Worldviews

A beautiful gesture of peace, connection, and good will was recently sent from the world-wide Muslim community to church leaders around the globe. Over the past three years, 138 Muslim clerics, scholars, and leaders from many different countries have written and endorsed a document called "A Common Word," which reaches out to Christians with a hand of friendship and common understanding. Christians and Muslims comprise over half the world's population, making endless war a mindless dead-end.

Hey all - we've had some minor discussions about what "type" of gasoline is the best for us to purchase (the least-harmful to children and all living things) and whatnot. But we've had little research or conclusions, Can you add to this discussion?

    I’ve been reading an account of the Reba Place Fellowship’s first thirty years, entitled Glimpses of Glory by Dave and Neta Jackson (Elgin, IL: Brethren Press).  This article appeared in Reba’s 1958 newsletter (pp66-7):

    “What form will the life of a Christ-centered community take in the urban environment?  Where the church is looked upon simply as an appendage to the life of urban society, just another gadget for shooting into the social machine a little grease to assist its smooth running, this question will present no problem.  Then the church can be satisfied if it gets the attention of “city-man” for an hour on Sunday morning, and for this purpose will build a “sanctuary,” send out invitations, and if everything is comfortably and decently arranged, hope that he will come under the sound of “sound” preaching.

Life in the Reba Place Fellowship

    At the beginning of the new year, Ben Lee, Andy Ross and I spent a couple days in the Chicago area with the Reba Place Fellowship, an intentional community started on Reba Place in Evanston by a group of Mennonites in the 1950's.  We were hosted by Grete and Aaron Scott, friends from Hopwood/Milligan, who moved into the Reba neighborhood this past year.  Aaron teaches school nearby while Grete pursues a Masters at DePaul University.  They aren’t members of the Reba Place Fellowship (intentional community), but have been attending the related Reba Place Church and as they wanted to get closer to the community, they have rented space in one of the Reba houses and live with a woman from the Fellowship.

"It Sucks to be Me"
    I picked up my fifth grade daughter from school this afternoon.  She lugged her 80 lb. backpack into the front seat and buckled in her 56 lb., fifth grade frame.  As we pulled away from the school she pulled out a glossy teen magazine and began to read.
    I rolled my eyes and said, “I wish you wouldn’t read that.”
    “Why?  What’s wrong with it?”
    “It’s junk, that’s what’s wrong with it.”
    “Why do you say that?”