For the past 4 years or so our missional faith community, Missio Dei, has periodically gone out to clean up and beautify at Evergreen Cemetery (at Harvey West park).  It is owned by the Museum of Art & History, with the earliest headstone they’ve found going back to 1850. The city and the museum had a desire to see it cleaned up and become a safe family space like the park that surrounds it and a place to tell and celebrate the stories of history that make up Santa Cruz.

We’ve also been out there for several years at their family legacy day where they honor a family who is represented there, do headstone rubbing with the kids, host a tour, and at the event we serve ice cream.  They have wanted to make it a space where families could spend time and be comfortable enjoying the outdoor beauty of the area.

A few months ago we were helping at the Legacy Day and as we walked to get Ice Cream I mentioned to Sibley, who is one of the primary leaders of the restoration project, that I thought it would be pretty awesome to watch the movie The Book of Life there as part of the museum’s Dia De Los Muertos celebration.  He liked the idea and I let him know that our church family has a screen and projector that we could provide. He has the generator and popcorn machine, and the rest is history.  On Sunday we get to hang out under the stars and watch the movie.
That being said, some have mentioned that the idea of watching it in the cemetery is kinda creepy. Others have just given me that odd look when I tell them what we’re doing.  And still others in the Christian community I’m sure question it cause some of them already have some qualms about Halloween weekend.  So as I have been thinking about it, here’s a couple reasons I’m excited and think it makes sense:

• God cares about people and stories.
  The beautiful thing about the space is the rich histories and real life stories that are represented there (including this story of Louden Nelson, a freed slave who came to Santa Cruz, bought property, and left an endowment for city schools upon his death).  The Book of Life (as well as the tradition of Dia De Los Muertos) celebrates stories, the memories of people who have gone before us, and the value and power of love.  Those of us who are followers of Jesus are part of a larger story that shapes us, stretching back thousands of years. Stories shape us, including those of the areas we live in. It’s cool that we get to watch this movie with our families amid the memories of all those stories that make us who we are today.
• We have issues with death.
  We were having some great political and culture discussions among friends who all had differing opinions at my house the other night. One of them who has been a nurse for over 30 years stated that as Americans, we are very afraid of death. While a cemetery can seem like an odd place to have an event, much of this is because of our fear of the unknown and what our culture has made “graveyards” out to be. As people who believe that death has been defeated through the resurrection of Christ, wouldn’t it be cool to transform our ideas of a beautiful, old cemetery into a special place where another real and potentially beautiful part of our journey is recognized?
• It sounds really fun.
  Yeah, fun sounds like a good reason too. Watching movies together outside is fun, and it’s gorgeous out over at that park. We think part of being a community is having fun together and being out in our city. It’s another way of celebrating life. So that’s enough for me.

And yeah, if I’m being honest there is that side of me that thinks it’s fun to say we’re watching a movie in a cemetery on Halloween weekend. But that’s the Jr. Higher who still lives inside of me and gets out sometimes. 

“Just make space. Attend to what is around you. Learn that you don’t have to DO to BE.”
-Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship

This year Rachel bought some workout videos called Metabolic Aftershock. It’s around 20 minutes of intense workout 3 times a week that is designed to speed up your metabolism.  It’s been worth the time and money. I’ve done some other programs in the past, but this one has worked the best so far, partially because it isn’t 1 hour or more, 6 days a week.

LOTS of people I know spend time and money on fitness and health. (Sometimes just money by donating to gyms we never head to. Been there, done that.)
We carve out time to exercise or rearrange our habits to eat a little healthier. Or at least make attempts.
We make time to take care of our mental health by doing recreational activities. I’m good at that one.

All of those are important and all of it is spiritual.
But I notice that in my own life and the lives of most of the people I know, it is caring for our souls and our active relationship with our creator that doesn’t get much thought, time, or intentional effort.  God will always be there, so perhaps it doesn’t feel quite as urgent.

This weekend our faith community is taking a sabbath period away to make space for God. From sundown(ish) Saturday to the same time Sunday.

As we have all attempted to navigate our spiritual journeys and twists and turns of life, I have often asked myself and others, “What do you hear the spirit of God saying about that?”

I strongly believe that God is involved, present, and communicating with us on some level.
We need to take time to be with God and to just BE.
We need tools to help us engage in that conversation.

Over the past several years, and especially over the past 8 months I’ve found a lot of value in some helpful contemplative practices for creating space to take care of my soul.
So this weekend we are getting away together with 2 primary purposes:

• Creating space to talk to and hear from God as we rest (or sabbath).
• Coming away with some tools to try using on occasion at home to take care of our souls, just as we do other parts of ourselves.

So I invited our local friend and a mentor to my wife, Kelli Gotthardt, to come and facilitate the retreat so I can be a part along with everyone. She is finishing her Masters in Spiritual Formation and is a gifted leader and speaker.
Click here to find out more details about our Space For God retreat.
And if you could use the time and tools, there’s still time for you to join us! Please do.

After the retreat Missio Dei Community will spend 9 weeks going through the book Space For God on Sunday evenings to continue learning and experiencing practices to care for our souls.

D is in her late 40’s and homeless.
She’s a part of project 180/180, which is how I got to meet her.
(I’ll post more about 180/180 in the future.)

If you saw D on the street, many of us might be tempted to ascribe a whole list of assumptions to her that we have about those in the homeless community.
I spent an hour helping her fill out an application for an apartment.
I don’t know a ton about her, but here’s a few things I learned in the hour I spent with her.

She has carpal tunnel, which is why I wrote most of her application out for her.
She has been in and out of homelessness for a while, it sounds like.
She is widowed and has 2 sons – 1 teenager and 1 who was murdered.
She was in a house for nearly 4 years.
2 years ago she lived there, and ran her own business.
The owner of the house was foreclosed on and she was kicked out.
She’s lost her income stream and everything she had shortly after.
She has been searching for a place to live.
Her income is less than many people reading this probably pay for a car payment.
She has a section 8 voucher that has had to be extended several times because she hasn’t been able to find a home that will accept her.  She’s come close.  Anyone who has looked for housing in Santa Cruz knows it’s not an easy task.
She disappeared for a while because she gave up.  She lost hope.

As we filled out the app, she mentioned how many times she’s done this.
She said she’s tired.
She thanked me and the others there for helping her as best we could.
She looked at us from behind a face that shows her almost 50 years of hard life and then some, and said she’s tired of being homeless.  She wants to start her business again but has nothing to get it started.
I kinda choked up as she walked out  of there, as another housing navigator encouraged her not to lose hope.

Today was just another good reminder that there is so much complexity to the issues of those who are homeless and under-resourced.
Everyone we pass on the street has a story.  A story that matters to God.
And lots of them would love to be out of the situation, and are even doing what they can to do so, but are starting at a disadvantage, be it situational, medical, whatever.
Thanks for the time we spent together today D.  It was good for my soul.
I can’t wait to celebrate when you get a home and take another step toward forward.

Here’s a great article I saw posted by some people on Facebook that has some great insights on poverty in America.

I checked out Pat’s website, and again, she has some good looking stuff!  Fused glass.

Tonight at Art for AIDS she has a fused glass platter in a gift box.  Sounds like the perfect Christmas gift for someone you know!

I’m stoked that we have another artist, and one who is personally connected already to the AIDS community here in Santa Cruz as well.
See ya at Kuumbwa Jazz Center tonight!
This is gonna be fun.

Christal tells me he did the mural at their school and it’s pretty sic.
Here’s some video of him doing a live painting in San Jose:

Maybe next time we should see if we can get him to do something live with us.
Did I mention that Paul is a Raiders fan?
Well, no one’s perfect.

Glad to have two pieces of art at the event from Paul.
Advance tickets available till noon today!

I had heard that Jon was doing comedy at clubs in the area, and knowing that he cares about the issue of AIDS and is a great performer, we asked him if he would be a part of this event as our featured comic.  He was glad to help out and we we’re stoked to have him.
Here’s a little more info on Jon from his bio:

Jon Talbert is a well known Bay Area comedian and motivational speaker who has performed to young people and Universities throughout the nation.  Locally, he has done shows to packed venues such as the Heritage Theater, Rooster T Feathers, The Improv, The Ice House, The Santa Clara Civic auditorium, and the Mountain Winery.  Jon has also performed with national headliners such as Brad Stine, Tommy Drake, Mark Lundholm, and Clinton Jackson.  Jon also serves as the chaplain to the San Jose EarthQuakes.

Check out this video of some of his comedy:

He also said he’d bring along an opening comic.
So Charlie Thayer will be coming to do some material as well.
I don’t know anything about her, except that I’ve seen her do some pretty cool whiteboard art once and another friend of mine said she’s hilarious, so I’m looking forward to hearing her bring it to open the evening tomorrow night.

Advance tickets will be on sale til noon tomorrow.  After that, they’re 5 bones extra at the door.
Come ready to laugh!

Michelle is donating a piece with 100% of the money going to Santa Cruz AIDS Project.
Check out some of her artwork at this website.
I’m way stoked to have Michelle as a part of Art for AIDS.

Another really cool venture we’ve been able to watch Michelle get started with is her own clothing line for kids.
She designs all of the clothes and sells them locally, and they are ALL made with fair trade.  The clothes are super creative and super cool.

We have a couple of things we got from her for Caleb and Micah.
If you’ve got kidlets or know someone with kidlets who need a good Christmas gift, you need to go to her website for 3 Little Stars NOW and get something.
Such great clothing, and you’re supporting a local artist and fair trade.

And then get a ticket for Art For AIDS to check out her artwork this Saturday.

The first artist we were able to get for the event is a friend of my friend Christal.
His name is Lukas Wenger.
He’s a photographer.  Primarily landscape photography.
And you may have to try and outbid me for one of his photographs.
I checked out his stuff online and his stuff is money.
You can check out his website here.
Here’s a shot from Natural Bridges to give you an idea.

There’s a lot more on his website and it’s amazing.
He’s donating 100% of the profits from 2 pieces for us.
Super generous and we’re super grateful.

It’s gonna help create some great atmosphere Saturday night and raise some extra money for AIDS Project.
Get you tickets and come get a piece to take home with you.
If you bid more than me.
And swing by his site and get something anyway.  It would make a great Christmas gift and support a local artist.
See ya this Saturday!

Thought I’d throw up a series of posts about some of the talent contributing to Art For AIDS this weekend.
A good friend of mine who is part of Missio Dei Community is Dan Lingenfelter.
He plays drums for The Wild Rovers, an Irish band based here in Santa Cruz.

They’re the featured band for the concert.
I’m stoked that they’re playing for the event.  I’ve seen em several times at the Poet as well as The Catalyst last St. Patty’s Day.
Not only is the music great, but they are just one of the most fun bands to listen to.  It’s perfect for holding onto a drink, being loud, and singing along.  Unfortunately, I hear they probably aren’t doing my favorite tune that night.  “Have a pint!!”

Which reminds me…I need to email Kuumbwa and find out if Guinness is on the beer menu at their bar.

Enjoy out a couple of tunes from the widget below and then come hear them live on Saturday night!