Our Mission is: "To Love God. To Love people. To Follow Jesus." We're giving that our best shot.
The Latest
News Updates as
of 12/19/2008
Our partners over at Yes! And... CAMP are holding an on-line auction that ends this Thursday! (Dec 11) Get over there for a lot of fantastic items including, books from Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, a dinner conversation and audio book of Jesus for President with authors Shane and Chris, CDs from Potter Street Records, DVDs from Another World is Possible and The Ordinary Radicals, as well as cards, handcrafted gifts, and a whole lot more. Every penny that you spend there gets spent on kids in Philly who can't afford quality arts education. You CAN make a difference!
TOYS! TOYS! TOYS! We are collecting new, unwrapped toys for kids of all ages (no guns or barbies please). We need them by December 14 and distribute them on December 20 to parents so they can give them to their own kiddos. Also, feel free to send us a check with TOYS in the memo and we’ll do the shopping. Woohoo!
Rise Up USAntiheroes! Rise up! As per usual we had all sorts of fun on the world’s biggest day of shopping. It was another Buy Nothing Day party outside the Gallery Mall. Check out the video, photos, and links by our very own undercover agent “Third Eye.” Join us next year if you missed… and of course, Antiheroes never rest until the world is at rest.
Check out pictures from this year's event here.
Didn’t get enough? Here are some classic USAntihero archives: pictures | video
Welcome to Our 10th Annual Open House!
Sunday, December 21 from 4-7pm… it is a magical time every year for friends and neighbors. This year will be our 10th one so it’s extra magical. Feel free to bring goodies (no booze please). It will be at the Potter Street Community house.
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).
THE ORDINARY RADICALS SCREENINGS
TSW founder Jamie Moffett has an exciting new project
called “The Ordinary Radicals”. Jamie
is an evangelist for hope. He and an entire team of
friends are traveled the country, gathering stories
of people doing beautiful little acts of love and resistance
to the empire. You can view the trailer, find screenings of the film, and buy various whatnots at www.theordinaryradicals.com
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
Conspire! Plotting Goodness
Conspire! aims to explore the good news. We'll share
our very different experiences as we seek to love God,
love people, and follow Jesus - joys, stuggles, questions,
and adventures. You'll find articles, reflections,
poerty, and artwork on big and small of subjects. http://www.conspiremagazine.com/
You can check out the latest experiment in truth
from our little network of communities. It's still
in the development stage, but looks like a fantastic
way for us all to keep connected. www.communityofcommunities.us
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.
Greasel 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 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:
Wonderful Worldwide Web Volunteers
Through our Web sites, the Simple Way is connecting with ordinary radicals doing extraordinary things across the country and around the world. Have computer or graphic skills and a passion for loving God, loving others, and following Jesus? Or simply a vision for how we can harness the internet to bring our communities together? Contact Brian to join our team of wonderful worldwide web volutneers!
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.
Lawn
mower.
So things can be mailed to the PO Box, but because
lawn mowers are heavy gift cards to Home Depot or Lowes
are also a good bet -- thanks so much!
A good diesel van to convert so it runs
off veggie oil, please contact
us.
Shout outs:
o 3200 RESTORATION: We are grateful for the tireless
work of Jessica our gardening intern (she studied Horticultural
Therapy and has been doing her field placement with
us – 500 hours worth!). With the help of all kinds
of neighbors and volunteers, she has helped resurrect
H Street after the fire with new grass, garden boxes,
and a tree.
3234 restorations: We are so thankful for the
work of Jesce Walz and Tim Fryett to take on the challenge
of beautifying the Potter Street Community House. THE
DROP CEILING AT 3234 IS NO MORE. Sure the mice are
angry and may be organizing an uprising, but for now
the world breathes better and the universe got a little
less ugly.
Thanks to everyone
that rocked out school supplies with us. With your help,
on Labor Day, we gave back to school packs to over 400
neighborhood kids. Special thanks to Mennonite Central
Committee and Mount Vernon Mennonite who came through huge! Check out this video.
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
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/
Nearly every day now folks are asking about communities near them, how to get connected, if there is a communities directory... we will be creating a directory of hospitality houses and intentional communities to connect the dots a little bit so keep an eye out, and be ready to shoot us a little profile of your community! Check it out at communityofcommunities.us.
Resources
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?
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.
A lot of folks have asked about some of the structures and rhythms that allow us to function as a community. Over the past 10 years, we’ve learned a lot and made plenty of mistakes, and we have now created a little packet to help new folks adjust to life here on Potter Street, sort of decoding some of our common life and expectations. We often liken these structures to the trellis of a garden. You want enough structure to provide stability, so that your tomatoes don’t flop around on the ground and rot. But if you have too much structure it can have the opposite effect, and can suffocate the plants from being free to grow. So this works for us, along with our foundations and functionality. We offer it, not necessarily as something to emulate or copy, but as a resource to look at as you discover what works for your community.
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
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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.
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