Recently in Ideas Category

Last year at about this time, we felt the spirit move. Kirstin and I were listening to a presentation by Bill Strickland of Manchester Craftsmen's Guild at the annual Jubilee Conference in Pittsburgh and an idea began to take shape.

Strickland shared his amazing story, from growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Pittsburgh to creating a world-class community center that transforms the lives of kids and families in that same neighborhood. He spoke of bringing beauty into the inner-city and giving kids his prescription for thriving: sunlight, affection and good food.

His story isn't some pie-in-the-sky liberal do-gooding; he's driven to see kids live into their deep potential so this country can solve some of its most entrenched social problems. And he's got the statistics to show that his program is working. When almost 50% of students of color are drop out of high school, over 90% of the students in his program graduate. He has training programs teaching welfare mothers how to be gourmet chefs, horticulturalists and pharmaceutical technicians--the same women who have been told time and time again that they aren't worth anything. It's amazing what a little sunlight and attention can do for the human spirit.

A few months later, we took the leap of faith that is the Imagining Space project. We have a long way to go and our project will look a lot different than Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, but a lot of the underlying motivation is similar. We want to create a beautiful space for the people of Three Rivers and for students around North America, cultivating opportunities to transform this community and others toward abundant flourishing. With your help, I'm pretty sure we can do it ... we'll just need to be patient and keep pressing on toward the goal!

I'd highly recommend watching Strickland's lecture below. Unfortunately, the photos he's showing during the presentation didn't make it into the video; however, the story is still inspiring to hear. Just imagine what we might be able to do in Three Rivers!

On the way to work this morning, we heard two stories from Michigan Public Radio that sparked connections for me with the Huss School project. One was about an old school building in Detroit that's being converted into artist studios, retail space, offices and more. The other was this week's edition in a series of interviews that Christina Shockley is doing, with each interviewee suggesting three things they think could be done in Michigan to help get the state back on its feet. I especially liked how hip hop artist Invincible, this morning's interviewee, suggested that creativity needs to be woven into our problem-solving in order to expand people's imaginations and push the boundaries of what's considered possible. Makes me even more excited to try to recruit local artists to submit renderings of the space's potential...

Kirstin offers a few ideas in her catapult magazine editorial for what she'd love to see at Huss School as we move forward with the Imagining Space project. Check it out and then add your own!

For the past six years, Rob and I have been attending the Jubilee Conference in Pittsburgh every February. Jubilee is a gathering of college students from throughout the eastern U.S. and Canada who have a hunger to learn about how faith thoroughly infuses all of life, from studies to vocation and everywhere in between.

There are always wonderful speakers, both on the main stage and in workshops. One in particular has stood out for us this year: Bill Strickland. Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Strickland cultivated a sense of worth and creativity thanks to a teacher who let him throw as many pots as he wanted to on the pottery wheel in the art room. After high school, rather than using his perspective and skills to get out of Pittsburgh, he returned to invite other students to create pottery. The Manchester Craftsmen's Guild was born as a humble house-based operation, but now dwells in a beautiful building in north Pittsburgh that includes a state-of-the-art music hall where jazz legends have recorded benefit albums for the organization. The Manchester Bidwell Corporation has also developed vocational training programs in pharmaceuticals, culinary arts and orchid cultivation.

Strickland tells his story in a book, Making the Impossible Possible, which we've recommended over and over again since Jubilee. But seeing him speak in person, I was struck by his humility and matter-of-factness. He's simply done what needed to be done in order to achieve an extraordinary vision. He's proud, but not vain and grateful, but not overly sentimental. He also has a goal to see models based on MCG emerge in 200 cities around the world. We're really tempted to take him up on that challenge as we envision what's possible in Three Rivers.

At the core of Strickland's philosophy is that people who are financially, emotionally and spiritually poor don't just need basic material things; for true internal and communal transformation, we all need beauty and affection. A serviceable building may protect the body from the weather, but a beautiful building will nourish the spirit. A boring-but-nutritious meal may give us the vitamins we need to survive, but a lovingly, skillfully prepared feast will give us the wonder we need to thrive.

As we think about how this building project might be a blessing to Three Rivers in whatever space it lands, I don't doubt that Strickland's ideas about serving deep needs with great beauty will be foundational, as well as his practical model of arts and vocational education.

May 27 is here! We set this date and the $20,000 fundraising goal early in May according to the terms of *cino's offer to purchase the historic Huss School in Three Rivers, Michigan. As I write, we have just over $5,000 left to go and we're still waiting to see what the rest of this day brings.

The past few weeks have been exhilarating and exhausting. So many words of wisdom, encouragement and caution have come our way as we've put a big dream out there to see what happens. Will we breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate if we reach this first goal? Of course! Dozens of people from all over the world have already come together in hopeful anticipation of what might be possible for a small organization in a small town in southwest Michigan.

A celebration will honor the guiding success of the past month, but it will also be an opportunity to renew our collective commitment to the next phase of hard work. If Huss School is the place we're called to be, there are many logistics in our very near future--negotiating fees and contracts, gathering information, signing papers. If Huss School is not the place we're called to be, there's the work of taking a step back as a board of directors and community of stakeholders to re-imagine where to direct the momentum that's gathered behind the campaign. Beyond either outcome, there's more planning, meeting, talking, fundraising, grant writing, blogging...

Amid all of this, Rob and I stand with all of you at an intersection--the intersection of past and future, of global and local, of pushing and being pulled, of audacity and caution. We pray that our stillness at this intersection is and will continue to be characterized by love, faith, hope and joy that reach deeper than we can ever fully know and tie all of us to the great mystery of God's heart.

So please donate if you can. Send us your thoughts if you have words in waiting. And go in peace to embody Love through service in the place where you are. Thank you for your attentiveness to Imagining Space!

Last night we held a hastily-arranged question and answer session in Three Rivers about the Imagining Space project. We gathered at World Fare (the fair trade store Kirstin and I helped found in 2003) to eat delicious treats (thanks Amber!) and discuss possibilities for the Huss School property.

About a dozen people with various connections to the project--from neighborhood residents to relatives--talked about dreams, obstacles and fundraising ideas. The excitement buzzing around the table was invigorating; everyone in Three Rivers who hears about this project seems to be happy at the prospect of the building being used for something that will bring many benefits to the community.

If we manage to purchase Huss, we'll certainly be doing more of these sessions in the future!

This morning, Rob and I worked at World Fare, the volunteer-run fair trade store we helped found in Three Rivers in 2003. Word has continued to circulate around town about our plans for Huss School and the Imagining Space project and one theme of the responses we're hearing lately regards the huge-ness of this dream. Some folks are refreshed and inspired, while others are terrified.

One of the questions we've heard several times is, "Why not start a little smaller?" Honestly, we've asked ourselves that question. And we have to be prepared to change courses to something different or smaller depending on how fundraising goes over the next several days.

That said, going big has its advantages. Imaginative audacity has a way of cutting through the noise of the mundane, of helping people remember that our lives and communities are infinitely interesting, chock full of possibility. There are logistical reasons as well. Pursuing a space that can hold many kinds of interwoven programming increases points of educational and relational connection for everyone. It also holds greater potential for funding from state and federal sources, as well as private foundations, as each program's purpose can be enhanced by the others.

Here's what one thoughtful Three Rivers follower of the Imagining Space project sent over a couple of days ago:

By the way, you guys rock! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever envision such cool things happening in Three Rivers. Like your friend said in the quote you have on the *cino web site (though greatly paraphrased), even if you fail, you will have failed in such a spectacular way. Not in a half-hearted, barely tried kinda way. Attempting to realize such a magnificent goal, dreaming big and taking such a great risk takes heart, passion, and more faith than I can understand. And in the end, the failure will not be a failure but an opportunity to regroup and address your dreams in a different and unique perspective. Perhaps an opportunity will open up that wasn't possible before. Keep going forward. Both of you are inspiring people around you through example in such a powerful way.

We are so grateful for encouragement like this that recognizes the challenges of the project, while also reveling in its possibilities for collective imagination and dreaming big.

One of the big ideas for the space that results from the Imagining Space campaign is an off-campus program for college students. In the course of shared meals, grocery trips, concerts and other activities with our student friends at Calvin College, we've come to realize the value of simply doing life together as a means of collaboratively learning what a richly formed, Kingdom-oriented life might look like. Building on these experiences, we'd like to cultivate a space in which inquisitive students can have these kinds of formative encounters with each other and with mentors and teachers.

While we've spent a lot of time brainstorming about this program, we haven't fully developed a specific plan; in part, this is because the program will look different depending on the space we're able to secure for it. Assuming, though, that we'll be able to purchase Huss School, here are a few ideas for what that program might look like:

• The second floor of Huss would be a residential space with a variety of housing options, from dormitories to apartments. Students in the program would stay in the dorms and visiting faculty (with, perhaps, their families) would occupy the apartments.


• Students and faculty would share a communal kitchen and eating area; in addition to private living space, there would also be a shared living room. In this way, learning can extend beyond classrooms to the informal conversations that happen over meals or after watching a film together. This kind of student-teacher interaction will be a hallmark of the program.


• The curriculum will focus on exploring deep faith commitments and how these commitments might look in various areas of life. The program will seek to connect piety (worship, prayer, spiritual disciplines) with cultural engagement, as these are often compartmentalized and therefore incomplete.


• The semester will be broken into 2- or 3-week long intensive units, with each unit exploring a different aspect of biblical and/or cultural analysis. For example, units may include issues of race and power, contemplative practices, community development principles, local and global peacemaking initiatives, and many others.


• Each student will also intern during the semester at a local organization, church or business. Ideally, of course, this placement would be tied to the student's interest. Assessment and evaluation of their intern experiences will be incorporated into classroom learning.


• Some of the opportunities for internships might include working with a community partner to tutor grade school children, tending to the community garden with neighbors, working in a downtown store, and many others.

There will be many more hours of brainstorming and visioning ahead for an off-campus program, but hopefully the list above helps you envision the potential program a little better. If you have any questions or ideas, please post them below!