I received a mailing from the Simple Way describing an upcoming publication called CONSPIRE and I am quite intrigued and looking forward to finding out more about it (and contributing to it). Here's a few samplers for anyone else who may be interested:
CONSPIRE! comes out of a diverse network of communities and groups. We love Jesus, but for many of us, Christendom has been a barrier to Christ. We long for a church that looks more like Jesus.
...
CONSPIRE! aims to explore the good news. We'll share our very different experiences as we seek to love God, love people, and follow Jesus--joys, struggles, questions, and adventures...It's earthy, human, thoughtful, and sometimes ridiculous. We're not holy and hip. We're just people talking about this, that, and the other as we try to live authentically.
...
CONSPIRE! is an invitation to live with imagination. It is inviting us
to breathe hope. It is calling us to plot goodness; to surprise the
world with joy.
I've been helping the Matthew25 Network (and their sub-sites, "Put Away Falsehood" and "Pro Life Pro Obama") with some small design projects. Pictured to the right is the design I did for their "Choosing Hope Over Fear For 2000 Years " T-shirt. A few of the other projects that I've helped with are the M25 logo and layout for a simple "Pro Life Pro Obama" PDF factsheet (which you can download here -- it's definitely worth a read if the abortion issue is weighing heavily on your mind).
Matthew25 Network's Mission Statement:
The Matthew 25 Network is a
community of Christians – Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal, and
Evangelical – inspired by the Gospel mandate to put our faith
into action to care for our neighbor, especially the most vulnerable.
The election of our public officials, and the politics they
stand for, are a reflection of our core values. We believe
that those elected to public office carry an important trust,
as their decisions have a profound impact on our nation and
our world.
We believe that people of faith should actively participate in the
political process as an important avenue for social change. We are
called by our faith to engage in the world as it is, while we seek
after and hope for God’s Kingdom.
Therefore, while no elected official will be without flaw, we come
together as individuals to support candidates for public office who
share the values of the Matthew 25 Network: promoting life with
dignity, caring for the least of these, strengthening and supporting
families, stewardship of God’s Creation, working for peace and
justice at home and abroad, and promoting the common good.
I'm glad to see a group like this forming and am happy to have the chance to be involved in some way.
Bill McKibben describes a program run by Vineyard Boise -- the Garden O'Feedin -- in a recent edition of Plenty Magazine, and it reminded me of some of the research we did for our green sunday school class. I love to see examples of churches that are living as if they actually believe that the creation is good and that we are called to serve "the least of these."
McKibben: "Here’s the first thing I like about Bill Meeker, head gardener at the
Garden O’ Feedin’, which provides free, fresh, organic food for poor
people all over the greater Boise, Idaho, area: When I ask him how his
one-third acre of raised beds could possibly have produced 20,776
pounds of vegetables last year, he answers, 'Well, God’s involved.'"
I filled up with biodiesel after work today and on my way out the door this morning I saw the local community paper on the lawn with a front page article about the biodiesel co-op. I had been under the assumption that the biodiesel we were getting currently came from soybeans (which, while not ideal, still seems better than conventional fossil fuels and other high cost food-based fuels like ethanol from corn). I learned the other day and confirmed today that it is actually coming from animal fats, so it's coming from a by-product and not a raw food source* -- which is good. So I guess my car is a meat-eater while we wait for the long-term goal of producing our own biodiesel from waste veggie oil salvaged from restaurant friers. And in the meantime I'll try not to wonder too hard whether that animal fat is coming from factory farms.
Hard to believe it's already been five years--happy anniversary, Janel! Here's something I found while cleaning up my harddrive the other day, from the wedding reception.
I just came across this video. It's an entertaining journey through the life cycle of "stuff" and worth the watch. It is 20 minutes long, but it's fascinating and very well done. Click here to watch.
From the intro on their site:
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in
our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is
hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff
exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and
social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and
just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it
just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
My brother-in-law was talking Canadian politics last night and he told
me about the Liberal Party's "Green Shift" plan. He said it appears to
be the defining issue so far for the next election, with the
Conservatives frothing at the mouth in outrage at (and perhaps fear of)
the plan, and the Liberals casting the revenue-neutral plan (“For every
dollar raised in taxes there will be a dollar returned to Canadians in
tax cuts") as the solution to the economy, environment, and everything.
I haven't read the details of the plan yet, but it does sound like a
good direction to start thinking in, and the boiled-down soundbite is
pretty compelling: Tax things you want to discourage (pollution, waste)
and reduce taxes on things you want to encourage (income, innovation).
I received a mailing from the Simple Way describing an upcoming publication called CONSPIRE and I am quite intrigued and looking forward to finding out more about it (and contributing to it). Here's a few samplers for anyone else who may be interested:
I've been helping the 
Bill McKibben describes a program run by Vineyard Boise -- the Garden O'Feedin -- in a recent edition of Plenty Magazine, and it reminded me of some of the research we did for our 
I filled up with biodiesel after work today and on my way out the door this morning I saw the local community paper on the lawn with a 
Hard to believe it's already been five years--happy anniversary, Janel! Here's something I found while cleaning up my harddrive the other day, from the wedding reception.
My brother-in-law was talking Canadian politics last night and he told
me about the Liberal Party's "Green Shift" plan. He said it appears to
be the defining issue so far for the next election, with the
Conservatives frothing at the mouth in outrage at (and perhaps fear of)
the plan, and the Liberals casting the revenue-neutral plan (“For every
dollar raised in taxes there will be a dollar returned to Canadians in
tax cuts") as the solution to the economy, environment, and everything.
I haven't read the details of the plan yet, but it does sound like a
good direction to start thinking in, and the boiled-down soundbite is
pretty compelling: Tax things you want to discourage (pollution, waste)
and reduce taxes on things you want to encourage (income, innovation).