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C A T H O L I C
W O R K E R
Being Placed:
More on Stability
by Eric Garbison Jodi and I moved five times in the first ten years of our life togetherFort Collins, Des Moines, Bratislava, Durham, Kansas City. Add to that almost two years in Atlanta, and back to Kansas City and we have experienced more than our share of mobility. Im reminded of the main character in Wendell Berrys book, Jayber Crow, who, after dropping out of school says, It made me happy to have all my belongings in a box that I could carry with one hand and walk wherever I wanted to go. Indeed there is something exhilarating about this freedom of movement. At the time we thought little of our transience. It mostly felt logical (education), necessary (a job) good (a call to ministry), loving (to be near family) and, at times, a little adventurous. Our middle class culture expects this of us, to be sure. Yet looking back, it feels very different. Its as if we have lived in the middle of everywhere but arent from anywhere. No roots. What one of Berrys characters calls being a theoretical person.
So E lijah did according to the word of the L ord; he went and lived by the C herith Brookand the ravens brought him bread I Kings 17
There are moments when the heart is generous, and then it knows that for better or worse our lives are woven together here, one with another and with the place and all the living things. Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow
This year we have been reflecting on stability in our community. In our last paper I shared some of what Ive been learning about stability as a commitment to love: learning to love those particular persons around me; being willing to speak into their lives out of love and commitment to them; being willing to face that within myself that is unable to love.
Another question stirring in me is the relationship between stability and staying put. I dont want to pit my experiences in Eastern Europe or the Deep South against the virtues of stability. They were filled with moments of clarity about our call to ministry and personal self-discovery. Besides, permanence comes with its own baggage like parochialism, close-mindedness or fear of strangers . Awareness must also be given to things like acedia, a vice recognized by monks whereby one can be present in body, but emotionally unconcerned about community happenings, withdrawn from central moments of communal life, or present only in a melancholy demeanor. So Benedictine Michael Casey wisely suggests we should not assume stability means never moving. Stability is not a matter of immobility or resistance to change but of maintaining ones momentum. But sometimes I wonder how being a citizen of the world (and I doubt such a thing is possible) has handicapped me from making commitments to a place? It seems inevitable that stability will require of me learning to be present to a concrete community, struggling to know it intimately, and accepting the limitations of its history and mine. This value of committing to a place is one of the greatest lessons I have learned working with street friends in our neighborhood. Contrary to what we might think, homelessness is not instability, but the battle for greater stability amidst the volatility of life. Ironically, for many of the homeless we know, Northeast Kansas City was and is their home. Their roots go deep into the happenings of the neighborhood. They attended Scarritt middle school, graduated from Northeast High school, went to VBS at Bales Baptist, or worked in the JC Penneys distribution center. For some, our chickens bring back childhood memories of gathering eggs in their own yard. Our garden reminds them of a family garden and steamy home-style vegetables at dinner. Our own buildings are part of this memory stream as they recall shopping at Bob Meads
hardware store, getting their hair cut from Freidleys barber shop or watching a movie across the street at what is now a church. And so they refuse to stay at the shelters or relocate. They find a corner in a friends house, tuck themselves in the shadows of abandoned buildings or bed down in the overgrowth rather than be forced out. I am often surprised at what great pains folks released from incarceration will take to make their way back to the area. Whatever challenges homelessness has brought to their lives and identity, this place is still an important part of their story. Its home and they are staying. And when we stay, we become part of their story and they of ours. What is the lesson in committing to a place? Perhaps it is that we moderns are the truly homeless, and the mainstream church shares in this displacement. We lack a real sense of commitment to community for the long haul. When we struggle with deep issue like generational poverty or our personal idiosyncrasies, wholeness can begin in the place where we stand. Stability requires us to abandon easy solutions or quick fixes. In many of his writings, Wendell Berry calls the virtue of being rooted in a place membership. His character, Jayber Crow, reflects back on years of commitment to his place on earth called Port William,
What I saw now was the community imperfect and irresolute but held together by the frayed and always fraying, incomplete and yet ever-holding bonds of the various sorts of affection. There had maybe never been anybody who had not been loved by somebody, who had not been loved by somebody else and so onIt was a community always disappointed in itself, disappointing its members, always trying to contain its divisions and gentle its meanness, always failing and yet always persevering a sort of will toward goodwill. I knew that, in the midst of all the ignorance and error, this was a membership; it was a membership of Port William and of no other place on earth. My vision gathered the community as it never has been and never will be gathered in this world of time, for the community must always be marred by (continued on page 10)
Demand Change
by Lori Oster Change can be a difficult thing. Hard. Overwhelming. This difficulty causes many to regard change as a thing to be avoided; same = good, change = bad. But what if the same is harming others? What if the same is harming us? Demand Change. This was the title of the conference I attended with Allison in April. Veronicas Voice sponsored the conference as a way to help educate the community about human trafficking both globally and locally. Veronicas Voice is a survivor-led, survivor-centered organization devoted to ending sexual exploitation in the United States. Organizers titled the conference Demand Change to bring attention to the demand side of the sex trade as well as to demand a change in how society views some as victims and others as prostitutes. If we focus on changing the demand, we change the trade entirely. Emphasizing demand doesnt mean condemning the buyers. Were not saying theyre horrible people, said Kristy Childs, Founder and Executive Director of Veronicas Voice. In fact, they are normal guys, the ones you work with, live next to or attend church with. They are human beings. Childs explained that paying for sex sustains an imbalance of power. It exploits the weak and vulnerable for the sake of the powerful, said Childs. Someone wants sex and is willing to pay for it. Pimps step in to arrange it, profiting from it greatly. The woman, the one who is most at risk, benefits the least. Here are some commonly believed myths about prostitution and human trafficking: Myth: It is a foreign problem. By estimates, there are 17,000 foreign nationals trafficked into the United States every year. Yet hundreds of thousands Americans are being trafficked within our borders. The best estimate of prostituted American children in the United States is 100,000 to 300,000 a year! This number does not even begin to touch those who are not under the age of 18. Myth: It is a victimless crime. The movie, Pretty Woman, is a fiction. In the real face of prostitution, 80% are threatened or assaulted. Women and children are safer in the army than in sex trafficking. Women who are prostituted have to serve an average of 10-30 johns/day. Every year a prostituted woman is raped 19 times, kidnapped 10 times, and beaten repeatedly. Myth: Women who are being prostituted are doing so by choice. There are approximately 1 million prostituted women in North America. An estimated 100,000 to 300,000 of those are minors. A national study shows that 75% of all women used in prostitution were victims of incest and/or physical abuse as children. There are approximately 1.7 million runaways each year. One out of every three of those will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home, most times by a customer. This usually comes after some kind of trigger event (rape, etc.). Twelve is the average age of entry into pornography and prostitution. There is a hypocrisy of consent. A woman who is 17 should be helped, but a woman who is 18 should go to jail. There is a hypocrisy of geography. A woman who is from Thailand should get help, but a woman from Topeka should go to jail. Up to 90% of women in prostitution are under the control of a pimp or have been at some point.
to stifling the demand has led to an 80% decrease in customers. Myth: Its easy for a woman to make the choice to break away from prostitution. Women learn to disassociate because of the ongoing trauma they endure in this life. Its not me, thats her. They are given a different name and a new identity to further separate them from who they are. This protects them psychologically, but also allows for further victimization. When homelessness is off the table, women can be ready to think of a different life. Unfortunately, there are only 100 beds for the approximately 300,000 girls that need to break away--and even less for women. Many women lack education, a social support system and financial resources. This makes visioning for a new life nearly impossible. Many women struggle with addictions as a way of coping with their reality and develop mental illness. Since attending the conference, I feel like someone has taken some bad glasses off of my face. I had been looking through lenses which skewed how I saw the world. Now those perceptions have changed. Dr. Melissa Farley of the Prostitution Research & Education organization states, Prostitution is to the community what incest is to the family. We can not allow anyone to continue in this unhealthy and demeaning way of life, whether they are the girl or woman being trafficked, the buyer or the bystander. Change is required from each of us. As someone who professes to follow Christ, Jesus demands me to be a change agent. When I see injustice, I am called to ... loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke... Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? - Isaiah 58:5-7 Jesus, out of his love for me, for us, desires change. It is not good to turn a blind eye to these issues. He wants us to see the oppressed as they are - brothers and sisters in need. As a follower, I am called to shine a light on this dark reality and to invite people to be a part of the change that needs to take place. Our silence is compliance. One of the best ways to be a change agent is to support Veronicas Voice. You can find out ways to support them at: www.veronicasvoice.org.
Myth: If we arent the john, its not our fault. We create and participate in a culture which objectifies women with the way we speak, the music we listen to, the movies we watch and the video games we play. We talk about women as being prostitutes, not as women who are prostituted. We dont recognize the evil of pornography. Pornography is a gateway drug for johns. This is not about moral purity, its about justice. We buy from companies that use child labor and many of those working environments also breed sexual exploitation. Myth: The women are the ones who deserve to be punished. As a society, we should focus on demand. It doesnt make sense to punish the victim. For every 6 women arrested, only 1 trafficker is arrested. Its low risk for the john and pimp and high risk for the woman. In Sweden, it is illegal to buy/sell someone elses body, not your own. This approach
By Nick Pickrell
The Unspeakable is a kind of evil that is so deep and foreboding that words fail to describe it. This term, coined by Thomas Merton, came to him amidst the tumult of the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy and Gandhi. After reading author Jim Douglass works, JFK and the Unspeakable, and more recently, Gandhi and the Unspeakable, I couldnt help but be overwhelmed by the evil present in those pages. All of these individuals had worked for peace in their own ways and all of them were executed for it. This immediately brought to mind the story of Jesus life and death. Here is an example of one who boldly proclaimed and embodied a new order, which threatened the existing power structures of his day. This threat aroused and provoked the Unspeakable so it worked tirelessly to turn many against Jesus, which eventually led him to the cross. Jesus gospel had political, social, economic, and spiritual ramificationsafter all, Jesus was bringing a new kingdom into the world. Yet, many Christians today claim Jesus gospel has no political significance. How could so many make such a claim? What is it about the gospels that could lead people to believe that Jesus came only to focus on the individualneglecting the larger systems we organize around? Douglass book on Gandhi shed some light on these questions. Gandhi was deeply moved by the Sermon on the Mount, and his story is strikingly similar to Jesus. One of the most controversial aspects of Gandhis program was his reconciliation work. When India was about to be freed from British rule, Gandhi remained deeply troubled because of the impending partitioning of landIndia for Hindus and Pakistan for Muslims. This failure of the peoples of India to be reconciled with one another led Gandhi to embark on his last experiment with truth. While in Calcutta, ethnic violence had broken out. Muslims and Hindus were killing each other, and the cycle continued as every death needed avenging. Gandhi, in response to all the Hindu-Muslim rioting, called on a very prominent Muslim figureShaheed Suhrawardyto enter into an experiment with him. Gandhi asked Suhrawardy to live with him as a way to bring a concrete symbol of the reconciled India to Calcutta. This was an interesting pick for Gandhi because Suhrawardy was responsible for the deaths of many Hindus in the Great Calcutta killing of the previous year. Gandhi, a Hindu, had decided that the best way to bring peace was to befriend the one person many Hindus in the area wanted dead.
Never before had the Pharisees and Sadducees felt threatened in such ways. These leaders were considered to be righteous and wise, and one couldnt enter into that circle without being both. The ones who were unrighteous were notified and then ostracized. The lines of power had been clearly drawn until Jesus embarked on his reconciliation project and created lots of gray area. Jesus was both wise and righteous, and he criticized the Pharisees in ways that left them speechless. He did this so many times that two things happened. Many people joined Jesus kingdom building project, and the Pharisees and Sadducees were losing their grip on power. When Jesus was finally arrested for claiming to be the Son of God, the various political entities began aligning. Pilate and Herod, who were former enemies, became friends. The Pharisees and Sadducees stirred up a mob so all present demanded Jesus to be killed. When Pilate hesitated, the Jews cried out, saying, If you release this man, you arent a friend of the emperor! Anyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes the emperor! John 19:12b. In Matthews gospel, Pilate noticed that his hesitation was beginning to incite a riot so he went along with Jewish demands. Sound familiar? The Gospels say that Jesus committed no sin, that Jesus was putting the wrongs of society to right. Jesus was building the eternal kingdom one disciple at a time but because of what the kingdom of God meant to those in power, it led to an execution propagated by an evil force bigger than any one person. From Judas to Pilate to the Pharisees to the Cross, the politics of the situation gave rise to the Unspeakable. In this case, the Pharisees wanted their power and needed the political setup to remain the same. Pilate, in his turn, wanted to keep the peace so he looked good before Rome. The crowds did their part by shouting for Jesus execution. Even Jesus own disciple, Peter, denied knowing Jesus. In that moment, everything aligned and the Unspeakable dealt another strong blow. All political systems remain in power because of our consent. The only way any system can function properly is when many people see its vision and give their lives to it. In both cases mentioned, the threat Jesus and Gandhis movements posed to those in power increased as more people converted to their vision and gave their lives over to it. The sword was only drawn by the powerful when a new kind of kingdom threatened its own. Jesus and Gandhi were bold enough to speak the truth to power and to embody that truth in such a way that cost them their lives. This way of living exposed the hollow nature of the
The Unspeakable
Unspeakable and drew people into an entirely new way of lifefilled with a just political, social, economic, and spiritual order. Many great empires have understood that the best way to squelch any threat is to create divisions among the enemy. If your opponent is busy warring with itself, it no longer serves as the city on a hill, that place where peace and justice reign. Instead, it becomes good for nothinganother victim who has fallen prey to the Unspeakable. The solution is a political one. To be peacemakers and agents of reconciliation requires both a spoken and embodied practice. This practice is impossible alone. We need many people to take the kingdom of God seriously enough that they reorder their economic, social, spiritual and political lives. Our faith requires both an inner belief and an outward expression. Without both the gospel loses its power. Resurrection is also key as we are called to not only live the gospel but also to proclaim it. This means we carry the responsibility to unveil the falsehoods and empty promises the Unspeakable perpetuates. As firm believers in the resurrection, we can enter into the halls of power without fear and with a resoluteness to endure the consequences for being truth-tellers. Besides, were in good company. The kingdom of God grew through Jesus suffering. The kingdom of God will continue to grow through our willingness to endure suffering rather than inflict it on othersbe it through outright violence or through more systemic, exploitative practices. Thanks to people like Jesus and Gandhi, we have a blueprint for undoing the Unspeakable. When we take hold of the resurrection, we are unleashed from fear so we can expose the Unspeakable, accepting the cost, understanding that the eternal kingdom of God will soon be made completeand the Unspeakable will be undone. However, until we truly embrace and live into Jesus new ordering of things, no one will think the gospel is practical or possible and the Unspeakable will continue to destroy. And to allow that is unspeakable.
This is why reconciliation work and enemy love is so threatening. If many groups come together, declare new allegiances, withdraw from unjust empirical structures and invest in a new society, the old systems will fall. However, if we continue to hold the individual as paramount, every person being king of his or her own kingdom, we will undoubtedly perpetuate the evil systems that continue to exploit, divide, and disempower.
(left to right) Top row: Jeff Laurents, Eric Garbison, Josh Armfield, Brian Strassburger, Jodi Garbison, Diana Garbison, Henri Garbison Second row: Rolland Smith Third row: John Roach, Micah Waters, Chris Homiak, Josh Armfield, Nick Pickrell, Brian Strassburger Fourth row: Sophia Reed, Linwood United Presbyterian Fifth row: David Lisseur, Jodi Garbison, Dominican University students
(left to right) Top row: Franco, Manuel, Jaelyn Tramel, John Tramel, Darlene, Rainbow Second row: Lonnie Welch, Nick Pickrell Third row: Brent Smith, Bobby Fourth row: Elisabeth Rutschman, Eric Garbison, Diana Garbison, Jodi Garbison, Sydney, Josh Armfield Fifth row: Henri Garbison, Robert, Mike, Brian Strassburger, Josh Armfield, Bryan
Catholic Workers march in Chicago at our annaul Faith and Resistance Retreat
By using the table as our call to peace, we hoped to offer a radical alternative to militarism, one that humanizes the other as opposed to demonizing him or her. We recognize that although most Americans see our security lying in the strength of our military, we, as Christians, are called to find our security in Christ alone, and certainly never at the expense other human life. We continue to hope and pray for a world of peace, a world in which all human life is valued in the way Christ modeled. Until that day we believe it is our role to practice gospel obedience in a way which gives a voice to the voiceless and dignity to those that our society has marginalized.
As Catholic Workers, we call for May 18-21 to be a weekend of nonviolent protest against the capitalism and militarism of NATO-G8. Catholic Worker communities around the country are invited to engage in A Weekend without Capitalism a four day act of noncooperation where we refuse to participate in the political and economic structures that oppress our sisters and brothers, harm our communities, and destroy our environment. We will take time off work and school and, instead, invest this time into healthy, just, and sustainable alternatives for our communities. We will not support the corporate state by using our cars or consuming goods or services from which the state profits. Instead, we will do as Jesus taught us: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the imprisoned. We will protest David and Josh Armfield keeping everyone singing at the action injustice and war, host free violence, and poverty in the world. markets and skills shares, work on community Since the end of the Cold War, NATO forces gardens, invest in alternative economics, act as led by US interests and the Wests insatiable appepeacemakers and organize our neighborhoods for tite for oil and free marketshave been controdirect action. versially involved in conflicts in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. In 2010, NATO countries spent a collective $1.08 trillion on defense and military expenditures, including a resurgence of nuclear weapons. The US and NATO are leading the way for the militarization of the globe at the expense of human and environmental needs. We say no to nuclear weapons, no to the out-ofcontrol defense spending, and no to the logic of violence. The G8the Group of Eight, including the US, Russia, Canada, Japan, Italy, Germany, France and the UKrepresent the destructive engines of capitalism whose growth-at-all-costs mentality has desecrated communities, the environment, and human rights all in the name of progress. As people of faith and conscience, we advocate relationships and economics rooted in love: the works of mercy at a personal sacrifice, craft and worker-based cooperatives, gift and barter economies, agrarian communities, and a more simple lifestyle. Let love be our guide for our collective The table is set at Mondays nonviolent witness future without war and capitalism.
Dorothy Day often quoted St. John of the Cross: Love is the measure by which we shall be judged. This May, Catholic Workers from around the country will join thousands of others to protest the NATO summit meetings being held in Chicago and the G8 meetings in Camp David, MD. Ours will be a nonviolent protestmotivated by love for each other, our earth, the poor, and our opponentsas we make our voices and our bodies a visible sign of resistance to the institutions that bear so much responsibility for the suffering,
House Notes
by Jodi Garbison Wow! You are sure getting tall! Oh my gosh! I think youve grown six inches since I saw you last! You might end up taller than your parents some day! We have heard these and other similar comments from folks who havent seen Henri and Ana for a long time. They are shocked to see that the kids havent stayed frozen as they last saw them. It must be true. They must be growing, changing and maturing. Because I am so close to them and see them every day, I dont always see the subtle changes or notice the growth. Thats exactly how it is with Cherith Brook. Thanks to returning volunteers and shower friends, my eyes are open to beauty, growth and maturity around this place. We must be changing even if subtly. Our building and house have been partially painted this spring. As you approach the house youll see fresh paint, new colors and renovated stained glass. After many hours tuck-pointing and painting on scaffolding, the west wall of the building is stronger and looks beautiful. We also installed three new windows where plywood used to be so the apartment seems like a totally different place. The raised beds make the garden striking and easy to get to. Its also wonderful to see such healthy, tasty food in our front and back yards. We actually got several peaches and lots of grapes for the first time this year. Henri, Eric and Nick have been busy with bee hives not just the original 2 hives but 4 more that have split or swarmed. We should have honey in jars by fall. Thats really exciting for our first year having bees. Micah and Taryn, married last year, gave birth to their first baby, Hazel Elese Waters, on June 30th. Josh and Elisabeth went to Sweden for three weeks. They left Kansas City as boyfriend and girlfriend but returned as fiancs. We are excited for them and us! After 6 years at the same school, Henri and Diana will transfer to Lincoln College Prep. Academy. They will face many challenges and transitions but we are thankful for the opportunity for them to attend a school with such a good reputation. We said goodbye to our Jesuit Volunteer, Brian Strassburger, in late April we still miss him! (We told him he could return once he fine-tuned his basketball fundamentals). We also hosted a group of students from Dominican University. They spent their spring break with us and we were thankful for their presence and work. Our intern for the summer is Sophia Reed. What a joy to have her with us. She brings youth, energy and compassion. As many of you know, our friends Tim and Gary lost their apartments in May to a fire. Tim found an apartment closer to us and we continue to pray that Gary will find a home soon. We held our 2nd Annual Cherith Brook Open Mic Night on June 2nd. What a celebration! There was lots of singing, dancing and laughter. Start preparing now for next summers open mic night it could be your claim to fame! We continue to discern life together in all its dimensions. Lately we have been exploring how this way of life could work not only for certain phases of life but for all life stages. We are a group ranging from 11 to 70 years so as you can imagine we have very different needs and dreams. Because of this we are discussing issues of sustainability such as finances, health care, working outside the community, pace of life and commitment to one another. Thankfully, we know folks who have been living in community for several generations who have offered to enter into the conversation and share with us how it is working for them. Several of us went to Reba Place Fellowship to learn from them and the rest of us will go to Jubilee Partners in October. We find that conversations and visits like these offer us the hope and
A Remarkable Fellowship
by Elisabeth Rutschman Every year we renew our commitment to our community and vision together about our future. Our covenanting retreat last fall did not give us enough time to finish our conversations. Where is God calling us to deepen? Where to let go? Where to be challenged? The conversations continued throughout the fall and into the winter, touching the beginning of springtime. In the group, in pairs and in solitude we worked to figure out how to move forward. There was one main theme that shaped our conversations and seemed to be something that we all had a strong longing to deepen and explore; stability. Not meaning fear of change, but as Eric wrote in the last newspaper, the ability to respond creatively to the challenge change brings. How can we view our call here as a way of life rather than a phase? And what would make this life sustainable and good for us through our different life stages? We decided to ask these questions to a community that has been around for many years, is generationally diverse, and is still a beautiful and thriving community; Reba Place Fellowship in Evanston, IL. They have been through many changes since they began in 1957, and carry much maturity, wisdom and experience. Four of us from Cherith Brook hopped on the bus to Chicago and got to spend several days with Reba Place Fellowship. We were welcomed by David, who showed us around the neighborhood and led us to the houses where we were staying. One beautiful thing about this community is that they all live in walking distance from each other. They also refuse to relocate for a better paying job. We had many questions about their way of life and the recipe to make community work for the long haul. The days we had were full of conversation, often around the dinner table. This Anabaptist community has an interesting history. It was started in 1957 by a group of concerned grad students and a seminary professor named John Miller. They had seen how the Mennonite Church in Europe had become compliant to the violence of the Nazis, and wanted to return to their radical pacifist roots. They found inspiration from the early church and their own faith tradition, and longed for a deeper way of embodying the church. The 70s took the community into a new, charismatic era, with hundreds of people joining. At the peak, there were around three hundred community members, many of them children, living in tight corridors. At this time, many people experienced renewal and healing through the Spirit. But the quick changes and large numbers also made leadership difficult, and there were many hurts when it became too authoritarian. (continued on page 11)
inspiration and creativity we need to continue to live faithfully. Please pray for us. So I guess we have grown and changed over the last several months. A step back has given me a clearer perspective that being too close doesnt allow. Thanks to all who have supported our work and life through time, work, money, clothes, toiletries and friendship. We certainly couldnt grow without you!
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(left to right) Allison, Sophia, Eric, Carl, Henry, & Elisabeth at Cherith Brook
In an email Wednesday explaining Kabats action, Chrissy Kirchhoefer, a member of the St. Louis Catholic Worker community who regularly assists the aging Kabat with travel and other needs, said the priests intent was to celebrate Interdependence day by cutting as much of the fence perimeter of the Kansas City plant as possible to allow all of the Holy Ones deer and other animals that once used the former bean field for its habitat to come into the area. Following his arrest, Kabat had an initial court appearance Thursday before Kansas City, Mo. Municipal Judge Michael McAdam.
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Fellowship
continued from page 9 Reba entered into the 80s with a new and more humble understanding that communal living is not a requirement for being a Christian. Many families and individuals expressed a need for more space and were looking for other ways to be part of the community. The Reba Place Church was then formed, as a way to honor the needs expressed and provide another way for people to be connected to Reba Place without being part of the live-in community. The church grew but lacked racial diversity. This longing for diversity grew stronger, and in the 90s the congregation began their journey toward racial reconciliation. This decade also gave birth to a new way of welcoming young people into the community by offering alternative ways to experience the life at Reba without immediately joining the common purse. This gave newcomers a chance to try out communal life through different tiers of involement while simultaneously having space to discern their call of becoming a covenanting member and joining their resources together with the community. One of the things that I loved most about Reba Place was their way of nurturing relationships. An important piece of their life is small groups, where they share life, prayer and decionsionmaking. They talked about the importance of allowing the community to speak into your life while also being open about sharing your own needs. Because, as one community member said, We hear Gods voice more clearly together with a community that is seeking Gods will than we do alone. I have been thinking about this conversation since I got back to Cherith Brook and am feeling challenged to be more open about my own discernment, allowing my community to speak into my life. Reba Place also put a lot of emphasis on the health of the community members and care for one another in remarkable ways. Imagine going through all the different stages of life in community. One day you find that you are growing old and are surrounded by people that care for you. Frankly, I cannot imagine a better way of being community than caring for one another through the different life stages. One day we were gathered around the table for lunch. We asked the question, What made this life sustainable for them through the decades? One thing that was echoed by many was the importance of having a personal spiritual life and practices beyond communal practices. It reminded me of a text we had read earlier in the year by the Benedictine monk, Michael Casey. Once socialized in a monastic community, it is easy to allow oneself simply to be carried by the corporate momentum. The monastic persona may continue to exist, but it begins to lack the skeleton of regular, personal investment of energy. We are faithful to the common exercises, but there is a certain hollowness about our observance. Casey continues to explain that a personal spiritual practice is essential to life in community, and is the way in which we do not become an insubstantial shell, but stay centered and rooted in Christ. For myself, I often become lenient in my personal spiritual discipline, leaning on the spiritual practices that we do in common. It was good to be reminded of the importance of solitude and personal spiritual practice.
House Needs
Coffee, Sugar, Creamer Vinegar (gallon size for cleaning) Baking Soda Dish Soap Toilet Paper Milk, Eggs, Butter Black Beans Folding Tables (standard size) Energy Saving Light Bulbs Stamps Old candles Bicycles Washer & Dryer Canning lids Hand-crank Honey Extractor
Eric, Elisabeth & Allison sitting with Allan Howe and David Janzen at Reba Place
The backbone of Reba is their unity in love and their sharing. They practice common sharing, renouncing all their possessions and savings. This beautiful and radical common purse also leads to a deeper commitment and rootedness. When joining the common purse you also make a vow to be part of the community until God calls you elsewhere. Our common purse at Cherith Brook looks a bit different, but is based on the same Sabbath Economics of sharing, taking only what we need, not more or less. We pool our income together but not our savings. At Cherith Brook, we renew our commitment to the community yearly, and feel challenged by the way Reba Place does common purse and long-term commitment. We are still exploring ways we can be a community that views this more as place we will remain until God calls us elsewhere. We are encouraged by meeting with our brothers and sisters at Reba Place Fellowship, who are beautiful examples of rootedness in community. If you are interested in learning more about Reba Place, I recommend reading, Glimpses of Glory: Thirty Years of Community, the Story of Reba Place Fellowship by Dave and Neta Jackson
Shower Needs
Tennis Shoes (esp. mens 10-13) Jeans & Belts (mens 30-34, womens 4-6) Mens Boxers (esp. S & M) Womens Panties (esp. 4-7) Shampoo & Conditioner Deodorant & Razors White Socks Foot Powder Toothbrushes Tampons Ibuprofen & Tylenol Laundry Soap (high efficiency) Shorts (esp. mens 30-34) Shaving cream Bus passes (one-rides) Lotion Body Wash
Upcoming Events
September 21 @ 7pm Roundtable Discussion: Politics of Jesus A conversation with David May, professor of New Testament studies @ Central Baptist Theological Seminary October 7 - 8 Festival of Shelters October 19 @ 7pm Roundtable Discussion: Race & Justice A diverse pool of local experts discuss issues of race and incarceration November 6 KCMO votes on anti-nuke ballot initiative November 16 @ 7pm Roundtable: Rethinking Christmas A time of reflection and gift making