we are monks

The beer these monks brew has been called the holy grail. I love their attitude, they say below that they brew beer so that they can be monks.

clipped from en.wikipedia.org As with all other Trappist breweries, the beer is only sold in order to financially support the monastery and other philanthropic causes. Whilst the brewery is a business by definition (its purpose is to make money), it does not exist for pure profit motives, and they do no advertising except for a small sign outside the abbey which indicates the daily availability of each beer. The monks have repeatedly stated that they only brew enough beer to run the monastery, and will make no more than they need to sell, regardless of demand. During World War II, the brewery stopped supplying wholesalers and since then they only sell to individual buyers in person at the brewery or the visitor’s centre opposite. These methods all go against modern business methods, however as stated by the Father Abbott on the opening of the new brewery, “We are no brewers. We are monks. We brew beer to be able to afford being monks.”. [2]

God is Green, huh.

I have been listening to the Mars Hill Bible Church, God is Green series. The series has been pretty interesting. A lot of it is stuff I have been trying to practice in my own life. The best part of the series came at the end, on July 29^th. The preeminent piece is all the practical information (in the form of a list of websites and books) on how to make simple life changes for a huge positive environmental impact. So, I thought would reproduce the list here below. You can download it directly from the Mars Hill Bible Church website here.

And now for the list:

1. energystar.gov

2. consumersenergy.com [green generation program]

3. dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist

4. Habitat for Humanity ReStore [5701 S. Division] – habitat.org/env/restores.aspx

5. localharvest.com

6. eco-cell.org

7. thegreenoffice.com

8. rateitgreen.com

9. ecologicalmail.org

10. treehugger.com

11. grist.org

12. lime.com

13. eartheasy.com [cleaning supplies]

14. earth911.org

15. coopamerica.org

16. crsfairtrade.org

17. javaforjustice.com

18. ecocycle.org

19. gdiapers.com

20. restoringeden.org/about

21. creationcsp.org

22. creationcare.org

23. sustainablestyle.org

24. wmsbf.org

25. clothingmatters.net

26. floresta.org

Books:

• For the Beauty of the Earth by Steven Bouma Prediger

• Saving God’s Green Earth: Rediscovering the Church’s Responsibility to Environmental Stewardship by Tri Robinson

• Serve God, Save the Planet by J. Matthew Sleeth, MD

• Living the Good Life on God’s Good Earth by contributing authors, edited by David Koetje

Monsoon

There is something distinctly beautiful about the desert when it rains. It is always a little ironic. It’s kind of like financiers handing out balloons at an animal shelter. We expect it every year. It is the season that justifies the fact that we call desolate washes, rivers. And they really do become rivers, if only for a couple of days. It usually starts with a lot of humidity and heat. There is some meteorological juju that happens with that combination. And, before you know it, the sky becomes black. We sometimes see lightning, we sometimes hear thunder, and we usually get torrential rains from out of nowhere. The storms don’t usually last long, but while they last, they are vicious. Streets become streams, and as I said earlier, washes become rivers. It’s dangerous to drive. People inevitably try to cross washed out roads and often get trapped. In this situation the best case scenario is, needing to be rescued by the fire department. The worst case scenario is peril. It’s so bad that, we here in Arizona, have enacted the stupid motorist law.

Okay, so the point of all of this is, contrast. I was in Belfast this summer hanging out with some friends. When we arrived the weather was rather warm and balmy. They told us it had been like that for a few days, and that such weather was really odd. We were told that there was supposed to be a change the next day. Sure enough, the next day it began to rain. It continued to rain for the duration of our stay. It was that second day however, that was really remarkable. I guess because it had been so hot previously that when it began to rain, the ground wasn’t ready to receive it. Consequently, they had what we refer to as the great flood of Belfast. It was so bad that a friend of ours had to be rescued by firemen. I had left the windows open at the house we were staying, the house of our friend Jayne. I had met her the day before and thought for sure that I had destroyed her house. Rest assured that her house was not ruined.

This week we have been enjoying a pretty good monsoon season. Now, note that I am a native to Tucson. I have seen my share of monsoon storms. So when I say this year we have gotten some decent storms, it means something. Twice this week my street has become a river. It has been nice. So, at last we come to the anti climax of this narrative. I wanted to share some photos with you. Enjoy. All of these photos were taken outside of my home near the University of Arizona.

cook out

So I promised Ben that I would upload some photos of the cookout we had outside of his home. Don’t let him fool ya, he can cook a mean steak for a Finn! we also had grilled figs filled with chocolate, very interesting. Oh and notice that even in Finland weber is the only way to grill.

How (Not) to speak of Pete Rollins

We spent the week with Pete Rollins, author of “How (Not) To Speak of God“, and a founder of ikon. What can I say except it was fun. Pete is a great guy and if you ever get the chance to hang out with him, do it. I say it is even better than reading his  book.

Church Beer!

I don’t know why I haven’t posted on this before, but our church, or rather one of the communities that I am a part of, is brewing it’s own beer. Yep, it’s true, in the ancient tradition of Christianity, mostly monks, and Martin Luther, who, at one point in his life was a monk, we are brewing beer as a community. This generally gets a lot of responses when we tell people, especially since a lot of us come out of an evangelical background. And the word travels fast. In fact, I was at a conference recently and was approached by a Welsh guy, one of the speakers, and his first question was “You’re from Arizona right? You’re the guy with the church that brews beer?” -And he flashed a big smile. We became friends quickly and planned a pilgrimage to Ireland.

Okay, so some questions on this:

Why? Lots of reasons. We can talk about those in the comments section if you’d like. For the most part it is to create something as a community. And to offer a great product to others.

What? Well right now we are experimenting with various brews, learning the process and trying to settle on an initial recipe that we like.

What’s it called? We’re not sure yet. We are still thinking of names, do you have any ideas for us?

Will it be made available to the public? We hope so, eventually. We would like to offer it as gift, as hospitality, to the world. And we would love for a portion of the proceeds to go into our works of Social Justice.

An interesting link: This is what I got when I googled church beer.

These sites are especially interesting: www.churchbrew.com, www.beerchurch.com, www.thechurchofbeer.com

Cheers!

ikon website

f’n brilliant, I think. Have you seen Ikon’s website lately, the one that is modeled after wikipedia? It really says something, when a community allows their web-presence to be edited by the masses. But should we expect anything less from this group of createalogians. (I made that word up, let me know if you like it.) It is from this group that we get the fantastic book How Not to Speak of God.

update on the hole-ie bible

Of Course I am referring to the Western Bible, which apparently has sold quite a few copies in the short time that it has been out.  This is the bible that has literally cut out the harder parts of scripture, things like really loving your neighbor, living in simplicity, seeking true justice, without prejudice, for all people. So why, why would they do that? Because it’s funny! And perhaps it is the slap in the face a lot of us need.

see also this post…for more on this.  Oh and the bible is only avainalble in Dutch, so far.

the soul friend/ Celtic Spirituality

I have been reading Anam Cara by John O’ Donohue these days. Actually I have been taking a class on Celtic Spirituality this semester and this book was a great surprise of a reading assignment. The class has actually been a good journey. If you ever find yourself at the University of Arizona wondering about Celtic Spirituality, I suggest Dr. Peter Foley’s class.

So, I just wanted to share a few quotes from the book Anam Cara with you. These are in no particular order, I hope they enrich you as they have me.

“To be holy is to be natural, to befriend the worlds that come together in you.”

“Friendship is a creative and subversive force. It claims that intimacy is the secret law of life and universe.”

“Behind the facade of image and distraction, each person is an artist in this primal and inescapable sense. Each one of us is doomed and privileged to be an inner artist who carries and shapes a unique world.”

“Love is our deepest nature, and consciously or unconsciously, each of us searches for love. We often choose such false ways to satisfy this deep hunger. An excessive concentration on work, achievements, or spiritual quest can actually lead us away from the presence of love. “

” The blade of nothingness cuts deeply. Others want to love, to give themselves, but they have no energy. They carry around in their hearts the corpses of past relationships and are addicted to hurt as confirmation of identity.”

“Real friendship or love is not manufactured or achieved by an act of will or intention. Friendship is always an act of recognition.”

“You can never be fully visually present to yourself…Your Anam Cara [Gaelic for Soul Friend] is the truest mirror to reflect your soul.”

“The Celts had an intuitive spirituality informed by mindful and reverant attention to landscape.”

“One of the tasks of true friendship is to listen compassionately and creatively to the hidden silence.”

if it don’t fit- CUT IT OUT!

Someone actually did it. They took the steps and cut all the ish out of the Bible that they didn’t want in there. And in the best interest of capitalism it is available to the public. Introducing the Western Bible, released by the Western Bible Foundation in the Netherlands.

I found this on Pete Rollins blog. As you can imagine this “translation” is causing quite a stir. I thought it is just funny that someone has actually done it. I mean how many preachers have joked saying something like. “Well if you don’t like that part of the bible just cut it out. ” And someone, in this case the Western Bible Foundation in the Netherlands, said “okay, good idea”.

So what did they cut out? They cut out difficult parts surrounding economic justice, possessions and money, ha of course. Their reasoning is along the lines of well, no one actually takes those things seriously, so let’s just take them out. And you know, when it comes to the church in the west, I would have to say they’re right. We don’t take those things seriously, if we did, it would certainly stand out. I know that a lot of people who call themselves Christian are going to be really upset by this bible. The fact is though, many of them have been cutting out those same passages with their lives. Cutting paper is one thing, cutting people is another. Before we judge let us judge our selves and ask if this is only a manifestation of the gospel we have been proclaiming with our lives for years.

Please read Pete’s post here.

peace.

Cleveland!

Well folks I am off to Cleveland, Ohio for the weekend. Why? It rocks, okay sorry about that, I promised myself I wouldn’t say that, I did, my bad. In reality we are heading out there to visit my large exteneded family, most of whom I haven’t seen in ten years. It is amazing how fast time ticks by. Heidi, my wife hasn’t even met them.

Why else? The main reason is to visit my grandmother who is pretty ill, in every sense of the word, I mean she has cancer and is as cool as an underground hip-hop crew. When I was a child she was perhaps my favorite person, more so even than Spider-man. When I was knocking on heavens door, lying in a hospital bed at three years old, she was there for me. I guess it is only right to follow her example.

tucson has an irish pub!

Okay I am a big fan of Irish Pubs, and most things Irish for that matter. However I have spent most of my days in Tucson, Arizona which until recently was desolate in the way of Irish Pubs. My favorite Irish pub is Molly Malones in Helsinki. Helsinki is undoubtedly one of my favorite cities, only its so far away. Oh the dilemma, where to find authentic Irish fayre, atmosphere and a cold glass of Guinness.

Now for the gospel- we have an Irish Pub, and, oh and, it is within walking distance of my house! Oh God loves me! It is true The Auld Dubliner has at last arrived. The entire place was crafted in Ireland and shipped over, no kidding. The Food? Well they serve among the traditional Irish fayre, Leprechaun Balls! Leprechaun balls are flash fried little potatoes smothered in hot wing sauce and blue cheese crumbles, the true food of the little people. The Guinness? Ice cold and well poured. And if you have a tmobile account you can mooch wireless off of the Starbucks next-door. Need I say more?

this post was written and posted from the auld dubliner. hooray.

if you like music…

I always liked going to the Barnes and Noble music listening stations, mostly because of the red dot net similar artists feature. This feature allows you to type in a band and find similar bands and to give em a listen. I thought, how great would it be to have this at home. Thanks to Pandora now I do and now, I am exposed to tons of artists I may have never been otherwise.

The way it works? You type in a song or artist you like and it creates a station of similar artists/songs. It’s free, all you have to do is create an account.

Pandora was created by the music genome project, this is what they have to say about themselves:

“Ever since we started the Music Genome Project, our friends would ask:

Can you help me discover more music that I’ll like?

Those questions often evolved into great conversations. Each friend told us their favorite artists and songs, explored the music we suggested, gave us feedback, and we in turn made new suggestions. Everybody started joking that we were now their personal DJs.

We created Pandora so that we can have that same kind of conversation with you.”

So if you like music, I mean really like music…

Emergent conversation- a family matter

It is for the famous Smith family of the Calvary Chapel movement. A Friend recently sent me this LA times article. It is well worth a read. I think it paints a good picture of the chasms that need be crossed on both sides of the conversation as well as a solution, or rather an approach, that of love, love like we would have for a family member.

enjoy.

Tell me a story, tell you a story

Last semester I wrote a short story titled Real Problems. I am now deciding to share. Your thoughts are welcomed. The story is still a work in progress, I hold all the rights, yadda, yadda, and, oh, you can download a copy here.