Summer!

Well, well, well. It's been much too long since our last blog, nearly two months. We've been home now for most of that time, with a few vacations interspersed. Lauren just landed her third job for the summer. She now works at a restaurant, a coffee shop, and on the tennis courts. She's making some much-needed money. I, on the other hand, am laying low most of the Summer with no major obligations except caring for Dennis Michael. Other than that, I have been doing a few little projects/experiments here and there. A few of those are volunteering at an elderly home once a week, going to a weekend-long retreat on the Buddha and Jesus, recording nine new songs for another album, some football coaching, and just recently beginning to play out at some open-mics. Also, in June, while I was in San Francisco for a family wedding, I was able to meet with two prominent people of faith in the Bay Area. One of them was Nichola Torbett from Seminary of the Street (seminaryofthestreet.org) and the other was Mark Scandrette (reimagine.org). I encourage you to check out both websites; these people are doing some very unique, creative things within their communities. It was great to share thoughts and ideas with both of them. On that same note, I've started meeting occasionally with a friend of mine back home here, about the same age as I am, who seems to be on the same page as I am in a bunch of ways. It's been great to meet with him and start discussions that have been swirling around in both our heads for quite some time now about our faith and how it relates to Orange County, our careers, and our families. It's really been a blessing to me. We leave for Tucson to share a few days with Grandma and Grandpa Fitz, Uncle Steve, Aunt Katie, and Cousing Lily on Monday. We'll be there until August 1st (Dennis' birthday) and then come back home for our last month in the OC for quite some time. It will be filled with fundraising (hopefully), preparation, work, and anticipation. Amidst all of that, we hope to be able to continue working on our French. From what we've heard, the school next year will be predominantly Francophones, so it'll be sink or swim for us Anglophones. Rosetta Stone to the rescue! Just as long as I can get my sugar mama to find some time in the daily grind for a little parlez-vous...
Until next time! Thanks for following. Leave comments!

A Superb Experience

So, I wrote in my last blog that I would elaborate a bit on what I did for my internship and my internship report. Our school director, Pierre, calls the internship a personal faith project. As I wrote in my last blog, for me it was experimenting with everything I've ever been interested in. Firstly, it was prayer, and that remained primary throughout the entire eight months. I knew from the beginning that prayer would precede everything else I did out here; so, I surrounded myself with resources that would birth, nourish, and sustain a habit of prayer. That in itself has been and will continue to be quite a journey for me. Secondly, my search for a vocation (AKA the career I was meant to pursue) motivated and initiated many of the diverse experiences I've had in this big city. To summarize, for weeks, sometimes months, at a time I seriously considered each of the following careers: musician, social activist, chaplain, journalist, farmer, music therapist, and teacher. I've written new songs, I've met with an elderly man once or twice a week, I've reported on events for a local newspaper, I've learned the ethics of how we eat (mostly thanks to my wife and Wendell Berry), I've gone to information sessions and conferences pertaining to these interests, I've met with various faith-leaders, whether Buddhist, Catholic, or Evangelical, and, finally, I've learned about the importance and innate value of work. In other words, I've learned that our work, the daily tasks that each one of us has, whether it be at home or outside the home, religious or secular, is the substance of our spirituality; it's where our faith is "wrought out at the coal-face", as Lesslie Newbigin describes it. In response to this realization and through lots of prayer and practical logic provided by my wife, I decided a few months ago to return to the career I thought I was leaving behind when I came out here. Thus, I've applied and been accepted to l'Université de Montréal for their masters program in English Studies, starting next fall. Of course, my primary obligation (besides Lauren and Dennis) will be to the Urban Cultures YWAM school that Lauren and I will help run the next two years. The classes for my masters will be worked in around that. Nonetheless, I'm happy to be progressing towards a career in teaching literature, no matter what form that may take.
So, at the end of the eight months, while reflecting on all these experiences and realizations, I decided that music would be a good vehicle to crystallize them. Thus, for a good two weeks before the internship report was due, I scoured my journals and notes, highlighted, wrote down, cut-up, and grouped together anything that seemed to represent a common theme that was prevalent during my time here. I was determined to finish 8 to 10 songs, record them, and burn them onto a CD to hand in on the due date. Much thanks to my divinely patient wife who generously allowed me the time to write and record, and thanks to my fellow classmate Andrew Koole who supplied the Apple Garage Band program and his sweet harmonies, I was able to accomplish my goal. The 10 songs on the CD are very raw, recorded in about 3 hours (compare that to the near 300 hundred hours my last CD took), but nonetheless are adequately representative of my/our experiences out here. I'm excited to share, continue writing, and playing these songs with some of my friends and family back home.

A Woman's Perspective

It's been too long since I've had this blank blog page before me, the keyboard at my fingertips, feeling such power and freedom with the knowledge that all you loyal followers will read whatever I, Lauren Christine Fitzgerald Flanagan, choose to express! Ah, the World Wide Web!

Okay, so it's a rainy day and I've been inside a little too long. Actually, not true either. I'm prattling now (if you don't know the word: look it up; it's my new fave, probably because I do it too much!). Focus, Lauren, focus...

Denny, Big D (switched from Lil' D since he's a beast now), and I just returned from my favorite place here in Montreal: Jean Talon Market. The only way to give you an accurate image is to call it a farmer's market, yet it's so much more...Open all week long, every day, one stop shopping. Now that Spring has come-- and with it asparagus, tomatoes, leeks, rhubarb, and the like-- the market is booming. It's enormous, and there are outdoor vendors set up as in any farmer's market, as well as permanent stores selling local meat, cheese, beauty products, grains, bulk, produce, you name it. Any herb, plant, or flower is also there to purchase, along with other gardening supplies. Amazing. I can never get enough. After strolling through, studying cheeses I've never heard of and seeking out Quebecois produce for about an hour a half I feel like I'm just getting started... but King Dennis usually lays down the law and hurries me along.

I was recently able to show off this favorite spot of mine to a very special visitor... Momma Lolo herself (Lois, Denny's mom, that is)! She arrived the 1st of May, Dennis' 9 month birthday, accompanied me while Denny was away on his outdoor extreme camp, and was then here for a week after Denny returned. What a blessing! To see Grandma and Grandson reunited after too much time apart... words don't do it justice. She marveled at his smile and flirtation skills (wooing every person who is willing to look his way), watched him learn how to crawl, was here to guide us and snuggle with him during his first real sickness, and even allowed us a date night on her last night in town: what a woman! We tried to spoil her as best we could (especially on Mother's Day) by showing her our favorite spots, feeding her crepes, and drinking red wine and some local beer. We had an awesome time together, and are now anxiously anticipating all the time we'll have in good ol' Fountain Valley beginning in 18 short days.

As to not overwhelm you all with a 17-page blog, I'll save the stories of my growing passion for social justice through the way we eat and cook for another day. In the meantime, if anyone has any good bread recipes or tips, leave me a comment! I've been teaching myself to make our bread that we eat, and it's a learning process...

Thanks for reading; happy Spring!

Update

So, it's been a few weeks since our New York trip. Since then, we've had class on different forms of church, gone into the wilderness for 5 days for the Niko Camp, and been working hard on finishing some of the major reports due at the end of the month, also known as the end of the school! It's a very busy time for us with the above-mentioned reports, preparing for our quickly-approaching summer at home, and, most importantly, Dennis crawling! Man, it's turned us on our heads. He's quite opinionated now that he can crawl, not to mention mobile.
One report that I just finished was based on two books: Foolishness to the Greeks: the Gospel and Western Culture by Lesslie Newbigin and The Complex Christ: Signs of Emergence in the Urban Church by Kester Brewin. Both were excellent explanations of how and why we need to revamp our thinking of missiology in the western world (meaning Western Europe and North America roughly). They really gave me new insight and meaning into what it means to be missional in the urban context.
Another report that I'm still working on is a study on the sub-culture of the elderly in Montreal. Based on my weekly meetings with an 82 year-old sweetheart of a man, a few visits to organizations serving the elderly, and a book based on the important role of the elderly in Quebec, my report will focus on the problem of isolation among many seniors in Montreal and their inherent, but all-too-often ignored, value in our society. I've come to realize that working with the elderly is definitely something that's heavy on my heart; I am thankful to have discovered such an interest.
Lastly, at the very end of the school, we are required to turn in our internship report. My internship over the last eight months has basically been experimenting with every thing I've ever been interested in. As you can imagine, it has lead me all over the city where I've experienced all kinds of amazing things. In fact, for the next blog I will go into detail about my internship, all the experiences it has entailed, and how I plan to wrap it up nicely with a bow on top. For now, I'll keep in you some suspense.

New York City and Community

We came home a bit tired Friday night after about 12 hours of travel. Although our angelic son had handled the trip both ways like a seasoned traveler, we all three were so glad to be home. New York City was amazing, edifying, and huge, but we sure were glad to be back in the not-so-big, not-so-busy city of Montreal: our stomping grounds!
We've now had a few days to reflect on our whirlwind experience, and have all agreed we did things like New Yorkers in New York City. When in Rome... And although I feel I'm still processing much of what took place there, I really want to share some of our experiences before I lose any precious details.
To summarize, as mentioned in an earlier blog, our main goal (beside doing some sight-seeing, touristy stuff) was to visit a few communities that we felt were exemplifying what it means to live in Christian community. The whole concept of "living in community" has been burgeoning anew in and outside of Christian circles throughout North America. It's often viewed as a way to fight against our individual-oriented, materialistic North American culture. New York City proved to be fertile ground for such a goal. All in all, we visited with six communities: two churches, four intentional communities, and one Catholic Worker.
One community, Bruderhof, was a community of 15 people living under one roof, families and singles. Although this community shares all its money and eats together each night, most of its members have jobs out in the city somewhere where they are able to serve the larger community. Some were teachers, some nurses, some volunteers, some worked for Non-profit organizations, etc. These people lived in close community, and welcomed us into their home for dinner and lots of good conversation.
Another community, All Angels Church, comes from the Anglican tradition and is located in the Upper Westside, a very rich area of Manhattan. However, this church has struggled for years to include the poor and homeless in its congregation. Through this, they have developed weekly soup-kitchens, where not only food is provided, but also professional counseling and career opportunities. They were very honest with us about the many struggles that have resulted from being radically open and welcoming to the poor and homeless (mostly black and hispanic males) amidst their predominantly rich, white congregation.
New Song is a 150 person church in Harlem that is about 10 years old. The pastor there told us that when the church began with six people in an apartment, they commited to focus on a 10-block area of Harlem. Out of this very narrow focus, they have been able to do some amazing things within the last 10 years. Not only do they have a church building, but they also own affordable-housing buildings, a youth development center, a health and wellness center, and are soon opening a restaurant where they will serve healthy food and offer hospitality. This is all within a 10-block area of Harlem!
Another community, Bronx Household of Faith, was in the roughest area that we visited during our time in New York City. This community, started by two couples, has been there for nearly forty years. They too have a very modest, yet focused area that they work with. The community resides in two houses and one apartment all along the same street. One of the couples that started the community has had six of their own children and adopted seven, most from pretty rough backgrounds. The father runs a ministry that helps troubled men in the troubled Bronx area get back on their feet, while the mother has home-schooled and is still home-schooling all 13 of their kids! Two of her children gave us a little concert with their cellos while we visited. Amazing stuff.
Lastly, we visited the Catholic Worker in the East Village. The Catholic Worker exists throughout the world, but is concentrated mainly in the U.S. The one we visited was the original, started by Dorothy Day, an amazing woman. She died in the 80's and is somewhere on her way to being canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church. The lady who spoke with us worked with Dorothy Day, and told us that she often said, "Don't call me a saint because then you won't take me seriously." Dorothy Day was and the Catholic Worker is still today extremely concerned with serving the poor and homeless in each respective community as well as affecting political change on a national, even international, level. It's quite a decentralized organization, so much so that you wonder how it doesn't lapse into chaos. Nonetheless, it has done some great things much thanks to the woman who got it all started.
I could go on and on about our experiences there, but I'll stop here. Needless to say, the week definitely clarified for us what it means to live in community in a culture that goes in the opposite direction. It was an extremely interesting and extremely challenging week, one that I will continue to reflect on for months, maybe years, to come.

The Spiritual Disciplines

A few weeks ago, we went out to the Quebec countryside for a week's teaching on the spiritual disciplines and a weekend-long silent retreat. It was one of the best weeks of teaching Lauren and I have experienced in this school. Basically, the teacher, Jeff Pratt, who happens to be great friends with Brennan Manning (author of Ragamuffin Gospel), taught on adopting a daily rhythm of prayer similar to those practiced in monasteries for centuries. Jeff actually started what he calls an urban monastery (ywamaxiom.com) in New Haven, Connecticut where he and the other members of the community commit to a common Rule of Life: 1. to daily moments of reflection and surrender (30 minutes minimum) 2. Holy Communion and prayer observed each Wednesday 3. Accountability friendships 4. Weekly acts of service to those locally in need of compassion or justice 5. Weekly sharing of Truth with pre-believers. It comes across as a very structured spirituality, but Jeff insists that these commitments are time-tested not only by the thousands of saints who've gone before us but also by Jesus himself. You can't read too far in the gospels without coming across a passage where Jesus goes off to pray. For us, it was nice to realize that although some of these disciplines may sometimes feel like striving or even legalism, the fact of the matter is that they bring us to a place where communion with God can take place. They don't cause communion with God, but they help us become attentive to his voice. As an example of a sort of daily rhythm, Jeff suggested praying over a psalm in the morning, maybe mid-day writing a prayer to him, and in the evening praying through music, etc. It's just one example. There are many ways to pray, and many books written about those ways as well. Fortunately, we believe in a God who values diversity and creativity. So, Lauren and I were really inspired by this teaching and have slowly begun to develop (individually and communally) a daily rhythm of prayer. It's a long journey, but we're glad to have begun.

At last, at last...

Easter is here and Lent is over. He is risen, He is risen indeed. It's a new blog, a new blog indeed. Now that Jesus has freed us from the bondage of our Lenten fasts (internet, chocolate, alcohol, etc.) we are back with lots of exciting news, impossible to contain in one blog. We just wrapped up a busy Holy Week, and now are joyously reveling in a free Easter Monday. The sun is shining brightly, the snow has all melted away, and a week of Springy weather awaits us. The hope of the season is upon us.
The last blog I put up was from early March announcing our commitment to Montreal for two more years. Now, we're almost to mid-April and, although the end of the school approaches, there's still much to be done. For example, this coming Friday the school will travel to New York for a week's trip to meet with different intentional communities. Basically, an intentional community, according to our definition, is any group of people who meet on a regular basis and share a common vision or higher calling. For example, any church could qualify as an intentional community. We'll meet not only with some churches but also with communities taking things a step further. For example, one group in Harlem (formerly called Bruderhof, now called Church Communities International) lives in a house together, shares all its money, and eats together daily. Another group in Brooklyn called Radical Living is somewhere in between: they live in three separate houses, close in proximity, and meet together 3 or 4 times a week for meals, devotional times, or community action. The goal, being in an urban center ourselves, is for us to learn about different constructions of community in a context very similar to our own. We want to search out people who are exploring different ways of seeing Christ and being Christ in the city. It's shaping up to be a really interesting week.
Then, we'll have a few days back in Montreal before I (Denny) and the other four students in the school strike out into the Quebec wilderness for five days. No, that's not a figurative statement--really, five days in the wilderness. That's all they're telling us...It's called a NIKO camp; Lauren did one when she went to Argentina for her DTS in 2006. She's still alive, so I'm hopeful. By the end of that it will be almost mid-may, and only a few weeks from our much-anticipated return to the golden state for the Summer.
Stay tuned for another update before we leave for New York on Friday. I'll go into detail about our time of Lent, the silent retreat we participated in, and the latest developments within my internship and volunteering.