monteskewed

Monday, October 22, 2007

Building The Playground

Community, Leathers & Meaning Making

Day 6 of the build

1 more to go!

I was too busy and too tired to get online for the remainder of the build, so I'm posting after the event.

Saturday the rain ended. Our daughter was sleeping in, after staying up all night, and so I did some reading and reflecting while everyone else starting working on the playground at 8am.

I was thinking about community. The playground is being built by a gathered community of folks who are committed to and passionate about the ministry, purpose and place of Westminster Woods. It's through the great organization called Leathers & Associates: a family owned company that designs unique and personalized playgrounds, based upon the visions and dreams of those for whom it's built. They construct playgrounds with the goal of "shoulder-to-shoulder" play possibilties for children of all ages and abilities. And the whole thing is always built by volunteers. An amazing group that transforms community gathering together to be together or because of a shared value or memory, into a gathered community making permanent and public meaning through their collaboration, solidarity and diverse skill - and un-skill -levels.

People today aren't looking for a professional cleric, or religious professional, to teach them about faith or to talk about what it might mean for life, community and making meaning in our 21st century world. They're looking to experience faith for themselves, to participate in communal meaning-making efforts, and to both feel and be connected to something bigger, whether that be a community with shared values and hopes or a universal life-force, what I'd call God. Isn't this what our faith communities should be more like as opposed to bastions of tradition-maintaining committees?

Here's some of the pictures I took on Saturday - while trying to look like I was working - all my reflection on the theme of "community." Also I'm including below the slideshow 2 quotes (from music and a book) that inspired my reflections on community, meaning-making and the vocation of the church in particular in our emerging post-modern culture today.