Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Why I grow lettuce (sometimes)
I hate gardening. I pretty much hate any kind of hard physical work.
I do like pretty flower beds. So some effort is necessary on that front, although admittedly my husband does 99% of landscape maintenance because he does not hate gardening and actually seems to enjoy it.
Flower beds and lawns are much more expensive than the dirt or gravel yards that my grandparents had up until the 1950s, but there are circumstances that make landscaping worth having for most of us. So clearly cost is not the only consideration when it comes to landscaping.
Sometimes I take one of my flower beds or a container (less weeds) and plant tomatoes during the summer and lettuce and other assorted greens during the fall. I live in the south, so I have a long growing season. This year I will be too busy working three jobs to plant lettuce, but I am sad about it.
Why am I sad? Certainly with three jobs I can buy some lettuce. I could have bought tomatoes all summer too. But my tomatoes and lettuce taste better. They taste better because I pick them right before I eat them. Because they taste better, I eat them faster. Because I eat them faster, I rarely end up throwing out tomatoes or lettuce.
As someone who has fought a battle with lettuce for my entire adult life to find some supermarket lettuce that is not already half spoiled and then to take it home only to have it spoil after only one salad and have to throw it out, ~that~ is why I grow lettuce. As someone who has eaten one too many terrible no-taste watery factory farmed tomatoes, even during summer, ~that~ is why I grow tomatoes.
By growing lettuce, clipping it off the plant and washing it right before making salad, I have ended my battle with half-bad lettuce. And by growing tomatoes, I am able to almost forget that terrible nothing taste of grocery store tomatoes. It may seem stupid, but after at least 10 battles with produce managers over the years due to finding only pitiful produce on the shelves of my local store, the peace of mind that I get from my agricultural efforts is absolutely priceless.
A different kind of economic calculation, maybe, but it works for me.
I do like pretty flower beds. So some effort is necessary on that front, although admittedly my husband does 99% of landscape maintenance because he does not hate gardening and actually seems to enjoy it.
Flower beds and lawns are much more expensive than the dirt or gravel yards that my grandparents had up until the 1950s, but there are circumstances that make landscaping worth having for most of us. So clearly cost is not the only consideration when it comes to landscaping.
Sometimes I take one of my flower beds or a container (less weeds) and plant tomatoes during the summer and lettuce and other assorted greens during the fall. I live in the south, so I have a long growing season. This year I will be too busy working three jobs to plant lettuce, but I am sad about it.
Why am I sad? Certainly with three jobs I can buy some lettuce. I could have bought tomatoes all summer too. But my tomatoes and lettuce taste better. They taste better because I pick them right before I eat them. Because they taste better, I eat them faster. Because I eat them faster, I rarely end up throwing out tomatoes or lettuce.
As someone who has fought a battle with lettuce for my entire adult life to find some supermarket lettuce that is not already half spoiled and then to take it home only to have it spoil after only one salad and have to throw it out, ~that~ is why I grow lettuce. As someone who has eaten one too many terrible no-taste watery factory farmed tomatoes, even during summer, ~that~ is why I grow tomatoes.
By growing lettuce, clipping it off the plant and washing it right before making salad, I have ended my battle with half-bad lettuce. And by growing tomatoes, I am able to almost forget that terrible nothing taste of grocery store tomatoes. It may seem stupid, but after at least 10 battles with produce managers over the years due to finding only pitiful produce on the shelves of my local store, the peace of mind that I get from my agricultural efforts is absolutely priceless.
A different kind of economic calculation, maybe, but it works for me.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Beloved Community, Troy Bronsink cont.
Artists and activists are moving into the empty space where they can experience love.
Challenge is not to acquire more and more, but to receive what the universe is giving.
Troy began his talk with a song on guitar and ended it with the same and then a q and a session. Unfortunately being late afternoon there were not that many questions.
Challenge is not to acquire more and more, but to receive what the universe is giving.
Troy began his talk with a song on guitar and ended it with the same and then a q and a session. Unfortunately being late afternoon there were not that many questions.
Labels: Beloved Community, Progressive Christian
Beloved Community, Troy Bronsink cont.
Evangelicals are now longing for a third space to talk about social justice. Willow Creek has now learned that their formation was not working like they believed it would. Mainline churches are now looking at people as capital, not as possibilities for following the spirit into the future.
We don't pause.
Knowledge management, get a group of ideas, to organize together, get experts to find out the best answers on this, so we can collectively see the best possibilities of knowledge. Boomers began developing through software.
Social media, connecting people for genx and millenials.
Millenials are born into complexity, genxers are into it, boomers are against it.
Best practices are not possible, but take a picture of the whole, and best participate in that whole by stepping into it. The spirit is sending gifts to guide us. We are tasting the future, how are we equipping people to be aware of that.
Broadcasting narrowed to narrowcasting which narrowed to egocasting. Boomers may say you should put my info in your egocast, but don't consider that people recalibrate that according to the usefulness of their information to you.
Industrialization made it hard for anyone to see the whole, Institutionalization made it hard for people to make their own decisions-all came from the big boss at the main office-not connected to community, the Information Age gave people the option to make choices for themselves but still focused on the right answer-can prooftext based on the whole of known information to prove our points, Future will require empathy, creativity, synthesis-taking for granted that info is everywhere, but that true talent is bringing together the needed parts and let go those unneeded as we go into the unknown.
Being open to risks and experimentation.
Stages of an organization-emergence, everyone is involved and open.
Turn to practical matters-setting up systems
Systems get better and better
Then systems break down for some reason
Back to wandering
Then back to emergence.
What does the church have to offer people? Also need to ask how will people coming toward the church change us? Are some of us for all of us?
Churching is artistry.
Where are god's purposes and where do we need to go in them?
We're God's work of art, allows for intuitions and the movement of God that we are a part of
We're God's artists, we are doing the work and shaping the movement, suspending time for a moment to really look and listen to the medium
We're curators of God's art, we must look and see what is out there and how it is a part of the story and the community and nurture and be a patron of that.
Suffering and affliction is also something we must pause and determine how it is a part of the story as well.
We join the suffering and go forward, not about winning or defeating the suffering, but going forward now seeing and doing a new thing.
We don't pause.
Knowledge management, get a group of ideas, to organize together, get experts to find out the best answers on this, so we can collectively see the best possibilities of knowledge. Boomers began developing through software.
Social media, connecting people for genx and millenials.
Millenials are born into complexity, genxers are into it, boomers are against it.
Best practices are not possible, but take a picture of the whole, and best participate in that whole by stepping into it. The spirit is sending gifts to guide us. We are tasting the future, how are we equipping people to be aware of that.
Broadcasting narrowed to narrowcasting which narrowed to egocasting. Boomers may say you should put my info in your egocast, but don't consider that people recalibrate that according to the usefulness of their information to you.
Industrialization made it hard for anyone to see the whole, Institutionalization made it hard for people to make their own decisions-all came from the big boss at the main office-not connected to community, the Information Age gave people the option to make choices for themselves but still focused on the right answer-can prooftext based on the whole of known information to prove our points, Future will require empathy, creativity, synthesis-taking for granted that info is everywhere, but that true talent is bringing together the needed parts and let go those unneeded as we go into the unknown.
Being open to risks and experimentation.
Stages of an organization-emergence, everyone is involved and open.
Turn to practical matters-setting up systems
Systems get better and better
Then systems break down for some reason
Back to wandering
Then back to emergence.
What does the church have to offer people? Also need to ask how will people coming toward the church change us? Are some of us for all of us?
Churching is artistry.
Where are god's purposes and where do we need to go in them?
We're God's work of art, allows for intuitions and the movement of God that we are a part of
We're God's artists, we are doing the work and shaping the movement, suspending time for a moment to really look and listen to the medium
We're curators of God's art, we must look and see what is out there and how it is a part of the story and the community and nurture and be a patron of that.
Suffering and affliction is also something we must pause and determine how it is a part of the story as well.
We join the suffering and go forward, not about winning or defeating the suffering, but going forward now seeing and doing a new thing.
Labels: Beloved Community, Progressive Christian
Beloved Community, Troy Bronsink
Emergent Community, beloved community, joining hands.
Grew up in Charlotte, NC megachurch, conservative, somewhat pentacostal. Attended Liberty U. Participated in YoungLife, had a spiritual director, with ideas about silence, discernment, etc. Being around people who are different than you can give you ideas about what is truly good news. In Washington State, discovered Presbyterianism, ideas about call and Calvinism. Read about postmodernism and its applicability to religion. Attended Columbia Seminary, discovered Brueggeman's ideas about text and subtext, stories having multiple levels and meanings. Also discovered Newbigen's work in missiology and postcolonialism through Dr. Guder. Then found Doug Pagitt and Emergent Village.
In all experiences, felt pressured to choose sides or agendas and line everything up behind them. Posture of awareness, readiness, willingness to have conversation presented itself as an alternative through missiology. Image of upper room and Jesus breathing his spirit on the disciples. Spirit actively putting us all in play. How we are all part of the same story.
Made a space for the unknown that he wanted to step into.
How are emergent and progressive christians both letting go of structures of limitation and use new knowledge and thought to move forward into a new unknown space. Quantum. Evolution.
Learning that takes place in this process.
Had a house church, then pastor of a church that wasn't ready to step out, then neighbors suggested that they start a church in their neighborhood. They began to have opportunities for spiritual practices in the way of Jesus, and excitement is starting to form.
Grew up in Charlotte, NC megachurch, conservative, somewhat pentacostal. Attended Liberty U. Participated in YoungLife, had a spiritual director, with ideas about silence, discernment, etc. Being around people who are different than you can give you ideas about what is truly good news. In Washington State, discovered Presbyterianism, ideas about call and Calvinism. Read about postmodernism and its applicability to religion. Attended Columbia Seminary, discovered Brueggeman's ideas about text and subtext, stories having multiple levels and meanings. Also discovered Newbigen's work in missiology and postcolonialism through Dr. Guder. Then found Doug Pagitt and Emergent Village.
In all experiences, felt pressured to choose sides or agendas and line everything up behind them. Posture of awareness, readiness, willingness to have conversation presented itself as an alternative through missiology. Image of upper room and Jesus breathing his spirit on the disciples. Spirit actively putting us all in play. How we are all part of the same story.
Made a space for the unknown that he wanted to step into.
How are emergent and progressive christians both letting go of structures of limitation and use new knowledge and thought to move forward into a new unknown space. Quantum. Evolution.
Learning that takes place in this process.
Had a house church, then pastor of a church that wasn't ready to step out, then neighbors suggested that they start a church in their neighborhood. They began to have opportunities for spiritual practices in the way of Jesus, and excitement is starting to form.
Labels: Beloved Community, Progressive Christian
Beloved Community, Fred Plumer
We may be in the midst of transitional churches into the death of "traditional' christianity which will make way for the new way of living into the teachings of Jesus.
Labels: Beloved Community, Progressive Christian
Beloved Community, Fred Plumer cont.
Spiritual practices have to go along with ethical implications of the teachings of Jesus. Create opportunities for people to take the teachings of Jesus and walk into them. How we treat eachother, the stranger, the enemy. How leadership is created and operates. How sexuality and gender is navigated without relying on cultural taboos to enforce our behavior. How to be fully spiritual and fully human at the same time.
Small groups have trouble in liberal community, because our love for community is greater than our zeal to deepen spiritual engagement. But we need non-judging communities where we can talk about our experiences of spirituality. Need mutual accountability, how to improve our living up to our own expectations and efforts.
Authentic community-transforming model of God's realm.
Work on our theology, let go of God in heaven randomly answering prayers. Need new models and new languages for God. Be clear about what they do and do not mean by God. Describing faith as the unknowable, not as religiosity. Get comfortable living with the mysteries of creation, dimly lit path that might lead to an experience of the holy.
Connect spirituality with a love for earth. Strong connections with mother earth, through beliefs and actions. Alternative ways of living.
All this is already happening.
Small groups have trouble in liberal community, because our love for community is greater than our zeal to deepen spiritual engagement. But we need non-judging communities where we can talk about our experiences of spirituality. Need mutual accountability, how to improve our living up to our own expectations and efforts.
Authentic community-transforming model of God's realm.
Work on our theology, let go of God in heaven randomly answering prayers. Need new models and new languages for God. Be clear about what they do and do not mean by God. Describing faith as the unknowable, not as religiosity. Get comfortable living with the mysteries of creation, dimly lit path that might lead to an experience of the holy.
Connect spirituality with a love for earth. Strong connections with mother earth, through beliefs and actions. Alternative ways of living.
All this is already happening.
Labels: Beloved Community, Progressive Christian
Beloved Community, Fred Plumer cont.
How can churches of the future change and still stay true to their Christian roots?
Focus on experiential spirituality. Practices rather than expression. Expression requires conformity. Holy moments, touching on the wholeness of life. Celebrations of life: art, silence, singing, dancing, drumming. No more sermons, using ancient rituals of Christianity and other traditions. Active participations, ample opportunities for spontaneous joy. Clear teaching path with concrete steps. Jesus was foremost a teacher. Let Jesus be the teacher again-both internal and external path. Not oughts, but opportunities to experience the realm of God. Trusting the universe, forgiving lack of judgment and prejudice, developing compassion, seeing God in one another, learning to avoid fear and anxiety, bringing out the best in self, others, and community.
Leaders have to live the wholeness they are teaching and promoting.
Focus on experiential spirituality. Practices rather than expression. Expression requires conformity. Holy moments, touching on the wholeness of life. Celebrations of life: art, silence, singing, dancing, drumming. No more sermons, using ancient rituals of Christianity and other traditions. Active participations, ample opportunities for spontaneous joy. Clear teaching path with concrete steps. Jesus was foremost a teacher. Let Jesus be the teacher again-both internal and external path. Not oughts, but opportunities to experience the realm of God. Trusting the universe, forgiving lack of judgment and prejudice, developing compassion, seeing God in one another, learning to avoid fear and anxiety, bringing out the best in self, others, and community.
Leaders have to live the wholeness they are teaching and promoting.
Labels: Beloved Community, Progressive Christian
Beloved Community, Fred Plumer, cont.
Purpose of church is to transform people, to dissolve their self-constructed walls, to dispel their illusions, and to change their lives.
Black and white tv to hdtv in color.
Why in the hell does anybody go to church?
There is a hunger for spirituality. Zukav, Tolle, sold millions of books.
People are seeking ways of living more intentional, ethical, sustainable lives.
Beyond religion, people are creating alternative paths for building spiritual lives outside of traditional religion. Depths of personal experience greater focus than ancient religious truths. Religious structure is not feeding that hunger for spiritual experience.
Black and white tv to hdtv in color.
Why in the hell does anybody go to church?
There is a hunger for spirituality. Zukav, Tolle, sold millions of books.
People are seeking ways of living more intentional, ethical, sustainable lives.
Beyond religion, people are creating alternative paths for building spiritual lives outside of traditional religion. Depths of personal experience greater focus than ancient religious truths. Religious structure is not feeding that hunger for spiritual experience.
Labels: Beloved Community, Progressive Christian
Beloved Community, Fred Plumer, cont.
What will the future church look like?
We have lost our way. Built to Last, a book for business but highlighted exceptional and long-lasting organizations. The long-lasting ones had 3 things in common:
1. Everyone understood the fundamental reason for the organizations existence
We no longer know what the church is supposed to be. The author of the book now consults with mega-churches. When we have conversations about the purpose of the liberal church, we descend into confusion and trite language.
We complain about lack of people at communion but we are serving low nutritional fare. People have infinite choices. 60% of young people have never been to a church, synagogue, or temple. If you can not give them a good reason for spending their time or money at your congregation, they would go elsewhere.
Can you articulate why someone might come to your community.
We have lost our way. Built to Last, a book for business but highlighted exceptional and long-lasting organizations. The long-lasting ones had 3 things in common:
1. Everyone understood the fundamental reason for the organizations existence
We no longer know what the church is supposed to be. The author of the book now consults with mega-churches. When we have conversations about the purpose of the liberal church, we descend into confusion and trite language.
We complain about lack of people at communion but we are serving low nutritional fare. People have infinite choices. 60% of young people have never been to a church, synagogue, or temple. If you can not give them a good reason for spending their time or money at your congregation, they would go elsewhere.
Can you articulate why someone might come to your community.
Labels: Beloved Community, Progressive Christian
Beloved Community Conference-Fred Plumer
"Creating Progressive Communities of Faith"
Mainline churces are aging and dying. Trying to help churches enter the 21st century. Wondering if we are rearranging the chairs on the titanic. There is no magic bullet but we are in the midst of a big change. Phyllis Tickle-500 year rummage sale, church in the midst of it right now. All types of church are losing members as a whole, but in evangelical they are moving into megas, so it's not as evident. Charismatic pastors can hold it together only so long.
Mainline churces are aging and dying. Trying to help churches enter the 21st century. Wondering if we are rearranging the chairs on the titanic. There is no magic bullet but we are in the midst of a big change. Phyllis Tickle-500 year rummage sale, church in the midst of it right now. All types of church are losing members as a whole, but in evangelical they are moving into megas, so it's not as evident. Charismatic pastors can hold it together only so long.
Labels: Beloved Community, Progressive Christian
Beloved Community Conference Saturday Morning
This morning at the Beloved Community Conference, we began with some fellowship and coffee and good networking time. Then we got to hear from Peter Laarman, from Progressive Christians Uniting. His topic was "Mercy and Truth Will Meet: What it Takes to Be a Movement That Matters."
He began talking about our current economic crisis, and how it might be a good thing for Christians in that it will expose idols such as wealth and nationalism. He called for a prophetic rather than pastoral response to this crisis, one that can point to the rainbow of hope beyond our current situation by telling truth with mercy about the brokenness of our system. Such truth-telling can cause anger, which can drive change. He said that passivity is cultivated by consumerism, debt, and overwork, and called for a return to a sabbath economics of rest and restoration.
He said that Progressive Christians United is driven by four elements: growth in faith, strength in eachother, seeing the world more clearly, and liberating ourselves and others for social transformation. He said that movements must be driven by coherent vision and ideas plus a sustaining culture.
He pointed to persistent patriarchy as a major cause of homophobia, and said that examples of equal justice love are an important part of changing people's minds and hearts on this issue.
He called for creating hives of busy activism around social justice, incubators or communities of leadership development, networks to link progressive Christians to each other, and basic consensus on public issues to communicate to others.
He did point to a few issues he suggested for the basic consensus:
equality
inclusivity of other faiths into the kingdom of god
torture
slavery
demonization of youth of color
debt peonage through usury and student loan system
There were great questions afterwards, and now we are hearing some wonderful praise music by Kemo, a praise group from Christ Church Uniting in Northwest Atlanta.
More later
He began talking about our current economic crisis, and how it might be a good thing for Christians in that it will expose idols such as wealth and nationalism. He called for a prophetic rather than pastoral response to this crisis, one that can point to the rainbow of hope beyond our current situation by telling truth with mercy about the brokenness of our system. Such truth-telling can cause anger, which can drive change. He said that passivity is cultivated by consumerism, debt, and overwork, and called for a return to a sabbath economics of rest and restoration.
He said that Progressive Christians United is driven by four elements: growth in faith, strength in eachother, seeing the world more clearly, and liberating ourselves and others for social transformation. He said that movements must be driven by coherent vision and ideas plus a sustaining culture.
He pointed to persistent patriarchy as a major cause of homophobia, and said that examples of equal justice love are an important part of changing people's minds and hearts on this issue.
He called for creating hives of busy activism around social justice, incubators or communities of leadership development, networks to link progressive Christians to each other, and basic consensus on public issues to communicate to others.
He did point to a few issues he suggested for the basic consensus:
equality
inclusivity of other faiths into the kingdom of god
torture
slavery
demonization of youth of color
debt peonage through usury and student loan system
There were great questions afterwards, and now we are hearing some wonderful praise music by Kemo, a praise group from Christ Church Uniting in Northwest Atlanta.
More later
Labels: Beloved Community, Progressive Christian
