outrageous modesty

With all the fervor about where our allegiances stand, who to vote for, whether to vote at all, I was reminded today by this simple postcard from MCC I have hanging at my desk not to be lured into the mess of it all, while Jesus is calling me to be in the middle of the mess of it all with him (He's not on the outside looking in you know). I try not to get wrapped up in all the hype, but I'm not apathetic either. I am happening, because Jesus is doing things, and I am next to him doing them too. I am flawed in so many ways. Im staying away (best as I can) from all the fervor and nationalist emotion that the 'little christs' get caught up in so easily. Im trying to go forward to the next things Jesus is calling me to, out of Egypt day by day. Proactively making peace for me lately has meant so much more than where "my" vote goes. It means making peace with me, with God, and then with friends around me, with family, with people i meet throughout the day....all the time, every day, day in and day out ('pray unceasingly'). Most of that means having some healthy conflict, bringing up the hard questions ans sitting with them and living into them for years at a time. Living in the midst of all of the compelling dialogue about what to do and how much we all matter can be so invigorating and tiresome at the same time. We are not pawns in this game, and we are more than the sum of our cleverness and gathered resources. We're the living stones, the body, the Church. Keep acting like it, lest we forget why we're even here. I dont want to miss out on that kind of life. Working it all out day by day, every day, day in and day out, is what makes us a peculiar little people, not making the right decisions every time and winning. God have mercy on the Christians this season.

Van the man

not this one, although he is sweet.






this guy:











I went to a book reading / lecture last night to hear Van Jones speak. I was listening. He is a lawyer, an environmentalist, and most importantly an advocate for the poor and disenfranchised in this country, especially young African American men. He has a new book called The Green Collar Economy which I have been reading which outlines a set of ideas to bring millions of people out of poverty creating a new set of jobs based on a new green economy. Most of the jobs would be involved in skilled labor positions like manufacturing and installing solar panels for instance, so there is an education component to it as well. He likens the midwest plains to the "Saudi Arabia " of wind power, and makes the same metaphor for the sunbelt in the US for its national solar producing capabilities. His ideas really had me listening. So much of this green wave is about eco-elitism (building a green vacation home) or selfish self-reliance (disconnecting from the grid, and from community). He talk about China and India as our "brothers and sisters" in this economic and environmental mess. His language and view is inclusive, big, broad, for the least of these, glocal.

Hearing him talk about speaking the truth-in-love to those in power as well as to those in poverty, and bringing a collective spirit of action across all kinds of social chasms really got me thinking. Hearing ideas about bringing the greenest solutions to the poorest people really has me talking. Hearing him talking about re-honoring and re-recognizing the need for skilled labor education, really just got me. Hearing him talk about how we need to move beyond solely equal protection from the WORST pollution (environmental justice and advocacy) to equal oppurtunity for the BEST new clean technology and jobs was real paradigm shift for me. Hearing him declare his faith in God was pretty cool too.

365 Days Of Trash: Kamikatsu Japan, a trashless existence#links

I follow this blog called SustainableDave. He is living with all the trash he creates for a year, and finding new ways to recycle, downcycle, and most importantly, to consume less, and choose his consumption with the knowledge of its future life and implications. I thought this piece he shared about this zero-waste town in Japan was cool....I could imagine us doing this at Circle of Hope in the basement.


365 Days Of Trash: Kamikatsu Japan, a trashless existence#links

Ive always been fascinated with waste streams, and especially in the past ten years, how to divert material from them for reuse, like in construction for instance. I like old things from some reason.....probably some irrational connection to an imagined past or something, but im working it out.

Ten years ago I hated recycling. And a bit of me still thinks it bullshit, but since working at Re:Vision Architecture, and being in charge of our recycling program here, the discipline of it has shined a bright white light (probably a compact fluourescent) on my consumption habits, many of which were unconsciously wasteful. Now Im into consuming less and making smarter choices and stuff like that....which is all a product of the wealthy society in which I participate, but its a start.

1 down, 2 taken, 5 await defeat

After about 9 weeks, and forgetting I had ever taken it, I received notice in the mail last week that I passed the Progamming, Planning, and Practice exam. I was going through the mail, opened this letter now knowing what it was. I thought it was junkmail. After hastily scrolling through I saw the word PASS in big bold letters and a super loud YES flew from my lungs involuntarily......that lasted about 10 seconds.....so I guess I did actually care about passing. I still think exams are bs though, but its a game Ive got to play, and win, I guess.
I took the Site Planning and Design exam a few weeks back too. I haven't heard anything from NCARB about that one. It had a graphic (drawing) portion that included designing, I shit you not, a pet cemetary, meditation chapel, and a pond. Now I know how to do that.