Archive for the 'Action' CategoryPage 2 of 3

Jesus for President?

Published
by
Adam Fussaro
on March 18, 2008
in Action, Community and Dialogue
. 1 Comment

A major strength of our community is the ability to engage the social ills of humanity in a competent, compassionate manner. This resonates with me because it is synonymous with my social work training to be a practitioner who uses sound strategies on numerous levels of change. For change to occur, there needs to be effective implementation directly to the people and social stakeholders, conducted by organizing, and systemic direction conducted by manipulating power. None of these can take place unless the others exist and one is not more important than another. My social work training has taught me these levels of change are not independent forces, but more of a fluid transaction in which change agents participate at many levels.

One of those levels of change is in the political process. I have had several conversations with people in our community who have made a decision to not participate in the political process. Reasons include but are not limited to: a mistrust of the process, the executive has too much power, and the power of political leaders does not have legitimacy for Christians, because our allegiance belongs to Jesus. As a result people have gravitated to participating in social movements, loving the community, and creating a lifestyle void of “the system” involvement. Most of those reasons listed above have validity and most responses to those reasons are necessary for change, but we will never escape the system. Participation is not giving allegiance and until Jesus comes back to end this thing, he won’t be on the ballot, but there are differences and it does matter. The decisions leaders make actually effect us, especially people in poverty. We are a part of this social system, we benefit from it, we get run over by it, and have the opportunity to be significant to make an impact.

It is my contention that change happens by walking a thoughtful path of objecting to the system in order to give it a shock of dissent, while being in a position to work with the system to create the change we desire. Martin Luther King Jr. is a great example. He objected to the racist policies of Jim Crow and worked with president Johnson to get the voting rights act passed. We are a spiritual community committed to caring about the oppressed who are held back by an unjust system. Engaging that system in this dichotomous approach is the best means to manipulate the systemic power and political participation as an available voice for change. I hope that my thoughts will create some dialogue about what it means to be a Christian in this historical time period, when our country, this city, and our community face a lot of significant challenges.

Urban Farm Team Update

Published
by
Matt McFarland
on March 6, 2008
in Action, Circle Venture, Community, Dialogue and Planning
. 0 Comments

However inappropriate it may seem right now, Spring has been on our minds. The Urban Farm team has put in our seed order, is setting up the florescent lights in the basement Grow-Lab and is trying to get our plan in place for the upcoming season. Our friend, Dan, has been working over the winter adding more plating space, paths and a whole new design to the south side of the garden, we can’t wait to see how it turns out. For the past few years, we’ve been working on adding a little bit of color to Frankford Avenue by working on our large garden, growing a variety of flowers, vegetables, and fruit trees. It’s a place where we can be reminded that there’s more out there just than concrete and brick, experience a change of season, and maybe get a fresh bite to eat. There’s always people around, and we’ve made so many friends from people just stopping by and wanting to do some work outside. We’ve always relied on the help from all of you: the weeding, new construction and clean up of the relentless tide of trash the blows in - and this year is no exception. Please, drop in to help out, or just drop in to walk around or hang out. If you’re interested in joining the team and being a part of the next stage where we start a small scale urban vegetable farm, drop us a line.

Another way to help out this year is by participating in our nursery sale fundraiser. As we’re starting seeds to plant in the garden, we’re also starting some to sell to help us cover the costs of operations. This spring, we’ll be selling:

  • Market Pack Veggies (6 pack): 2 Tomatoes (slicing & cherry), 2 Bell Pepper (Orange & Red) and 2 Eggplant.
  • Market Pack Herbs (6 pack): Classic herb mix of Italian basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano & other culinary herbs.
  • Also, individual seedlings of Cucumber, Zucchini, Rainbow Chard, herbs, tomatoes, peppers and Eggplants.

All you need is a sunny spot in your backyard, on your roof or balcony or even your front stoop and a container, and you can just transplant these packs and enjoy fresh veggies all summer while you also help keep the garden running for another year. Free compost is available from the Garden Center on Frankford Ave, and any bucket, enamel-ware pot from Circle Thrift or simple raised bed structure (with good drainage!) should be enough for any of these plants. We’re also going to be selling a pot-culture dwarf pea, called Tom Thumb, that can be grown inside on your window-sill. We’ll have complete care guides to go with any plants you take.

The sale will be in mid to late May, just as these plants are getting hardy enough to be put outside. We haven’t come up with the price for these yet, but the market packs should be under $10, and the individual pots will be just a couple bucks. We’ll post info on the dialogue as we get closer. These plants would make great gifts for your neighbors or family, and please spread the word!

To help us start the right number of seeds, it would be really helpful if you could let us know what you’d be interested in getting this Spring. Email us at urbanfarmteam@gmail.com with the quantity you might want, we won’t hold you to it, but it’ll help prevent us from having too few or too many seedlings come May. So enjoy your last few weeks of Winter and we’ll see you in the Spring.

West African Drumming Class and Black History Month

Published
by
Jay Beck
on February 16, 2008
in Action, Circle Venture, Community, Creative Arts, Dialogue, Friends Projects and Planning
. 2 Comments

I want to share with you some classes coming up and to reflect a bit on why I am so passionate about it and why you should be too! I was really excited last week when Johnny Rashid brought up at our Public Meeting what the Reconciliation Team has been discussing. I am so grateful that we have a team concentrating on issues of cross-cultural understanding and healing.

As some of you already know, because you took the class last year or because you are just brilliant, music is a powerful way that we can begin to communicate and understand each other across cross-cultural dividers. When we learn and try to hear what people from other cultures are expressing in their collective artistic communal voices, it can sometimes be a bright light that illumines our understanding of the way they see the world and also their struggles and joys.

So, I want to offer a drum class this year as an extension of meditating on and actively learning something active about Black History. I know this month is specifically focusing on African-American history, but it truly should not be separated. The world –views and cultural truths and strengths of the African peoples whether still in Africa or not are connected and are in desperate need of recovery and understanding here in America by both blacks and whites and everybody. These are timeless truths and long-tested ways of communicating that should be celebrated by all peoples.

The Reconciliation Team needs some help right now, so please if this resonates with you—get up and do something about reconciliation. Move with your body and mind to understand others and to bring healing.

Class Info:

Learn the intense and exciting polyrhythmic drum music from west africa.

Class will cover history, technique, cultural significance, and musical traditions of the djembe, dununba, sangban, kenkeni, gonkogui, and shekere.

8 week class beginning Feb. 27
7:00-9:00pm
wednesday evenings
@ 2130 N. Hancock St.
Philadelphia, PA. 19122
$15 a week

contact: jay beck
734-945-3225
jay@psalters.org

any skill level welcome
some drums provided, but bring your own if you have one.

(expanded version of this post at Jay’s myspace here.)

Click here for more info about psalters, here for more info about Circle Venture or our other mission teams such as the Reconciliation team and psalters.

History in the Making

Published
by
Art Bucher
on February 4, 2008
in Action, Circle Venture, Community, Dialogue and Peace
. 2 Comments

February is recognized as Black History Month in America.

The Reconciliation team at Circle of Hope is pausing to consider February as Black History month, and I’m encouraged by what we’ve been sharing. Here’s a sample of what I’ve gleaned from our discussion and some thoughts after each one.

Black History in America is American History.
Strange that the two might be considered separate or that Black History might be segregated into one month’s worth of discussion. Karen VonWinbush had us consider that black history month has a history, too, starting as a week before it was expanded to a month. I appreciate that people in our country are encouraged to pause and to take an intentional look at our nation’s past in honor of those who gave of themselves in difficult struggles and in direct confrontation with racism in America. I’m thankful that during this month there’s reminders everywhere of blacks in American history. You can find reminders of Black History in America on TV programs, in TV commercials, and in the responses to TV commercials, in the public schools and in restaurants. In our Circle of Hope you’ll hear reminders of Black History, too, on blogs (thanks Nate) and in the PM inserts. Lots of reminders, and all in an attempt to bring to light a history that is rich with both pain and perseverance.

Black History is still being made in America.
The best part about Black History in America is that it ain’t just history. The history makers aren’t just encapsulated in wax museums (Though I personally do recommend seeing The Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore, very cool). The struggle to speak truth to racism continues with the living. We are still in an era of “firsts” when it comes to Black History. First black Winter games Olympic individual gold medallist Shani Davis in 2006, first black solo flight around the world Barrington Irving in 2007, first black Billionaire Robert Johnson in 2001, first black runner for democratic presidential candidate Shirley Chisolm in 1972 (sorry Barak Obama, that “first” was already taken). And don’t forget those who get labeled as the “last”, there is still much work in our country to address the disproportionate occurrences of poverty, imprisonment, inadequate housing conditions, and inadequate education which are harsh realities of life for too many black people in America. History is still being made. Despite the myth of equal opportunity in America, racism still needs to be addressed with truth and reconciliation. And there’s still room for young history makers, for example, Peta Lindsay, the 23-year-old Philadelphia native who is the spokesperson for A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), a national Student Coalition.

Jesus Christ is leading the movement of racial reconciliation
I was beautifully reminded of this at the last reconciliation team meeting when listening to our friends of color express their frustrations to the group about living in a white-dominated American society. Our authentic relationships in Christ were being made stronger in that very moment of honestly sharing and listening. The relationship we share with Jesus is strong enough that we can begin to have that raw discussion openly. The Spirit of God is among us! What a privilege to be a part of the reconciling kingdom of God. There’s no other umbrella that can unite people whose history is so rife with hate and segregation. I am not among those who trust that the nation state of America can pull off a lasting unity by itself. I trust the strongest love of Jesus Christ to heal the wounds of racism. We need to receive and give the love of Jesus Christ together, us united with God through him. We have the examples of Christians in America who trusted enough to bring that reconciling love to light in the face of racism. Consider some of them as well. We paused as a network to remember our Christian brother Martin Luther King, Jr. on the weekend of his celebrated birthday. And how about Ruby Sales, who is the founder of the Spirit House Project in Washington DC, and is aiming for a non-violent and just world by exploring the legacy of American violence, racism and sexism. And then there’s Graylan Hagler, who serves as a pastor and as the National President of Ministers for Racial, Social, and Economic Justice. I am encouraged that our Lord is mobilizing his people to bring truth and love in the middle of our fragile world. Among believers, black history month can also be about the perseverance and healing presence of Jesus Christ in the world.

Do you know of someone or, better yet, a team of someones, whose lives are confronting racism in America and re-shaping our landscape? Remind us of who they are. Do you have a story to tell during black history month? Tell it.

Going and Being

Published
by
Nate Hulfish
on December 31, 2007
in Action, Community and Dialogue
. 2 Comments

Over the past thirty years of so, one of America’s largest “mega-churches”, Willow Creek, (based outside of Chicago) pioneered ways of giving a high priority to reaching people for Christ, based on high quality musical and dramatic productions. With tens of thousands of people associated with their church and its satellites, they have put in place a dazzling program of activities for those who become Christians. Recently they published a very telling report that contained a very telling admission. Their research shows that their program and meeting-based approach to discipling people in the way of Jesus hasn’t worked. Putting people through church activities and programs hasn’t made them more Christ-like.

I think most ordinary churches operate similar to Willow Creek. You are supposed to develop a life of personal prayer and Bible study for yourself, you are supposed to join a fellowship group of some sort, you are supposed to attend a mid-week meeting, and you are supposed to come to a worship service on Sunday. That’s what being a disciple is all about. Well, you know what? It doesn’t work. It doesn’t work for Willow Creek and it doesn’t work for an ordinary church.

I’m pretty glad that Circle of Hope is anything but ordinary.

Jesus did his discipling largely out there in the world. John 1 tells us that he “lived among us”. His disciples apprenticed under him. They watched him live. They watched him do Kingdom things. They watched him be practical and draw lessons from their everyday life that was lived in community with each other.

Discipleship must be practical. It has to be out there, on the road with Jesus – not in a classroom or a sanctuary. Simply learning something in our heads is not transformational – knowledge has to travel from our heads to our hands and our feet.

That’s what I love about cells. They are not Bible studies. They are not classroom exercises.

They are life lived in community with each other – that’s discipleship that works. Sure, my cell wants to know about Jesus, they want to get a feel for the Bible, they want to wrestle with theology, but the most important question we deal with is, “what should be our active response to this?” We want to work out our faith with concrete action.

It’s a culture shift for many people (it was for me). We aren’t really a “come to us” type of church. We’re a “going and being” church (the word you might hear batted around is “missional”). Living out the Kingdom in and “going and being” sort of way is pretty difficult. It’s not ordinary, but it’s the way of Jesus – it discipleship – it’s taking up your cross and following. I will say, I sure am thankful that my cell is right there by my side living it with me.

working with Jesus during Advent

Published
by
Joshua Grace
on December 14, 2007
in Action, Community, Dialogue, Family and Planning
. 2 Comments

I can’t believe that we’re half way through the season of Advent-it’s gone by quickly for me.  There are a lot of themes going on, surprises (see earlier post), as well as Jesus looking to make a home in us/looking to make a home in Christ.  I hope you haven’t been missing out, and it’s not too late for something meaningful to transpire by any stretch.
I have been talking to a lot of people this week about how they are preparing for Jesus to come or where Jesus needs to come.   I’m really interested in how we’re helping this child get birthed, kinda like like Mary & Joseph all those years ago.

Some people are new to having a season that means more than their family traditions (some meaningful, some not so much).  For others it’s the highlight of the year.  This year I started off kinda rough, with some sick extended family and other reminders of how broken I am.  After those first couple days, I am deciding to let the hurting places, the broken relationships, and my hope for restoration be the landing pad that I pray for Christ to come.

Everything might not get put back together the way that I want, but me changing me-going from hopelessly sitting with my hurts to being where I’m broken and giving it to God is transformative.  Wherever and however he comes will be miraculous, and I hope to do my part to help with the birthing process.

Where is the baby coming this year in us?  Where in you does the baby need to come and bring healing, hope, and new life?

Dec 24, at 10:45pm we’ll get together at 1125 s. Broad to welcome in midnight, to welcome in the Savior (see earlier post) .

Christian Love and Justice

Published
by
Andrew Brown
on December 11, 2007
in Action, Peace and Uncategorized
. 3 Comments

Over the past few months I have engrossed myself with the writings of Flannery O’Connor, a southern, female, Catholic author during the 1950’s. Her work frequently visits themes of Christian love and justice. These stories engage what has frequently been considered the absurdity of Jesus’ explicit command in the Sermon on the Mount:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:43-44, NIV).

The debate surrounding this command reaches as far back, believe it or not, as Aristotle’s account of friendship in books viii and ix of the Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle argues that the virtuous person must love good, wise, and virtuous people and must hate those who are evil. If one shows love, mercy, and compassion to one’s enemies then they will harm you and your friends. To allow such harm to come to good, wise, and virtuous people is unjust. Therefore, love extends only to good and virtuous people while violence and retribution is the proper response to evil. Justice requires these dispositions.

Historically, Christianity has responded to Aristotle’s monumental claim in two ways. One line of thought, lead primarily by Thomas Aquinas, seeks to make Jesus’ scandalous claim less scandalous. The latter view, championed by Soren Kierkegaard , argues that the absurdity of Jesus’ command must be embraced. For Kierkegaard, pure love disregards the ‘object of love’, concerning itself only with the intention of the lover. This means that true love looks beyond individual distinctiveness within particular objects of love. In other words, love does not recognize the good or evil in any person as a precondition to love; it loves all equally and unconditionally.

So what says Flannery O’Connor? In her short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find (warning: spoiler), a traveling family wrecks their car in a ditch on their way to Florida. When a group of individuals approach to ‘lend a hand’ they recognize one as a wanted criminal. This criminal, The Misfit, systematically kills everyone in the family except the grandmother. Precisely at this moment, the grandmother looks at the Misfit’s “twisted” face and thinks she recognizes him, “Why you’re one of my own children!” She reaches out a hand to touch him and the Misfit springs back “as if a snake had bitten him” and shoots the grandmother “three times in the chest.”

O’Connor offers a representation of Christian love in the Kierkegaardian fashion. The grandmother extends her love to the Misfit in hopes that he might also recognize the good blood that flows through his veins. He responds by murdering her. This extension of love results in the grandmother’s death, her sacrifice if you will. Kierkegaard argues that this is exactly what true love requires; it is, after all, the way of the cross. How, though, with this view shall we speak of justice at all? How can we protect our own lives and the lives of our loved ones if we embrace this form of sacrificial love? Should this be a concern for the body of Christ? Shall we embrace this absurdity, which the world calls foolishness, and love our enemies to our own detriment? Is there some truth in the cry from justice in the world, that we must defend what we love (freedom, equality, our children, etc.) from evil? In a Post-Holocaust world, is this kind of love possible?

I have no answers to these questions, and I suspect that Christians will continue to debate them for years and years to come. Yet I do continue to stand in awe of the immensity and pervasiveness of Jesus’ controversial claim. No longer may we love only what is good and beautiful, but, as God’s children, each one of us is called to respond to Jesus’ words: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

what’s your favorite Love Feast memory?

Published
by
Joshua Grace
on October 19, 2007
in Action, Community, Dialogue, Family and Planning
. 9 Comments

I am especially excited right now because we’re getting ready for a night to celebrate, and do 2 of the things that Circle of Hope does best: loving and feasting.

We’ve had this quarterly tradition for about as long as we’ve been around (first feast in July of 1996), and each time there has been wonderful moments of people coming together to eat, meet someone new, to worship Jesus, share the communion meal, to tell/listen to stories, have lots of fun, and to welcome people who want to take that step out and make a covenant with the others of Circle of Hope.

Let’s make new LF memories…come Saturday October 27th:

6pm at “Union Tab” -2036 East Cumberland St (map here)

3pm (before the Feast), some people want to get baptized at our usual spot in the Wissahickon Creek (map here).

A fond Love Feast memory of mine was in the Summer of 2004 when we were in Fairmount Park in Germantown.  Before most of the festivities, about a hundred of us trekked through the woods and down the hill to get to that spot on the Wissahickon so people could get baptized.   Then we trekked back up and worshiped some more and told stories, filling up the field.   I love the image of us journeying together to meaningful stops through even tough terrain sometimes and then regrouping as a visible and physical representation that Jesus lives.

 

I want to see if we can generate some remembering and some conversations on this site to help show people what’s up with the Love Feast and what it’s about. So here’s a question that I hope you’ll answer in a comment below…what is a favorite Love Feast memory of yours over the years?

to plan or not to plan

Published
by
Rachel Sensenig
on October 17, 2007
in Action, Community, Dialogue and Planning
. 1 Comment

I had some funny moments a couple of days ago, in which I was reminded of the importance of planning, and the folly of my lack thereof.

I have this friend who is recovering from a major cancer surgery and will be basically bed-ridden for a few months. Some other friends and I were trying to clean up and create a little recovery room in her house so she could rest comfortably. I got excited about making some curtains and a tapestry wall hanging to cover a hole in the wall, all with some beautiful fabrics I was collecting from our thrift store. So I let the creative juices flow and got to work on my housemate’s sewing machine. After a few late nights, I had put together some things I thought were kinda nice, especially for a novice sewer like myself.

When I went to my friends’ house to put the finishing touches on the room, I ran into a few setbacks. This is embarrassing, but my curtains didn’t fit on the rods, they were too short for the windows, and the tapestry didn’t fully cover the hole in the wall. One could assume that one would measure things carefully before a little project like this, but I did not. I had lots of creativity and enthusiasm, but no preparation process. As a result, I spent the rest of the day and night (in between public meetings and other stuff) trying to alter my creations and go back to hang the stuff up. Of course this is not such a huge loss, but maybe with some careful planning ahead of time, things could have been simpler.

It makes me think about our mapping process. We are trying to plan and prepare for what’s next, as a community of truth-seekers (and finders). We know that God is speaking to us, so it seems like a good idea to recognize that and dialogue about it together. Our thought is that it’s important to be conscious of ourselves and our God, to measure and evaluate our past and present and let God’s voice guide us into the future. If you are like me, this process might seem a little unnecessary (we could just wing it, and good things might happen) or scary (now I’ll actually have to do the stuff that we say we do) or you might feel like you’re setting yourself up for failure. But how much beauty and goodness might we be with-holding from ourselves and others by not taking the risk? This intentional planning, combined with all of our enthusiasm and creative energy, could yield amazing results. What does God want us to do in this next year? What does it mean to be a Christian in our time and place? What has God been showing me? In what direction is God nudging you these days? What new growth is already springing up in our lives together? It seems that if we prepare for God to show up and do great things in us and among us, then we create the space for that to happen.

If we don’t plan, we might run around in circles. I can personally attest to this. More and more, I’m seeing a law of diminishing returns in and around me when things are left to their own devices. Usually good things don’t just “happen”on their own. I think that God is all about making good things happen, but our own creative energies and prayerful preparations seem pretty important to the process, and I’ve learned that from my friends here at Circle who have taken risks to plan and do stuff that God puts on their hearts.

I’m really thankful that the Spirit continues to work in spite of our abilities and intentions, but it does seem to matter what we do or don’t do. I guess we are really that important. Planning ahead hasn’t always been my strong suit, but I plan to jump into the process with you all this season. We’ll see what God can do with us.

Eruptions

Published
by
Rod White
on September 28, 2007
in Action, Community, Dialogue, Family and Planning
. 1 Comment

Yesterday I was telling Dave about my sudden amazement. I realized that I had witnessed, in the previous two days, a series of eruptions of leadership among the Circle of Hope. It is just what we had imagined and prayed for God to do!

I suppose you are following developments. We like reaching more people, and we are doing that. We like being one church with two and soon-to-be more locations, and we are refining how to be that. We like proliferating cells, mission teams, businesses, compassionate service, artistic endeavors, etc., and we are learning how to encourage and maintain all that. We have buildings and budgets and staff and stuff to provide the needed tools to do what we do and become what God has slated us to be; and we are learning how to keep everything all knit together in love.

Becoming more of who we are requires a whole new group of leaders to step up and lead the teams that keep us going. Alongside the further cell leaders and pastors and coordinators, we need further leaders who keep things going, like the finances, buildings, technology, and staff. For us, it is always church planting, compassion and, more than ever: capacity.

In a few days, the Coordinators will provide their cell leaders with a form to use when they lead the annual discussion in their cells about where we see God taking us as a church. I keep praying for each time of dialogue, whether it is fifteen minutes or two hours, to be another small eruption of vision, passion and determination. I pray that God’s Spirit moves in us until an authentic vision for being his people in 2008 in Philly emerges with clarity and fills us with hope.

When the input is gathered, the Coordinators will form the discernment group. They will hold further meetings for open dialogue and steer us toward a refreshed sense of direction.

I know, we are not even close to being done with 2007, yet! The whole “yearly” thing is kind of arbitrary — God is not following our seasons, particularly. But God is working through us, and we have a rhythm about our year. We need to get dirty, plant, sweat and build things to be true to our dusty origin. Lately, I feel like God has been breathing life into us, even more! — stirring up eruptions of faith, hope and love.