|
Our Mission is:
"To Love God. To Love people. To Follow Jesus."
We're giving that our best shot.
|
|
News Updates as
of 6/15/2009
- Coming Soon ... Conspire! Plotting Goodness
: Issue 2
- Our second issue of Conspire! is on en route from the printers and will be available FOR FREE from co-conspiring communities around the country soon. Check out www.conspiremagazine.com
- Get involved from a distance! Folks have asked how they can help if they cannot come to Philadelphia. We will need supplies from Home Depot, so you can mail gift cards to our office or you can contribute money to the restoration fund
- Changes on our block! During our last work day, while we cleared up the yard and boarded up an abandoned house, a neighbor told us how the landlord wasn't taking care of that property or his. We were able to get in touch with the owner who sold us the abanonded house along with the two other houses on Potter Street he owns (and has been neglecting). Take a look at some of the pictures (before and during) the clean-out process.



We are gutting the house to start from scratch in renovating it and making much needed repairs to the other houses (which have folks living in them!). If you would like to be a part of the restoration process, you can sign up here and we'll contact you with more details about your specific area.
- Philadelphia City Paper wrote an extensive cover story about us. You can read it on their website.
- CALLING ALL SKILLED WORKERS! Are you willing to donate your services? We're compiling a database of skilled workers in the area (including tutors). Let us know you're out there by filling out this form.
- We have a calendar! Want to find ways to join us for dinners, work days, community service, and the like? We're putting it all online into a calendar so that you can keep an eye on what we're up to. Check back regularly as we add more! http://thesimpleway.org/calendar.html
- Openings for New Members of a sister community here in Philadelphia
Shalom House, an intentional Christian community created by Circle of Hope Church and dedicated to proactive peacemaking is seeking the next community members to make a 2-year commitment to live and work towards peace in Philadelphia, PA. For more information go to www.shalomhouse.us or call 215-474-1195.
- Big News! TSW went before the City of Philadelphia’s Vacant Properties Review Board in order to try and acquire 3202 and 3204 Potter Street (2 more lots destroyed in the fire), and it was spectacular. The Board unanimously approved the transfer, and as we finished, the Chairman, John Coates applauded the decision and jokingly said “as long as you take our names off the Simple Way website”. Laughing he said that The Simple Way has friends all over the world that have their back, along with support of the city. So we are grateful for your support! Your phone calls and letters make a difference. Special thanks to John Coates, Susie Jarmon, Coucilwoman Quinonez-Sanchez, Justin DiBerardinis… There’s still much work to do but we are glad to work together to restore these abandoned spaces.
Feel free to drop a little card in the mail to John Coates to say thanks:
John Coates
Office of Housing and Community Development
1234 Market Street, 17th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
- WORKDAY PICTURES! We opened our monthly community store and cleaned outside of an abanonded house in our neighborhood. And of course, we had fun with each other.
More pictures here
- Eastern scholarships… We arranged a meeting with the head administration of Eastern University recently, accompanied by one of the star kids on the block, and we asked them point blank if they would provide scholarships to kids from our neighborhood. Without hesitation, They said YES! Over the next year we will be working out logistics on it, but within a year and a half we will have this incredible resource and TSW board will recommend the kids each year. Shane cried. Literally, a big ole soppy mess. Unbelievable! We are proud of the continual partnership with Eastern University, and their courage to laugh in the face of a recession and taking daring risks for the Kingdom of God. Special thanks to Chris Hall (Chancellor), David Black (President), David Urban and John Levis (Admissions).
- Liturgy Submissions
- As you may know, an incredible team of folks from all over the planet have been collaborating to create a common book of prayer, which will be released in 2010. It will have the common liturgy and lectionary readings of the Church, with a little of our own contemporary fingerprint. Each day we will greet the day together, remembering saints (and "saints"), significant dates for the Church and for the world, and learn to sing, cry, and praise God together. That's where we need your help.
A few weeks back, we gathered a couple of dozen folks in NC to kick things off. And now we are making a broad call for everyone in our relational network of communities, new monastics, and friends to submit songs and readings (excerpts and quotes less than 200 words...). Undoubtedly there will be tons to sort through (but better too much than too little). We are asking for your "A-List", those contributions that are at the heart of your spiritual journey or your community -- stuff you have hanging on your walls or written on your soul... songs you sing in the shower. Send them on -- and we will be creating the collage that weaves together the many streams and voices that are a part of the history of the Church. Please use the link here: http://www.newmonasticism.org/dailyoff/
- Our Simple eStore is new and improved! And we've added new titles such as Becoming The Answers To Our Prayers by Shane and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove (here) and The Ordinary Radicals, directed by Simple Way co-founder Jamie Moffett (here).
FIRE UPDATE
Shane's Speaking Stuff
Interested in visiting? If you haven’t
heard about the Schools for Conversion taking place all
over the country this next year, check ‘em out – newmonasticism.org/sfc --
and if you are interested in intentional community or missional
living in the inner city and aren’t sure where to
start (and are on the younger side), check out our friends
at Mission Year.
Biodisel Coop There has been a little buzz stirring
here in the Philly area around creating fuel out
of waste veggie oil – and
there is now an official "Greasel Station" at New Jerusalem, our sister
community in North Philly. Let’s keep spreading the vision of a "post-oil
era"! In fact at they also have bumper stickers that say: “No War Necessary… this
car runs on vegetable oil.” The hope is that we might create a for-profit
eco-business that would provide jobs and income
for New Jerusalem. And it would create a centralized
place to learn about alternative fuel, convert
engines, and store grease and biodiesel. We’d love to have other
ideas, gifts and connections as we embark on this
adventure.
New Jerusalem is looking for someone to help oversee the Biodiesel Microbusiness. If you are interested give them a call. New Jerusalem is at 2011 W. Norris
street (at 20th street and Norris) -- 215-763-8806
http://newjerusalemnow.org/
INVITING ALL STORIES…
- We would love to hear from you! If you
have a story of how you are living as an
ordinary radical or how you are practicing
the politics of Jesus... or if you just
want to share what's stirring up in your
heart... stop by -- www.zondervan.com/JesusforPresident
Needs:
- Clothing and donations for our community store, The Gathering. Nice, seasonal clothing, especially men's
- School Supplies for kids in our neighbordhood
- Composition books (B/W journals)
- Glue sticks
- Pens/Pencils
- Spiral Notebooks
- Calculators (small/basic)
- Compass/Protractor kits
- Dictionary/Thesaurus
- Backpacks
- Markets/Colored Pencisl
- Scissors (for kids)
- One million dollars to buy the porn shops in our neighborhood
- Over and over folks are abused and shooting each other outside the bar and adult bookstores. We'd love to give the owners an offer they can't refuse, and a legal agreement not to reopen. Hey, we had a friend that did it… it's worth a shot. We'll turn that porn shop into a red tent revival.
|
Gatherings |
- CCDA 2009 -- Join us in Cincinatti , October 21-25 for the annual gathering of the Christian Community Development Association (ccda.org). It will be a magical time.
- PAPA FESTIVAL 2008 -- WE DID IT AGAIN! PAPA FEST 2008. Nearly a thousand folks from all over the planet converged on Plow Creek Farm June 19-22 (and doubled the size of the town of Tiskilwa!). It was magical. Special thanks to all the lovely folks of Plow Creek for hosting us! For photos, video, and more info check out the site http://papafestival.org/
|
Practical |
- Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Shane have created a list of “50 Ways to Become the Answer to Our Prayers” check it out here: jonathanwilsonhartgrove.com
- Relational Tithe is an interactive platform
for connecting and meeting needs across socioeconomic and geographic
barriers. It is also a place to explore, to meet, to share dreams
and ideas, to ask and discuss questions, to learn and to grow together.
http://www.relationaltithe.com/
- Alternatives to the Military: We have now launched CENTURION'S PURSE, our alternatives to military resource headed up by former and current servicemembers and conscientious objectors. We are now taking applications for these grants www.centurionspurse.org/apply.
We are also accepting donations – checks payable to "Centurion's Purse" and
mailed to: PO Box 14751 Philadelphia, PA 19134
- Meanwhile, our friend Logan is an Iraq war veteran and
current Christian peacemaker. He’s been helping
compile resources for other soldiers who are ready to beat
their machine guns into farm tools. Here’s
a word from Logan.
- And here are some resources for those of you in
the military, or who have friends and family, who are struggling
to find the strength to carry the cross and the sword and
are looking for community and friends who will accompany
you. FOR RESOURCES CLICK HERE.
- For a great resource to help with folks returning from
war or just to spark good discussion, check out The Ground
Truth (the film we recently showed here).
- Another story of a soldier who said “Enough!” Click here.
- Alternatives to Insurance: Imagine a group of folks committing to pool their money together every month in order to cover each other’s medical needs? Sounds pretty sweet eh? Well, it’s happening.
- It is preposterous to think that folks don’t have proper medical care here in one of the world’s richest countries (the US is one of the only industrialized countries without universal health care). Many of us here on Potter Street remember the life of She-She, a little girl who died a few years ago of asthma (yes, asthma) because she did not get adequate treatment. And while we are grateful for the tireless labor of folks working toward health care for all, we are not willing to wait for the government to do what the Church is meant to BE. Christian Healthcare Ministries is one of a growing number of innovative communities bearing each other’s burdens when it comes to medical expenses. Each month folks contribute money to a common fund of which over 90% goes directly to meet needs. Members receive newsletters that tell who is in the hospital and how to be praying for one another. CHM now has over 20,000 members who have collectively paid over 400 million dollars in medical bills over the past 20 years. Check them out: www.chministries.org
- The Alternative Seminary now has a website! The Alternative Seminary is a little underground seminary here in Philadelphia area. Visit the website for more information and keep an eye out for upcoming events. We are grateful for all the tireless work of our friend and TSW board member Will O’Brien for facilitating the Alternative Seminary all these years. Keep an eye out for ongoing events, especially if you don’t mind a little homework here and there. http://www.alternativeseminary.net/
- PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR ORDINARY RADICALS
- Lots of folks have asked for some simple, practical ideas... so we threw together a little list. Check em out, and create your own little recipes for holy mischief…
- Grey Water Waste bathroom plumbing system
- Getting an abandoned house
- Community of Communities Database
- Folks are always asking about how to find communities near them, other models of living in intentional community… so we have created a new website to serve as a directory of hospitality houses and intentional communities – a way to connect the dots a little… Check it out www.communityofcommunities.info
|
|
- BECOMING THE ANSWER TO OUR PRAYERS ---
Shane and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove wrote a book on prayer
together entitled
Becoming the Answer to OurPrayers -- available
in bookstores everywhere and online at our
simple e-store.
SIMPLY ENOUGH: Shane and Tony Campolo have
created a video resource about how to live simply
in this world of material clutter. It’s called “Simply
Enough” with
Alternatives for Simple Living. For
more info or to order check out: http://www.simpleliving.org/
Uhhh, and feel free to figure out a way to copy it or download it, seems tricky to sell a movie on simplicity, eh?
-
Here is the infamous "Embezzlement: The Corporate Sin of the Contemporary Church" article written by theologian and pastor Ray Mayhew. This paper, written out of a desperate love for the Church has been a catalyst for all sorts of rethinking of economics, including our very own Relational Tithe.
http://www.relationaltithe.com/pdffiles/EmbezzlementPaper.pdf
-
Shane's Book Resources
- Audio Book: Shane’s book The Irresistible
Revolution is available as an audio book. And, yes, Shane reads the whole thing himself. He read it aloud for over 10 hours, so you’ll hear his voice deteriorate as the pages turn, and by the end he sounds like an old man with a smoker’s hack. All the profits go to the Jubilee fund and are given away.
- Here’s a Chapter of Shane’s book The Irresistible Revolution. You can now read Chapter 5 “Another Way of Doing Life” for free.
- List of groups that share in
the profits of Shane's book
- Jesus for President is available on Audio Book, with music by Psalters Jay Beck and Scott Krueger. AND the 2-hour presentation from the Jesus for President Tour is available on DVD… check it out at the e-store. You can still find all sorts of goodies for political misfits at www.jesusforpresident.org
- We are thankful for the following bookstores for being “official” distribution
centers for our books and resources.
-
-
- Amber did a little article with a sassy Catholic publication called Busted Halo, check it out here.
- Another World is Possible
or e-store (DVD resources)
- TSW Newsletter archives
- Order: School(s) for Conversion: 12 Marks of a New
Monasticism (a collaboratively written book with chapters
from Shane as well as Michelle Harper Brix, founding members
of TSW)
-
-
-
- Amber’s Iraq Journals
- Shane and Chris Lahr went on a whirlwind trip to Rwanda (and South Africa and Kenya, and Germany...). We cannot do justice to the pilgrimage here, especially in light of all they experienced in Rwanda -- so Chris has set up a blog with pics and stories.
And here is more info on the fantastic people who hosted them in Africa
ALARM | HANDS OF COMPASSION
- Links - An annotated list of
our favorites
|
| |
|
We are the simple way, a community of faith.
Each of us is created for community, and in the image of community. And yet everything in the world tries to rob us of this Divine gift.
The life of the simple way is the story of that struggle to love and to be loved. The most radical thing we do is choose to love each other... again and again. If you are a seeker of the Way, may our story feed you hope... or at least keep you from making all the same mistakes. "Life in community is no less than a necessity for us, an inescapable 'must'... all life created by God exists in communal order and works toward community." -- Eberhard Arnold
Donation Opportunity
Join our simple elist
Occasional updates on Simple Way events, resources, publications, and services
Shane's Books
To learn more about inviting Shane for a speaking engagement, please click here.
.jpg)
Jesus for President (With Chris Haw and Friends)
The Irresistible Revolution (Book and Audio Book)
Potter Street Community
For information on the Potter Street Community, click here.
Contact Info
Our mailing address is:
The Simple Way
PO Box 14751
Philadelphia, PA 19134
The Family
Potter Street Community
Camden House
New Jerusalem
Rutba House (New Monasticism)
Yes! And... CAMP
Communality (Blog)
Circle Of Hope
psalters
Common Ground Community
Jamie Moffett
Dotted Line Shirts (T-Shirt company)
Ross' Espresso Bar
Details
Site Hosting donated by the good people at
|