Author Archive for Jeremy Avellino

Jesus, joy, and time

Published
by
Jeremy Avellino
on June 30, 2008
in Dialogue and Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

I am sharing a story about Jesus, joy, and time. (Five years ago) I am on a surf trip to the Outer Banks with some close friends, and for the first time since I began this “non-productive, non-depleting pursuit” I am connecting to the flow of what a wave is already doing that I am paddling into. This has taken some time to arrive at, and it is lasting no more than 3 or 4 seconds (in linear time), I think, but I am experiencing in a very different way right here and now.

Life is really long, slow, detailed, extended…In the moments before this moment I am calling ‘here,’ I was unbalanced, awkward, feeble, struggling, and tired from all the trying, from all the dig-dig-digging in the water I was doing all day. But now it is all so slow; this extension of moments. And here I am (and there I go, in a way). I won’t forget this.

A lump in the ocean approaches. Can you see what I am seeing?

I have been waiting for this. I see a kinetic mound of Creation rising to meet me out of the vastness of the sea. Three friends are here with me at Kitty Hawk at this late hour on this spring day, and this peak is coming to see me.

How far has it come to meet me here? How shall I respond? I spin my feet under the water, grab my rail and twist around to see the shore, lie on my belly, chin humbly planted to waxy deck. I am paddling as hard as I can, so why I am I moving backwards? As gravity takes over I leap to my feet and stand erect on the plank below, and, then it happens. Here I am, locked in…in trim. I am here. There I go…no, I’m still here. Balance…Harmony…Awareness…Joy. I am present, and every bit of minutia is meaningful. I can hear the hoots and hollers of my friends, but it’s slow, muffled. I can see Chris paddling back out. Yes, there he is, waving madly at me, making noises. What is he yelling about? Seems like he has a good view of what’s happening. This is so slow. What is going on with the sound right now? There is a foam-ball immediately behind me, making all kinds of racket hitting the glassy shallows, so why can’t I hear it? All the hoots are dying out, like white noise.

pit…

pat…

pit-pit……

pit-pat…

Pit-pat-pat……

That’s all I hear, this delicate, still, small, lapping flutter. My board is planing across the growing, banking face of this little wave, and all I can hear is this lapping. I am moving forward but I am still. I am here right now. It is that good. It’s ending now in a way.

I’ve been told that a wave in the ocean is no more than pure energy expressing itself through that particular medium (water). When it breaks it’s just the final expression of what it’s been moving towards from its fetch thousands of miles away. Once initiated wind, it happens relentlessly over the surface of the ocean for weeks on end. Ironically according to Wikipedia, “There is little actual forward motion of individual water particles in a wave, despite the large amount of energy it may carry forward.”

I’m really glad my friends got a picture of the scene:

More than just the next job

Published
by
Jeremy Avellino
on June 14, 2007
in Action, Circle Venture, Community, Dialogue and Family
. 7 Comments

So, the latest conflict for me is brewing inside. God has put a desire on my heart to redirect what I do for a living, or what some might call a job. I think he wants to give me a vocation instead. This is what some might refer to as a calling. For me, it means a redirecting….a changing….which brings conflict….the good kind. I need your help.

For those of you who may not know me, I am educated as an architect, have spent the last 9 years or so both drawing and building houses and other structures, and am continually frustrated and bothered by the following:

-our perpetual waste of resources (misuse of Creation)

-unsustainable construction practices / unsound design / inefficiency in general

-the skyrocketing cost of real estate / lack of affordable housing

-homeless folks and the 40,000 or so houses that aren’t occupied in Philly alone

-the violence that stems from rampant, unchecked gentrification WITHOUT justice

-systemic racism

-casinos and the riverfront that I can’t access

-not enough trees and parks and playgrounds

-condos, and why houses just make more sense for everyone

-violence in our city, and the false sense of security we’re searching for here

I am also into the idea of being a Jesus-follower all the time. I have never understood compartmentalizing one’s life into sections where you get to act a certain way in front of different circles of people. I’m not saying I don’t do this, its one of the sins I am still addicted and dying to, but I am learning to be as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 9:

“19Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

I would like to “run in such a way as to get the prize” for Jesus (and yet I am usually disgusted at the hint of competition; it’s why I surf and don’t play competitive sports J) I think Paul though, is making a point here to not fall prey to apathy and comfort in what we do, and more importantly, how we are, for Jesus. I keep hearing that we need to keep going, and to find life in the work we are called to by God, to find life in this mission. I realize though, that I could easily fall prey to my own ideas, my own cleverness, and miss what the Spirit is calling us to next. I would like to use this blog space to put it out there to see what others might have to say. Maybe that is selfish, but like Paul, I too wish to “share in its (the gospel’s) blessings.”

Here are some questions I need help with (in no particular order of importance) to redirect what I, and more vital, we can be doing with the time we have been given:

What are the attributes of a design that promotes proactive peacemaking, anti-racism, community building, affordability, sustainability, and justice? Can we make houses that produce all of their own renewable energy? Can we do this work in community? How do non-profits work? Is anyone else interested in this stuff and what should we do about it? Can we re-knit the fabric of this already great city back together in peace? What is the future of Philadelphia? What do we do with all the vacant buildings, and all the vacant land around here? What does beauty look like to you? What does a good neighborhood look like to you? Why stay in the city anyway? Is what we receive from Jesus enough? What do we do with all of our excess? What does it mean to be safe and secure? Is ‘sustainability’ a.k.a. “green design” even possible without love? Can we build community in a country at perpetual war? What can we learn from squatters about a necessary and efficient use of resources, both here and worldwide? Where is the Spirit leading us next?

The great thing is that many of you are already answering these questions as I write this. There’s the [Circle Venture teams] Water Team, Shalom House, The Urban Farm Team,  free ESOL classes, Baby Goods Exchanges, Circle Thrifts,  plus The Simple Way, Camden House all of you amazing individuals I get to be connected to, and the list goes on and on. We’re all in this for Jesus. We’re working on being transformed and on transforming. We’re learning how to receive from Jesus and to let that be not just enough, but so much that we can’t keep it all and have to give so much more away! We’re learning how to live together and to build community, and to keep building beyond what is comfortable or known to us right now. It’s a stretch but I believe there is more that God has in store for us, and so many other partners. What do you think?