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On Friday, February 19, the *culture is not optional board of directors met in Pennsylvania before attending the annual Jubilee Conference in Pittsburgh. We had great conversation at Beaver Falls Coffee & Tea about *cino's identity and about fund raising.

The good news

Here's the good news: our work is flourishing. It was fun to be at Jubilee and hear directly from so many people who are inspired by the road journal, who love writing for catapult, who read the daily asterisk quote every day, who want to come to Practicing Resurrection and who are excited to see what is sprouting in Three Rivers at Huss School. We also had many good conversations with college students and post-grads who are striving to discern Kingdom faithfulness in all things: career, family, place, church, relationships and more. We're glad that the resources *cino already offers can provide some of what they need on their journeys.

The...other news

Here's the...other news: we are on the edge financially. Last spring, we stepped out in faith to purchase the historic Huss School building in Three Rivers and it has stretched our organization to the extent that we have urgent needs for the building and other expenses. We board members are praying and trusting that God will provide--and we're getting to work!

Introducing SUSTAIN *cino

SUSTAIN *cino will be our effort over the next few years to cultivate our resources through three phases--getting by, sprouting and thriving--and we need your help. We have outlined three budget goals that will allow the work of *cino--including the Imagining Space project at Huss School--to grow and flourish. We've broken down the goals into monthly target amounts:

• $2,500 per month: June 12, 2010


• $5,000 per month: End of 2010


• $10,000 per month: End of 2011

What we are asking of you now is to consider making a monthly commitment to help us meet our $2,500 per month goal by June 12, our one-year ownership anniversary Huss School. If $10 per month is what you can afford, you will be part of our foundation of many--after all, 150 gifts of all sizes helped us raise $25,000 in 40 days to purchase Huss School! Just think: if each of those 150 households gave $10 per month, we'd be over halfway to our first goal! And if you can afford $20 or $30 per month, you'll help cover the share of someone who benefits from *cino's work, but is in a low or no income situation.

Our experience has been that the foundation of *cino's support will consist of many people like you catching the vision and doing what they can to participate. We are praying and working for major gifts and grants, to be sure, but we also need you to walk with us through the both the thrilling and the difficult times.

Our commitment is to keep doing and growing the good work God has called us to do through *cino and to stay in regular communication with you. Will you match our commitment with one of your own?

Yours in gratitude and trust,
The *culture is not optional Board of Directors
Jeff Bouman
Grant Elgersma
Gail Heffner
Sylvia Keesmaat
Tim Raakman
Hank Suhr
Rob & Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma

To set up a monthly donation or make a one-time contribution, please visit the *culture is not optional web site.

Getting by

• Basic building expenses (mortgage, insurance, utilities)
• Technology costs (server fees, domain registration, etc.)
• Printing and mailing
• Event fees (conference displays, etc.)

Sprouting

• All of the above, plus ...
• A double mortgage payment (paying down principle faster)
• Additional printing budget for books in the Road Map Series
• Salary and benefits for director
• Funding for professional accountant
• Promotional budget

Thriving

• All of the above, plus ...
• Additional mortgage payments, paying off the mortgage in 3 years
• Additional printing and mailing budget for expanded mailing list
• Additional printing budget for books in the Road Map Series
• Intern stipends
• catapult magazine/road journal honoraria
• Salary for part-time property manager
• Additional promotional budget

These budget goals are primarily operational and only extend for the next few years. We're hoping that we'll be able to raise additional funding through grants and other sources to help fund the renovation of Huss School.

• $2,500 per month: June 12, 2010
• $5,000 per month: End of 2010
• $10,000 per month: End of 2011

On the one hand, these goals seem ridiculously ambitious and unattainable. On the other hand, we feel like we're simply following through on *cino's vision. As we reflect on God's faithfulness when *cino's supporters contributed $25,000 in 40 days a little less than a year ago, an annual budget of $120,000 seems pretty realistic. And when we think of what we'd be able to accomplish with such a relatively small institutional budget, we get pretty excited ...

We'll be sending out more information soon about meeting our first goal!

Please pray for imagination, patience and wisdom as we meet!

Kirstin and Rob will also be leading a workshop called "Movin' On Out":

It's important to consider what Christian faithfulness might look like in our unique careers as members of the body of Christ. But what about faithfulness in the practical aspects of the transition from living at school or with our parents to living on our own? This workshop will explore what it means to live into the Kingdom creatively as we choose where to live, establish food habits, cultivate a household and more.

So, if you'll be at the conference, be sure to check out our table in the exhibit hall and, if you're interested, attend our workshop! We'd love meeting new folks and engaging in great conversation.

Byron Borger of Hearts and Minds Books recently named Clutching Dust and Stars the Best First Novel of 2009! Here is Byron's review:

Rob and Natalie are expertly drawn hipster young adults, twenty-somethings who have been out of school for a few years and are "charting various paths of downward mobility." This is set in Bellingham, Washington, in the early years of 2000s, where Natalie's art studio behind the thrift shop is her place of canvas and paint. I can tell you ten things I liked about this well-written drama, and while not every reader will love every moment, this is a first novel by a very thoughtful Christian writer, published by an indie company that we are close to. I don't award the book because of that, but thought you may know their e-zine (catapult) and may have seen it serialized there. We're pretty excited to carry this book, with its allusive title drawn from The Kabbalah, despite its raw tale and deep struggles about faith and justice...no, it is because of this that we so affirm it. As the author puts it, "the story follows the tensions between various poles: dust and stars, apathy and idealism, love and sadness, disbelief and faith, graffiti and art, Rob and Natalie." Best first novel, 2009!

Of course, we encourage you to check out all of the "Best of 2009" recommendations at Hearts and Minds; they've got a great end-of-year list! And remember to mention *culture is not optional when purchasing ... we'll get a 10% donation for sending you in their direction.

Non-profit begins publishing fiction in the midst of economic downturn

THREE RIVERS, MI - November 5, 2009

Despite the fact that the global economy is in shambles and doom-and-gloom abounds in the publishing industry, *culture is not optional (*cino) will be making a foray into the fiction department with the release of Clutching Dust and Stars, a debut novel by Laryn Kragt Bakker.

"Much of *cino's work is about storytelling, which is a fundamental practice for learning and connecting as we all attempt to live into meaningful visions for our lives," says Publications Director Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma. "Our focus until now has been on telling the lived stories of actual people, but I look forward to seeing how the fictional story of Rob and Natalie--two broken people searching for healing and acceptance--will invite our readers into a different kind of reflection about themselves and their communities."

When Kragt Bakker began developing characters and writing first drafts nine years ago, he was a resident of Bellingham, Washington, and the story takes place in a fictionalized version of the city at that time.

"It's gratifying to see this process so close to completion," he said. "It's been long, hard, and also quite rewarding. I wasn't sure it would ever see the light of day at times."

In the novel, a shadow of 1999's "Battle of Seattle" can be felt in the streets of Bellingham in the form of protests and an anarchy collective. Natalie and Rob are twenty-somethings who have been out of school for a few years and are charting various paths of downward mobility. Natalie has retreated into the back room of a thrift shop with canvas and paint. Rob has abandoned his dream of edgy mainstream journalism and is trying to tap into the activist energy with photocopies and self-made stickers.

The novel will be released on November 20, 2009. See http://clutchingdustandstars.com for more information and for high res images of the cover and the author.

About the Author

Laryn Kragt Bakker was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has a degree in graphic design and computer science from Dordt College and is currently living in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and daughter. He painted the original cover art used for the novel. In addition to writing and art, he is a graphic designer and web developer for non-profit organizations. This is his first novel.

About *culture is not optional

*culture is not optional has been publishing online since 2002 when catapult magazine went live with bi-weekly, themed issues that weave together faith and everyday life with communal storytelling. The spirit of catapult has been embodied in print through the quarterly road journal and The Road Map Series, and in person through camping, conferences, workshops and, most recently, the purchase of an historic school building in Three Rivers, Michigan. With an off-campus program for college students and services for at-risk youth, the building will be a hub for imaginative, integrated personal and community development.

Clutching Dust and Stars is currently available for pre-order directly from *culture is not optional through the online store at http://clutchingdustandstars.com.

Hopefully the next road journal will be in the mail soon ...

Basically, throughout the summer of 2009, Rob and I will visit churches, farms, farmer's markets and other locations throughout the midwestern U.S. and Canada exploring food and faith issues. We'll conduct interviews, assist in networking around food justice and conduct workshops on food and storytelling. The workshop will explore how our food choices can represent faithful improvisation on the themes of the Christian story, including justice, abundance, love, hospitality, creativity, stewardship and more.

Check out the tour web site for more details, including a tour blog where we'll chronicle the people, places and ideas we'll encounter along the way. And watch for a stop near you!

In fact, we already have an accepted offer in on Huss School, an historic school building on four acres of land that would be an ideal location for all kinds of unique and service-oriented programming. The (initial) tricky part of the offer is that we have until May 27 to raise the $20,000 down payment. Should we be able to manage that, we'll move forward with other challenges posed by the Huss building.

Regardless of whether the current offer is completed, we're looking to move forward on finding a physical space for *cino to do its work. For more, take a look at our Imagining Space web site, where we offer a vision for what we hope to do with a building like Huss, introduce the property itself, tell the story of how we've gotten to this point in *cino's development, and intend to keep folks updated on our efforts.

We're hoping we'll be able to complete the purchase of Huss and move forward, but we'll need your support to do so. If you've enjoyed *cino's work and are interested in this new opportunity for its incarnation, please consider donating for our campaign. We would very much appreciate your contribution!

The students were very passionate and sharp, making the conversation was thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you, especially, to Michael Stevens for the invitation!

We'd encourage you to visit the Festival web site for audio resources, photos and information about participants. I'd specifically recommend the incredible conversation between Lupe Fiasco and Cornel West, the Cornel West lecture, and two excellent articles by Marty Garner about headliners The Hold Steady and Lupe Fiasco. Actually, all of the workshops are pretty fantastic, so you should just subscribe to the FFM podcast and download everything. :)

We will also be presenting a workshop called "Eat Well," in which we'll be exploring broken food systems and how we might participate in a more holistic approach to eating faithfully.