deborah.haak Deborah works as volunteer staff for *culture is not optional and has been a member of our resident community since Summer 2011. She also works for the Three Rivers Public Library.

2016 Calvin Spring Break

March 30, 2016• Building, Education, Hospitality, People, Three Rivers

Calvin College students explore Three Rivers on Spring Break

Every year, we look forward to a visit from Calvin College students who are ready to serve and learn about Three Rivers over their spring break. We had to cancel our plans last year on account of low registration, but this year we are grateful for a very enjoyable and productive week with five eager and passionate students!

Calvin College’s Service-Learning Center coordinates groups for a week of service and learning with organizations around the country. Along with the *culture is not optional staff, the five students followed a rhythm of life together: beginning each day with morning prayer, working for several hours at the Huss Project in the morning, eating lunch at the Rectory, visiting local community members around Three Rivers in the afternoon, and cooking and lingering at the dinner table in the evening over conversations both weighty and light-hearted. The group stayed at The Hermitage and St. Gregory’s Abbey, which offered an environment of rest and contemplation during a busy week.

At the Huss Project, the main focus of the work was preparing the gym to be converted into space for a woodshop. Willing hands took down the drop ceiling to make way for new lighting, installed pallet racking for storage, and hauled away metal for recycling. Removing the ceiling revealed that we might be able to collect rainwater from the gym roof for the garden! The Huss Project garden is nearly ready for planting, thanks to the students who pulled out last year’s plants and harvested over-wintered carrots. Some much-needed organizing also took place in the office and supplies areas of the building.

In the afternoons, we visited neighbors and community members to listen to their stories and to learn how they make Three Rivers a unique place. We visited with farmers (and harvested more carrots!), artists, business owners, civic and church leaders, and monks and spiritual leaders. We had excellent conversations about the challenges and the life-giving aspects of living intentionally in a place.

It was wonderful to spend a rich, full week with curious, engaged, hardworking students who are asking good questions about the world we live in. At the end of the week, instead of “Goodbye,” we said, “See you soon!”

Find pictures of the week on our Flickr album.

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Summer 2014

February 20, 2015• *cino Work, Education, Leadership, Organization, People, Three Rivers

Seeking 2015 Summer Interns!

“Living life well, and with intention.”
“A space to celebrate my own contributions and talents.”
“Honest, communal storytelling.”
“Working and playing joyfully together!”

These are just a few of the thoughts from former interns on their time spent working with *culture is not optional in Three Rivers for our ten-week summer internship. If these ideas pique your interest, read on: it’s still chilly out now, but summer will be here soon!

We welcome flexible and committed individuals who wish to embrace community, simple living, social justice and spirituality in everyday life. Interns who are independent self-starters, have some experience living independently away from their parents’ home and work well under little supervision are often best suited for *cino internships. The 2015 summer internship runs officially from May 29 to August 15. Interns live together in a house, alongside the more permanent resident community of the organization, and are asked to contribute an average of 20 hours of volunteer work per week for *cino. Interns can also look for part-time employment in the community if necessary.

If you have an interest in farming and gardening, planning special events, communications and promotion, or business support, read more about our intern positions! Do you have a different set of skills that you think would benefit *culture is not optional? Apply! Want to know more about what *cino interns actually do? Read these reflections from our 2014 interns Nate, Alexandra, Seth, and Kate. Wondering what you’ll get out of the internship after two and a half months? Glad you asked! What about jobs, loans, fundraising, and other details? Find the answers to these questions and more here. Applications will be accepted through April 15, 2015.

If you know someone who would be a good match, please pass along the encouragement to apply!

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2014 Calvin Spring Break

April 2, 2014• *cino Work, Building, Education, Hospitality, Organization, People, Three Rivers

College spring break group visits *cino

Last week, we were joined by nine students from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI on a spring break trip in partnership with Calvin’s Service-Learning Center. We had a wonderful week exploring the idea of committing to a place and considering the practical outcomes of place-based living. To that end, we enjoyed tearing up carpet and re-purposing materials at the Huss Project, meeting with so many of the great members of the Three Rivers community, and following a rule of life together at the Hermitage and at St. Gregory’s Abbey. Delicious meals, stimulating conversations, and a respite from the hectic nature of everyday life were savored by both students and *cino staff members. Find more pictures on Flickr, and check back here soon for a full recap of the week!

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2013 *cino community

February 20, 2014• *cino Work, Organization, People, Rectory Stories

Seeking 2014 summer interns!

Although I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into when I moved to Three Rivers as a *cino intern, I had a good feeling about it: I had spent a week in Three Rivers a few months before, and I had gotten a glimpse of what this whole *cino thing is. I saw people doing their part to live simply and to work in community with each other, with their neighbors, with the earth, and with God. I got hooked by the compelling vision and values of the organization.  I was invited into those moments that every non-profit experiences — moments that make the heart sing and moments that make the stomach turn. I’ve been able to utilize my gifts, and I’ve been challenged to improve my weaknesses. I’m happy to say that, over two and a half years after moving here (and after graduating from “intern” to “volunteer staff”), that good feeling remains.

We welcome flexible and committed individuals who wish to embrace community, simple living, social justice and spirituality in everyday life. Interns who are independent self-starters, have some experience living independently away from their parents’ home and work well under little supervision are often best suited for *cino internships. The 2014 summer internship runs officially from June 1 to August 15. Interns live together in a house, alongside the more permanent resident community of the organization, and are asked to contribute an average of 20 hours of volunteer work per week for *cino. Interns can also look for part-time employment in the community if necessary.

If you have an interest in farming and gardening, planning special events, or communications and promotion, read more about our intern positions! Do you have a different set of skills that you think would benefit *culture is not optional? Apply! Want to know more about what *cino interns actually do? Read these reflections from our 2013 interns Ginna, Jonathan, Chelsea, and Ainsley. Wondering what you’ll get out of the internship after two and a half months? Glad you asked! What about jobs, loans, fundraising, and other details? Find the answers to these questions and more here.

If you know someone who would be a good match, please pass along the encouragement to apply!

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Calvin Spring Break 2013

March 27, 2013• Building, Event, Fundraising, Three Rivers

Spring Break 2013: Service and storytelling

Spring has come to Three Rivers (as indicated by the calendar, if not by the weather), and with spring came a group of students on their spring break! Last week, six students came from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI, to spend a week with *culture is not optional through Calvin’s Service-Learning Center (which was just recognized for their good work!). As in past years, we followed a basic rule of life, which included a work period in the morning and community exploration in the afternoons, with an hour of silence before communal dinner. Throughout the week, we focused on the rhythm of work and rest, being active and being contemplative, contained within a particular place. Staying outside of town at the Hermitage and at St. Gregory’s Abbey provided a nice change of pace for all of us.

The group made great contributions at the Huss Project, putting their muscles to work by removing drop ceiling in the old kindergarten room, pulling up carpeting in two classrooms, prepping the community garden for planting, and hauling away metal for recycling. We also helped out a friend of *cino’s at his downtown building renovation.

Afternoons found us on field trips around the Three Rivers community, meeting local business owners, artists, farmers, journalists, historians, and church leaders. More informal conversations took place across the dinner table, in the car, and on the sidewalk. The stories that were shared this past week will continue to intrigue and inspire us, whether we heard them for the first or the fiftieth time. Here at *cino, we love storytelling, and when we listen well to the people around us, we all can learn just a little more about how to tell good, true stories.

For more photos of the week, visit our Spring Break 2013 – Calvin College photo set on Flickr.

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May 10, 2012• Building, Fundraising, Online

Culture Make Sale poetry stones travel the world!

Poetry stone
Remember the Culture Make Sale, *cino’s online sale of handmade items and personalized services? Last fall, supporters of *culture is not optional from near and far connected with each other by creating and purchasing goods and services. We made over $1500, which will help to renovate the Huss School property in Three Rivers into a community center focused on agriculture and the arts.
This “joy” stone was given as a gift to a relative of mine in the the Netherlands! It crossed the ocean and found a new home in her garden. If you would like to share any pictures or stories from the Culture Make Sale of your own, let us know.

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November 17, 2011• Building, Fundraising, Online, Organization

Report from the Culture Make Sale

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!

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