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An enormous "Thank you!" to all who participated in the Culture Make Sale, whether by contributing goods and offering services, purchasing others' donations, or simply perusing the website and sharing in the event.

*culture is not optional's network stretches across the globe, and thanks to the success of the Culture Make Sale, that web of connections is growing! Over the past two months, friends of *cino new and old, from all over, have given and received gifts of time, energy, and resources, to benefit the renovation and development of the former Huss School building into a community center in Three Rivers, Michigan. Handmade ceramics, customized love letters and website design, brilliant books and poetry, yard work, artwork, apple pies, and so much more - these are little bits of human culture that enrich our lives, and all the more so when they are shared.

Thanks to all for helping raise over $1500 for the Imagining Space at Huss School! Your continued support ensures that Huss School is on its way to becoming a place of peace, hope, and justice.

Additionally, the sale will continue soon in Three Rivers: World Fare, a fair trade store downtown, has partnered with *cino as an outlet to sell goods that give life to projects and endeavors in the local community. Be sure to stop by 37 N. Main St. in the near future and check out the many wonderful items still on sale!

Imagining Space, the project that *culture is not optional (*cino) has undertaken to renovate the former Huss School building in Three Rivers, Michigan, is a venture in creativity. Our vision is to develop the site as an intergenerational community and educational center and an semester program for college students. Already in place at the property is a community garden that donates over a thousand of pounds of fresh vegetables to families in need every year. Also, two annual "Future Festivals" have drawn the community into the space for summertime fun. Imagination and creativity are central themes which drive this endeavor's efforts toward hope, justice and grace, and the Culture Make Sale as a fundraiser is a perfect fit for the spirit being cultivated at the Huss School property.

Handcrafted items and customized services of all sorts are available for sale online through September 30, and all proceeds will benefit the continuation of the building's revitalization. Goods such as stationery, art, photography, clothing, poetry, ceramics, and more have been donated by supporters all over the country. In addition, the sale features many services, such as a session with a consultant on writing a college application essay, a website design, and a customized handmade quilt, love letter, embroidered icon; the list goes on.  Browsers are encouraged to check back often, as new items are being added weekly. Some services are only available in the Three Rivers area, and free pick-up on select items is available.

*culture is not optional is still accepting handmade items and services as donations to the sale. Visit the donation page to find more information about contributing.  The page also includes a list of ideas for what to donate.

The sale's name comes from the book Culture Making by Andy Crouch, which challenges Christians to be actively involved in culture, creating rather than simply consuming or condemning what's going on around them. "We're really excited about how this sale reflects our future hopes for the Huss School property," said *cino co-director Rob Vander Giessen-Reitsma.  "We hope it will be a space of creativity, joy and collaboration, which is what the Culture Make Sale is all about." Participate in "culture making" by purchasing homemade goods and services, or by offering to donate your own talents and gifts!

Links for more information:

• Culture Make Sale
• Imagining Space Project
• Also find the event "Culture Make Sale! (Online Event)" on Facebook

The Culture Make Sale held a wonderful preview event at the Huss Future Festival on July 30, featuring jewelry, stationery, framed photographs, *cino mugs and more. There will be so many great items to choose from when the online store launches on September 1 to help fund the development of a community center and off-campus program! Supporters from all around the world can participate in this project by donating and purchasing a wide array of handmade goods and services. On the list of items so far: a web site, a customized love letter, a customized icon, a handmade jewelry box and college application consultation sessions. What can you contribute? Please get in touch if you have something to give...and watch the Culture Make Sale web site for more details!

Huss Future Festival took place last Saturday, as 300 visitors from near and far filled the hallways with music, laughter, participation and creativity. We had a good ol' time and raised over $600 for the Imagining Space Project at Huss, in addition to raising funds for Triple Ripple Community Gardens and the annual Back to School Celebration. See the Imagining Space blog for a full report from the festival, as well as our photos of the event. CAUTION: if you missed it, you're going to wish you hadn't!

Steve and Mel Montgomery's wonderful hospitality began the moment we pulled in the driveway of their lovely 65-acre farm and only grew over the three days of ^camping is not optional. A beautifully restored, three-story white house stands guard at the top of the hill over acres of pastures and woods. As an educational space overseen by the Montgomery family, along with a board of directors and a group of core partners, Lamppost Farm is a place of teaching and conversation around faith as an everyday way of life -- a perfect dovetail for a co-sponsored event with *culture is not optional.

Highlights of the weekend included:

• Talking and relaxing around the campfire.


• Learning how to slaughter and process grass-fed Lamppost Farm chickens and having good discussions about life, death, meat and normative behavior.


• Watching Drew Montgomery's baseball team win their Friday night game.


• Playing corn hole with minimal scoring and maximum coach-talk cliches.


• Reuniting with old friends and meeting some new ones.


• Cooking and eating fantastic meals with meat and produce raised (and even butchered) right at the farm.


• Playing with farm pets, including Misty and her new kitten.


• Sharing the joys and struggles of running small, start-up non-profit organizations and wrestling with issues like health insurance and retirement savings in the context of a life of faith and risk-taking.

For a visual account, check out our photos of the event. We hope for the best as the Montgomery's and their partners continue to cultivate the mission of the farm and look forward to our next visit. Our time there really whet our appetites for this summer's second ^camping event at Maple Tree Meadows in Three Rivers -- registration is open now!

Join us on July 30 for the Second Annual Huss Future Festival! This year's event will include live music, food from the Triple Ripple Community Garden and the Three Rivers Area Faith Community, an art and art supply sale sponsored by the Three Rivers Artist Guild, a used clothing sale ... and more! We invite you to drop by to get a glimpse of the vision for the Imagining Space at Huss School.

On July 28-30, we're also partnering with Maple Tree Meadows to host a ^camping is not optional event in Three Rivers. This beautiful farm is only ten minutes from Huss School, making it an ideal place to stay if you're coming into town for the Future Festival. Our camping events are very informal, but provide plenty of opportunities for sharing good food, stories, farm chores, songs and more. If you'd like, you could also volunteer for the Festival while you're here; just send us a note to let us know you're interested. We have limited space available, so register early!

When we started camping--way back in 2001 when *cino was just an asterisk-shaped glimmer in our eyes--the idea was to camp every year in various locations. We camped in Pennsylvania that first year, and then in Michigan, West Virginia and Illinois. Finally, we landed in a very comfy spot at Russet House Farm in Cameron, Ontario, in conjunction with the biennial Practicing Resurrection conference. The conference will go on (watch for future info about the August 2012 event on the theme of the 100-Mile Imagination), but on this off year for Practicing Resurrection, we're going to spread out once again, with ^camping events in Columbiana, Ohio and Three Rivers, Michigan.

Camping in Columbiana will take place July 7-9 at a lovely little spot called Lamppost Farm. Our friends Steve and Mel and their kids, whom we met through the first Practicing Resurrection conference in 2006, have cultivated a small homestead there. They're looking forward to welcoming campers for conversation, exploration, camp fires and, for the stout-hearted who really want to know more about where their food comes from, chicken processing.

Camping in Three Rivers will take place July 28-30 at Maple Tree Meadows. With the help of many neighbors, our friend Karla has been prayerfully and contemplatively rescuing this historic farm from neglect. The dates for this opportunity just happen to coincide with the 2011 Huss Future Festival, a day-long event on July 30 full of art, live music, food, recycled goods for sale and imagining possibilities for *culture is not optional's space at Huss School.

Facilities at both locations will be rustic, so come prepared to rough it. You can register now at the ^camping is not optional web site, for just $10 per night per adult (kids camp free with their parents). Space is limited, so register soon! We look forward to seeing you there.