PHOTO SHOOT POSTPONED...

Hey all,

Just a quick post to let everybody know that the photo shoot/picnic we were planning to do this Saturday with the Towns family has been pushed back. The mother's schedule got rearranged a bit, so we'll try again to do this probably in 2-3 weeks... I'll keep everybody in the loop.

Have a great Halloween!

- Adam

Book Primary

So we're going to be voting on a book in the next week, but I'm not sure what options we're voting on. I know Joy said Monkey Town probably covered much of the same discussions we have already been through many times, but I think Claiborne's new book was mentioned. If anyone has more suggestions for the vote, please put them up here in the next couple days.

thoughts on a not so personal god

I don't know how many of you read Magpie Girl's blog, but I have followed her for a few years now. She used to be a pastor in a typical evangelical church, but she has slowly moved into a more all-embracing multi-faith practice. She recently blogged about the idea of a personal god when your spirituality expands. From her blog:

This shift from a personalized, highly-involved God to something wider and less humanoid can be unsettling for a lot of people. I often get questions around the idea of: “Well, if God is not personally in charge or me or personally involved with my life, what does that mean!??!” It’s a big shift, and not everyone makes it, or even needs to make it.

What Are the Ingredients of Community?

As another installment in our series on "community," I wanted to get these thoughts bouncing around on the blog...

Months ago, Jacob and I spent a decent amount of time working on some ideas regarding "intentional community." How is it created? How is it sustained? How is it contextualized in different living & cultural environments, e.g., rural vs. suburban vs. urban? To keep things simple, our thoughts were confined to the context of the U.S., but I'm thinking most of the conclusions can be applied across most borders and cultures...

A singular question has been running through my mind for a few years now, and I think we've talked about it here & there at EmDes:

What are the ingredients of Community?

And when I say "Community" I'm referring to the sort of experience that David recounted about his grandmother and what Joy termed as an "innate part of our humanity." The sort of connection with other people that fulfills something at our personal core.

After scribbling at the whiteboard in my garage for a while, this is the condensed version of what Jacob & I concluded:

There isn't really any order intended in this list except for the two items above the line: Proximity & Commitment. Those two seemed foundational to achieving the depth of connection that we're talking about. There's a lot that could be said about each aspect of this "recipe", but I don't want this post to get too long.

What do you think about these ingredients?

interesting

vague-confessions

Biblical Womanhood

Just in! Rachel Held Evans is going to do a year of "biblical womanhood"-living out the commands of the bible for women. I am planning on following this closely. Totally blows my mind. From her blog announcement:

This means, among other things, rising before dawn each day (Proverbs 31:15), submitting to my husband (Colossians 3:18), growing out my hair (1 Corinthians 11:15), making my own clothes, (Proverbs 31:22), learning how to cook (Titus 2:3-5), covering my head when in prayer (1 Corinthians 11:5), calling Dan “master” (1 Peter 3:5-6), caring for the poor (Proverbs 31:25), nurturing a gentle and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:4), and camping out in the backyard for the duration of my monthly period (Leviticus 15:19-33).

In the spirit of Community....

Over @ Communitas Collective we are having a dialogue around community as well.

Lots of good thoughts being shared. I particulary enjoyed this post by our friend, Kathy Escobar..."My love Hate thing with Community"

I'd encourage you to visit communitas and check out the articles on community and other stuff...My contribution will be posted there tomorrow.

agnostic christian

I have in my rss feed a blog called Existential Punk. This blog is written by a woman named Adele. She recently posted about being a Christian agnostic. I found that it might be interesting to some of us at Emerging Desert. Here is the link to that particular post if you are interested.

Here is more about her in her own words:

My name is Adele and "i am thomas, doubter. i am judas, betrayer. i am nicodemus, reluctant in the night. i am st. john of the cross, soul darkened by love. i am a christian. i am not." (i borrowed this from David Henson at the blog unorthodoxology b/c i like what he said and i resonated with this.) i am also "lost, wicked, and depraved but redeemed by the grace and beauty of God." ( i also resonated with this and borrowed it from Eugene Cho at the blog beauty and depravity.)

i am a traveler who currently resides in Sacramento, CA with my partner and love of my life, Katryna, and our dawg Mushu, a Tibetan Spaniel. i am currently going through long-term treatment for Chronic Lyme Disease, other tick borne diseases, and heavy metal toxicity.

Sopa Supper

Sheri and Debbie are bringing a sopa dish this Sunday. Recommended sides are cheese, cilantro, lime wedges, and breads. Please post what you are planning to bring in hopes of avoiding four people all bringing an avalanche of cheese (but wait... that sounds awesome).