Archive for the 'Community' Category

Another season of Raccoon Clan has flown by! Bella loved her time spent exploring and learning last spring and she was SO excited to get “back to the land” after the summer break.

Every Thursday we dressed her in layers & warm boots, and sent her off with hot soup, bread, and treats.

Lucy loved playing with the other kids, but of course had to say goodbye as they prepared for a fun day spent entirely outdoors.

Last week was this season’s closing celebration, where we were able to see everything they have been working on and learning. One of Bella’s favorite activities was carving her own arrow and learning about archery.

It’s always fun to connect with my beautiful mama friends…we enjoyed hanging out each week and would stand and talk about unschooling, our kiddos, and the weather

To kick off the ceremony, we gathered around the fire and sang a blessing together. It’s so lovely to get all of the families together in one place for a common purpose.

The kids created this awesome centerpiece from pods, berries, and leaves. So fun!

Potlucks are the BEST! I should have taken the foil off of these front two dishes because they were amazing…but as you can see, it was a cornucopia of whole food goodness. Lots of squash, quinoa, black beans, bread, meats, and cheeses. Mmmmmm…

Everything tastes better when eaten from a hand carved wooden bowl! This was Lorene’s (the Raccoon Clan leader) bowl and it was so beautiful…I had to stop her before she ate it. She carved the spoon herself too!

Bella was so excited to show us everywhere they had been exploring…and this red rock wall was nothing short of stunning.

This was the flag that the kids had worked on and all of their arrows, throwing sticks, and fire making supplies. It was neat to see all of their hard work laid out on display.

As the evening continued on, there was lively conversation, children at play, and drying of socks over the fire.

Lemonade berry tea was brewed over the fire during our time there…it was quite tasty, kind of like a sour hibiscus tea.

It started to get dark and it was time for goodbyes. The next session starts up again in late February and Bella is already asking “how long?!” I’m thinking the same thing! We’ve loved getting to know all of these families and I’m thankful that we’ll see many of them at unschooling group events over the next couple of months.

Click HERE to view the entire Fall 2011 album on Flickr.

If you would like to find out more about Raccoon Clan and other programs, check out Her Feet On The Earth.

When I think of Portland, I get all mushy lovey-dovey feelings inside. Mostly because of those amazing food carts. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they are mobile? You know I love little traveling pods!

Well, Longmont isn’t quite Portland yet…but we’re getting there! We were SO excited to see food carts in Prospect last weekend…and hope to see them there again soon. After talking to the owners, it seems like they might be there every Monday. I would LOVE to see this entire park packed with people and food carts and love. Yes!

Pico and Quesadillas from Comida

Top of The Hill Grill — A new fave!

BBQ Tempeh wrap with coleslaw and goat feta. Yes please.

Cupcake!

Hey people! Where is my cupcake?!

*I fell in love with Prospect the first time I laid eyes on those funky & sweet homes. Wanna know more? Check out this great Dwell magazine article from 2002.

After traveling the country far and wide, the places that we love the most are those in which we made true connections with the community. No matter where you live (on the road or in a home), if you don’t feel that “connection”…my guess is that you will eventually be unhappy there. But connection doesn’t just magically happen…it takes a little work on your part.

Here are 3 simple ways to help you build that connection:

1. Go out your front door.

This is as simple as it gets. Walk out your front door and look around. Pull up a chair and sit there for awhile. Read a book and drink an iced tea. Take it all in. When someone walks by, say hello. Know what happens around your neighborhood…who comes and goes, etc. See it all with fresh eyes and BE SEEN. If your neighbors see you out there regularly, they will be more likely to come out of hiding as well.

I’m challenging myself (and you too!) to spend 1/2 hour a day “out on the block”. Taking a walk, sitting at the park on the corner while the girls play, throwing down hoops, working in the yard. In addition to just being fun, it gets me out there in a place to truly know my surroundings.

2. Talk to people.

3. Do Nice Stuff.

4. Attend Events

Last weekend we attended an Arbor Day/Earth Day event and just by throwing down some hoops, I met 7 women from the community and had lovely conversations and made plans for future meet ups! Then, this weekend we went to check out the food carts in Prospect and talked with several other locals. It’s not hard to do…you just have to GO!

5. Plan a Community-Building Event

Or…go all out and throw a block party: With summer almost upon us, it’s the perfect time. This does take a bit more planning but is really fun! Crank up the music, throw some food on the grill, and bring out the lawn chairs. It will revolutionize your neighborhood. Sometimes you can even get a little funding from the city for things like this. It can’t hurt to ask

What have YOU done lately to engage your community? Let’s share ideas!

Over the past 4-5 years, Matt and I have slowly gravitated away from the mega-church setting and more towards the “family-like” community that is offered with smaller churches, and even more specifically, house churches. The change really started brewing when we read the life-changing book “Irresistible Revolution” and subsequently sold everything and hit the road. I highly recommend that you read this book…it’s not just for Christians, but for those on any type of spiritual journey. It explores how different life (and the world) would be if we took “religion” out of the equation, stopped arguing amongst ourselves, and simply lived out what Jesus truly taught in the Bible. The book does have some flaws, but it’s still powerful stuff.

During our travels, we were able to visit a lot of different types of churches…and while we enjoy the energy of worshiping with a large group, we also enjoyed the more intimate gatherings. The conversations and relationships seemed more meaningful and we took applicable truths with us throughout the week in a much different way than when we just sat through a non-interactive sermon.

Now that we have settled in Longmont, we are so happy to be involved with Emmaus Road Community, a network of house churches located in the Boulder county region of Colorado. We meet weekly in our small groups and then once a month we have an “All Gathering” where all of the house churches come together for a larger worship and fellowship time. It’s the best of both worlds.

When I had mentioned our house church in a previous post, there were many of you who expressed interest in hearing more about it! I have asked Kris Cheek, one of the leaders with Emmaus Road (and a good friend of ours) to answer some of the most common questions about house churches. Feel free to post more questions in the comment section and we will do our best to answer them!

What is a “house church”?
A house church is not just another set of meetings. It is a small group of friends…a spiritual family sharing biblical community. House churches are an expression of the larger church family happening in homes or other common place settings.

A house church is for those of us who still need to grow, who need a place to ask questions and who need others to both celebrate our victories and help us when we mess things up. It is not a group of perfect people, but a safe place to be real. It is a place to eat, play and rest, to learn together what it means to follow Christ. A place to study the Bible together, find spiritual mentoring, to be a spiritual mentor, to figure out together what it means to love our God wholeheartedly and our neighbors unselfishly.

A house church is a group of people learning what it means to carry each others burdens and confess sins to one another. We strive to share our resources and possessions to meet practical needs within the local church family, our neighborhoods, and around the world. A house church gathering may also include a baseball game or school play. It could be painting someone’s house or watching a movie together. The essence of what makes a gathering of people a “house church” is about their vision and commitment to “doing life” together.

What does a typical gathering look like?
We usually start with a small social hour, including a potluck style meal.  The group then gathers together in a living room for singing, sharing, praying and Bible discussion. We will also share in a simple communion time periodically.  House churches consist of adults and families, single and married, young and old.  Children, teenagers and college students are all part of the house church life.  If we have a lot of young families and children in a house church, we typically have a lesson geared towards children during the adult Bible discussion time.

Do you miss having a “big church”? With big music, big programs, etc?
Yes and no.  Big church can mean “corporate worship gatherings”, these celebrations usually consist of quality music, worship and preaching. There is a place for large meetings, because they encourage people to remember that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Large celebrations inspire faith and point the way forward for the whole community of house churches.  Big church can also serve to centralize people and resources to make a broad impact and meet a variety of needs in their community and world.  However, big church can also foster consumerism and anonymity, where people attend for an hour on Sunday morning or maybe participate in a program or two throughout the week, but likely will miss out on becoming a part of a small spiritual family where they are known, accepted, and spurred on to love God and people more deeply.

What is the most common reason people seek out a house church as opposed to a traditional church?
Many people are looking for a faith community that is participatory, involved, produces accountability and reproduces leaders that may in turn start other house churches.  We also believe that today’s generation of young people and families are seeking a community where the focus is on relationships, authenticity, the freedom to be creative, and inter-generational connections. Why house church? For community, for love, for help, for growth. But remember, a house church is not a utopia – in fact, it can be a bit messy at times. Because life is messy! 

Is there a place for the “mega-church” in present day Christianity?
Definitely!  No one model of church will minister to the world by itself.  We need all kinds of churches to engage all kinds of people.  In the earliest parts of the Book of Acts, we read of thousands of followers of Jesus gathered together for worship daily.  Mega-churches today attract thousands people with their state of the art technology, music, preaching and large buffet of programs.  To compliment these large-scale amenities, some mega-churches supplement with smaller independent groups called “community groups” or “life groups”.

What do you do with the kids?
We can’t forget that we’re following a guy, namely Jesus, that highly values children!  He told his own disciples to “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  Matthew 19:14

Kids are always welcome and encouraged to be involved with the house churches.  The family integrated environment is beneficial to the kids, as well as the adults.  For that reason, we have children remain with us for much of the time during our house church gatherings.  We do provide our children with some structured “kids church” time with trusted adults during a portion of the house church, particularly the adult Bible discussion time. We encourage children to begin sharing responsibility and are treated with utmost respect and value.


Is attending a house church biblical?
The Church is not a building or a meeting, it’s simply people, For the first three centuries of the church, known as Early Christianity, Christians typically met in homes, if only because intermittent persecution (before the Edict of Milan in 313) did not allow the erection of public church buildings. Local church expressions come in all different shapes, sizes and styles. Throughout the many references to the local church in the New Testament, it is clear that the local church physically gathered at certain times and places. These were regular connecting points to worship, study the God’s Word, share meals, pray, play and encourage one another (Acts 2:42-27).

Here are some examples of churches gathered in homes throughout the New Testament books:

“The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.  ”Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.”  I Cor 16:19

“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house.” Romans 16:3-5

“Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.” Colossians 4:15

“To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker—also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home.” Philemon 1:1-2

What are some books I could read on the topic of house church?

General audience:
Organic Church by Neil Cole
The House Church Book by George Barna
The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch

Geared towards those in leadership roles:
Starting A House Church by Larry Kreider
Total Church by Steve Timmis

Guest Blogger: Kris Cheek

In June of 2006, Kris and his wife Natalie, along with five other families launched Emmaus Road Community, an inter-related network of house churches. Kris also spends time helping other individuals and families start new Christian faith communities around the country. Before moving to the Boulder area in 2006, Kris directed a youth sports organization called SportReach in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Kris and Natalie have been married for 11 fantastic years and enjoy traveling, date nights, and hanging with their three kiddos Taylor, Jocelyn, and Kristyn.

Community…who can survive without it?  A community of  like minded souls who accept you exactly where you are…without judgment. It’s a critical component of a fulfilling life.

Last night I experienced an atmosphere of beautiful community at The Birth Circle in Des Moines, hosted by my dear friend and midwife, Cosette. Each month, they gather. Walking up the stairway one by one, they enter with expectation. Trusting each other with the intimate details of their lives…to help each other thrive instead of just survive. Different backgrounds. Different faith journeys. Different stories. But they are all mothers. They are all the same.

Candlelight.
Soup.
Bread.
Wine.
Laughter.
Handmade truffles.
Heartfelt sharing.
Connection.
COMMUNITY.

As I left this sacred space,  I looked back and felt such a connectedness…such a glow from the night’s revelation and inspiration. And I was thankful.

Tell me about community in your life.
Where do you find connection?

*see last year’s Birth Circle DPP photo here