why in the world?

spotted this article at jonny's site and thought it worthy of a link here.

 

Tobias Jones: why I'm setting up a woodland commune

Why would anyone give up a normal family life in order to set up a community for people in crisis? A writer explains why he has decided the time has come to take a deeply unconventional leap in the dark

"why in the world?" is a common (and natural) reaction/question when someone declares a desire to open their home.  Tobias Jones gives a compelling and gracious answer in this article.  though it remains to be seen how things pan out ("between our dreams and actions lies this world" - mr springsteen) i'm inspired by the someone who is so clearly inspired.  Sherry and I also enjoyed hearing Tobias speak about his journeys (resulted in this book) a couple of Greenbelts ago.

an agrarian solution to unemployment

you can't listen to "the news" very long without hearing about "the jobless".  i thought this was an interesting piece from earlier in the year...a way to both address employment problems in Japan and meet a growing market for local food. (in the Wall Street Journal)

here's the link...and here's a taster

Seeing agriculture as one of the few industries that could generate jobs right now, the government has earmarked $10 million to send 900 people to job-training programs in farming, forestry and fishing. Japan's unemployment rate was 4.4% in February, up from 3.9% a year earlier, but still lower than the U.S. or Europe. Some economists expect the figure to rise to a record 8% or so within the next couple of years.

Thanksgiving to friends......

This morning I received an e-mail from a social networking site reminding me that today is the birthday of a friend of mine. The friend's name is Terry Fraley (Terry is the big guy in the blue shirt on the far left of the picture). A few people within our community will know who Terry is, but most of you will not. The reason that I'm writing about this is because Terry died on February 7, 2009 at the age of 44. Terry had numerous health problems that plagued him over the years of our friendship, and many of these problems were exacerbated by a prolonged battle with prescription drug abuse and the grinding stress of chronic mental health problems. Terry had Borderline Personality Disorder and was a self-injurer. I remember a couple of Terry's cuts being so bad that it took up to a dozen or more stitches to close them. "How could someone ever do that to their body?", I remember asking myself in those days. Though sincere, I was ignorant, generally clueless about the reality of mental illness and not a little judgemental in the ways that can only be exposed by the deep down gut-wrenching examination in which these types of "no suitable answer" situations place us. But just like Jesus, through his suffering Terry helped me to learn; and he helped me to be redeemed in a manner that could not have happened otherwise. He was another in a long line of tortured mentors helping me to love better, bringing enlightement to my ignorance and a more sober sense of conviction to my efforts.

Sometimes I did not see Terry for months on end. One time while we were out of town Maria and I loaned him our truck so that he could go and see his daughter in Hazard. We also gave him the keys to our house so that he could use our computer to work on his resume. When we returned we discovered that Terry had used our checkbook to pay his rent and had been ordering things online with our bank account information. When confronted Terry confessed readily to all of it. We tried to work it out amongst ourselves as believers living by grace; we were dissappointed in the initial results but pleasantly surprised in the long run....we tried to suffer long with each other...we went through a couple of revolutions just like this...we held on to each other, tenuously, for years. We were rarely ever together in "Church," but we kept finding our way back together when it seemed to matter the most. And on more than one occassion we were able to find our way back together because our mutual friend Scott Morehead was always helping us to build the bridge back to one another.

Terry always possessed great admiration for Scott, and absolutely loved spending time with him. I think that in some ways Scott was Terry's ideal self; he was an accomplished physician, devoted husband and dedicated parent. Terry was very bright and capable, but his myriad struggles were always there to put strict limits on his upside. He loved studying bio-chemistry and medicine, and could do well with it when his mental health was stable and his ego was in check; but that was an exceedingly hard balance to strike. I think these reasons helped to make Terry's friendship with Scott a very special thing for him. And it was always a wonderful picture of the reconciliation that we all have in Christ, the Christ who respects us enough as persons to not respect our pretensions, positions or titles. Whenever Terry and I were estranged, Scott was always there to help build the bridge that brought us back together.

I remember Scott calling me one day to tell me that Terry was in the hospital after a bout of congestive heart failure. I went to visit Terry and tried to encourage him. Because we were very concerned about his health, Scott and I talked more than once about how our hope was that we could simply help Terry "end well." We knew that the end probably wasn't too distant. We were learning. We were beginning to understand what it means to simply sit and be present to a friend instead of trying to "solve" them. I had taken the time to study the different dimensions of Terry's mental health problems and was much better prepared to be a friend to him. His suffering had produced a wealth of new wisdom and insight in me. I would henceforth be a better friend to others because of what Terry's struggle taught me. Just like Jesus, I had been transformed by his suffering. I distinctly remember telling Terry I was sorry that it took me a long time to learn these things and be more present to him. I confessed and he accepted my confession.

I think that it was around the time of Terry's hospitalization that he began going to First Alliance Church pretty regularly with Scott and his family. Scott would pick Terry up in the morning and on a couple of occassions Scott and Tammy (his wife) had Terry come over for lunch. Terry even began singing in the choir at First Alliance. It seemed like he had finally found his place; and I was profoundly happy that he had found his place even if it wasn't our place (Communality). My very limited ecclesiology and immaturity in love would not have allowed me to see this for what it was even a couple of years prior. I was still too caught up in trying to build up my own "project" and therefore not as able to see what Terry really needed. But the good news is that Terry ended well! He was in a pretty good season of life. And he ended well because a few friends, by God's grace, were able to "fulfill the law of Christ" by a severely bent but never broken commitment to "sharing each other's troubles and problems(Galatians 6:2)."

On an evening not too long before he died, Terry stopped by to pay a rare visit to our old guys group at the Golfview House. That night we were studying 2 Corinthians chapter 6. We read through the section where Paul says "Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you. Our hearts are open to you. If there is a problem between us, it is not because of a lack of love on our part, but because you have withheld your love from us. I am talking now as I would to my own children. Open your hearts to us (2 Cor 6:11-13)." I will never forget what Terry shared after we finished reading that passage. He said that he realized that what Paul was saying applied to him and his relationship with the rest of us; that we had opened our hearts to him but he had not done the same with us. It was stunning. Why was it that Terry showed up on this particular night? Looking back on that night, I've come to believe that this was a special gift that God gave to us. It was God's way of allowing us to celebrate the bond that had never been broken between us. And it was God's way of helping us to understand that it is ultimately the Triune God's open heart (not mine, or your's, or Paul's) that makes it all possible. What a special gift it was to share that moment together.

So, I wanted to share these thoughts today to celebrate Terry's life and give thanks to God for the many profound lessons that he taught me and the time we shared. When I looked at the e-mail this morning the first thing that I thought about was my dear friend Scott. Like Terry and I, my relationship with Scott has been sorely tested at several different points; and because it has been tested it has also been refined and strengthened. It has taken me a long time to realize that and see it for the profound gift that it is-grace upon grace. So, I also want to give thanks for Scott and for the time that God allowed us to share with Terry and the treasured memories that we were able to build; memories that knit together the otherwise broken fragments of broken lives. So, on the day that would have been Terry's 45th birthday, I give thanks to Terry and to God for assisting so profoundly in my own "new birth."

Biz Lex Article on Mountaintop Removal

It is beyond me how anyone can,in good conscience, support the destruction of our brother's and sister's homes in Eastern Kentucky... rings a bell along the lines of the Head saying to the Foot that, "I have no need of you". So since I don't need you and you happen to be living on top of something that I want, I will pillage the earth to remove it.


Check it out: "Our" very own Buisness Lexington Newspaper supporting mountaintop removal. All in the name of "progress." It was the front page article this last week. I have a hard copy if anyone wants it.


Our Promise, Our Plight


How long must people go with their hands over their ears and eyes?

coal - take action

from 350.org - this is a close-to-home justice issue.  please prayerfully consider taking action.

Dear friends,
We know many of you are still recovering from the unbelievable organizing you did for the day of action on Oct. 24, and you know that as a campaign 350.org is mostly focused on the global negotiations coming up in Copenhagen.
But sometimes things happen at inconvenient moments.
And if you think it's inconvenient for us, imagine what it was like for residents of Pettus, West Virginia to wake up last week to find that the blasting had started on Coal River Mountain, one of the epicenters of the fight over the hideous practice of mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian Mountains. Coal River Mountain is an iconic symbol of the energy choices our country now faces: we can blast off the mountain's top to scoop out the dirty coal inside, or we can harness its enormous wind potential and start to build a better world.
So we're going to ask those of you on our USA e-mail list to take a small but signficant action to help our friends who are fighting the good fight there in West Virginia and Kentucky.
Could you please take a few minutes to send a message to decision-makers in the Obama administration, and ask them to intervene at Coal River Mountain?

Click the following to send your message: www.350.org/coal
The Obama administration officials who could stop this need to know that it's not just people in the hills of Appalachia who can hear the explosions--we all know what's going on.  And we know that every lump of coal that comes out of those hills adds to the carbon burden of the atmosphere we all share.
Jim Hansen, the NASA scientist who first gave us the 350 number, has pointed out that the western world needs to be off coal in little more than a decade if we're ever going to get back to 350--and this is the obvious place to start. It would be a small gesture our government could point to when it gets to the UN talks in Copenhagen this coming December--and for the brave folks who have been fighting this fight to save their homes for decades now it would be a very big gesture indeed.
Coal is near the heart of the planet's climate problem. Let's take a moment to help here, in no small part because it will help in the climate talks ahead.

So many thanks,

Bill McKibben and the 350.org crew

coal talk

this from our friends at KFTC...

 

This Thursday evening at 7pm in Memorial Hall, the university of Kentucky is sponsoring a forum on coal featuring four panelists:

Joe Craft, President, chief executive officer and a director of Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. ( "ARLP") and also president, chief executive officer and Chairman of the Board of ARLP's General Partner, Alliance Holdings GP,LP, Fred Palmer, Senior Vice President of Government Relations of Peabody Energy, Tom FitzGerald, Director of the Kentucky Resources council, and, Jeff Goodell, Author of Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future

This event is free and open to the public. You don't need to register in advance to attend Thursday evening's panel.

Attendees are also allowed to submit questions to the panelists the evening of the event.

For more information please look at their website at www.coalinkentucky.com

Ondine Miranda Quinn

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth

Central Kentucky Organizer

250 Plaza Dr. Suite 4

Lexington, KY 40503

(859) 276-0563 (office)

(859) 368-4438 (cell)

(859) 276-0774 (fax)

ondine@kftc.org

KFTC is a 28-year-old grassroots organization that believes in the power of people, working together, to challenge injustices, right wrongs, and improve the quality of life for all Kentuckians. Visit us online at www.kftc.org!

snapshots of the community

The (n)either/(n)or dilemma?

A couple of weeks ago Maria, Miranda and I went to Sunday brunch with a friend of ours who was in town visiting. I was in the process of parking my car in the restaurant lot when I saw a SUV loaded with a family pulling out of the parking lot with a plate on the front of the vehicle that said "SUCKIN GAS N' HAULIN ASS." Perhaps you have seen this particular license plate at some point in the past. I've been thinking about it a lot the last couple of weeks, and after giving it some time, I can't say that my current thoughts and feelings are any different from the gut reaction I had when I saw it. What was my initial reaction? I will try to offer an explanation.

It has been said by some that pragmatism is the fundamental American Philosophy. We like to solve problems, get things done and see the tangible results of our work. Though we've helped lead the world in the development of myriad technical and other wonders, I've found myself wondering if we as Americans have ever had any guiding vision that is bigger than simply solving the next problem, overcoming the next obstacle, selling the next product or framing the latest "cause" for the rest of the world. This is a terribly broad generalization, and perhaps it is indicative only of the very recent history of our country. That is probably true. However, I do find myself wondering if the deeper truth is that this bigger picture has just taken a couple of hundred years to unfold itself in history. Perhaps we were destined from the beginning to arrive at our present location?

"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness....." that is perhaps the most succinct summary of the overall vision of our "Founding Fathers." I think that most people would say "individual freedom/liberty" was the guiding vision of America (or some variation of this). In an earlier age the idea of America being a new "Israel" is something that captured the imagination of many. The idea of "Manifest Destiny" was part of this general conceptual constellation. So, we might say that the ideas of personal freedom and self-determination are critical to America's identity. And we might add to this the general idea of "progress." And this framework fits well with our pragmatic outlook, tailored as it is to individual initiative, creativity and potency. It is easy to understand why we've helped lead the way into the "global marketplace" and why the soil of America has helped to nurture the ideas of champions of "self-determination" like Ayn Rand. We're all about people being "set free" to pursue their highest purposes and callings, and even some of the most blatant contradictions of this ideal (like slavery and discrimination) are in time turned into yet another testament to the valor and veracity of our founding vision. We've just seen the latest installment of this in the election of Obama. Perhaps this might happen some day for the Native Americans among us?

Anyone who knows me will know my own deep reservations about America's professed "role" in the world, her intensely conflicted and morally ambiguous history and the way in which these things get constantly spun by the media and politicos to their own ends. But my fundamental question is this: Is pragmatism and our general belief in progress even working at present? This brings me back to where I started: SUCKIN GAS N' HAULIN ASS. This great "free" country of ours (and I do believe that there is a lot about it that is great) is completely dependent upon foreign oil and spends more in a year "helping" to defend our right to it-and the products we buy with it-(the military budget, over $700 billion per year, not including 2 wars-Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz estimates total long-term costs of wars at around $3 trillion) than all but the top 10 economies in the world produce in a whole year. All this so that we can suck gas and haul ass....or maybe it is something else?

So, why harp on this license plate and get so riled up about it? Is it really that big a deal? Well, yes it is....and no it's not. It is not a big deal because in the grander scheme of things it is just a silly liecense plate (produced most likely in China and shipped here to America, thus being stunningly true to its professed ethos). But it is a big deal, I think, because of what it says about where we are in America at present. Is there any rational reason why someone would want to intentionally waste a finite and limited resource; not to mention the fact that this is a resource whose price has been rapidly rising and will continue to rise as demand increases? Perhaps it is somewhat rational if you believe that you will simply find another solution and that the process of innovation is driven forward by crisis spurred on by profligacy or some other means. This gets us back to pragmatism. But is this really what the highly polarized (n)either/(n)or debate in America is about? I don't think that it is. And even it was primarily about finding a common solution and working together to build a better future, is it working? There are many reasons to doubt this, along with some stubborn rays of hope.

When I first saw that license plate it helped to crystallize for me the reality that public discourse in America has become so divided along media-driven lines of political ideology, class affiliation and social affinity that it no longer has much to do with the facts being discussed or even the solutions being pursued; it is not even about good old fashioned American pragmatism. How could it be? The solution to a problem is not the most important thing in our time. In the best case it is about proving that you are the one who found the solution and demonstrating how the other "party" or "group" didn't. In the worst case it is simply about grabbing or maintaining power, selling your latest book or TV show and extending the media shelf-life of your persona.

So, why do we want to publicly profess (seemingly absurd) things like that inscribed on the aforementioned license plate? Well, as I've said, I think it is because we want people to know for certain that we're not like those "tree-huggers, environmental wackos, communists" or whatever tried and true moniker you want to use. And I think it is safe to say that a lot of the people who express these sentiments are also people who love to hunt, fish, farm or otherwise have some deep appreciation for nature. But because the lines of the debate (if you even could call it that) have become so deeply divided, and our differences and aversions to each other have come to so deeply define us (and the issues that surround us), we have neither real dialogue nor the solutions that might come from it. And, to be fair and forthright, why do we also sport self-contradictory (I think) bumper-stickers like "When Clinton lied no one died (except, it could be argued, the Democratic parties chances of being re-elected-and have you ever thought about how sad this is, falling to the level of highlighting a better or less harmful lie as a "selling" point-that is truly pathetic). Well, again I think it is because we've become so polarized in our viewpoints, so socially isolated from one another and so unable to think about a common future and purpose together that we've just settled on trying to make the best of the present that we still have available. And we've been helped to this end by all of the Rush's, Glenn's, Keith Olbermann's, and Rachel Maddow's of this world who become famous and often make immense fortunes out of "hardening" our differences, to borrow a phrase from Miroslav Volf (from his book "Exclusion and Embrace) and manipulating our prejudices and ignorance. Who has time to really dig in to the issues when you're simply trying to survive financially? We have highly paid professionals who can do this work for us!

My hope is that we can learn to listen to each other and learn to work together to make a better future for our children. If we cannot then they will inevitably pay the cost (social,environmental,economic, spritual) of our either/or left/right thinking and inability to hear and genuinely respect each other and work together. These words of Jesus come to mind as I think about our country, "A kingdom at war with itself will collapse (Mark 3:24)."

stories and pumpkins

on wednesday nights at our high st gathering we have been treating ourselves to each other's stories.  each week two people have shared their journey...hopes, aspirations, fractures, failures, grace.  it is truly a blessing to hear about the loving-faithfulness of the triune God in every straight path and detour.

Meanwhile, upstairs, the saintly Marie has been caring for our kids.  this week she created space for an evening of art with the younger ones - pumpkin painting.

here are the pics..thanks Marie!

 

Great movie....great art......

Last week Maria and I had the opportunity to attend the Kentucky Premiere of a film called "Coal Country" at the Kentucky Theatre. It is a film about the implications of mountaintop removal coal mining for the people, ecosystem and economy of Appalachia. It is a good film that should be watched by all in this region; and the event was really nice and gave us an opportunity to meet a lot of people who are working on this issue (One Horizon helped to sponsor the event). With even Kentucky Utilities highlighting in its lastest bill mailing Kentucky's terrible carbon footprint, we know that this is a serious issue for our region, as the burning of coal is one of the primary reasons for our uneviable position. According to a NOAA study cited by Kentucky Utilities, Kentucky's 4.3 million citizens produce 92,320,191 metric tons of co2 annually, while the 36.8 million citizens of California produce only 62,780,179 tons. So, we produce almost one-third more co2 while having a population that is over 8 times smaller-incredible. Also at the event, there was a local Kentucky artist (Jeff Chapman-Crane) who has created a brilliant piece of art called "The Agony of Gaia." It is intended to illustrate the impact of mountain top removal mining on the earth. The piece depicts a woman (Gaia-mother earth) lying on the ground, her body being torn asunder and stripped away as the dynamite, bulldozers and dumptrucks dismember her. The tears falling from her eyes form a mountain stream that is in defiance of all the headwater and other streams being buried by the "waste" from the mining. It is a really incredible and moving piece of art-these pictures do not do it justice.

An exhortation from Mother Theresa's Wall

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” – from Mother Teresa’s wall

Wisdom from John Chrysostom

I was reading some stuff yesterday from St. John Chrysostom, the great fourth-century servant of the church. A couple of thoughts hit me particularly hard and I've been trying to meditate upon them. Here they are:

"No matter how just your words may be, you ruin everything when you speak with anger."

"Slander is worse than cannibalism."

Both of these thoughts naturally called to mind the third chapter of the book of James and the stern warnings found therein about the dangers of the "tongue." It also calls to mind the even more stern warning of Jesus in Matthew 5 about speaking ill of "your brother." They are words, along with Chrysostom's thoughts, that have been convicting for me as I think about my own speech and the inner attitudes and rhythms of the heart from which they emanate. They are words that maybe all of us could stand to consider living in an age of intense polarization on important issues, angry "town hall" meetings and politics that seem to be largely based upon assailing the character and credentials of other persons and hoping for them to fail so that "we" might have a chance to succeed. As I watch the daily news and read the papers I've begun to wonder if we might be losing something much deeper than just our ability to have "civil" conversations. I fear that in our attitudes and behaviors toward each other (as a society) we have been gradually losing our very humanity. Chrysostom offers another thought that might be helpful to consider here:

"A dreadful thing is the love of money! It disables both eyes and ears, and makes men worse to deal with than a wild beast, allowing a man to consider neither conscience nor friendship nor fellowship nor salvation."

These are heavy thoughts to consider. And I do not want to share them without offering this additional word of hope and inspiration from St. John Chrysostom:

"The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others."

KIVA UPDATE......

About two years ago we began an "experiment in truth" with the wonderful online micro-lending initiative called Kiva. One Horizon Foundation put up some money to create a "matching-grant" program intended to help get people involved in the work of Kiva. We had a number of people who took us up on this offer and we were able to get all of the original matching-grant funds distributed and have been diligently re-loaning the intitial capital as it has returned to us over the last two-years. I wanted to give everyone an update on our current progress and thank all those who've participated with us in this wonderful adventure of love, goodness and jubilee. Here is an overview of the totals generated by all partners in this initiative:

Total Loans: 1,088
Total Money Loaned: $28,450
Total Countries: 46
Portfolio Distribution: 70% Female 30% Male
Default Rate: about 2% overall (astonishing thus far!)

pastor/pioneer

as we continue to reimagine the church and foster missional living in community i found this post from Simon Cross in the UK really helpful.  i found it personally challenging and comforting. just this week i was commiserating with a colleague about the frustration that comes when you don't have the rhythm of office hours and set tasks on a week to week basis.  along with the immensurable privilege of living out an apostolic/missional calling comes the tyranny of anti-structure.  if you are involved in a pioneering community it is well worth your time...

here's a snippet:

Pioneers often dont make good leaders, they are too driven when what is needed is stability, they are unable to pastor as sensitively as someone whose calling is to pastor. That doesnt mean however that we should duck out of service because something isnt our calling, we do need to do the hard boring stuff too,

and here is an overview of his main points:

I would go further and suggest that we need to learn a few old lessons again about ways to keep ourselves rooted and productive.

1) Manual work.

2) Study.

3) Prayer.

4) Rest.

5) Time away from screens.

6) Vulnerability to community.

win a bike ... for the Gladdings!

Although we could never manage to ride our bikes to Communality with two little ones all the way from Wilmore, I know it's a community value--to be "green", and in the process get some much needed exercise and fresh air. I think it's a great value to have, and one that we hope to uphold in our next season of life (in Laos). For now, we will support this value and live it out vicariously through you all. And part of that is attempting to win a bike for the Gladdings, who are in need of one. I haven't asked them if this is okay, but hey, who would be against an innocent attempt at getting a free bike?! We came across this bike on a friends' blog who are living out a life of simplicity and environmentalism (in Laos). They don't own one, but I'm sure they would be happy if they won one. The way you "enter" the contest is by putting the link to their webpage into a blog, like I am doing here. So I am not trying to advertise their bike and promote "buying", but I am linking you all to their page in hopes that we "might" be adding one of these to our community! I know, I know. It's silly to really believe we can win this. But someone wins one each week...and it could be us! (Us meaning our community...)


http://www.madsencycles.com/images/banners/MADSEN-300x250-mom-2-kids.gif

So in theory, by posting their site to our blog, we are entering ourselves into the weekly bike contest.