Bread & Oranges magazine

First issue still in the works.
But coming soon!

The theme of the first issue is Borderlands with lots of first hand experiences of folks from the U.S./ Mexico border. Regular feature sections like Roots, Blessing, Morsel, and Slices include some great writing and bits you just probably won't find anywhere else.

Thanks for hanging in there. It will be delicious.

The Restoration Project

The Restoration Project Community has tons of photos on Facebook. We hope you'll go there and become a fan.

Since moving in March 1, we've hosted a May Day Wine and Fondue party. More than a 100 people enjoyed the live classical music, wine tasting, and good community vibes. And there was a fun surprise acoustic performance by band members of The Runaway Five.



Also, back in March, we threw a Greening O' the Casa St. Patrick's work day, supper and worship party. After unloading sheep manure, digging garden beds and planting trees we ate corned beef, sang Celtic hymns, and danced in the hall way.




















The chickens were part of the wildly popular, sold-out Tucson Chicken Coop tour. More than a 100 chicken enthusiasts came to our back yard to meet the girls and learn about how we are trying to live sustainably as a community.

When one of the Restoration Project community members was put on trial for offering humanitarian aid to migrants in the desert, our community worked together to lead a peaceful, prophetic action in front of the federal courthouse to support him.

We've also opened our doors to welcome visiting priests, activists and family and friends who have stayed in our two hospitality rooms along with many others who have joined us for a meal or a cool drink and conversation on the porch.

We've gathered folks together to study innovative ways of doing church.

We invited clergy in their 20s and 30s from many denominations in Tucson to come have supper together at the house and meet one another.

College students visiting the border from other states have come to the community to study us. They came to learn about how we offer spiritual support to activists and work together to offer life-giving options to the separation and pain that the border often causes.

We often are the site of meetings for the border action group, No More Deaths.

We are growing eggplant, tomatoes, squash, cucumber, basil, okra, peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe, in the garden.

As a community, we continue to gather for our weekly Sabbath meal and community check-in. And take turns making supper most of the rest of the week. The support we give and receive from one another is already making a difference in our lives and work out in the world.

It has been a real joy to live into our mission statement and we have only just begun...

"We seek to live in right relationship with one another, the community, and the earth through hospitality, simple and sustainable living, playful spirituality, and peaceful, prophetic action."

Come see us sometime: 340 S. 3rd Ave., Tucson, AZ 85701

More Light Sermon, June 14

Here's the text from the sermon Carol gave on More Light Sunday at Southside Presbyterian church, June 14, 2009, Tucson. More Light Sunday is a tradition in Presbyterian churches that want to celebrate the gifts of gay, lesbian, bi, and trans folks in their congregation. Currently the Presbyterian church does not ordain leaders who are gay. Carol grew up in the Presbyterian church and around the age of 12 started getting inklings of becoming a Presbyterian minister some day. She was ordained a deacon in the Presbyterian church as a teenager. Presbyterians ordain lay people, you see. But these days Carol pals around with the Episcopal tribe.

It is a real honor to be with you today. This church lives out what it means to be the beloved community and to share good news. Thank you for your witness not just to Tucson, but to the world. And thank you Alison for inviting me to speak to your community on this Sunday when you are celebrating the lives and gifts of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgendered folks. It’s really something for me to be here today. It’s humbling and challenging and encouraging.

18 years ago, this exact week in June, I attended the Presbyterian General Assembly. I was a youth advisory delegate. We met in Baltimore. And the hot topic that year was the Report on Human Sexuality. At that national gathering of Presbyterians, I voted to deny gay and lesbian people from serving as leaders in our church. Little did I know that I was voting against myself.

That summer I was also the editor of my university newspaper and I published a column about it. I voiced my absolute approval of the Presbyterian church’s action. The church should be like a lighthouse, I wrote, shining out truth, no matter how loudly the waves of our culture clash against rocks. Pretty poetic and dramatic, eh? At that time, I thought the scriptures were clear on the matter. I personally wanted nothing more than to please and serve God. And God’s way seemed straightforward.


So, how in the world, 18 years later, do I stand before you in this Presbyterian congregation on More Light Sunday. How do I stand here as a woman wearing this ring to proudly announce to the world that I have made a commitment to love and cherish another woman for the rest of life? How do I stand before you today with the good news that the love of God is surprisingly bigger and deeper and more creative than we might imagine.

How, indeed?

In the gospel reading this morning we hear Jesus tell this parable about the mysterious way God works.

"The kingdom of God is as if someone scatters seed on the ground, and then goes to sleep and gets up again the next day, day after day, and then the seed sprouts and grows, she does not know how.”

I’m part of an intentional community called the Restoration Project. And one of the things we are doing is growing a garden together. It is quite a learning experience. One of our housemates planted some squash seeds early on in one of the garden beds. At first I diligently watered the dirt. Some of the squash came up and other seedlings started to take off except a couple of the areas where some of the squash seeds were. I figured they were just bad seeds or something. I told my housemate, I think those seeds didn’t make it. She said, "Let's just wait. You never know."

And then I got busy and other people were watering the garden for a few days. And the next time I went out there, there was a squash plant, and several days later, there was another one. It’s like they came out of nowhere. And, I don’t mean to get all Jesusy about it. But one of those zucchini plant is now truly the biggest one in the garden. It was kind of hard to believe when I first saw it. I wasn’t sure how it happened.

And that’s a lot like the way God has worked in my own life. I might not believe it if it had not happened to me. I’m not sure why I’m surprised. Jesus tries to warn us. When the seed of God gets planted in you. Watch out. Transformation is on its way. And it’s not just about you. It’s going to be for the whole community.

Could you imagine, if you could talk to a seed, and tell it. Look little guy, this tree is what you will become. I bet it would laugh. Or just not believe you. The seed might say, No, thanks. I like being a seed. I could syphathize with a seed like that.

It took me a while to come fully alive. To live into the edges of all that God intended and wanted for me. Years after that Presbyterian General Assembly, when I began to question my sexuality, I didn’t want to believe it. At first it was too much. At that time I placed all authority in life outside myself: in the bible as others had explained it to me, in the church, in a God that left no room for my own passions and experience, in a God that seemed to want me dead, or at least to be miserable.

When you are like a little seed, buried in dirt, awaiting transformation, you can’t see what’s going to happen. And it’s scary. That in between place, between being planting and the harvest.

And so I can have compassion on those in the church who are in that place about what to do with gay folks. It’s a frightening thing to let go of what you thought God was like. To die to all that came before, and not quite understand how a harvest of anything good could come.

We might not understand it. But this is the way God works. And the scripture tells us, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love God and who have been called according to God’s purpose.

When Jesus healed people it was a sign of God’s kingdom. And when he healed people, part of the healing included restoring people back into community. When I was coming out I couldn’t stand to go to a Presbyterian church. It was too painful to listen to all the familiar songs and scripture that I had heard for years as condemnation, not good news. At the beginning it was hard enough to fight for my own life, I couldn’t also fight for a place in the church. But at the same time I was led into a progressive Christian community that held me while my faith fell apart and then helped me begin to rebuild.

Looking back on that time I spent buried in the dirt, when I was struggling to come out, I can now see that God never abandoned me. God wasn’t trying to hurt me. God just wanted me to be fully alive, to have abundant life, to grow toward the light.

It is not unreasonable for God to do things that surprise us. Or through out time, for our faith communities to be led by the Spirit into new places that surprise us. Jesus talked about the reign of God in very surprising and subversive ways. Jesus himself was surprising and subversive to the way many things of his day were understood.

In history, the bible has been used to justify slavery and to stop women from being ordained. We can now see that it is reasonable and faithful to see those verses and teachings in the context of their time.

When we hang in there with God, there are gifts. There is a harvest after all the transformation. In my life, coming out was like a crowbar that opened my heart up to God’s love. Realizing I was gay and being honest about it put me on the margins of the church and in much of society. And even that is a gift. As a white person in the United States, I was blind to much of my privilege. Coming out helped me gain some understanding of what it is like to live on the margins. It opened my eyes to see others on the margins. And to see the injustices. And helped me gain more understanding about Jesus and all that he taught. Because he preached to folks on the margins. Under the thumb of an Empire.

When Jesus told stories like today, and talked about the Kingdom of God. I think he was being subversive. One of the ways to think about the kingdom of God, or reign of God, is the way things would be if God’s way was lived out. And that’s very different from the Roman Empire in Jesus’ day, or some of the parts of Empire we live under in the United States.

The reign of God is a revolution of love that subverts the status quo. And it is very queer. I’m sorry if some of you take offence to that word, queer. These days emerging generations of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people have reclaimed the word queer. I like it because it puts me in solidarity with everyone else whose sexuality and gender identity puts them on the margins. And it also points out that I’m not trying to pass as straight. I am queer. I’m not trying to fit into the status quo. I don’t see the world as others might. I’m queer. And so was Jesus. And so is the kingdom of God.

This kingdom isn’t a place you could visit, like the state of Arizona. It seems Jesus was saying it is more like a state of mind. When we begin to live into the reality of how things are and could be through God’s eyes, we’ll be seen as queer by the powers that be. But Jesus let us know through his teaching and death and resurrection that those other powers are of no consequence. It’s God’s Empire, God’s way of doing things, God’s family that matters.

And where God rules there is liberation and freedom for all people. In this day and age, liberation and freedom for all people is pretty queer.

When God rules in our hearts the Roman Empire or the United States Empire isn’t the final word. When God rules in our lives, the religious authorities or the denominational powers that be don’t have complete power over our lives. When the seed of God gets into our mind and heart and life, it takes root and we begin to know that we are God’s beloved. We are not powerless in the face of absurd and power-driven hierarchy. We are not merely victims of prejudice and fear. We are the beloved. We are friends of God. And together we can live into the reality of the reign of God in the here and now.

The Presbyterian church may try to stall and squash the ordination of people like me for the time being. But not even the Presbyterian church can stop the kingdom of God. The Presbyterian Book of Order might officially forbid queer folks from enacting religious rituals in the name of the church, but they can’t stop us from living in the name of God. We will still embody the good news. We will still heal and bless and proclaim that all of life is sacred. And we do it in the name of God.

No matter if you are queer because of who you love, or queer because you follow Jesus. The powers that be can’t silence you either. They can’t stop us. We are part of God’s Reign. We are God’s beloved community; we already have our marching orders. Forget the official papers, or permission slips. There is nothing stopping us from going right on ahead and making the Reign of God reality right here in our lives and community.

Following Jesus’ lead: We can feed those who are hungry right in this courtyard outside.
We have permission to give water to those who are thirsty in the desert. Nothing is stopping us from writing letters and visiting those locked up and treated badly in our prisons.
Or from welcoming strangers into our homes with radical hospitality.

No matter if you call yourself a More Light church or not, you can go ahead and welcome all people into the beloved community, You can welcome compassionate lesbians and gay men, bi-sexual moms, gender-queer teenagers, beautiful drag queens, and sexy drag kings, folks who are right in the middle of transitioning to the gender God made them on the inside, and all the good and faithful people who are just questioning everything.

When the seed of God’s justice and love is planted in here, we’ll do all those things and more. We’ll know that we are the beloved And Love will grow in us. And we will be a force of love that this neighborhood and town just can’t get rid of. We will send out our roots deep and strong. We’ll be a shelter for all those who need a home. And we will love. And we will demand and work toward justice for all.

Jesus said that is what God’s kingdom is like. And that it is here. It is among us and in us. Right now. We have no excuses. God’s kingdom is here and it is coming. So come on. Let that seed of God grow in you, if you dare, if you really want to be fully alive. And let us go forth together, to live and love in the name of God.

How finding like-minded spirits changes the world

This article is great. It was posted by Tom Brackett, who helps midwife innovation in the Episcopal church. He posted it on the Anglimergent ning site.

I'm personally finding a lot of connections between what's happening within The Restoration Project community and all this. --CB

USING EMERGENCE TO TAKE SOCIAL INNOVATIONS TO SCALE

by Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze ©2006

In spite of current ads and slogans, the world doesn't change one person at a time. It changes as networks of relationships form among people who discover they share a common cause and vision of what's possible. This is good news for those of us intent on changing the world and creating a positive future. Rather than worry about critical mass, our work is to foster critical connections. We don't need to convince large numbers of people to change; instead, we need to connect with kindred spirits. Through these relationships, we will develop the new knowledge, practices, courage, and commitment that lead to broad-based change.

But networks aren't the whole story. As networks grow and transform into active, working communities of practice, we discover how Life truly changes, which is through emergence. When separate, local efforts connect with each other as networks, then strengthen as communities of practice, suddenly and surprisingly a new system emerges at a greater level of scale. This system of influence possesses qualities and capacities that were unknown in the individuals. It isn't that they were hidden; they simply don't exist until the system emerges. They are properties of the system, not the individual, but once there, individuals possess them. And the system that emerges always possesses greater power and influence than is possible through planned, incremental change. Emergence is how Life creates radical change and takes things to scale. Click here to continue reading...

Prayer in Action

A few weeks ago Carol spoke with students at the Episcopal Campus Ministry at the University of Arizona. They were headed to a weekend retreat on the theme Prayer in Action and asked her to speak to them about the theme. Here are her notes from beforehand...


This morning I fed our chickens. Eight full grown hens. It was my first time to get to feed and water them at our new place since they moved over from our friend’s house yesterday. I loved it. And I smiled the whole time. Watching them crowd the gate when I brought their feed inside the coop. I even smiled as I carried over a bucket of water. They are beautiful creatures. A couple are Rhode Island Reds, most of the others are, and there’s one black and white speckled one.

After feeding the chickens, I walked over to St. Andrew’s Episcopal church. I go there on Thursday mornings to volunteer in the kitchen. They make hundreds of meals a week that go to folks too sick to cook for themselves. This morning I chopped carrots and celery and washed a giant stack of pots and pans.

Why am I telling you about chickens and carrots and dishes? Because within these very mundane things are examples of prayer in action.

In the Book of Common Prayer there are written prayers of the people. One of the lines from form V says, “For a blessing upon all human labor, and for the right use of the riches of creation, that the world may be freed from poverty, famine, and disaster, we pray to you, O Lord.”

For the right use of the riches of creation…
The chickens are helping reclaim the soil beneath their coop. Their nutrient rich poop, their scratching and pecking will renew the dirt that for years was under an inch of asphalt. We actually tore up the asphalt this week. It came up in huge hunks of black tar.
By getting rid of that section of asphalt we’ll help in a very small way to liberate the earth and to live in right relationship with it. The temperature will be lower in the backyard because that tar won’t be there to absorb the sun. It won’t solve global warming in and of itself. But it is a step we can take.
We pray to you, O Lord.

That the world may be freed from poverty, famine, and disaster…
The chickens, or “the girls” as our housemate Emrys calls them are helping us produce some of our own food. We are also growing some squash, and are getting basins ready to plant some tomatoes and peppers and watermelon, and corn and well, we have a long list. By using permaculture techniques we hope to grow a lot of our own food. This will cut down on our collective use of fossil fuels to transport food to us, and hopefully one day we will grow enough that we can share some of the vegetables with our neighbors who may not have enough to eat.
We pray to you, O Lord.

For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners, and all who are in danger; that they may be relieved and protected…
At St. Andrew’s kitchen meals are made every weekday for people who have HIV-AIDS and have become too weak to cook for themselves. The deacon there is a chef and directs the volunteers preparing and packaging things like smothered steak, chicken enchiladas, tamale pie, brownies, and meatloaf and mashed potatoes. More volunteers come earlier every morning to pick up a map and bags of food to take to people all over the city. Some of the clients who are sick have lost the support of family and friends or they spend any extra money they have on medications and have nothing left for food. The volunteers who bring the meals may be one of the only people they see each week.

In the chopping of carrots, the washing of dishes,
We pray to you, O Lord.

The word Liturgy actually means, “the work of the people.” Without us there is no worship. Without we the people, the prayers have no life. Verna Dozier, who was a lay woman in the Episcopal church and wrote and taught a lot about what it means to be the church, said some good stuff about all this. In her book, The Dream of God, Verna warns us that we shouldn’t get so distracted by doing church, that we loose site of being church. She challenges us to not just worship Jesus, but to follow Jesus. This is true prayer in action. She writes:

“Worship is setting Jesus on a pedestal, distancing him, enshrining (enshrouding) him in liturgies, stained glass windows, biblical translations, medallions, pilgrimages to places where he walked—the whole nine yards. Following him is doing what he did, weeping over a situation that was so far removed from the dream of God and spending his life to make it different. Following is discipleship.”

Following Jesus is putting feet and hands and tears and callouses and ears to our prayers.

It does not mean giving up worship or prayer. Following Jesus just means embodying our worship and prayers when we leave the pews or pillows or couches.

The baptismal covenant is a great guide to what it means to put prayer into action. Every time we who follow in the way of Jesus head out the doors of a church or service we are going out into the world to live into this covenant. Many churches place a bowl of water near the entrance/exit. Next time you leave a service and see water. Try touching it. Remember the covenant. Pray that with God’s help, you will live into it.

and then we read them together...
Will you continue in the ….

Blessed

About 75 people came to the house blessing and open house on Sunday. Thanks to all those who blessed us in person and from afar. It was an incredible day.


The very next day this little friend was seen in the backyard of Casa Mariposa (The Butterfly House). Gretchen got this picture before he flew away.

Upcoming Restoration Project happenings

This weekend is the big move. Eight of us. Four separate households combining stuff. I'm not sure we have any idea what we are in for. And that's okay. We are taking it one step at a time. And singing. And trusting. This community spirit is so much bigger than us.

The Restoration Project will host weekly gatherings at the community house at 34o S. 3rd Ave. All are invited.

Starting this Sunday, March 1, we'll host Sunday mornings at the house.

SUNDAY BRUNCH CHURCH
This gathering will include silent meditation (from 10:30 am till 10:50 am), readings from the bible and other sacred, provocative sources, singing, group reflection, and sharing bread and wine as part of communion (from 11 am till noon) and then brunch/lunch (noon). Anyone can come to any part. We'll meet in the back yard until we get a chair ramp into the house built. You can enter from the alley. We'll still have boxes and stuff everywhere this Sunday. But we wanted our first official day in the house to begin with worship. So come join us in our incomplete imperfection.

The weekend of March 7 & 8 will be a busy one at the house.

YARD SALE
Saturday the 7th we're having a yard sale in the back yard. 8 am till 4 pm. Enter through the alley.

HOUSE BLESSING
Sunday, March 8, is an open house and house blessing. We'll serve lunch after the morning worship and then have an open house till 2:30 pm. The house blessing ritual will happen around 1:30 pm. Come for lunch or for the blessing or just stop by before 2:30 pm. After that we'll probably all be taking Sabbath naps!

We have a Facebook page. It has lot's of pictures from the three Saturday work parties. Type in "The Restoration Project, Tucson" to find it on Facebook.