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Springsteens song says it …

“Jesus Was An Only Son”

Jesus was an only son
As he walked up Calvary Hill
His mother Mary walking beside him
In the path where his blood spilled

Jesus was an only son
In the hills of Nazareth
As he lay reading the Psalms of David
At his mother’s feet

A mother prays, “Sleep tight, my child, sleep well
For I’ll be at your side
That no shadow, no darkness, no tolling bell,
Shall pierce your dreams this night”

In the garden at Gethsemane
He prayed for the life he’d never live,
He beseeched his Heavenly Father to remove
The cup of death from his lips

Now there’s a loss that can never be replaced,
A destination that can never be reached
A light you’ll never find in another’s face,
A sea whose distance cannot be breached

Well Jesus kissed his mother’s hands
Whispered, “Mother, still your tears,
For remember the soul of the universe
Willed a world and it appeared

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check out this link to one of my favorite videos from a great video series from last year … (Sure to be offensive to some)

i have really been surprised to see how much i have been enjoying this very liturgical approach to reading the scriptures. this is a great link to stop in and rest for a while each day…

Catholic liturgy And another … Go to VURCH

The ‘Wild honey” Christian Community, is part of a larger trend (think progression, not trendy) in developing authentic, in and out-focused true community.

The New Monasticism

A fresh crop of Christian communities is blossoming in blighted urban settings all over America.

by Rob Moll | posted 09/02/2005 09:45 a.m.

“How can you worship a homeless Man on Sunday and ignore one on Monday?” said the sign outside St. Edward’s Cathedral in Philadelphia. Inside, a group of 40 homeless families were joined by students from Eastern University to protest the eviction of women and their children from the abandoned Kensington neighborhood church. In 1996, the story was all over the news as a community activist group and a crowd of Eastern students fought the eviction by living in the church, sleeping on pews, and worshiping each Sunday. Shane Claiborne and other students left Eastern’s campus in St. Davids, drove the 20 miles into Philly, and unpacked their things in the nave.

At first, it was a shock to live among the homeless, Claiborne says. But face to face with poverty, stereotypes quickly broke down. During those fall days, as the stone building grew colder each night, the students began to rethink Gospel passages about the poor being blessed and doing “unto the least of these.”

After the Jump, check out more of this article for more on this type of community building

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I came across an advertisement in one of those free community magazines the other day … you know the ones. Replete with Mind/Body/Spirit articles, the first few pages full of advertisements for Tarot card reading, past life regression therapy and articles on success and semi-Buddhist philosophy. The typical magazine full of thoughts for the spiritual seeker.

About half-way through I found a great picture, underneath, the text of the ad said something about connecting to Spirit, through Communiy and Communion. This community was known as wild honey. It sounded like something I had once heard, so I checked out the website. I am sure they get a far bit of flack, but I love how this Christian community is opening itself up to truly communicate with like-minded people. Allowing the expressions of spiritality to bring people into a walk with our eternal God.

It is different and that is very good!

check out this link …www.wildhoney.ca

Already one year old? You look fantastic!

Resonate is a listserve that I recently joined, it simply links up a group of us Canadians who want to think and talk about what Faith may look like in our lifetime …

Also check out their brand new bundle of joy, the journal right here. This one year old give birth to another baby on their birthday!? Check it out for a series of essays etc following and expanding on the email entries that flew back and forth between the various minds in this smartmob over the last year

I just was sent this link from someone on the emergent list-serve that I participate in …

Fairlie is a small farming village in the center of New Zealand�s South Island. For the last two years I had heard about some believers whom God led to give up the religious structure they had become part of to live as the body of Christ together in this region of the world. It was 1986 and some of its leaders felt like God was asking them to give up the structures that constrained their life together, which included not only the institution but also the building where they met. After weeks of praying together and considering this leading, the people unanimously agreed that this is what God was saying to them.

They agreed to lay it all down and let God lead them. The building they used was quite old and after donating all the furnishings that were worth anything to the denomination�s district they were leaving, they offered the building to the fire brigade to burn as a training exercise. (I told you this was an incredible story!)

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A couple of years ago, I was in Safeway shopping for some whipped cream. As I took my time peering through the dairy case, a man stopped and casually asked. ‘So how do you decide which one to buy anyways?’

I looked over, sized him up, and was soon pleasantly in conversation regarding the various merits of high fat content vs. hydrogenated oils. Frankly I enjoyed the interaction, it seems all too seldom that strangers in the city will pause to even look at someone else, let alone strike up conversation. Over the few moments, we chatted over food and health, and then he asked me a simple question.

So, you are interested in health, hey?

You know the pulse of recognition that happens as you first realise that what you thought was happening was not truly the case. The moment when you see reality. I felt it. I immediately and cautiously answered that yes … I was interested in health. He went to the point.

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Or, to be a bit more PC ‘Why our current evangelism strategies do not work in Canada’

The greatest evangelism strategy of our time. A booklet in every home in Canada, well bound, full-colour, clearly explaining the plan of salvation. The four spiritual laws in the hands of every person on campus. A Brand New Colourful Sign. The addition of guitar-driven, free worship on a Sunday, or better yet – Saturday Night! The renovation of the facility where you meet ‘oh that carpet?!’ The addition of power-point and video-clips to the message. The dressing down of the congregants at the meeting. The light green notice in the mail for the free drama production at the church on the corner. Each a carefully planned, well orchestrated, focused attempt to bring the gospel to as many as quickly as possible with the least amount of fuss and effort. All have combined to grow our churches to an incredible 5% of every man, woman and child in Canada.

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