News

2014 interns

January 18, 2016• Education, Organization, People, Three Rivers

Join us for our PAID summer internship!

Join us for our 10-week summer internship program in Three Rivers, Michigan! We’re looking for folks who are self-motivated and interested in the cross-section of social justice, local food, community, and deep-rooted faith values to join *culture is not optional (*cino) in Three Rivers as we work toward the flourishing of our rural city.

The 2016 summer internship runs from June 3 to August 14. Interns live together in our community house, work alongside the resident community of the organization on our community development work, and learn together through an embodied curriculum. Interns are expected to contribute an average of 20 hours of work per week for *cino. Interns can also work up to 20 hours per week at local partner farms in the area to earn additional income. Here’s our illustrious benefits package this year:

  • Housing
  • $1,000 living stipend
  • Up to $2,000 at partner farms

If you have an interest in farming and gardening, planning special events, communications and promotion, or small business, read more about the intern positions we’re looking to fill this summer. Do you have a different set of skills that you think would benefit *cino and Three Rivers? Apply! Want to know more about what *cino interns actually do? Read these reflections from former interns Nate, Alexandra, Seth, and Kate.

If you have have any other questions, please peruse our Internship FAQ or get in touch. Applications are due April 30!

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Topology launch

December 8, 2015• Organization, Publishing

Topology completes first two issues

When our editorial team for Topology Magazine selected margins and living with the seasons for our first two issue themes, we had a lot of hopes and theories about what to expect from our contributors. Now, two issues in, we must say that our writers are stunning us with the diversity of their creativity and wisdom! In case you missed them, here are links that will bring you directly to all of the content from the first issue on margins and the second on living with the seasons. Each issue features poetry, essays and images taking the themes in a variety of directions.

And if you like what you read, we have great news: there’s more! We’ve begun publishing daily content on our third theme of thriftiness. If you’re a writer, photographer or visual artist, please consider joining our contributor’s e-mail list to receive updates about upcoming themes and deadlines. We look forward to hearing from you!

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2015 staff retreat

December 1, 2015• *cino Work, Event, Organization, People

*cino fall retreat: Another year of transition

Each fall for the past three years, the core *cino community has taken a weekend retreat to examine the past year, look at the year ahead and create space for sharing.  This year, we stayed in a retreat house at GilChrist Retreat Center, where I work. Based on last year’s debrief, we expanded our time frame from one night to two, which meant we got to wake up on Saturday morning to one of the most beautiful first snows I’ve ever seen.

As the snow continued to fall, we began with journaling and sharing about where we are personally–what our significant experiences have been in the past year and what our questions are for the coming year. The space we created led to an important conversation about how at least two of our six members gathered at the retreat would be departing their work with *cino within the next six months, which was a critical realization for moving into planning *cino work realistically and with a clear view of impending change. Adapting on the fly, our Sunday morning conversation was an exploration of personnel, roles and responsibilities, and what kinds of people we need to keep moving toward the vision we have for *cino and the Huss Project.  We also talked about an article on the disease of being busy, which is something we all wrestle with in various ways, both individually and organizationally.

These times of intense conversation were punctuated by shared cooking and meals, games, rest and plenty of walks in the winter wonderland. At our debrief of this year’s retreat, several of us shared a sense of feeling lighter and more hopeful when we left the retreat than when we arrived, which is a good sign that we’re on the right track in some way, and that we’ll look forward to gathering again next fall for a time of reflection and renewal.

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Donate

November 25, 2015• *cino Work, Fundraising, People

Donate to *cino once…or monthly!

People often ask us how we fund all of the projects that *cino is involved in: publishing Topology, running a summer intern program, developing the Huss Project, running the community garden…  Well, we try to follow the good rule about having diversified funding sources, including fundraising events like our popular Underground Supper Clubs, produce sales at the Three Rivers Farmers Market, speaking fees and program fees for things like our college spring break trips.

But since the beginning over 13 years ago, we have always had a foundation of individual donors like you who have chipped in as they’re able to support the overall work of the organization. These periodic and monthly donors represent far more than dollars to us, providing a resource that is perhaps even more critical than money: encouragement. As you might imagine, there are many moments when we feel overwhelmed at the helm of a small non-profit seeking to do good work in a small town. Seeing a check in the mail or an online donation notification warms our hearts because we know that someone near or far has *cino in their thoughts and prayers, and decided to extend a tangible gesture of their care.

If you value *cino’s work, please consider giving a gift of support on Giving Tuesday (December 1) or anytime before the end of the year. You can give one time or monthly through our secure online donation page, or if you’d rather do things offline, please send us a message with your phone number and we’ll be glad to get in touch. Thank you for considering a gift to *cino amid all of the other wonderful, creative work in the world that needs your encouragement!

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Earlham School of Religion

November 10, 2015• *cino Work, Education, Workshops

A writerly weekend at Earlham School of Religion

A couple of years ago, Rob and I connected with Ben Brazil at the Calvin College Festival of Faith & Writing. We were at the festival exhibit hall displaying for *cino and he was there displaying for the Earlham School of Religion’s Ministry of Writing program.

You never know how such encounters are going to bear fruit in the future, and this past weekend, we were delighted to participate in the Earlham Writing Colloquium. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet new kindred spirits, share about *cino and Topology Magazine, hear some wonderful words.  On Friday, we collaborated with poet Dave Harrity on a pre-conference for undergraduate students from Earlham College, and then on Saturday, we did a workshop on “Writing from your Watershed,” as well as a 20-minute talk on understanding our relationship with our places in terms of the covenantal relationship of marriage.

We entered the experience quite exhausted from a too-long busy season, and left refreshed, inspired and grateful because of all of the amazing people we met. What more could we have asked for? Thank you to Ben and Mandy for the organizational work, and to the other speakers and participants for the great conversations and storytelling.  We wish you all so much joy as you return to your places and continue to imagine how your writing can cultivate your inner life and the life of the world.

Thank you to Anne M. Hutchinson for taking the above photo during our panel presentation!

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Rooted & Grounded

October 13, 2015• Education, Organization, Workshops

*cino at Rooted & Grounded

During the first weekend in October, a collection of scholars, practitioners and scholar-practitioners gathered at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana. For the second year running, AMBS played host to the Rooted and Grounded Conference, which is an ongoing conversation about the relationship between a commitment to place and the Christian faith, with a decidedly agrarian spin.

Rob and I were honored to be among the presenters for the gathering, which included many whose work in places throughout North America we deeply admire. Our topic was an exploration of the ways our commitment to our places is akin to marriage, weaving together biblical foundations, narrative examples and images of both faithfulness and faithlessness.

A highlight of the weekend was our visit to the Merry Lea Environmental Center, where our friend Jon has been working for a number of years. As an extension of Goshen College, Merry Lea serves as a site for ecological education and experimentation.  Touring their platinum LEED-certified buildings, market garden and woody perennial polyculture plot was greatly inspiring for our ongoing work at the Huss Project.  It was a multi-sensory experience that reinforced the many profound ideas we take with us from the weekend, including Ched Myers’ call to watershed discipleship and Sylvia Keesmaat’s reminder that each loss of creation is a lost opportunity to know the fullness of the Creator.

Photo from workshop attendee Hillary W.

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Topology launch

September 29, 2015• *cino Work, Publishing

Announcing…Topology Magazine!

Around 2001, an online discussion board grew up and we launched catapult magazine.  For 12 years, we published catapult every other week, with widely ranging issue themes and content stitched together with a single thread of a question: what does it look like to live out our deepest values in everyday life?

Over time, perhaps we’ve gravitated toward one kind of answer to that question, as we’ve become convicted that a good life must have something to do with living intentionally and deeply in the places where we find ourselves.  Thus, after a publishing hiatus and a bit of dreaming with a new editorial board, Topology Magazine was born durn near midnight on the very evening of a blood red harvest moon and a total eclipse.  It’s just a little fella at the moment, but we have no doubt it will grow quickly as we continue to explore diverse topics through the lens of place.

Check out our inaugural editorial here, and if you like what you read, consider liking our Facebook page or signing up for the weekly e-mail digest on the right side of the home page.  If you might be interested in contributing essays, poetry, artwork or photography, sign up for our contributor’s list.  We look forward to hearing from many corners of the world with this new publishing venture, even as the stories we collect inspire us to more deeply rooted lives where we are!

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Harmony Festival Beer Garden

September 15, 2015• Event, Fundraising, Hospitality, People, Three Rivers

Creative collaboration at Harmony Fest

Each Labor Day weekend for the past 22 years, citizens of Three Rivers have been coming together across all sorts of boundaries to enjoy Harmony Fest, a day of live music in the historic downtown district.  For many years, World Fare, a fair trade store that *cino collaborates on, has been celebrating its anniversary during Harmony Fest.  This year was no exception, with the store celebrating 12 years in business.

But this year, we entered a new collaborative venture by helping launch Harmony Fest’s first ever beer garden.  For weeks leading up to the festival, *cino staff scavenged and hauled and strategized and painted to craft a beautiful environment that would encourage good conversation and responsible enjoyment of a great variety of Michigan microbrews.  We wanted to create a fun space that would honor the incredible legacy of Harmony Fest in bringing community-building art to our great city. The result was a 5,600 square foot garden featuring locally grown mums, handmade picnic tables, reclaimed pallets and fair trade planters.  Catch a glimpse by checking out our photos.  Our participation in designing and building the environment and recruiting volunteers earned a portion of the proceeds for the Huss Project.

Congratulations to the Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority and the Harmony Fest committee on another great event, and thanks for letting us be a part of it!

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2015 summer interns

August 20, 2015• People, Three Rivers

Helping hands for summer 2015

The summer of 2015 has proven to be an unusual but rich season for the core *cino community.  Instead of our usual collective of summer interns serving a term from June 1 through August 15, we’ve ended up with a different assortment of helpers, each of whom has brought heart and skill to our shared work.

Joel Altena was the first to move into the Rectory at Trinity Episcopal Church, which has served as our *cino community house for five years now.  Freshly graduated from Calvin College, Joel is taking a year before he begins seminary to explore ministry on the ground in a rural setting.  Serving part-time with Three Rivers Christian Reformed Church and part-time with *cino, Joel has been readily sharing his abundant gifts of enthusiasm, curiosity and humor.

About a month in, Joel was joined at the house by Ryan Weberling, a long-time friend of Rob and Kirstin who has been wanting to spend an extended period of time in Three Rivers for a while and things finally aligned for him to do so.  Also a Calvin graduate from several years back, Ryan is working on his dissertation in English Literature at Boston University.  His culinary skill, reflective nature and vision for community have been great gifts to all of us in his short time here.

And finally, an unexpected U-turn led Daniel Ferrell to the rectory as well.  A former roommate of Joel, Dan arrived just in time for the controlled chaos of Future Fest preparation and he willingly jumped in to help with whatever, whenever — including an array of outdoor tasks on the hottest day of the summer.  Where Dan’s gifts truly shine, however, are in media production, and in the post-Future Fest lull, he constructed a beautiful collage of footage from the festival that almost makes us want to do it all again RIGHT NOW.

We weren’t sure what this summer was going to hold, but we are truly grateful that it turned out the way that it did, with local and non-local friends pitching in on our common work at the Huss Project and beyond!

 

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Huss Future Festival 2015

July 16, 2015• Building, Education, Event, People, Three Rivers

Sixth annual Huss Future Festival to feature art, food, music and more!

In 2010, the seed of an idea began to sprout when Three Rivers citizen Julie Keefer asked a simple question: what would it look like to organize a summer fundraiser for the Huss Project, which is an effort to turn an old elementary school into a community center and residential space? In the years since, Keefer’s idea has blossomed into one of the area’s most lively community events, growing bigger and better each year. The sixth annual Huss Future Festival will take place on Saturday, July 18 at 1008 8th Street in Three Rivers.

“We are thrilled to be partnering for the second year in a row with the Three Rivers Area Faith Community to host the annual Back to School Celebration,” said Keefer, who has served as the Festival chairperson for six years running. All school-aged children who attend the celebration with a guardian will receive a backpack full of school supplies and the first 300 kids to register will also receive a slice of pizza from Hovey’s Pizza. The Back to School Celebration will run from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. alongside a Coin Carnival, with a variety of activities and crafts provided by local organizations.

Beyond the Coin Carnival and Back to School Celebration, the Festival will feature a wide variety of activities from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Local musicians will provide live music all day long, and a rummage sale with gently used items donated by the community will benefit the Huss Project. Those looking for something to eat and drink can enjoy the coffeehouse, bake sale and farmers market. The farmers market will offer prepared salads for lunch, with Ambassadors for Christ Church bringing their famous BBQ.

The Huss Project is currently raising funds to build an outdoor pavilion that will benefit ongoing summer programming at the site, including a community garden, summer lunches for kids and educational workshops. Tax-deductible contributions are welcome and can be sent to P.O. Box 1, Three Rivers, MI 49093. Three Rivers Area Faith Community also welcomes contributions toward the Back to School Celebration, which can be mailed to P.O. Box 273, Three Rivers, MI 49093.

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