Okay, I know I said I wasn’t going to blog and this is my second entry for the day. It’s called procrastination.

People have mentioned (okay like two people) that it’s helpful when I write about what we do at ThPM. One of the things we are doing is joining the Solstice Parade. It’s a celebration of the return of the sun, which is a VERY big deal in Seattle. It’s a really, really crazy no-hold’s-barred event. There is a total yearning in it for something larger than me. It’s a pageant full of people on a circuitous seeking journey sunward. Can you dig it?

Most Christians don’t like it because…um…people do ride bikes naked. What can I say, it’s a mixed bag. Aren’t most things?

Anyhow, we’re building a 40 foot bug. And here’s some thoughts I had about that and sent to my crew via email:

Things About the Bug

The bug is coming to life. Craig, Fiona and Paul have been hard at work attaching the ribs to the radio flyers. So far it looks like a mini calastoga wagon train! Our first Thursday Night build is this week. We’ll be hauling the soup pot, brew, and bread down to the Old Redhood Brewery (34th and Phinney) to share the wealth with all the other float building fools! We could really use all hands on deck — please wear something you can get dirty (we might be painting) and be ready to have fun. I’m really glad, that when we surveyed to see if folks would be interested in doing something in the parade, several of you said you’d come build. It will be fun to be able to do that, now that the parade is just two weeks away.

Things About Rachelle

Just to let you know….this is the metaphor I use for how I lead ThPM. I’m Dorothy. We are going to Oz. The real Oz, not just the place where there’s a man behind the curtain. (creepy) My job is to gather people with me who want to go to Oz too. Along the way each person sometimes takes the lead…the person who’s learning to have heart, or brain, or courage. My job as Dorothy is to keep our end destination, or eschatology, in site. Oz. The Kingdom. The shalom-seeking, wholeness-bringing, breathing-on-the-God-sparks activities that bring about a country Aslan would live in. (Okay, now I’m mixing fictional tales, but you get the point.)

The reason I love this parade so much is that it points kingdom-ward. It is, in itself, kingdom come. A bunch of people on a journey to the sun/son. I mean, this is my gig, my art show opening. This is my passion, my secret dream that I’m never sure is really going to make it. It’s tatooed on my foot and embeded in my heart. Journey sunward! The light in me greets the light in you! Namaste!

And now, some stories:
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“Too often we try to give leaders a bag of tricks to bring out eagerly at the first sign of trouble. And when the labor lasts too long, or the tricks are ineffective, we teach them to turn away, shrug their shoulders and move on to the next one.

Meanwhile, an entire population of drop-outs is created. The ones whose labor lasted too long and the baby died, or they didn’t know what to do with the tricks they were given, or they figured they did something wrong because they couldn’t access the abundant life everyone was talking about.

Sigh.

What if we looked at things differently, and looked at our role as helpers differently? What if we saw ourselves as … {read more…}

We have to give birth to ourselves.

I am in danger of weeping on an airplane. I think, “What can I say to my seat mate if she asks me why I am crying?” I could tell her that I have been to an intense event. Maybe a funeral. But really I have been to a birth. This weekend I saw women giving birth to their very selves. Or perhaps, mostly, I realized that I have actually done this for myself.

I have been undergoing the slow process lately of realizing that I know stuff. That I am not a newborn, a beginner. I readily admit, loudly and often and with much self-deprecating laughter that I do not know everything, or … {read more…}

This is an offering bear. You know, an offering bear. “‘Cuz offerings aren’t just about money, Mommy.”

Eden drew this a few weeks ago on our white board for ThPM’s weekly gathering. She left some of the circles open so the crew could color them in with things they wanted to give to Jesus. This is my favorite one.

It’s a hooka. You know, a hooka. You smoke fruit flavored tabacoo out of them. Emily drew a hooka because it reminds her of communal moments when all of her friends are with her in her living room, or at a party. That makes her happy, and content. So Emily … {read more…}

Today I am lonely. I feel so small.
My Auntie’s away. I wish that she’d call.
My mom’s working late and my dad has the flu.
And although I’ve got stuff I’ve got nothing to do.

From Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods that Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis

It was raining, just a little, today as we walked from the parking garage to Iz’s gig on 1st and Stewart. Eden was wearing a sundress and ruby red slippers under her pink winter coat. She counted down the blocks as we walked. “Sixth street. Fifth Street. Fourth Street.” At Café D’arte, Sean was behind the counter pulling shots. He actually goes to competitions for this craft. He can spin pictures … {read more…}