the one and only August post.

Well, life has been crazy. I moved back to Cranbrook - "Cranberries or bust as some may put it" (They know who they are :)
I lived with some friends for 3 weeks who had no internet and since I am no longer a paper pushing junkie I no had no access to a computer with the net for a while. Defiantly a liberating experience once I realized what a junkie I really was "Death by e-mail" as another unidentified group may put it.
Then the craziness of the new job which involved an encounter between a grizzly and my dog 3 days ago.... More information to those that request it.

My new project now is to try to get some local control of local land. Why should some people have exclusive right to land and to having the life that they want simple because they have the cash to make the rest of us their "labour market"??
Seriously: what is that??

My time is not a commodity to be traded by some person that I don't even know. I just realized in the last few day (listening to the early business show on CBC) that the middle class person is regarded as simply an input into the economic well being of those better off than themselves.
Anyways, enough ranting.

I was thinking lately, upon reading Dorothy Day, that maybe I should just become an Journalist exposing the evils of today's societal norms rather than having some job that is simple a random input into something that doesn't even matter in the scheme of things and selling my time to some company for a messily $20/hr. I know that may sound like a lot to some people but really think about it: is your life really worth only $20/hr?? If it isn't then why do you work for so little. Why can't we make business work for the people instead of people being sold to corporate entities for the whole of their life (minus when they are old)??

Must go, I am in the middle of a double move. Talk to you all more in September.

Fullness of Life vs. Personal Security

"The most extreme example, perhaps, of closed groups, are what we call sects. Sects are initially seductive and attractive to very lonely and insecure people but, once they surrender their personal freedom and conscience, such people suffer the terrible fear of leaving the group. Outside, they could fall into even greater loneliness, insecurity, and anguish.

I bring up sects because, while most of us abhor the more extreme and obvious manifestations of sects, we can be blind to the innocuous sects that are a part of society. Our places of work, for example, can become like sects, where we have to sacrifice our personal consciences in order to keep our jobs, have a good salary, gain a measure of security. We need to be vigilant of any situation where it is necessary to obey blindly. Rigidity, a demand for ideological conformity within a group, is rarely necessary; it is not, I think, the sign of a healthy group. Not only that, but the price that we pay, as a society, in the repression of individual growth and the denigration of individual creativity, it too high."

- Jean Vanier in his book "Becoming Human"

(Jean Vanier is the found of L'Arche communities around the world that embrace the intellectually handicapped persons of society that are all to often marginalized by our society.)

I highly recommend his book to all Homo sapiens who want to become human.

A Rocha - Creation Groaning

A Rocha - "Christians in Conservation" held a seminar at Regent College in November 2003. All the lectures are on A Rocha's website at http://en.arocha.org/bible/index2.html

Sir Ghillean Prance, the director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew England gave a wonderful lecture titled "Creation Groaning" in which he explores the declining state of the environment all around the world.

Then if you don't want to listen to all of the lectures Peter and Miranda Harris (the directors of the first A Rocha center in Portugal) in their lectures "Creation and Community" - Miranda Harris and "Creation and Gospel" - Peter Harris, give a wonderful summary on what A Rocha does and how God calls us to live as Christians. Peter also explores the idea of "Natural Resource Management" and what kind of relationship we as Christians, and indeed as people, are called to foster with the environment.

A Rocha has field study centers in 20 countries all over the world. There are two centers in Canada one of which is in South Surrey (the other is in Manitoba). I have visited the South Surrey center and strongly encourage all of you to visit if you get a chance. It is a wonderful place.

God is Green

What does the scripture say about creation care??
Check out Mars Hill's latest teachings. They are currently in a series called "God is Green"

http://marshill.org/teaching/index.php

post your comments :)

North Coast near Prince Rupert

Here are some pictures from those few days that remind me why I took this job.

On the ground as the helicopter comes in to pick us up.

Looking out the front window of the Helicopter.

Steep Bedrock is the trademark of the North Coast.

Slides often leave only bare glacier smoothed bedrock in their wake.

Beautiful Wilderness Basin.

Shores of the Skeena at its mouth.

The grain port out at Port Edward

What's Happened to the Church??

One of my favorite bands, Po' Girl, a folksy band from Vancouver recently put out a new album "Home to You". One of the songs on the disk is called "To the Angry Evangelist" I'll share some of the lyrics with you, the full song lyrics can be found on their website (http://www.pogirl.net)

"Don't sing to me of turning my cheek
Don't sing to me the virtues of meek"

"I'm sick of someday soon things will be better
That creed kept slaves, slaves of my ancestors
Faith it has beauty but not when it blinds us
Blinds us and folds us to crimes of excess
Never to lead but always to follow
Follow sad mad men to shame worse than death"

"Don't sing to me of joy on the other side
Don't sing to me of waiting to die"

(russel - Po' Girl)

as I was listening to it and reading the lyrics I was disturbed at how these women see the modern church, what has happened to us?! Towards the end of the song they talk about what they want out of life - their gospel.

"I want joy in this life, my joy loves company
Don't sing to me that war is our destiny
This is my gospel i hope you'll share it
Stand for each other don't let greed be our measure
Put down your gun and put down your bible
Hold out your hand, we'll build a new temple"

Those things are exactly what I, a card carrying Christian, want in life too!! (except that for me the teachings in the bible have reconfirmed those desires in me)

All of those things (minus the putting down the Bible) is exactly what the bible teaches! That fullness of life is what Jesus came to bring us. Those things are at the heart of Jesus.

Obviously they don't see joy, loving community, caring, and peace in the church. How do we change that? (Quite frankly neither do I a lot of the time, have we lost the heart of Jesus?!)

What has gone wrong in our churches? Where do we go from here?

Laodicea, Pharisee or Sinner?

Ok, here is something to think about. If your church has a decision to make and there are 2 options. One option is going to get a lot of people in your church really mad and the other option is going to cause people outside of the church to be totally turned off church.

Which do you choose? I am not talking about preaching down damnation on people, but just your simple actions will cause people to be offended; I am sure a lot of "church goers" can empathise, as well unfortunatly some recent church protagles that I know (and empatheise with). God loves people, all people both "sinners" and "pharisees". Which do you choose?

It may be possiable to just make everyone comfortable but often that is at the risk of becoming the church of Laodicea. Is that the right option?? If not, you need to decide between either the "pharisee" or the "sinner"