Fixing Up

On Saturday May 25th, twenty-five people from across the Network descended on the Marlton & Crescent space to get some crucial work done. It felt like an autumn day, but the cool breezes helped keep them moving! Parking lot cracks were fixed, trees and bushes planted in freshly weeded beds, and mulch was put everywhere. Marlton & Crescent is gearing up for the final push toward getting their Site Plan finished/signed off on and gaining their permanent certificate of occupancy. The additional love and effort went a long way! There were a lot of sore backs, dirty kids, and joyous smiles...well worth every second!

Imaginarium: Getting Free of Mammon

Joshua Grace speaking to us on sharing, saving, spending.

On Monday night, Circle of Hopers gathered for an hour to discuss money and how as a community we should use it. Among the personal anecdotes shared, there was also some insight that the common perspective of spending, saving, and sharing—a perspective that is rooted in how much one makes—should in fact be flipped to sharing, saving, and spending, and that sharing money was even reported by research studies to bring much more happiness than spending on yourself. 

The group also took an in-depth look at how Circle of Hope gives away our money and the various ways in which we are attempting to practice sharing, saving, and spending. The hour ended with Vanessa Caruso leading the group in pooling ideas that would help us take steps to getting more responsible with the way we spend and how we share. Some of those ideas included war tax resistance, sharing stories of giving, learning economic policy, tracking a congregation's spending, and practical workshops.

Rob Wetherington ended the hour by leading the group in a prayer toss where the group prayed for our wisdom in how to handle money, and as a symbolic action threw money at the wall.

Some of the results of our prayer toss.

 

Seminar: Sexuality, Spirituality, and the Politics of Identity

Jenell Paris brought some of her brilliance to us this Saturday. She’s an anthropology professor at Messiah College and wrote “The End of Sexual Identity.” She came to Frankford & Norris to teach about ourselves, sexuality, and our souls. She brought a great deal of eloquence and taught us to be conversant about such a so-called “controversial” topic. Jenell did the good work of deconstructing our bifurcated and compartmentalized sexuality identity and pointed us to an identity as the beloved of Christ. There was a great degree of universal praise for the seminar, and we had well over 100 people present. An MP3 recording is soon to come.

Written by: Jonny Rashid