Serial Community

This February I will have live in the same apartment for the past 2 1/2 year. I realize that it is the longest that I have lived in one place sense moving to Boston. Being in one place has had some amazing benefits. I feel closer to my neighborhood, understand it better, and feel more love for those around me that I have anywhere else in Boston. It has also allowed me to question the previous expressions of Christian Community that I have experienced in the past.

For the past say 5-6 year I have been seeking out christian community. To varying degrees I have been successful. My living situations have exhibited serving each other, hospitality, prayer, confession, worship and common finances. However looking back I realize that I have missed an important aspect.

They have not exhibited commitment to each other. For the most part the communities that I have lived in have lasted, on average, one year. For that year we were committed to each other but there was always something that could easily separate us. For the most part we were in our early to mid twenties. I think the upper-ward mobility / wanderlust of 20 somethings caused a feeling of being unsettled after a year in one place. Frequently, people move to another city for a job. Sometimes people had other friends that they became more connected and wanted to move in with. And then there was always marriage.

Not that any of these things are bad, or that people are choosing them over community. But there is an underlying understanding that what ever community we built would not last for very long. They were unstable.

What would a community look like if people committed themselves to relationship with each other and their neighbors. If they intentionally chose to live in the same place even though there were better opportunities elsewhere. What if instead of people leaving a community because of marriage someone new joined the community.

Over the past few year I realize that I have been practicing serial community.

Last Night

Last night I went to Park Street Church to hear Jim Wallis talk and promote his new book "The Great Awakening" Over all it is a pleasure to hear Jim speak, and I went away encouraged. Feeling that what I am doing in my community matters and is at the heart of God.

I also went away a little disappointed. During a time of question and answer some one asked the question "Ok I believe you, now what?" Jim's answer was to join an organization, suggesting one of the few that were at the meeting.

Join an organization?!? I do feel that finding like minded people is important but this feels like it's not enough. Jim noted in his talk that churches often only ask for the perimeters of our lives. Telling people to join an organization feels like the same.

Here are a few suggestion that I would have liked to have heard:

Sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. (Your big screen TV, your Xbox. The books you don't read, then you can sell your book shelf too!)

Leave your comfortable apartment and move to Roxbury, Dorchester, or East Boston and live among the poor.

Take a serious look at your finances. Try to give more that 10%, try to live on a graduated tithe.

I don't understand why these suggestions weren't given as next steps also.

Updated Cabin Schematics

As some of you may know I am thinking of building a cabin this summer. Starting it at least, it would me a multi-year project. I have gone through another round of redesign and sent the design to my family for comments.

Here is the plan and a section let me know what you think.

States Rights

For some time now I have been thinking more about government and it's role. Inparticular the role of the State Governments vs the Federal Governments. Usually the issue of states right is only brought up in contencious issues of abortion, gay marrage and confederate flags, traditionally conservative issues. The issue of States rights dates back to the beginning of our country. It was one of the reasons for the civil war.

Yesterday I read about Berkeley California kicking Marine recruiters out of there city. A republican Congressmen fired back a said that they would withhold 2 million dollars of funding set aside for the city and for University of California - Berkeley. I do realize that Berkeley is a city not a state but the dynamic I see are is same.

When when the people disagree with the federal government they manipulate them by withholding money, and because they really hold all the money they have a lot of leverage. This tactic was also used when Massachusetts enacted the health care law to provide health insurance for everyone in the state, something the Bush administration didn't want to happen.

In thinking about issues poverty, it makes me wonder what our country would look like if States had more control than the federal government. What if most of our tax's went to the State instead of Washington? What if a dollar of my tax's went directly to the local school instead of traveling to Washington and back again loosing value as it went to congress, to the Department of Education, back to the State, the States Education Department, and then to my local school.

We do need a federal goverment. We need a place to discuss the complex issues of how states work together, not to mention a federal military and the need for someone to handle international deplomacy. But do we need a federal goverment that is a big as we have now? I also recoganize that the same minuplication can take place at the state level as at the federal level. It will happen anywhere where there is a lot of money changing hands.

Just a though.

The Alchemist – Book Review

Having just finished another of my Architectural exams, I decided to take the week off from studying. In it’s place I read the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

The Alchemist takes you on a journey with a young boy who is out to realize his Personal Legend. He travels from his homeland in Spain to see the pyramids of Egypt and back, along the way learning lessons at each stop, eventually fulfilling his Personal Legend and finding love along the way.

The beauty of The Alchemist is in it metaphors and imagery. In the beginning of the story Coelho used the metaphor of sheep to paint a picture of people who have not taken the risk to realize their Personal Legend. Instead they are content to find food and water instead of the deepest desires of their heart.

The story also relies heavily on Christianity. It is woven into the story at every turn, from the hobo King of Salem Melchizedek to the story of the Centurion in Mathew 8. Coelho recognized the pursuit of God is a Personal Legend that we all can participate in.

Oh yea it's time for Lent

Being from central PA I didn't know about Lent until I moved to Boston. (I didn't realize it at the time but there sure are a lot of Baptist's in Central Pa.) In my first year at Boston I had the "hey you have something black on your forehead" conversation and I was introduced to Ash Wednesday, Lent and a little group of people know as Catholics.

Sense then I have occasionally participated in Lent. This year I think I'll give it another try. I have decided to give up internet at home. I have recently realized that I spend a lot of time online at home, mostly wasting time watching videos. This is time that I could spend doing more productive things and connecting with God.

So here are the parameters. No internet at home. I can use the internet while at work (not that I should be but I will admit that I do) I will only use the internet at home to post to the blog or look up necessary information i.e. map or phone number. Lent usually involves some aspect of dispensation, so I'll let myself use the internet for a little bit on Sunday's.

So what do I hope to get out of lent this year? Having decided not to go the traditional Sunday morning church route, I hope that by participating in Lent I can feel a little more connected to "The Church" as a whole. I hope that by freeing up my nights and weekends I can get more bible reading in and more socializing with friends and neighbors.

Growth!!!!!

As I mentioned last week I am trying to grow some veggies in my apartment. The one week report is in: We have growth.


The first week has been a success. Everything has sprouted. (lettuce, spinach, carats and broccoli) I transplanted the best looking ones into 4 window box planters and set them in front of the windows for the best sunlight. Except the broccoli, I think that still need a little more time before I can transplant it.

Now comes the hard part,being disciplined enough to water them and wait. I believe it will take about one month before they get full grown.

Also I was right the sprouts are idiot proof. I has some of them on my veggie burger at lunch today, with a side of fries. Mmmmm.