I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to use this space. I don’t know how many people even check this part of the website on a regular basis, since it has never really gotten going. But I think it’s important to have a space to reflect, to have conversation, and to capture some of the neat stories that we’ve been immersed in as we figure out what it means to be church and what it means to live in community with one another.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been a regular blogger, but hearing a friend last night talk about a possible job he has blogging and his own need to get back into it sparked my own desire for reflection. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for awhile, and this crazy work that God has called me to certainly provides ample fodder for digestion.

So look for more stories to be shared here, oh the faithful few-of-you who stumble across this page. Join us in this journey.

This past weekend we had our second worship gathering. Check out all the pics here!

I saw a little slice of the kingdom of God a few weeks ago; in a home up on Johnson Street.
I was going to community prayer for a group called L’Arche Irenicon, an ecumenical Christian organization where differently abled people live together in community, sharing resources, chores, prayer, and their lives together in houses across the world, including five here in Haverhill

Around that circle I saw beautiful people. Young people, old people, of all ages, of all abilities, even of all different nationalities, gathered around, hugging, catching up, sisters and brothers together.

And there was a reflection on how each of us is the beloved of God, how each person is unique and wonderful in God’s sight; how, as one man read haltingly and with help, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

I saw people writing on small construction paper hearts how other people had blessed them and sharing those blessings with each other and sharing with one another.

I saw light, fellowship, and unity.

Perhaps that’s what made it so strange- this gathering so disturbing, so enervating, so glorious that it shined, was that it was so ordinary. I had seen gatherings like that so many times before, perhaps happened hundreds, if not thousands of times each day.

People, normally separated by ability, turned into “client-provider”, shuffled into group homes, looked upon and mocked, were allowed to be just people, to be just themselves, and so were invited to be our sisters and brothers and in turn invited us to be their sisters and brothers; or so I mused as Amy, who I had met before, gave me a hug and a light kiss on my cheek as she sat down next to me.

And perhaps that’s the beautiful, subversive quality of the kingdom of God, of the dream that God has for this world. It takes ordinary events, ordinary people, ordinary quality, and transforms them, with extraordinary love, transfigures them into a foretaste of glory divine, a vision for a better future.

In that moment, I saw how the kingdom of God was already powerfully at work in my own city, in ways that I had nothing to do with me and were not in any way reliant upon me; that each of us has a piece, just a piece, but a precious, irreplaceable piece to play in this grand dream that God has for us.

I saw in that place how God calls us to bless the lost, the broken, the looked-down upon; and how God calls us to be blessed by them. I saw God’s vision for the whole world; where everyone who is different, who is called lesser, by gender, life circumstance, race, or ability is brought into full living community, where they are not named, marked, or labeled, but are loved for being beautifully and wonderfully made into who they are.

And I wondered – if in some ways, its so simple – if the kingdom of God can truly be built, simply on love, not on talent or money, not on power or influence, not on education or education, but just love – what’s stopping me, what’s stopping you – from making God’s impossible dream come true?

I never feel like I have enough time to adequately prepare for Christmas. Usually, it’s because I’ve been swamped with finals and Christmas concerts to prepare and a million other little things to do – some of which have everything to do with the idea of Christmas (but without much of the spirit).

This year I find myself facing a similar preparation problem. Between pastoring a church, starting a new one, and all of my other commitments, where does finding time for Christ fit in? I hope it will be found in blessing others – not just through gifts, but with my gift of time and energy and presence — and in listening to Handel’s Messiah! (Oh, and watching the Muppet Christmas Carol. I can’t forget that!) For me, it’s about spending lots of time with friends and family.

In the midst of this busy time of year, how do you best prepare for Christmas? Listening to Christmas carols? Decorating your tree early? Getting out and volunteering your time? What makes the advent season special for you?

Here are some of my highlights from the last week as part of the Vine

The Farmer’s Market: It was a blast to enjoy the beautiful fall weather, hand out free cookies and cider, and chat with people. I enjoyed confusing the multiple people who kept trying to pay or donate to us for the cider and cookies, to which, (much to their consternation) we explained that this was free. I enjoyed watching Jay stop what he was doing to help an older lady carry her many bags of produce back to the car. I enjoyed serving a mother and her eight(!) children cider and cookies all at once. I enjoyed talking with another gentlemen, who told me that he was going through a rough time and needed support. It was just a wonderful day!

Our Life Group: It’s beautiful, when everything is boiled down to the essentials; conversation, prayer, scripture. We had great conversations; prayed together, and came up with a fantastic list of ways that we could be blessing the city!

The Work: I can’t tell you how many times I look at what I do: meet people, make friends, help bless lives, collaborate with ohters for the good of the city, and say “This is work?” This is just so much fun!

It was an interesting study in human behavior, being at the Farmer’s Market in the rain on Saturday. Melissa, Matt, and I were huddled underneath the tent with the Farmer’s Market table. We were trying to give people free cider and cookies, and, if they were interested, (seriously, if they just took the cider and cookies, we were completely fine with that!), tell them about the Vine and in particular about our community gardens project.

At first, we tried calling out to people to offer them free cider and cider. No success. Just a few hard stares.

We took down anything that looked vaguely like it could be a catch: cards, sign up sheets, and people started stopping over.

Still, I’d say over half the people couldn’t believe that we were just giving something away. People would inch over, examine our table closely for signs of pamphlets or cash boxes, before cautiously taking the cookies and cider, squinting at us as if to say “so, who are you?” We said to a couple people: “Free cider and cookies”, and they’d smile, come by, break out their wallet, and say, “how much?”

Still, I wonder, why is it so hard for people to believe that anyone, especially a religious organization, could just be giving something away? In the end, I think perhaps that reputation is well earned; too often, presents from churches come with hooks; a pamphlet, a pitch, pressure, an expectation. So rarely do religious people simply bless people, make their lives better, not for any reason except just because.

I hope we get a chance to do more of this in the city; just bless people, just give something away. Because after all, in my book, that’s exactly what God wants us to do.

I attended an informational meeting on single stream recycling in Haverhill today, sponsored by Team Haverhill, a local community organizing group that I belong to. We’ll be hosting a meeting in a few weeks at Good Shepherd UMC  about recycling and going door to door in the neighborhoods to spread the word and give out information. It seemed like a bright idea to sit in on one, listen to questions, and get a sense about what we’d be doing.

There were a few people there, including one with a camera who was going to tape the informational meeting for local access television. Because I was the only person who showed up and stayed, the decision was made that it would be far more interesting to do one on one interviews with the people who were coordinating the city’s recycling efforts.

And, since I was already asking questions of the coordinator, guess who got to the be interviewer? Thirty minutes later, I had interviewed both coordinators, and also met and interviewed the mayor, who stopped by for the informational session. Now, my face will be gracing (or marring) local access television for probably the next two years, asking questions about Haverhill’s recycling program; (more or less of the top of my head).

Ahh, the adventures of church planting!

Matt and Farrah are about halfway moved in; and so as we begin our new ministry together, we’re all going to take a post and talk about our dreams and expectations for what it will mean to live in community together.

For me, it’s been an odd experience talking to people about our future plans during these past couple years of preparation. The majority (a slim majority, but a majority) of people, when we tell about this new ministry, get excited, are encouraging, and tell us that we can’t wait to see what they and the church can learn from it.

However, when we mention the intentional community, their face takes that unmistakable  “they’re just young and naive” expression, (f you’ve ever been young and idealistic, you know what I’m talking about!)  and they feel it their duty to caution us, explaining “you’re going to argue a lot”, “how are you going to make a budget?”, “living in community is difficult”, “how are you going to find alone time?”, etc.  In many cases, the subtext is this: don’t get too attached to this idea, because it probably won’t work.

For a while, I found, that in my haste to convince people that yes, I did have two feet (or at least one foot) firmly planted on the ground, that I would automatically add provisos when introducing our intentional community, “yes, we’re living in community and we know it will be tough; yes, we realize we’ll get on each other’s nerves; yes, we know that it’ll be tough figuring out living space”, even before people began asking questions.

This past week, I realized that I’m tired of apologizing for wanting to live in intentional community. I’m tired of people considering it a mark of my naievete. I’m tired of people thinking it isn’t possible to live in a way that, in fact, most humans have lived over the course of our history as a species.  And so, let me officially state: I am genuinely looking forward to this! Here are a few reasons (out of hundreds!) why:

1) The richness of our spiritual life together – I’ll be living 24/7 with other Christians, will practice spiritual disciplines with them, held accountable by them, and pray with them twice a day.

2) Shared resources/chores – Less money required for entertainment, for resources such as food or household supplies, less time required for chores and household maintenance, more time and money to spend in the community, blessing people’s lives.

3) A common purpose – Anyone who’s ever been on a mission trip, served on a team for a big project, or participated in a political campaign knows what I’m talking about -  a common purpose doesn’t just drive you forwards, it binds you together with others who are journeying with you; as Alan Hirsch might say, it’s communitas, not community.

4) I like the people I’m living with (a lot!) – Obviously, I’m a big fan of Melissa; but I must say, Matt and Farrah are simply wonderful people. I admire and respect them, love hanging out with them, and am looking forward to getting more involved in their lives!

- Ben Y-D

A poem from my sermon on Pentecost Sunday

Do you burn?

With grief? With anger?

With worry? With despair?

With joy? With hope?

Do you burn?

For standing firm in changing sands?

For closing eyes in future times?

For your hope for a better tomorrow?

Do you burn?

For people? For progress?

For the church? For the un-churched?

For committees? For community?

Do you burn?

For love and peace to explode,

like fireworks,

         in the darkness?

Do you burn?

Or has your spark gone out

Blowing wind on a thousand tiny embers

Glowing briefly in the dark?

Do you burn?

Or are you sitting, dry or damp,

Kindling in the forest,

Waiting for the first falling match?

Do you burn?

Does the Word light your way?

Do you stare into the darkness

Like at midnight

        Waiting for the Light?

Do you burn?

Hot with fresh fire;

Like a torch

So all can see and follow?

Do you burn?

Steady and simmering;

And light a room on a cold night?

Do you burn?

Does your love for God consume?

Does it enfold your step?

Infuse your breath?

Do you burn?

Like child for parent?

Like parent for child?

Like lovers at the first kiss?

Do you burn?

Burn up your time?

Your money? Your words?

Your job? Your life?

Do you burn?

Spirit-spark catching hold of your heart?

Being remold, remade, reused, renewed, reinfused?

Do you burn?

With a fire, reflected from the sky

Refracted from a million voices

Speaking one Word?

Do you burn?

So you can be consumed and be made new?

Ben Y-D

We just sent out our first monthly newsletter yesterday, a big first for us as a group. We designed it with two primary considerations: first, not to waste people’s time (after all, how many of us get at least 20 overly long newsletters in our inbox every month?); secondly, to encourage interaction by directly asking for feedback and help from our readers.

It’s only been a day since we sent it out via e-mail, and I have to say, I’m fairly pleased so far, as we’ve had a couple really thoughtful responses.

This type of response, as church planters, is as good as gold.  We need the perspective of people outside of our Haverhill-church-plant bubble, and quite honestly, we also need the encouragement. When we hear back from people, regardless what their response is, we know that we’re important enough to them that we merited them spending one minute (or even ten minutes) to respond to us.  

So please, respond to our newsletters, send us e-mails, and write comments our blog – we need your perspective and it’ll probably make our day!