The Eat Well Food Tour sponsored by *culture is not optional (*cino) and the the Office of Social justice for the Christian Reformed Church. Rob and Kirstin lead the workshop at Many Peoples Church in Roger’s Park last night I attended the workshop after Reconciler,so I arrived a bit late and missed the beginning of the workshop. When I arrived they were talking about bananas and how their ubiquity as food has a story one that includes diverting economies and land for the production of a product that was exported. The banana we know it is only one variety and was cultivated for its ease of transport. Incidentally it is among the blandest of bananas. the Cultivation and export and import of bananas continues to be a troublesome aspect of current practices in the food industry. The term Banana republic is related to this story of [...]

Original post by lekamphausen@netzero.net (Larry Kamphausen)

Saturday night was Nocturna at the Metro, for its 21st anniversary celebration. 21 years ago, Goth wasn’t exactly new, Bauhaus had been broken up for four years, Sisters of Mercy had formed and split and continued on as Andrew Eldrich’s baby. Dead can Dance had released their 4th album and their first album had come out in 1984. The Cure had there 7th album out. I had just met Alex who identified as Goth and Roman Catholic and through that friendship discovered my own affinity with Goth. Goth was not new but not yet old either. At the club I had an extended conversation with a friends boy friend about the lack of anything new in music and art. Ironic perhaps as we were at a club that was celebrating that Goth has been around longer than a good [...]

Original post by lekamphausen@netzero.net (Larry Kamphausen)

I am commenting on the controversy that rippled through the interwebs around the future of the emergent church movement(EC). I discovered this when I went to the blogs of Julie and Mike earlier this week though it is now a controversy about seven day’s old, and erupted while I was fine tuning recent changes made to Reconciler’s liturgy, writing a sermon, going to weddings, and anxiously following the fund raising progress of *cino as they sought to purchase property in Three River’s Michigan. I don’t know that I exactly have a great deal at stake in this debate, though I recently admitted to my friend Tripp (he also has weighed in on this question), that I might just be emergent after all. I have a very conflicted view of the Emergent church, The up-rooted cohort here in Chicago was part of the early conversations that lead [...]

Original post by lekamphausen@netzero.net (Larry Kamphausen)

Ok, Facebook polls aren’t working but I want some opinions..
Do you think listening to vaguely Christian music is being exposed to empty doctrines? Are songs which sing of God’s love yet absent of the cross as dangerous as the prosperity gospel?
“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, God loves you”“God wants the best for your life NOW!”
hmm.. without going on a rant, I’ll leave it at that…Any thoughts?

Original post by Josh Simons

I realized today that I had posted on *Culture is Not Optionals(*CINO) effort to get a space in Three River’s Michigan on the community’s blog a couple of times in May, but not here. Some of you probably have seen me post about this on facebook a couple of times. *CINO is looking to acquire an old school house in Three Rivers Michigan as a center for *CINO. For all the details of this project and the fundraising you can go here Whether you are a regular reader or just stoping by for the first time, I encourage you to follow the link and if this seems like a worthy cause to contribute to the cause. They are very close to raising the full amount they need to close on the property. I don’t usually use this blog to help fund raise [...]

Original post by lekamphausen@netzero.net (Larry Kamphausen)