Eight Strong

It was really great to have eight(!) people out at The Rhino last night. Sometimes it's just good to get together and chat about the Kingdom. I know that I sure benefitted a lot from the discussion, the resources pointed out, and just hearing each others' stories of where they've come from and where they think they might be headed.

Church Planting. Intentional Community. Moving Across the World.

We're in all different situations, and yet I find it great to come together and talk about all of these things together, to share our hopes and dreams, and to encourage each other in pursuing those things that God has given us to do.

I suggest that our group, and this yahoogroup are good places to throw out ideas, bounce them off of others, and to be held accountable for those projects that we say we want to follow up on, especially when talking about developing new forms of church.

Naomi pointed out a thought-provoking resource (www.dyingchurch.com), and there was brief mention of the Evolving Church Conference featuring Ron Sider (Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger), Shane Claiborne (Irresistable Revolution), and Jim Wallis (God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It). Should be a good lineup full of challenge and insight.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear more from you, about what's going on, and would love to pray for those things...so let me know what's going on.

See you in a month!

Monday's Meetin'

We're meeting at the Rhino (1249 Queen Street West) at 7pm on January 8th. Hope to see everyone there for some good conversations on where God is leading you in your service here in Toronto!

January Meeting

We'll be getting together on Monday January 8, 2007 somewhere in Parkdale (TBA). More details to follow in early January. Hope people are able to make it out!

Next Meeting

Since it seems few were available for a meeting this week, we've decided to reschedule for a date later in November. We are tentatively scheduled for Thursday 23 November, 2006 at Cafe Taste (1330 Queen Street West) in the heart of sometimes-sketchy, often beautiful, Parkdale.

Please post comments or contact me directly about whether you'll be able to make it or not. Thanks for your patience everyone - we're looking forward to getting this group back up and running.

andrew

A Good Night

Even though our normal campy office was out of commission, being repainted, we had a great time meeting in the reading room with all the dead people on the walls. They're old.
A few new faces were out (Welcome, Naomi and Jonathan!) and we heard some interesting stories from Jared, who talks a lot. What's becoming clear in our discussions is that there really is a desire to see change and transformation happen here in Toronto.

While things seem a bit nebulous at times - while God's plans and visions seem unclear, it's those glimpses of certainty, and those times in which we're convinced that God is doing a brand nu thang in our midst. To our relief (or is that dismay?) he's using some pretty ordinary folks to accomplish these things.

Why not people with the dollars, the power, the influence? The people who have time to be interrupted, who have time to sit on their asses, and could instead be doing something for the life of the world? Why is it so often a struggling person or people that comes to the aid of others in their struggles?

In short, why does it have to be us?

And yet God is speaking. He's revealing new things in our hearts, putting us in brand new situations daily that challenge us, and teach us new things about Him. My prayer over the coming days, weeks and months, is that we give the Holy Spirit room to breathe into our lives, to accept the crazy visions of transformation and renewal He's given us, and to do something about it.

Next meeting will be September 18th, Wycliffe College, 7pm.

Next Meeting

The Resonate Greenhouse for Toronto is meeting again next week. Here are the details:

We'll meet again next Wednesday August 23 for those who are interested. Same deal as last time - Wycliffe College basement, near the Crux Bookstore (7pm). I'll be flying in from Ottawa that afternoon, so please pray my flight's not terribly delayed.

We'll take some time to share more of our stories with one another. We'll update each other on the progress and challenges of our projects. Most importantly, I think, we'll spend time in prayer for the city and for one another, as we seek to be agents of God's shalom here and now.

Any questions? Hit me back with a comment, or join our listserv (look at the bottom of the right-hand column)

thanks!
andrew

Eye of Mordor

Hey. So last night's meeting was a great introductory meeting. Sure it was deep within the walls of the empire, but you know, I'm sure that's okay. A place with a coffee maker is always a good place for conversation.

We had a bunch of people out who had met several months ago at the Greenhouse Mississauga meeting, as well as some new faces. As we grow, as we talk and dream together, it will be interesting to see where God takes us, and to see the plans he has for the various corners of Toronto.

We're still looking for more people interested in meeting and dreaming and acting on what God has in store for this city, and as such, will have another meeting on Wednesday August 23rd, 2006. We will meet again at Wycliffe College (5 Hoskin Avenue, Toronto), at 7pm.

It's a good central location, and if you sign up for the email list on the right-hand side of the blog, I'll even tell you where you can park for free.

Keep your eyes on the blog. If Jared ever gets around to sending them, we might even post some photos online. Take a hint, wouldya?

Meetup, the First

Our first meeting will take place a month from now. We're meeting for prayer, for discussion, for encouragment, and to challenge one another in our various projects. The greenhouse format is one that we hope will foster both growth and understanding of the various ways in which we can minister amongst the people of our incredibly diverse city.

As with any gardening project, it's important to know the lay of the land, what nutrients are there and which ones have to be replenished for life to flourish there again. It's important to recognise weather patterns on the horizon, and to know how we can prepare ourselves for potential storms that will affect our fledgling communities.

When we learn to garden, we learn by gardening, and by entering into conversation with other gardeners. We share advice, we share successes and we share our failures. That's what this greenhouse is all about. If you're interested in joining us, post a message here and we'll make sure you get out to the first meeting

Tuesday July 4th
Wycliffe College (UofT)
7:00pm