues such as:  Racism, Economic Injustice, Serial Displacement, Community Development, and other neighborhood concerns.  

Community Organizing- gathering neighbors together to work for positive changes for our neighborhood, changes that help our neighbors. Addressing land loss and serial displacement through partnerships and neighborhood-based efforts.

Developing Young Leaders who can articulate their own goals, situate them in the communities where they live, and work to achieve them.

Businesses for the Common Good- Creating businesses that will train, employ, and uplift neighbors that neighbors can own/run. Kinfolk Coffee develops strong leadership from outside QCFT staff with increased work schedule and profitability.

Youth/Kids Enrichment-  Cultivating strong sense of identity and kinship with one another and as part of QCFT group.

Discipleship- Bible study, worship gatherings, community service, prayers, church

Connecting to people- Improved communication between all QCFT residents. Making new friends/partnerships in the neighborhood and in Charlotte and beyond.

A Creative/Welcoming Place- landscape, gardens, décor, acceptance, public art, offering space to others, positive attitudes, inviting others to join us

Will you join us? 

Do you have ideas?

Are you taking action?

Let's hear about it.  Let's work together.  

Make new friends and keep the old...

A few days ago, I rolled out of bed and plodded down the hall to begin the wake up routine with the boys.  I sang the morning song and repeated the daily mantra. I walked out of their room and noticed a voice coming from the front porch.  This, in itself, is not altogether unusual.  There's a bus stop right smack dab in our front yard, so we often have folks sitting in our rocking chairs on the front porch waiting for the bus.  I peaked out the front window to see who it was and recognized the voice.  This wasn't a neighbor waiting for the bus.  This wasn't even someone who lived in Charlotte.  A previous intern had driven 2 hours to Charlotte in the early morning and was now sitting on our front porch.  I opened the front door.

 "Hey, is everything ok?,"
 "No!  I've had the worst night at work and all I wanted to do was find a way to be happy and the only thing I could think of that would make me happy was to come to Charlotte.  So, I came to Charlotte."
 "Come on in."

We poured coffee, made breakfast, and walked the boys down to the bus as she told us the story.  There were lots of pieces to the story, lots of feelings and lots of venting.  One of the things that resonated with me most was her exclamation, "Making new friends as an adult is really hard.  It's like dating all over again, but not at all that easy."

I've felt that way so many times and I've also felt the "I have no friends" wave of doubt crash over me too many times.  Perhaps somewhere deep, my desire to live in community with others is a plain old craving to have friends.   Yes, community life is a faithful witness, a gift of God, a way of living out a Kingdom reality and I should be totally compelled by the Holy way of community.  But, let's be honest.  Some of the reason I want to live in community is simply because I want friends.  I want that "bestie" that everyone talks about- the BFF, the LYLAS that we wrote about in our yearbooks. I want my own Kimmy Gibbler or Ethel Mertz.  I want to live in the apartment with Schmidt and Nick or the Florida home with Rose and Blanch.

Does that kind of friendship even exist?  My experience in community life says yes.  My experience in community life also says no.  There have been some moments in community when I have felt able to release my heart into the hands of another.  There have also been some moments when I've released my heart only for it to be denied.  I think we all know that friendships are complicated and tricky, that they ebb and flow, that they require attention and intentionality. I think that's why we crave friendship.  We want to know others deeply and to be known fully.  We want to be seen and heard.  We want to be swept away by care and concern for someone other than ourselves.  We want to feel connected to another.

How does friendship happen in adulthood?  How does friendship happen in a sometimes disjointed and disingenuous society?  Is there such a thing as friendship eharmony?  Can you put an ad out?  Here's mine:

 Mix up a bit of Punky, Clarissa, Angela, and add a few years.  That's me.  I'm looking for my Cherie, Sam, and Rayanne mixed with a little Ethel and Will.  I'll be waiting for you at the corner of Tuck and Parkway or perhaps we'll find each other at Rhino.  I hope you like veggies because the Chaud Legume Sandwich is out of this world! See you there soon...

Daily Rhythm

I have found that ordering my daily activities around a rhythm of life is a very helpful and meaningful practice.  My most favorite part about keeping a daily rhythm is to share it with others.  It is encouraging and fortifying to know that my fellow kinfolk are engaged in the same or similar activities at the same times of day.  We are woven together by common daily practices that shape us into disciples and community.

Our Daily Rhythm

Wake up
Mill about in the kitchen getting breakfast
Bring Breakfast to the table
Pray together (For three years, we've been using Common Prayer, but we've also used  The Divine Hours and other resources.)
Catch each other up with the day's plans and send the boys off to school
Begin the work of the day (together or individually)
Midday Prayers- at noon, your phone alarm goes off.  Pause and pray using the Common Prayer liturgy.  If you're in the same location as other Community Members, pray together.
Supper at 5:30pm (most days)
Hang Out/ Veg Out
Sleep

I've noticed, recently, that there are some additional, more subtle, parts to our daily rhythm.  They include:

The city bus visits every 15 minutes, neighbors knock at the door, passersby wave hello, the phone rings, the dog barks, the walnuts fall to the ground, the clothing dryer beeps, circle birds dance in the sky before they make their night's home in the chimney.

The rhythm of our day brings meaning and clarity.  It forms us, shaping the way we hear, touch, smell, taste, and see the world.

The invitation is open.  Come and be shaped, woven together, by the rhythm of our days in this little neighborhood in the Kingdom.

Freeze, what's your name!?!

We've heard the message loud and clear a million times and it wrings in our ears:  "Freeze, ye therefore, and question your judgment, wonder if you're good/ethical/just/faithful enough, make sure everything's just right."  I've been well teached and preached.  I've got the real Great Commission memorized, but, by all means, I know better than the good book.  I've read most all of the books about shifting from Charity to Justice.  I've been to all the talk sessions about empowerment and liberation from the inside out.  I have been slapped in the face with my own white privilege and with the rejection of teenagers who'd prefer hanging out with friends than chilling out with Ms. Helms.

I, like everyone else, want to get things just right.  I want to be just.  I want to be involved.  I want to make a difference.  I want to be loved.  I want to serve.  I want everything to work out for the common good.  And, so that things may turn out the way I want, I've done my fair share of reading, reflecting, research, and dialogue.  I've attending training, classes, lectures, & association meetings. I've done demographic studies and immersed myself on the little corner of Tuckaseegee and Parkway for 10 years.  All that learning and all those workshops were helpful, educational, inspirational and at times, all those workshops and learning can be paralyzing.

10 years ago, a large family from New Orleans showed up to the vacant house next door to me in the middle of the night and moved in.  They had nothing when they got to the front stoop.  Without thinking, we rushed over and introduced ourselves.  We brought blankets and lanterns.  We ran an orange extension cord and a garden hose from our house to theirs. In the morning, we offered to take care of their children so that they could go to the city's Katrina refugee center.

What were we thinking? We were complete strangers, white people, offering to this devastated family to take care of their children on the first morning that they woke up in a strange place and a vacant house.  The family took us up on our offer.  We played games, walked the kids down to the rec center, started to get to know the young ones.  Not long after that, we offered to connect the family to some folks who could help provide furniture, more permanent housing.  We invited the youth of the family to go camping with us.  We got so involved with the family that I kept a notebook of everyone's name and relationship to each other and I planned on making them a family tree painting for Christmas.  (it was a huge family)

It was obvious we were rookies back then.  Now, we would know better.  Now, we've read and been a part of so many conversations: When Helping Hurts, Toxic Charity, AntiRacism, Moving from Charity to Justice, Empowerment, White Privilege, What Every Church Needs to Know about Poverty....  Now, when faced with a neighbor's concern, if I'm not wisely discerning, I'll hear the self-doubt message wringing loudly in my ears:  "Freeze!  You don't know what's best!  Whatever you do is going to harm someone.  You aren't doing enough.  You aren't talking to the right people.  You aren't a loud enough voice.  Your voice is too soft.  You've got to prove to them that what you're doing is trustworthy.  You've got to prove to onlookers that what you're doing is righteous, radical, prophetic, and pastoral. Careful, they might reject you.  Watch it, you're using your power again. Freeze, ye therefore, and question your judgment, wonder if you're good/ethical/just/faithful enough, make sure everything's just right."  and then..

Analysis Paralysis and all that goes with it.

Oh, to be able to turn back time and start fresh!  Oh for the days to be able to approach my neighbor and his/her situation with immediate and loving faithful compassion and concern.

I recently visited Koinonia Farms founded in 1942 by Clarence and Florence Jordan and Martin and Mabel England as a “demonstration plot for the kingdom of God.” When I unloaded my suitcase onto the bed at Koinonia Farms, I felt like I was unloading several things that I'd have to deal with while there. (none the least of those was the fact that it was the end of a seven day 1800 mile long trip with our youth group and a full summer of sharing my house with 10 people and my days with 50 scholars and 12 interns at Freedom School)  The next morning, we received a tour of the farm.  I followed along, swatting at mosquitoes along the way and listened to the history of the place and that's where I learned a very profound thing:  the library used to be a hog barn.

"Greg!  Did you hear that?  The library used to be a hog barn and now they're going to move the books and change the building into residential space!"

I couldn't get this thought out of my mind.  Something about that hog barn library (in addition to the image of pigs reading books) sent me into celebration.  You see, what this meant for me was that our dining room wouldn't always have to be a dining room.  Our weedy grass ridden garden bed wouldn't always have to be a weedy grass ridden garden bed.  We too could be a "demonstration plot" and an experimentation grounds for the Kingdom on earth!

This meant, to me, that a fresh start is possible.  Beginning from the beginning is not only ok but also it also holy.  It is a demonstration of the kingdom.  God is at the beginning.  In the beginning, God.  As co-creators with God, we must trust the one who calls us by name, who commissions us, the one who proclaims, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine."

Freeze!  What's your name?

My name is child of God.  My name is faithful.  My name is Compassionate.  My name is Seeker. My name is Hopeful.  My name is Justice.  My name is Wisdom.  My name is Made in the Image of God.

The conversations and questions are good.  The deep reflection and the consideration of my own part to play in someone else's life is of great importance.  We certainly have a lot of work to do and a lot of changes to make.  But, I cannot let myself get frozen by "enlightened" self doubt.  I must remember  my Name and my sense of calling to "Go, Child of God, Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”





Articles on this subject that I looked at before writing:

http://www.uua.org/action/56280.shtml

https://books.google.com/books?id=1LaSAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA252&lpg=PA252&dq=moralizing+social+justice+work&source=bl&ots=t1iStBm90r&sig=sBjK-I9u2FDrEHeYok2jGuFyXMg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEEQ6AEwCGoVChMI2MjItt_5xwIVxdg-Ch2MiAoc#v=onepage&q=moralizing%20social%20justice%20work&f=false

https://www.google.com/search?q=moralizing&rlz=1C1TSNF_enUS469US469&oq=moralizing&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l2j69i59j69i60j69i61.1267j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

Let's Start at the Very Beginning

After a few weeks of recuperation from a very full summer, we begin again: first days of school, reconnecting with old friends, remembering where we left off last, getting back into routines.  Even though we're retracing our steps a bit, going back to school and back to reality, what we experience this time around feels fresh, new, different.  And so, we enter these new days with hope, awareness, and with watchful spirits for the ways in which we will experience life renewed and afresh.

August marked our 10 year anniversary of living among the good people of Enderly Park.  We remember, 10 years ago, meeting a vibrant family from New Orleans who fled to Charlotte after Katrina.  In those first months of resettlement, the Brown family allowed us in and showed us, by example, how to live with generosity and perseverance.  We remember the early days of walking door to door to meet neighbors and of playing basketball with teenagers at the rec center.  We remember our first ever community meal where we experience first hand the lesson of five loaves and two fish.

Much has changed since those days.  Some neighbors have moved away.  Many of our youth have become adults who have family and job responsibilities.  Development is creeping its way toward our neighborhood, bringing with it a shift in culture.  Yet, even with these changes, many things remain the same.  We remain committed to and engaged in the lives of vibrant generous neighbors who continue to teach us hospitality and perseverance.  With our young people as our guide, we are working towards creating small businesses that will empower and employ neighbors.  We continue to find ways of sharing our daily bread with one another through the practices of communal prayer and meals.

After 10 years of ministry, we begin again.  Rooted in this particular place and with these particular people, we look for ways that the Spirit is calling us to re-imagine the possibilities. Together, let us start at the very beginning and watch with wonder for what will come.

Enough

by David Whyte

Enough. 

These few words are enough.

If not these words, this breath.

If not this breath, this sitting here.

This opening to life

we have refused 

again and again 

until now.

Until now.

A David Whyte poem from 

Where Many Rivers Meet

From here on out

Well, it is way past Pentecost and I'm finally back.  On July 19th, Greg and I left our position as Co-Pastors of SouthPark Christian Church to pursue full time ministry at QC Family Tree.  After persevering through a very full summer. we took a couple of weeks to recuperate and adjust.  Almost fully rested, we're easing our way into the next steps here on the corner of Tuckaseegee Rd and Parkway Avenue.

From here on out, I'm going to use this blog space to ask questions, share stories, make commentary, and post updates about life and ministry on our little corner in the Enderly Park neighborhood of West Charlotte, NC.  

Here's what I can promise: honest words, creative imagining, and a little struggle here and there.

Here's what I cannot promise:  great writing, frequent posts, the best blog in the world that results in a book deal and a social media following.

As much as I'd like to be any number of bloggers or artists or writers who have made it big, who have a following, who are known out there in the world....that's just not me.  I may have been a communication major, but I've forgotten how to write (except for writing on a page in a way that helps me to know how to preach from that page and what that means is a lot of grammatical mistakes and weird phrasings).  I may be an artist, but I am a terrible self marketer.  I may have something to say, but I often tell myself it isn't really anything worth sharing.

And so, I'll blog without a whole lot of expectation about how it'll turn out or who I'm writing to and we'll see where it goes from here.

Thanks.
and Enjoy.

Eastertide break

Thanks for reading along throughout Lent.  This blog was a Lenten practice that seems to be growing into something else.  While I wait and listen for what might be brewing within, I will be taking a break from posting.  I intend to return to blogging at Pentecost.  Until then, hop on over to the QC Family Tree website to learn more about what we do in our neighborhood to be kinfolk rooted in discipleship in West Charlotte.  If you'd like to email me questions or suggestions on what to write about next, feel free.  I'll see you on the other side of Eastertide!

A Good Friday Poem

News of Death

For Tom Charlotte

By David Whyte

Last night they came with news of death

not knowing what I would say.

I wanted to say,

"The green wind is running through the fields

making the grass lie flat."

I wanted to say,

"The apple blossom flakes like ash

covering the orchard wall."

I waned to say,

"The fish float belly up in the slow stream,

stepping stones to the dead."

They asked if I would sleep that night,

I said I did not know.

For this loss I could not speak,

the tongue lay idle in a great darkness,

the heart was strangely open,

the moon had gone,

and it was then 

when I said, "He is no longer here",

that the night put its arm around me

and all the white stars turned bitter with grief.

By David Whyte

Here's to fabulous friends

Dear friends,
Thanks for reading along throughout the Lenten Season.  Some of you sent words of encouragement and stories from your own #withinonemile practice.  Some of you shared my reflections with others. Some even read the post on how things are going and groceries and came to my door with vegetarian meat options!  What a treat!

I've decided to keep up the practice.  In the next few weeks, I'll share my intentions for how to keep investing in my neighborhood.  I may have to make a few amends to the original rules- especially so that I can eat fake hamburgers and go to the coffee shop.  If you have suggestions for what/how to tweak the practice, please feel free to share.

Friends, high fives all around for the ways in which you choose to embody abundant community in your neck of the woods!

Lord, Why Did You Tell Me To Love?

Lord, Why Did You Tell Me To Love?

by Michel Quoist

Lord, why did you tell me to love all men, my brothers?

I have tried, but I come back to you, frightened....

Lord, I was so peaceful at home, I was so comfortably settled.

It was well-furnished, and I felt cozy.

I was alone, I was at peace,

Sheltered from the wind and the rain, kept clean.

I would have stayed unsullied in my ivory tower. 

But, Lord, you have discovered a breach in my defenses.

You have forced me to open my door.

Like a squall of rain in the face, the cry of men has awakened me;

Like a gale of wind a friendship has shaken me,

Stealing in like a shaft of light, your grace has disturbed me.

Rashly enough, I left my door ajar.  Now, Lord, I am lost!

Outside, men were lying in wait for me.

I did not know they were so near; in this house, in his street, in this office; my neighbor, my colleague, my friend.

As son as I started to pen the door I saw them, with outstretched hands, anxious eyes, longing hearts, like beggars on church steps.

The first came in, Lord.  There was, after all, a bit of space in my heart.

I welcomed them.  I would have cared for them and fondled them, my very own little lambs, my litle flock.  

You would have been pleased, Lord; I would have served and honored you in a proper, respectable way.

Until then, it was sensible...

But the next ones, Lord, the other men--I had not seen them; they were hidden behind the first ones.

There were more of them.  They were wretched; they overpowered me without warning. 

We had to crowd in, I had to find room for them.

Now they have come from all over in successive waves, pushing one another, jostling one another.

They have come from all over town, from all parts of the country, of the world; numberless, inexhaustible.

They don't come alone any longer but in groups, bound one to another.

They come bending under heavy loads; loads of injustice, of resentment and hate, of suffering and sin....

Lord, they hurt me!  they are in the way, they are all over.  

They are too hungry; they are consuming me!

I can't do anything any more; as they come in, they push he door, and the door opens wider...

Ah, Lord!  My door is wide open!

I can't stand it any more!  It's too much! It's no kind of a life!

What about my job?

My family?

My peace?

My liberty?

and me?

A, Lord!  I have lost everything; I don't belong to myself any longer;

There's no room for me at home.

*

Don't worry, God says, you have gained all

While men came in to you,

I, your Father,

I, your God,

Slipped in among them

The Wire Fence

The Wire Fence

by Michel Quoist

The wires are holding hands around the holes;

To avoid breaking the ring, they hold tight the neighboring wrist,

And it's thus that with holes they make a fence.

Lord, there are lots of holes in my life. 

There are some in the lives of my neighbors.

But if you wish, we shall hold hands,

We shall hold very tight,

And together we shall make a fine roll of fence to adorn Paradise.

Maundy Thursday Family Prayer Liturgy

Maundy Thursday

Family Prayer Liturgy

Please fill a bowl with water and collect a towel, candle, crayons, and matches.  Place the bowl and towel on the family table.  Gather around the table.  Pray the following words together, aloud.  An individual may read the plain text and the bold, in unison.  As you are praying with words, you may also pray with color.  Use the crayons to fill in the drawing below.  Pray that God will speak to you through all of the different elements: family, light, words, colors, and feelings.

Draw us into your love, Christ Jesus : and deliver us from fear.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not
so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Light the candle and sing:  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be; world without end. Amen. Amen

Silence for meditation

Our Father…

“To wash the feet of a brother or sister in Christ, to allow someone to wash our feet, is a sign that together we want to follow Jesus, to take the downward path, to find Jesus’ presence in the poor and the weak.  Is it not a sign that we too want to live a heart-to-heart relationship with others, to meet them as a person and a friend, and to live in communion with them?  Is it not a sign that we yearn to be men and women of forgiveness, to be healed and cleansed and to heal and cleans others and thus to live more fully in communion with Jesus?”  ~  Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arche communities

Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.
Blessed are the hungry, for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they are the children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness and justice, for great is their reward.

Lord Jesus Christ, you knelt to wash from our feet the dirt out of which you made us.  Teach us to humbly serve one another so that the world may know we are your disciples.  Amen.

Take a moment to wash and dry each other’s hands.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me;  body of Christ, save me;  blood of Christ, inebriate me;  water from the side of Christ, wash me;  passion of Christ, strengthen me.  O good Jesus, hear me;  within your wounds hide me; suffer me not to be separated from you; from the malicious enemy, defend me;  in the hour of my death, call me,  and bid me come to you
that with your saints I may praise you forever and ever. Amen.

Through our lives and by our prayers : may your kingdom come!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

*adapted from www.commonprayer.net  

Dealing with other people's opinions of my neighborhood

A couple of weeks ago, I received this email message:

I hope you and the Family Tree are doing well. I wanted to invite you to a meeting on March 12th at 7pm at the Bette Rae Thomas Center. The meeting will be to gain feedback around research that stemmed from Enderly Park's Women's Safety Audit. Students at UNCC have taken the salient themes identified by residents during the Safety Audit and engaged in deeper research around these themes. The hope of this portion of the Safety Audit is that subcommittees of residents can be formed to work on these topics. Your input is valued and we hope you will consider attending. We appreciate the work that you do and hope to see you there.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me or call our CHARP office 

Intrigued, I went to the March 12th meeting.  What I witnessed at the meeting was both surprising and disappointing.  

Let's start with a little background.  According to the CHARP website, "The Charlotte Action Research Project (CHARP) forges partnerships between the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and marginalized communities in Charlotte. We take our starting point in recognizing a neighborhood's assets. We consistently and proactively seek  to integrate teaching, research, and action to work towards a larger agenda of social justice, enable neighborhoods to advocate for themselves, and create sustainable neighborhood coalitions to implement structural change."  

My first encounter with CHARP was last September when two young white male college students knocked on my door for a survey.  They asked me questions like, "Where do you feel unsafe in your neighborhood?  Do you feel like you can go out of your house at night?  Do you feel like there is enough street lights at night?"  I tried to steer the questions toward a more positive outlook of the neighbor.  I explained that we take care of each other in our neighborhood and tried to challenge the students to rethink their biased questions.

Fast forward to March: Four UNCC representatives greeted me at the door of the presentation room. They explained that the students had been doing research on the themes that had come from the safety audit results. Small groups of students were set up with table displays, presenting their research and action plans.  My role, along with other neighbors, was to hear the students' presentations and give feedback.  

The first presentation I witnessed was on the topic of water quality.  The presenting student asked me, "Is the water in this neighborhood dirty?"  I was so confused.  Perhaps, I thought, he was talking about the creek near the park.  I told him that sometimes there is litter in the creek bed.  Then, he asked about the quality of the water coming out of our pipes.  I explained to him that we receive the same city water as everyone else and that our water was clean and clear.  He acted surprised and didn't know what to say next.  Puzzled, I moved on politely to the next booth.

The next presentation was on crime.  The student explained to me that she had done research about the levels of crime in our neighborhood.  She studied the days that crime happened, looking to see if there was a particular day that more crime occurred.  She looked at the times of day to see if crime took place more often at a particular time.  She could not identify a trend.  So, she said, she tried to think through what causes so much crime in this neighborhood.  She explained that she and her partner decided that perhaps because our neighbors have so much idle time, that is why there is crime.  Her solution: create programs that occupy people's time so that they do not have so much idle time to devote to criminal activity.  She suggested that perhaps an organization should come in and host after school programs and sporting teams for our neighborhood.  I noticed that these activities were geared toward children.  I asked her if her research concluded that there was a lot of juvenile criminal activity.  She explained that she had also made some suggestions for adult programs and that no, children were not the ones participating in the most criminal activity.

Stunned, I decided to ask some more questions.  "I see here that you've suggested team sports and afterschool programs will reduce the level of crime in our neighborhood.  Have you been able to discover whether these programs already exist in our neighborhood and whether they are helping to reduce crime?"  She explained that she had not researched what programs already existed in our neighborhood and that in fact, this night was the first time she had ever stepped foot in our neighborhood.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  I gave her my card and told her about the programs that already exist and moved on to the next presentation.

There was a presentation on neighbor interaction with and perspective of the police force.  The presenters shared that we need to improve neighborhood opinion of the police.  Their suggested solution was for police officers to participate, in uniform, in community outreach events.  There was a presentation on housing improvements.  The students explained that they drove around the neighborhood and recorded all their observed problems with the houses.  They indicated things like: old roofs, broken fences, boarded up houses, trash piled on the street.  Their suggested solution was a neighborhood education program to teach folks about how to call 311 to ask for trash pick up.

I stepped outside to talk to the event coordinators.  Nervous, because I'm not a professional in their field, I hesitantly asked questions about the program- Had they considered teaching from an asset based model?  Had they connected with neighbors to become more informed and engaged?  The CHARP representatives assured me that they had coordinated this event with our neighborhood association members and that they taught a whole course on Asset based community development.

I walked away disturbed.  I know that they are still learning, but how can it be that our future's leaders are presenting such narrow minded and ill-informed research and solutions?  What positive results could come from such a project? 

A friend of ours suggested that I need to write a letter to the department chair of the University to share my concerns. I want to, but I’m nervous about what to say.  I know that what I experienced was not right or just, but I don’t know exactly how to explain this to someone else. The Abundant Community book gives some helpful thoughts for reflection:

Some simple principles can guide institutions toward community-friendly positions:

·          Understand that people’s gifts are more valuable than their deficiencies and needs.  Social services could approach residents as through helping them to manifest their skills, gifts, and capacities were one of the primary functions of each agency.

·         Understand that the economy and community each derive their power from maximizing opportunities for all the local residents to use their skills and contribute all their gifts.  Government funders and foundations could make their grants to local communities that include marginal residents as productive citizens in their proposals.

·         Ask the following questions in the following order:  1)  What functions can neighborhood people perform by themselves?  2)  What functions can neighbors achieve with some additional help from institutions?  3)  What functions must institutions perform on their own?

*     Ask yourself:  "What can systems and institutions do to help citizens recover the power of their families and neighborhoods?  What can systems do, other than trying harder and doing more of what they now do?"

A Birthday Party within one mile

In Recovery #withinonemile

For many of us, one way in which we have built a barrier to abundant community is by blocking creativity.  Somewhere along the way, we forgot that the Creator encourages creativity.  We started to think, or fear, that creative dreams are egotistical, something that God wouldn’t approve of.  We forgot that our God is the Creator, the Great Creative Energy of the Universe.  At the heart of creativity is an experience of Mystical Union with the Divine. 

Practicing creative recovery and discovery is a process by which we may regain a sense of Kingdom reality, abundant community.  It is also an empowering way to combat the myth of scarcity. 

Basic Principles of Creative Recovery

• Creativity is the natural order of life.
•  There is an underlying, in-dwelling, creative force infusing all of life—including ourselves.
•  When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator’s creativity within us and our lives.
•  We are, ourselves, creations.  And we, in turn are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.
•  Creativity is God’s gift to us.  Using our creativity is our gift back to God.
• The refusal to be creativity is self-will and is counter to our true nature.
• When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God.
• As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.
•  It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.
• Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source.  As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.  [1]

In your devotional time this week, complete the following sentence:  

“If I didn’t have to do it perfectly, I would try….” 

Every day, write the sentence again.  And write a different ending to the sentence each time.  At the end of the week, compile your sentences.  

What has this practice taught you about yourself, about your creative recovery?

 “This is what I have to stay to you. You know all that you need to know. You already are all that you need to be. It remains only for you to recognize and acknowledge who you are, what you know, and the powerful presence that is awake within you. You think of yourself as fragile, but you are, in fact, strong. You sometimes feel alone, but you are, in truth, connected through Spirit to all beings. Believe in this connection. Believe in yourself. That is all you need to do, for all is well.”

~ by Danna Faulds

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[1] The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Thoughts on Limiting our Consumption

As believers, we are called to a life of worship- to love God and love neighbor with our whole being.  We believe that the Kingdom of God is an abundant community.  Therefore, ours is also a work of resistance- opposition to the Empire, scarcity, consumerism, and corruption. Resistance requires friction.  Friction involves heat.  Practicing resistance is a fierce and fiery vocation.  It is not easy.

Society trains us to believe that satisfaction can be purchased.  We are taught to believe that our identity is attached to our capacity to purchase.  “Consumer society begins at the moment when what was once the province or function of the family and community migrates to the marketplace.  It begins with the decision to purchase what might have been homemade or neighborhood produced.  This is how citizens begin to yield their power to the lure of consumption.  To overstate it a bit, consumption is like an addictive drug, one cultivated not in foreign poppy fields but in brainstorming sessions on Madison Avenue.”[1]

The strength and longevity of our economic system is so great that often times, we find ourselves forsaking our calling to abundant community for one of consumer culture.  In order to break through our barriers to the abundant community, we must take seriously our life’s vocation of Divine worship and Resistance to evil. 

“For many of us, raised to believe that money is the real source of security, a dependence on God feels foolhardy, suicidal, even laughable.  When we consider the lilies of the fields, we think they are quaint, too out of it for the modern world.  We’re the ones who keep clothes on our backs.  We’re the ones who buy the groceries….We want a God that feels like a fat paycheck and a license to spend as we please.  Listening to the siren song of more, we are deaf to the still small voice waiting in our soul to whisper, ‘You’re enough.’”[2]

We are not the only ones being lured by the temptations of consumerism.  The Israelites kept being drawn back to the narrative of Totalism too.  In Exodus 16, they take 2 verses into the wilderness after crossing the Red Sea and then say “let’s go back.”  We tend to do the same thing.  The Church is partially to blame for our entrapment.  She generously repeats Pharoah’s predatory economy by complacence and conformity. 

What would it be like if the Church chose to:

·         Respect and enhance life on a small scale

·         Understand that people’s gifts are more valuable than their deficiencies and needs.

·         Recognize that the power of community grows out of ever-increasing cooperative local relationships and connections

·         Understand that a local place called neighborhood has unique, irreplaceable value.

·         Recognize that local resources are vital to the well-being of a community.

·         Understand that the economy and community each derive their power from maximizing opportunities for all the local residents to use their skills and contribute all their gifts.[3]

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[1] The Abundant Community by John McKnight and Peter Block

[2] The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

[3] The Abundant Community

Lesley-Ann Hix's pictures from our walk

Last week, we walked a portion of our circle.  Here are Lesley-Ann's spectacular pictures!

The answer to "So how's it going?"

Several folks have asked me how the #withinonemile challenge is going.  Allow me to take a moment to interview myself on this topic.  And go...

What is the hardest thing about the #withinonemile challenge?
For me, there are two tricky things about this challenge.  The biggest challenge is entertainment.  There isn't a whole lot to do in my neighborhood.  There's also not a whole lot of pretty things to see.  There's no cute coffee shop.  There's no art gallery.  There's no hiking trail.  There's no creative space.  At least, I haven't found theses things yet.  So, entertainment thus far has consisted of DIY family fun or many trips to the playground.  The playground is fun for my boys, but it's not all that exciting for me.
The other hard part is that our grocery stores do not carry fake meat.  You see, I'm a vegetarian.  My go to quick eat is a fake hamburger or fake chicken.  I love to use fake meat in just about every entree I cook.  Since I haven't had the luxury of grabbing fake bacon or tofurkey lately, I've had to take extra time to prepare food that is healthy- either that or I grab something completely unhealthy.  Hello, potato chips!

What is the best thing about the #withinonemile challenge so far?
I run into people I know everywhere.  I went into the grocery store and saw a family that used to live down the street from me.  I went into the restaurant and got invited to join a neighborhood family at their table.  The waitress saw me twice during Lent and knew my drink order.  When I walked to the beauty supply shop and the thrift store, neighbors hollered out the front door to say hello.

What are you learning?
Tomorrow is my oldest Son's birthday.  I thought long and hard about what to do.  There's no toy store, no hardware store, no bakery, and no party supply store in our neighborhood.  I nearly justified an outside the radius purchase.  But then, it came to me.  We have supplies to make something! I ran over to the grocery and got the ingredients to make an ice cream cake.  (quick 30 minutes round trip).  My younger son helped to make the cake.  My neighbor is making a pinata.  My husband grabbed some scrap wood and we made a bike ramp.  Lesson learned:  we have what we need.

Today, I was scheduled to preach in a town 30 minutes from here.  When I got to the town, I realized that my gas tank was empty.  Thankfully, gas outside the mile is not on my list of Lenten restrictions. When I swiped my card, though, I noticed.  I took note of where I was, how I was spending my money, and my surroundings.  Limiting some things has made me more mindful of other purchases as well.  It has made more more thoughtful about what I spend and where I spend it.

Do you think you'll keep this going after Lent?
Maybe so.  I really enjoy being more deeply invested in my neighborhood.  I enjoy walking to places.  I enjoy passing and speaking to my neighbors.  I enjoy the challenge of restricting my purchases.  The lessons I have learned and the adventures I have experienced have far outweighed the challenges.  Honestly, though, if I do decide to keep some sort of restriction, I may stretch my radius to 1.5 miles.  That way, I can include the nearest coffee shop and taco joint.  I'll also be able to grab fake meat from the freezer section of the further grocery store.

Now, questions for you who are reading and/or practicing:
What are you learning?
What questions would you like me to answer?
Do you think you'll keep this practice after Lent?