Every year since 2004, Kirstin and I have made an annual sojourn to the beautiful city of Pittsburgh in February for the Jubilee Conference, an extraordinary gathering of college students, professionals and others interested in fully living into a Kingdom vision for all areas of life.  In past years, we’ve had a display table in the conference hall and we’ve given workshops about home economics (in the Wendell Berry sense of the term).  But this year we’re going without any official responsibilities; instead, we’re very much looking forward to spending time with the fantastic group of people who gather at this event each year and have become good friends. If you’d like to connect, look for us at the massive Hearts & Minds Books “table” lovingly curated and staffed by some of our favorite booksellers in the world, Byron and Beth Borger.

Above is a photo of Bill Strickland, founder of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and Bidwell Training Center in Pittsburgh, who spoke at Jubilee in 2009. Hearing Bill speak about his amazing life story and the incredible work he’s doing in Pittsburgh was one of many catalysts that led *culture is not optional to move forward with the Huss Project.

Though we have a long way to go, some seeds that were planted along the way have already begun to sprout. Connecting with the many good folks at Jubilee each year is one way we stay encouraged to keep tending to the work ahead. And for that, we are grateful … and excited to be headed to Pittsburgh!