We are a group of believers committed to revisioning the relationship between the Word and our world, in order to help animate and build capacity for communities of discipleship and justice.
Elaine
and I enjoyed an uninterrupted month at home, continuing to put in the summer
garden and preserve the last of the winter one (right: Elaine sporting the “Yes. We Can.” poster & apron; left: her
niece Erica and friend Monica harvest kale). We got a lot done around the house and yard, caught
up on doctor’s appointments, and attended several Ojai Valley Watershed Council meetings. Elaine led a weekend retreat for Knox Presbyterian Church here in the
valley, which afforded us the opportunity to visit with Matt and Jill Colwell. Elaine also took her maiden voyage out to the
Channel Islands with local spearfishing genius Eric Hodge’sboat—a
spectacular day! Congratulations to Eric
for the recent opening of his amazing all solar- and biodiesel-powered auto
mechanic shop close by!
As one of the few Jewish kids among
my Christian classmates growing up, I always had the feeling I was suspect.
After all, there were Christmas and Easter and Holy Communions that my family
never celebrated. And when I was questioned about Jewish practices, observances
and holidays, I felt a little lost.
Imagine that one of the missions of our religious school is 'to teach all students how they can have a unique and significant role in Tikkun Olam (healing the world) and their community.'
Both my wife, Denise, and I have significant Cerebral Palsy, a disability which
causes us to have slurred speech, use powered wheelchairs to get around, and
necessitates that we do activities of daily living in creative ways. The time I
felt the most accepted was when our son, David, was a baby. Since Denise took
I
spoke in Albuquerque at a University of New Mexico symposium on faith and
radical ecology, along with John Zerzan
and Layla Abdel-Rahim (right).
While in town Elaine and I got to visit with old friends and BCM
supporters Vonnie and Audrey Owen, and also with folks from Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Trinity HouseCatholic Worker and the Center for Action and Contemplation.After a couple of days at Ojo Caliente
and hanging out with longtime colleague Fred
Vigil in northern New Mexico, we returned to our annual BCM retreat in
Altadena, hosted by board chair Rick
Kidd.
Here are photos taken by Tim Nafziger the morning after a spring rain in March 2011. Click the slideshow below to view and then click the full screen button in the lower right hand corner:
Elaine
and I had an amazing journey to Palestine/Israel, which we’ll report on in the
next issue. The trip was full of
adventure and without mishap, blessed with wonderful hospitality and deeply
impactful both politically and spiritually.
Thanks for your prayers. We
returned mid-month to a mountain of work, tired but truly refreshed (in part,
we realize, because we were completely unplugged for almost four weeks—no cell
phone or computers!).
Save the date: Saturday
afternoon, April 16thJim Loney of ChristianPeacemaker
Teams (right) will speak at our BCM
Annual Party in Pasadena.
Check out February Bartimaeus
Institute participant and friend Tevyn East’s show, Leaps and Bounds. She may
be touring at a location near you: http://www.affordinghopeproject.org/. Tevyn graced
us with a deeply moving performance of her one-woman show incorporating dance, poetry,
and conversation that inspired us to hope and action in this present ecological
crisis.
Our
month was spent preparing for both the January and February Institutes,
finishing some writing projects, and planning for our upcoming trip to
Israel/Palestine. It’s been a little too
hectic, frankly! Ched’s piece from the
November E-News was published recently in Tikkun; you
can check it out by clicking here.
Blessedly,
December was a mostly stay at home month.
Elaine helped lead a Word and World women’s retreat in
North Carolina, where she almost got snowed in!
And we took a brief but lovely visit to the Bay area (by train!) to see
friends Neil, Denise and David Jacobson, David and Susan
Fetcho, and Matt and Suzanna Prinz. Frost brought the Fall garden to an end, and
we’ve been making salsa, pasta sauce and lots of jalapeno jelly with the
remnants. Aside from onions and garlic
(planted on All Saints Day), we are only growing lettuce, cilantro and kale,
cover cropping the rest of our beds for winter.
Elaine
and I enjoyed an uninterrupted month at home, continuing to put in the summer
garden and preserve the last of the winter one (right: Elaine sporting the “Yes. We Can.” poster & apron; left: her
niece Erica and friend Monica harvest kale). 
We got a lot done around the house and yard, caught
up on doctor’s appointments, and attended several Ojai Valley Watershed Council meetings. Elaine led a weekend retreat for Knox Presbyterian Church here in the
valley, which afforded us the opportunity to visit with Matt and Jill Colwell. Elaine also took her maiden voyage out to the
Channel Islands with local spearfishing genius Eric Hodge’s boat—a
spectacular day! Congratulations to Eric
for the recent opening of his amazing all solar- and biodiesel-powered auto
mechanic shop close by! 
I
spoke in Albuquerque at a University of New Mexico symposium on faith and
radical ecology, along with John Zerzan
and Layla Abdel-Rahim (right).
While in town Elaine and I got to visit with old friends and BCM
supporters Vonnie and Audrey Owen, and also with folks from Albuquerque Mennonite Church, Trinity House
Catholic Worker and the Center for Action and Contemplation.
Save the date: 