Bowhunting skills, computer-hacking skills, COMMUNICATION skills. Communities need people with great SKILLS.

   Hello all!  I am at home sick today, but feeling better after my morning cup of coffee.   Sorry for the terrible Napoleon Dynamite quote... couldn't help myself.  I had a conversation the other day that inspired me to write a little bit more about the curriculum of Formation House that we have worked on so far.

    The purpose of the Formation House year (or maybe ONE of the purposes) is to create leaders that can start intentional communities of their own and gain tools to aid communities in which they find themselves ( i.e. churches, neighborhoods, schools, jobs, etc.).  The year is divided into three sections with an intentional focus in each-

   1. Communication and listening skills.

   2. Leadership.

   3. Visiting other communities, Preparing for the next step.

     We are just now beginning the second period on Leadership, but I wanted to share some reflections on our time on Communication.

     In our time in Pittsburgh so far, we have met a good number of people that are interested or have lived in intentional communities before.  Some are excited about it but some share stories about how living in community was hard or hurtful.  I think a wider number of people could relate to this if they have ever been apart of a church or group of friends that has split over struggles with group dynamics.   Just given human nature, community can be messy.  When you share space and life with people, it is easy to come to places of conflict.  All this is the backdrop for our first section of study.  To create a community of any kind, there must be room for communication and healthy ways to go about it.  Considering we did not know each other when we all moved here, we have spent a good deal of time getting to know each other and learning to communicate well!  We have had the routine of meeting on Monday nights (or whenever we can) to discuss the following material:

    We first focused on the book The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work by John Gottman.  While this year's group is all married, Formation House has a vision for married and single people studying this book.  The book is written to married couples but can apply to a wide variety of relationships.   For example, one principle is "Create shared meaning."  For a community to continue to function, there must be a shared purpose and meaning between it's members as they look at their goals in the present and future.  This book was very informative- I gave it to my brother and sister-in-law who just got married.

   We then discussed Marshal Rosenberg's Non-violent Communication, and talked about ways to listen and share needs in a way that invites other's to respond in a compassionate way.  The podcasts are very informative, and he shares many experiences where this style of communication has created deeper connection and even kept people out of harm.

   The last study we did was of Collaborative Communication.  This study gave some ways to map out conflicts or important issues in a way that leads to a collaborative resolution.  The awareness wheel was especially helpful.  It is a mat you can set out on the floor and talk through an issue as you stand on different parts of the mat (Communication Twister!).  We have used it in our discussions of chores and how to keep things clean.  Not the easiest subject, but the wheel allows everyone to voice their needs and share in the conversation.  It has lead us to some great routines with the use of our space!

   I have tried to keep this short but the truth is I could talk at length about each of these resources.  It has been great to study these as a group, and I look forward to our next unit on Leadership!  I also feel the need to let everyone know that Formation House is accepting applications for next year.  They will be doing the same curriculum with a group from August 2011 to August 2012.  It has been incredibly meaningful for us, and I my hope is that the 2011 group will learn as much as we have been.  So! There's the plug!

Formation House Article

    I posted a while back about our community being in a magazine.  Thanks Kati for sharing that the link to the article didn't work!  Here is a link to the article on Jay and Amber's blog since they posted about it as well.   Formation House Article

    If you haven't gotten a chance to read the article, I recommend it!  It has a great picture of Jenn "leading a discussion" (she was actually just reading a book, haha).

The Church is not a building, folks.

  The Church is not a building.  We are the church.

  

   I remember when my little brother, Eric, came home one day from church and shared this idea with everyone when we were kids.  It was what he had learned in bible school and he was repeating it proudly to show everyone how much he knew.  But I remember being very confused by this as a kid, because the church I knew met in the church building.  We "go to" or "attend church" on Sunday mornings, then we leave the "church" (building) afterwards and go home.  

   I have long understood the meaning of "being the church," but living in intentional community has really made this truth come alive for me.   One reason is that this lifestyle ensures that church doesn't only happen on Sunday but is something you are apart of daily.  When you share space regularly with Christians and have meals often, it begins to change how you see your faith.  It becomes less about punching in on Sunday, and more about being a part of something bigger than yourself.   So, I guess that I am most excited to share is what all we have been doing lately that I see as being apart of our little church.

   We have focused on hospitality lately and have had people over for dinner several times a week for the past several weeks.  They have been staying for and participating in our nightly prayer time afterwards.  I love having a full house!

   We have been reading the Rule of St. Benedict before dinner as a group.

   We have been learning new prayer styles such as Taize, Lectio Divina,  Examine, Praying in Color, and have been reading from Shane Claiborne's new book of Common Prayer.  I have also been excited to be the song leader for our groups- teaching and learning new songs for prayer.

  We are about to start reading the book Creating a Healthier Church together.  The curriculum for the year is shifting from healthy communication to focus on leadership, emotional awareness and group dynamics in church.

  I will leave you with some pictures of us snow tubing and enjoying winter. They are about a month old, and I can't say that I am still enjoying winter this much!  

Tube-Train with Scott and Kari!

Jenn  about to go down.

We got the train thing down.

Jay and Amber.

Remember when we loved winter!? Now we can't wait for Spring!

Good Eats

Hello! Jenn here, back from a two-month absence. Seeing so many people who actually read this thing on our recent trip to Dallas encouraged me to get back on the writing wagon! (Not sure why you do it, folks, but thanks.) Last week was a bit of a whirlwind--after being in Dallas for Eric and Alyson's wedding, seeing every friend we could in Texas, and then getting stuck in Atlanta for two days due to a colossal ice storm (with my parents--YEAH!), it took us a little bit of time to get back to our Pittsburgh "normal."

Just for the fun of it, here's some pictures from Eric and Alyson's wedding. So happy for them (and me--now I have a sister-in-law!)

But on to the main point of this post. We got a lot of joy out of telling all our Texas family about our adventures up here. Pretty consistently, any time we would begin telling someone about our lives in Pgh, these were the first words out of our mouths: "We eat goooooooooood" (even though it's really 'we eat *well*'--oh grammar nazi who lives inside me, I just can't leave you). It's hard, nay, impossible, to talk about our community without talking about the FOOD! We are surrounded by wonderful cooks who bring years of experience to our table every night. One of our community members, Amber (whose blog you can and should read here), who has way more gumption than I will ever have, has taken it upon herself to compile our favorite recipes into a cookbook. I thought I would share some of them with you. If you ever make these and enjoy them yourselves, you have her to thank, because I am literally just copying and pasting these from the online cookbook she's made.

**I've made this one a couple times; makes a very rich, green pesto.

Spinach Linguine with Spinach Arugula and Walnut Pesto
adapted from The Ten Things You Should Eat

• 3 ounces baby arugula
• 5 ounces fresh spinach, blanched
• ½ cup olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup walnut halves
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound spinach linguine

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients except for the pasta in a blender and blend until smooth. Add a little water to the mixture if blending is troublesome.
Add a little salt to the boiling water and cook the linguine al dente. Drain and toss with the pesto. To serve, divide the pasta among 6 bowls, top each with a small handful of arugula, and some Parmesan cheese. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Serves 6

**This next one Amber made once and I fell in deep, deep love.

Stuffed Acorn Squash
adapted from: Simply in Season

• 2-3 large acorn squash or other winter squash

Cut squash in half and remove the seeds and strings. Place cut side down on a lightly greased baking sheet with sides. Bake at 350 degrees until almost soft but not mushy, 40-50 minutes. You may do this step in advance. Remove from the oven, fill with the following stuffing:

• 1 pound sausage
• 1 diced onion
• 1 diced apple
• 2 cups toasted bread cubes
• 3/4 cup nuts
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 Tbs sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1/4 tsp each of: dried thyme, basil and oregano

Brown sausage in a large skillet. Add onion and apple and saute just until tender. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients and stuff into cooked squash, cover and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Serves: 4-6

**Ryan makes this granola every single week.

Granola
adapted from: More with Less Cookbook

• 2 cups whole wheat/quinoa/spelt flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup coconut (optional)
• 1 cup flax seed
• Optional: nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, are also good spices to add. About 4 Tbs total will do.

Blend together in a large bowl and set aside.

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup honey or molasses (using some honey will create clusters in your granola)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbs salt

Combine wet ingredients together. Add wet ingredients to blended dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spread out on 2 greased cookie sheets and bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour or until dry and golden. Add dried fruit if desired. Store in containers.
Makes 2 1/3 - 3 quarts

There you have it: a small sampling of the outrageously delicious meals that pass through our kitchen each week. Bon appetit!

Formation House article

     Our Formation House friends and us were featured in recent article about christian communities.  I am excited to share it with everyone.  The title of the article is "Presbyterian Monastics."  It was featured in Presbyterian Today and I encourage you to read it with an open heart regarding the way God moves in and among his people (even if you are not a Presbyterian!).
    All that said, the article provides some good information on the discussions that are going on about how Christians are seeking closer relationships to their neighbors and to God.  And it shows pictures of Dave, Karen, Jay, Amber, and Jenn and I.  There is a great picture of Jenn!  Enjoy!

JF11_presbyMonastics-1.pdf

AOTY Coup D'état

     I know everyone is probably wondering how we are doing in Pittsburgh, and it would be beneficial to our friends elsewhere to write about the amazing Formation House community and our adventures in the snow, but!....

I'm not going to do that....

(if you would like more of an update, check out Jay and Amber's blog-Adventures in Togetherness)

     It is December and I have been listening to music all year long to formulate an Albums of The Year (AOTY) 2010 list.  Just as this list has taken over my mind the past several weeks, I now take over our blog so I can share it with YOU!  It's just that exciting.  If you or someone you know is looking for new music, I recommend all of these.   To keep things sort of brief, I only wrote a few words about each album, but if you want to know more let me know.  SO!  Without further ado, I give you

 Ryan's Best Albums of 2010.

(also known as: The Best Albums of 2010 Period.)

10.  Broken Bells-  The High Road 

Fun album.  These guys are funky.  Honestly haven't listened to the lyrics, distracted by the beats.

9.  Josh Ritter- So Runs The World Away

Very low key.  Excellent song writing and story telling.  I think Mr. Ritter is a genious.

8.  The National- High Violet

Love their rhythm and orchestration on this album.  Took me a while to like their style.  Had "Bloodbuzz Ohio" in my head for weeks.

7.  Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

Upon second listen, completely fell for this album.  Heavy subjects and not as epic as past albums, but very catchy.  Every song is a win.

6.  The Crazy Heart Soundtrack

Watch the movie.  Great songwriting with a Country-Western flair.  Some of my favorite songs of the year.

5.  Sufjan Stevens- The Age of Adz

Good ol' Sufjan folk disguised in a mask of synthy-techno mess.   Excellent. 

4.  Mumford and Sons-  Sigh No More

Very positive message, great lyrics.  Upbeat banjo folky-folk. 

3.  The Tallest Man on Earth- The Wild Hunt

If you don't like his voice, keep listening. Great solo acoustic stuff, great lyrics.  Confessional and inspiring.

2.  The New Pornographers- Together

Completely overlooked excellence.  Have heard no buzz about this album.  I loved it on the first listen.  Very catchy.

1.  Dr. Dog- Shame, Shame

I hate to use the word "accessible," but if you are not into "weird" stuff, you might like these guys. This album is a lot of fun! Great music, great lyrics, a little bit of everything.  Now one of my favorite bands.

Any feedback?

After writing this, I realized we have not updated everyone in a while.  That needs to happen. More to come.  

-Ryan

Song of the South

      Moving to a different part of the country, Jenn and I have been thinking a lot about the differences in where we are from and where we are now.  I think we have whittled down our answers to several things that we like about living "in the North."  Pittsburghers would probably label themselves as some kind of "halfsie", not Northern or Southern but somewhere in the middle. (Yes that was an Office reference..)  However, we will use the Mason-Dixon line as our guide and for the sake of this post, Pittsburgh is in the North.
    Back to the point.  We are really living in a different part of the country.  We like Pittsburgh because it is local.  You do not find a big box store on every corner.  You can find many restaurants that use local, organic food and are completely locally owned.  Pittsburgh has a neighborhood feel.  We love the community of folks we have fallen into.  We cannot be more happy or thankful for the Formation House "Pilot" group.
    While it has been refreshing to live in a different environment, coming home to Georgia for Thanksgiving has been great.   Getting used to living in Pittsburgh has been one huge swirl of activity and adapting to our new home.  It has been gratifying, and I would not change a thing. But it is also true, that as your life moves and changes, you must remember where you are from.  Seeing Jenn's family yesterday (which, by the way, had %100 family attendance!) for Thanksgiving reminded me of the support and love they have given us in our journey.  We are at home here, and we know we are always welcome.  We talked with my family on the phone for a while and I also thought about how they have, in their own way, been there for us and supported us.  We know that we always have a place in Dallas or in Georgia for support and love.  I cannot put into words how THANKFUL I am to have two wonderful families.  God has blessed us immensely!

The Merrill and Locke Families, Thanksgiving 2010

  
This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for where I am from and the family that I have.

       "All the sweetest winds, they blow across the South."

To finish, some pictures of family.

Drewby

Locke family at our Wedding

Eric and Alyson- soon to be Newlyweds!

Papaw

Nanny and Brousin Danny

Jessica and Paul

Cousin Rachel