On Sunday, July 1st we explored Luke 4 at our worship gathering at The Freeway. We don't usually re-cap our worship gathering experiences online because they are unique, contextual, live experiences with our community that don't fully translate elsewhere, but people asked specifically for this one, so here you go:

We had a station set up at the front with the sound board, a laptop, a monitor, an iPod, Two TVs and a projector on it. Three of us who were leading sat behind the table and led from there.

We opened with prayer. We asked Jesus to transform our thinking, but more importantly our living as it relates to the gospel being incarnated amongst marginalized people.

Then we watched this video by Canadian rockers, Nickleback as a "teaser":



Following the video, we read the scripture passage aloud in the groups we were sitting in. We read short sections of the passage and then paused, taking time to reflect in between.

We sang together, corporately Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman and then You're Everything by David Crowder led by two acoustic guitars and a djembe.

Then we watched this video of footage of a worship moment in a U2 concert followed by part of Bono's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast:



Then we reflected with a digital segment on Bono's words as part of his speech at the NAACP awards:

“God has a special place for the poor. The poor are where God lives. God is in the slums… in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is where the opportunity is lost and lives are shattered. God is with the mother who has infected her child with a virus that will take both their lives. God is under the rubble in the cries we hear during war time. God, my friends, is with the poor. And God is with us if we are with them. This is not a burden, this is an adventure.”

Then three women from our community led us in a litany of lamentation, which was made up of excerpts from a peace prayer vigil:

Voice 1: "There is no peace because there are no peacemakers. There are no makers of peace because the making of peace is at least as costly as the making of war - at least as exigent, at least as disruptive, at least as liable to bring disgrace and prison and death in its wake."
-- Father Daniel Berrigan

Voice 2: "True peace is not merely the absence of tension, but the presence of justice and brotherhood."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Voice 3: "Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up, but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed with all the tension its exposure creates to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

(Pause)

Voice 1: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.
(Psalm 22:1-2)

Voice 2: Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."
(Psalm 16:1-2)

Voice 3: Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry; give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.
(Psalm 17:1)

(Pause)

Voice 3: Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house… Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly.
(Isaiah 58:6-8)

Voice 2: Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
(Psalm 34:14)

Voice 1: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18) “Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help me… I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
(Psalm 22:11, 14-15)

(Pause)

Voice 2: Cry aloud to the Lord! …let tears stream down like a torrent, day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite! Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street.
(Lamentations 2:18-19)

(Pause)

Voice 1: For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying "Peace, peace," when there is no peace.
(Jeremiah 6:13-14)

Voice 3: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
(Psalm 34:18)

(Pause)

Voice 3: But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword!... I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters. In the midst of the congregation, I will praise you… For God did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted. God did not hide from me, but heard when I cried. From you comes my praise in the great congregation… The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
(Psalm 22:19-28)

Voice 2: …until a spirit from on high is poured out on us, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
(Isaiah 32:15-16)

Voice 1: My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
(Isaiah 32:18)

Voice 3: God shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
(Isaiah 2:4)

(Pause)

ALL: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And we said, "Here we are: send us!"
(Isaiah 6:8)

Following the litany of lamentation, we sang God Of Justice by Tim Hughes.

I offered some brief thoughts on the passage from Luke 4. I spoke of the significance of what Jesus said: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favour has come."

I told everyone that we (the church) are to carry on bringing the Good News to the poor as Jesus' representatives in the world. I then told them stories of people from our community at The Freeway who - in the past twelve months - have made significant moves toward Jesus and helping those who are marginalized, oppressed, poor, overlooked. I could have told more people's stories, but I chose eight. I hoped that they would inspire us all to be more Jesus-y and to be about the Good News. I showed pictures of each of the people I spoke about as a visual reminder of the significant stories represented.

After telling their stories we talked about how many of us want to give ourselves fully to Jesus and to give ourselves for the sake of the world, but that it is hard because we have so much fear about what that really means. It is very difficult as we often struggle with consumerism, self-centredness, fear, and insecurity. But we recognize that Jesus wants us as we are, to join him in his mission to redeem everything.

To end the "formal" part of the gathering we watched this:



...We offer ourselves for the sake of the world...

( Thoughts from a visitor to The Freeway at this gathering. )

Labels: justice, speaking, the freeway, worship resources

I have had several heated conversations in the past couple weeks about Jesus and the poor. It has been enlightening (yet very discouraging) to hear from Christian people (all of them middle class people) who actually believe that Jesus wants to "bless us" (they read that to mean financially - meaning get more money - as they explain it). This is a weird concept for me. So is the fact that many of these same people do not believe that Jesus has a special place for the poor, but they do believe that tithing is the financial commitment that pleases Jesus and that he will bless us financially if we do so.

Is the "good news to the poor" really that they can become middle class or even rich... is that even part of the good news???

This Sunday I am organizing our worship gathering at The Freeway around this whole idea of Jesus and the poor. To those of you who I have spoken to about this as of late, you may not want to come. I have a feeling you won't like what you are going to hear and see... or maybe you will.

Labels: justice, the freeway

Tony Campolo was interviewed by George Snuff-all-up-a-gus on "The Hour" last night. My brother sent me the link and said it reminded him of my blog post from yesterday.

Labels: justice, videos, worship resources

"God, my friends, is with the poor and God is with us if we are with them."
"The poor is where God lives."
--- Bono, NAACP acceptance speech

"You will always have the poor with you."
"Whenever you give a drink to someone who is thirsty, I am there."
"The Kingdom of God exists in the poor."
--- Jesus, [paraphrased by me]

These ideas have been grabbing a hold of me as of late. There will always be poor with us. God is in the poor. God is always with us.

Hmmm...

Labels: justice, worship resources

The Evolving Church Conference is coming up on March 24 in Toronto [at The Meeting House], with Jim Wallis, Shane Claiborne and Ron Sider on social justice... with workshop leaders from around the country such as David Fitch, Greg Paul and more.

I went last year [and led a workshop] and, honestly, the whole event rocked.

You should go.

www.epconference.net

Labels: justice

I mentioned that we are exploring generosity at The Freeway for the month of January. Two stories of our children leading the way:

01. I posted just before Christmas about our son, Lucas, and his "pennies for the poor" campaign.

02. This week, Krista posted a story on her blog about her 4 year old daughter, Madison, giving away her toys:

So, I said to Madi that I wanted her to go through her toys and make two piles. One to keep and one to give away to other kids who don't have a lot of toys and would like some. I told her I was going downstairs and would come back up in a minute to check on her.

I could hear her hollering "mom! mom! come and look!"

Oh no. What did she do?

I was shocked that what it was she wanted to show me was that the bigger pile was for toys to give away. She was so proud of herself. There were some toys in there I had a hard time to give away (they're so cute, or fairly new, or in good shape, or expensive, or.....) - but she was generously giving away her best.

Read the whole story here.

We have a lot to learn from our kids.

Labels: justice, the freeway

Tony Campolo on changing the world:

"When you become a Christian, Jesus will invade your life and make you into somebody he can use to change the world. Through you, he will challenge racism. Through you, Jesus will attack sexism, poverty, and militarism. That was never taught to me when I was growing up. I never heard that I could be an instrument that God could use to change the world. All I was told was that being a Christian meant I would go to heaven when I died. I was never told that the primary reason Jesus saved me was to make me into somebody whom he could use to change the world into the kind of world he willed for it to be when he created it."

Labels: justice, worship resources

We have decided to focus on a particular theme each month at The Freeway this year. We will choose a subject or idea and make it the focus of much of our exploration and learning as a community. This month we are focusing on generosity. Our weekly worship gatherings, film nights, discussion nights, etc. will be exploring what it means to be generous as a community [and as individuals and families]. I hope to post some of our discoveries, ideas, worship elements, pictures, etc. here on the blog, so watch out.

• I had mentioned that I wanted to explore generosity in my own life this year: Link
  
• Randy has some thoughts and suggestions on the subject already over at The Freeway blog: Link

Labels: justice, the freeway

Lucas [our six year old son] came into my room this morning while I was ironing, with a ziploc bag with a bunch of loose change in it [mostly pennies]. He said, "Dad, we're collecting money for poor people." And a conversation that has rocked my world ensued...

Me: "Like for school?"

Lucas: "Yeah, school, door-to-door, whatever."

Me: "Is this a class project or something?"

Lucas: "No."

Me: "Is it through an organization?"

Lucas: "No, me and Jake [our four year old son] just decided to do it ourselves. we're calling it 'pennies for the poor.'"

Me: "Well, how did you come up with an idea like this? Why would you want to do this?"

Lucas: "I saw this bag sitting on my desk. It used to have candy in it. And I want to do something to help poor people. So, we decided to collect money for kids that are poor. You know, like you talked to us about."

Me: "Lucas, that is amazing. I am so proud of you guys [tears are now welling up in my eyes]."

Lucas: "Well, we're doing it for Jesus. Can you drive us to the arcade after school to collect money?"

Me: "Why the arcade?"

Lucas: "Because people are wasting their money on games when they could help poor people."

Thank God for my kids. I am proud of them for this on so many levels: generosity, initiative, listening, compassion, inventiveness, action, child-likeness, wisdom, etc.

"When Christians take the Christmas narrative seriously, the practice of gift-exchange within a closed circle of family and friends becomes problematic. If our lives are to mirror the ways of God, then we must break open the closed circle of exchange so that Christmas gifts flow outward to those with profound needs."
--- Miroslav Volf

Then these righteous ones will reply, "Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?'"

And the King will say, "I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"
--- Jesus

Labels: family, justice

I will answer the question today. But first:

Labels: justice, videos, worship resources

Last winter my friend, Dave Blondel, and I shot some footage for a video about The Freeway. He never finished the video. He says he probably never will [lazy runt]. But here is something he did complete with some of the footage we shot. I love it. And I love downtown Hamilton.

Labels: justice, the freeway, videos

Last night we had a free concert at the coffee house. "The 4 voices" performed in a singer/songwriter circle, and it was a stellar show, to say the least. Amazing vibe. Incredible music. Good times.

As I sat there sipping a delicious tea and sharing the experience with about 40 or 50 others, I realized again how special what we have is. It's a dream come true, really. Here are some of the things that really made it an incredible night... and make the coffee house an incredible place to be.

The Music
There is just no getting around it, really good live music does something to you. It takes you somewhere. It lifts you beyond life-as-usual and inspires you. One line from a song last night has been churning in my brain ever since the show: "now the pain is gone". Beautiful. That's how I felt.

The 4 Voices are incredibly talented musicians in their own right, but when they combined and performed in each other's songs it was diverse, rich and magical.

We have the opportunity at the coffee house week in and week out to meet, listen to, encourage, and be inspired by amazing musicians and artists. Some have become our friends. Others play as they are passing through. The moments of musical greatness, giving the stage to an emerging performer, and the friendships with many of these folks elevate us to a new plane. They change us.

The Community & Diversity
Last night there were old friends and "first timers" all together in one place. There were older people, teenagers, and everyone in between. There were other musicians and artists, people with physical disabilities, mental health issues, the poor, the rich, the lonely, suburbanites, urbanites, professionals, students, etc. There were people of Asian descent, African descent, Indian descent, Australian descent, etc. people from all over and from right here. Everyone was smiling. Everyone had a place.

We have the opportunity at the coffee house week in and week out to serve a very diverse community. On any given day, at any given time, there is no telling who may make The Freeway "home", if only for a few minutes. It's amazing.

The Ambiance
The coffee house is a beautiful place. Gorgeous furniture, amazing art on the walls, dim lights, warm colours. At this time of year with the big windows, from inside you can see the lights of the city [and Christmas lights in the trees in the park across the street], the action, the hustle and bustle; from outside you see a warm and inviting place to be. We fit perfectly at the corner of King & Wellington - the entrance to downtown Hamilton.

I was online [free wifi rocks], I perused some magazines, I chatted with friends, I met some new people, I enjoyed fair trade yummy beverages [that alone can change your day], and I sank into the leather couch I was sitting in and just plain relaxed.

We have created an amazing place to be at the coffee house. What once was a cold, institutional bank, is now a funky, comfortable non-profit community commons. And we did most of the work ourselves, which feels very rewarding. It's still such a great feeling... even a year later.

New Lifestyle Choices
It may seem small and insignificant, but we took donations for the local food bank as the cover charge to get in to the concert last night. We encourage very diverse people [particularly those who are vulnerable people] to have a space and journey with others. We recycle... and we have taken measures to cut down on waste. We welcome everyone. We always promote fair trade products, organic choices and friendships, healthy food, ecologically wise decisions, etc. whenever we can.

The combination of deep community, music, art, and social justice is a powerful one. We will continue to strive as a community to live differently. To treat people better. To subvert systems that oppress and hold back. To become wiser consumers of goods and services... and to not consume relationships. Basically, to live out the gospel.

Conclusion
For us, this is church.

Labels: community, justice, the freeway, writing

About 6 months ago [shortly after hiring a coffee house manager] I took a break from barista shifts at our coffee house. Life was busy, and we seemed to have enough help. Back when we launched the coffee house [in October 2005] I was the manager and worked 2 or 3 shifts a week for several months.

It got to be too much with everything else that was happening in my life. I really needed a break.

Last week I started volunteering again on Monday afternoons. Today was quite busy at the coffee house. I am tired now. And I realize that I am not as good at serving customers as I once was [although there are a lot of new menu items to prepare since I worked a shift last]. But I am inspired too. I love meeting new people and serving them. I also love seeing familiar faces.

There are many, many people who frequent the coffee house on a regular basis. Interesting people. They seem to love it here. They feel at home.

I had a conversation with someone who used to come to the church community worship gatherings, but hasn't been to one in a while. She said she didn't feel like she needed to go anymore. She's here pretty much every day of the week. This is church I guess... without all the... er, ah... formality.

As I sit here in the coffee house now and type this [using our free WiFi... very nice] I am sipping a delicious fair trade cafe mocha and looking at probably twenty people. Some are playing board games, some are chatting, some are reading, some are surfing the web. But all are here... in a safe space... a third place... a hang-out... a church... together. And it's a nice feeling.

Being a barista rocks. You should give it a try.

Labels: community, justice, the freeway, writing

The Saints Are Coming...

Labels: justice, videos

This Derek Webb song has been kicking my butt as of late. Especially this weekend as my belly hurts from too much delicious food, and I am feeling deeply connected to people who love me, and I feel the warmth of the home in which I live.

Poverty is so hard to see
When it’s only on your TV
And twenty miles across town
Where we'’re all living so good
That we moved out of Jesus'’ neighbourhood
Where he'’s hungry and not feeling so good
From going through our trash
He says, "more than just your cash and coin
I want your time
I want your voice
I want the things you just can'’t give me"

So what must we do?
Here in the west we want to follow you
We speak the language and we keep all the rules
Even a few we made up
"Come on and follow me
But sell your house
Sell your SUV
Sell your stocks
Sell your security
And give it to the poor"

What is this?
Hey what'’s the deal?
I don'’t sleep around and I don'’t steal
I want the things you just can'’t give me

"Because what you do to the least of these
My brother’s, you have done it to me
Because I want the things you just can'’t give me"

Go here to download the whole album for free. And when you hear this song, please pray for our little church community, The Freeway, as we try desperately to take seriously the words that Jesus said here in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Canada. Thank you.

Peace.... and Happy Thanksgiving, Canada.

Labels: justice, the freeway

Our Father... who always stands with the weak, the powerless, the poor, the abandoned, the sick, the aged, the very young, the unborn, and those who by victim of circumstance, bear the heat of the day.

Who is in heaven... where everything will be reversed, where the first will be last and the last will be first, but where all will be well and every manner of thing will be well.

Holy be your name... may we always acknowledge your holiness, knowing that your ways are not our ways, your standards are not our standards. May our reverence for you pull us out of the selfishness that prevents us from seeing the pain of our neighbour.

Your kingdom come... help us to create a world where, beyond our own needs and hurts, we will do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with you and our neighbours. Teach us our own poverty... and to receive your kingdom as a gift by the power of your Spirit.

Your will be done... open our freedom to let you in, so that the complete mutuality that characterizes your life might flow through our veins and thus the life that we help generate may radiate your equal love for all and your special love for the poor. Teach us to partner with you as you renew and redeem creation.

Give us this day... give us life and love, teach us to receive your life so that we may in turn give it away. Give not just to our own but to everyone, including those who are very different than the narrow "us." Give us this day and not tomorrow. Do not let us push things off into some distant future so we can excuse our passivity or our apathy. Unveil to us the presence of your kingdom.

Our daily bread... so that each person in the world may have what they need, enough food, clean water, clean air, adequate health care, and access to education. So that we may learn how simple are our true needs, so that we may work for a sustainable world.

And forgive us our trespasses... forgive us our blindness toward our neighbour, our self-preoccupation, our racism, our sexism. Forgive us our capacity for blindness, for believing the lies about progress, for adopting a consumer lifestyle.

As we forgive those who trespass against us... help us to forgive those who take advantage of us. Help us to forgive imperfect parents, impersonal corporations and the systems that wounded them and us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil... amen.

Adapted from Ron Rolheiser in "The Holy Longing"
Via

Labels: justice, prayer

Last weekend things got pretty tense in the situation in Caledonia (20 minutes from Hamilton) between Native people and non-Native people and the OPP. In fact, it has been an immensely tense situation there for some time now. But on Victoria Day (Monday) things got way out of hand and the situation nearly had a total melt-down.

But then something amazing happened just 24 hours later. On Tuesday, according to The Globe & Mail yesterday:

At around 10 o'clock yesterday morning, the remarkable happened. Two non-native mothers, carrying Tim Hortons coffee, met two clan mothers in the middle. They had a brief chat.

Frustrated as they were by the power outage, which closed schools in the area, Tammy Slater and Diane McCormac came back hopeful. They said their counterparts were equally appalled by the situation.

Shortly after, the backhoe began tearing down the barrier. A native leader crossed to offer a branch as a peace gesture. It was accepted. Hydro crews were on the highway by mid-afternoon. A spokesperson for the utility said power would be restored to some homes this evening and expected full service to return by later today.

"Women should be running the country, not men," Ms. Slater said.

Read the whole article here.

Read more about the over-all situation in Caledonia here and here.

Here's some lessons I am learning through this situation and the wise counsel of a friend:

1) The value of meeting people over coffee cannot be overestimated. I remember early on after we planted our church community in 2002, I came out of a worship gathering and saw something that has changed me forever. I saw three people sitting together. There was a guy who had recently taken a significant paycut to leave his previous professional job to become more involved in leading in our community. There was an older gentleman who was checking out the church, and then there was a homeless punk rocker kid who had been trying to get off the streets. Together they sat there, sipping coffee, laughing, and sharing stories. There was something to that image. We need to spend some more time in our busyness to sit, drink, and eat together, and share our stories with one another, and share the greatest story of God's amazing love -- both in word and in deed.

2) Regular people empathizing with each other's situation instead of trying to "negotiate" the best deal they can for themselves is a key component to transforming communities. It's hard in the "me" centered culture in which we inhabit to think about anything but ourselves, but we must begin to put the needs of others before our own. We must become less concerned about self and more concerned about community. This is not the task of professionals, pastors, politicians, leaders, the chosen few... it is for all of us. Regular people like you and me have the ability to transform people/situations/communities if only we would act in a less self-absorbed way and put ourselves in the shoes of others.

3) The act of giving and receiving simple but powerful symbols raises us together to a new plane. This seems to be a bit of a lost art form, but what a difference it makes. A few months ago when a few us were in the midst of taking late night, urban, prayer walks in our neighbourhood, someone who was newer to our community became vulnerable and gave each of us a feather before we headed out into the night. She explained the significance this had to her, and it became significant for all of us. It changed the whole night. We were no longer just walking around our neighbourhood. We were raised to a new plane and involved in something very significant.

I want to learn these lessons. I am grateful for those who surround me (some I know and am in relationship with, and some I don't) who inspire me to be a better man... to be a better follower of Jesus.

Labels: justice, leadership, writing