Well I love coffee. A lot of people here love their Tim Horton's Coffee, which can barely be counted as coffee in my opinion but to each their own. During our stay in Minneapolis Trisha and I discovered Caribou Coffee, a regional coffee shop that appears to be concerned about the environment. Caribou Coffee was our coffee of choice in Minneapolis, we stopped in three times on Sunday. I must admit Caribou puts a lot of espresso in their specialty coffee's, which I really enjoyed.
Trisha and I were reading about Caribou Coffee in a coffee shop near Solomon's Porch and they have set a goal of being 50% 'fair trade' by 2009. It was refreshing to see that goal set in comparison to Starbucks that appears to only care about the bottom line. I guess it is the imagination of this 'small' coffee chain that is trying to make a difference that impressed me.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Some thoughts on Solomon's Porch
The only part of the weekend that was disappointing was that I didn't get to spend as much time at Solomon's Porch or get to hear Doug Pagitt speak. Trisha and I had a hard time following the direction I got off travelocity so we didn't go to the Mockingbirds Nest, which I was really excited about.
We did however go to Solomon's Porch on Sunday evening, but left early so we wouldn't be late for the concert. The set up for the gathering area is completely unique, you need to imagine a lot of old sofas(think about your grandparents sofas) arranged in a circle with the middle having two swivel chair. The feel was more like a friend's basement where you would meet to hang out. I wonder if that is how the first century church would be have done it, just hanging out in some one's house. In November at St. Benedict's we did a 'Going to the 1st century church' the feel was similar. The service started with a brief introduction by Bob who was sitting in for Doug and explained the why the palm tree branches were handed out.
While we only heard 3 songs they were very intense, even haunting. The lyrics, especially the song about not belonging to anyone were heart wrenching.
I am not sure if this was a standard week at Solomon's Porch, but a lot of the time was spent on being an abolitionist church(fighting against human trafficking). I thought the ideas were good, definitely nice to see a church in action and giving their community an outlet to share their passions. One of the speakers called human trafficking slavery, which I thought was very important, too often in our culture we have names for terrible things and the name is vague or do not convey what is happening.
I imagine a lot would have happened after we left maybe even the 'sermon' portion, as a guy on the other side of the room kept looking through his Bible. Anyways I thought it was interesting experience, one would need to spend a week at Solomon's Porch and involve yourself in the community to really grasp their journey and the beauty.
We did however go to Solomon's Porch on Sunday evening, but left early so we wouldn't be late for the concert. The set up for the gathering area is completely unique, you need to imagine a lot of old sofas(think about your grandparents sofas) arranged in a circle with the middle having two swivel chair. The feel was more like a friend's basement where you would meet to hang out. I wonder if that is how the first century church would be have done it, just hanging out in some one's house. In November at St. Benedict's we did a 'Going to the 1st century church' the feel was similar. The service started with a brief introduction by Bob who was sitting in for Doug and explained the why the palm tree branches were handed out.
While we only heard 3 songs they were very intense, even haunting. The lyrics, especially the song about not belonging to anyone were heart wrenching.
I am not sure if this was a standard week at Solomon's Porch, but a lot of the time was spent on being an abolitionist church(fighting against human trafficking). I thought the ideas were good, definitely nice to see a church in action and giving their community an outlet to share their passions. One of the speakers called human trafficking slavery, which I thought was very important, too often in our culture we have names for terrible things and the name is vague or do not convey what is happening.
I imagine a lot would have happened after we left maybe even the 'sermon' portion, as a guy on the other side of the room kept looking through his Bible. Anyways I thought it was interesting experience, one would need to spend a week at Solomon's Porch and involve yourself in the community to really grasp their journey and the beauty.
Springsteen was amazing!
The Springsteen show was amazing. I had to resign myself to the fact that I wasn't going to hear all my favorite songs, but knew I was going to love the show. When Bruce and the Gang entered the stage they set the crowd into a frenzy, as the antipicipation had been building the last hour for the show to start. I was in a constant state of bliss throughout the concert, needing to pinch myself that I was actually at the concert.
The concert had many personal highlights and the energy that Bruce and the band gave was contagious. As I write this I know any description of the concert does not compare to being at the show, it is amazing how much energy Bruce gives out at such an old age. I would say my favorite song was Waiting on a Sunny Day, The Rising, and Born to Run. During Waiting on a Sunny Day, Bruce was all over the stage and since it is one of Trisha's favorite songs I was happy that he played it. The Rising is filled with so many memories of what happened after 9/11 and how to be hopeful in a time of despair. I vividly remember listen to that song over and over again during my time working for Celebrity Cruises that time was a time of change in my life. Born to Run is definitely the quintessential Bruce Springsteen song and the song most people know so the arena was vibrating and all of us were sing along.
I am still feel the energy of going to see Bruce, definitely worth the many hours on the road.
The concert had many personal highlights and the energy that Bruce and the band gave was contagious. As I write this I know any description of the concert does not compare to being at the show, it is amazing how much energy Bruce gives out at such an old age. I would say my favorite song was Waiting on a Sunny Day, The Rising, and Born to Run. During Waiting on a Sunny Day, Bruce was all over the stage and since it is one of Trisha's favorite songs I was happy that he played it. The Rising is filled with so many memories of what happened after 9/11 and how to be hopeful in a time of despair. I vividly remember listen to that song over and over again during my time working for Celebrity Cruises that time was a time of change in my life. Born to Run is definitely the quintessential Bruce Springsteen song and the song most people know so the arena was vibrating and all of us were sing along.
I am still feel the energy of going to see Bruce, definitely worth the many hours on the road.
The Politics of Minneapolis
One thing that kept popping out during our trip to Minneapolis was how political things were in the states. Trisha and I kept running across pro-life billboards on the highway. I thought the pro-life billboards were pretty tacky and unimaginative they had saying like 'God know their soul from inception.' Maybe it is how Americans use God or religious language to guilt or convince others to your point of view. I would say I am pro-choice, not to say that abortion is a good choice, but I think the pro-life choice is only concerned with a baby till it is born afterwards who cares.
In the city a lot of homes had peace, anti-war, and support our troops signs on their front lawn. Trisha and I found that interesting how political things were in the U.S.A compared to Canada. I wonder if Minneapolis has a broad political range of these ideas(pro-life, peace, anti-war, and supporting the troops) or if it is simple part of the complexity of life. That we can have a mosaic of view that appear to be in contradiction or live in a society where two views are colliding with each other.
In the city a lot of homes had peace, anti-war, and support our troops signs on their front lawn. Trisha and I found that interesting how political things were in the U.S.A compared to Canada. I wonder if Minneapolis has a broad political range of these ideas(pro-life, peace, anti-war, and supporting the troops) or if it is simple part of the complexity of life. That we can have a mosaic of view that appear to be in contradiction or live in a society where two views are colliding with each other.
Friday, March 14, 2008
A weekend with Bruce and Doug
This weekend Trisha and I are going to Minneapolis this weekend, I am brimming with excitement. In November I bought tickets for the Bruce Springsteen show. Springsteen has been one of my favorite artist for a number of years now, while the tickets aren't the great I think simply being at the show will be a memorable experience. I am pretty giddy right now just thinking about the show.
Our other plans for our weekend in Minneapolis trip is to check out Solomon's Porch. An emergent church that appears to be doing some exciting things in the city. I first encountered Solomon's Porch through an assignment for my Pastoral Theology class at Providence College, where my assignment was to read Church Re-imagined. The book is a fascinating look at a group of people trying to make sense of the faith during changing times, one of the strengths of the book is that it is written by the entire community not only the pastor.
Up until now Trisha and I were at a loss about what to do on Saturday evening within our budget, but just today I was checking out Doug Pagitt's blog and Solomon's Porch will be host something called Mockingbirds Nest. It sort of looks like an open mic thing for expression of faith, the weekend just gets better. Well I should start packing for the weekend.
Our other plans for our weekend in Minneapolis trip is to check out Solomon's Porch. An emergent church that appears to be doing some exciting things in the city. I first encountered Solomon's Porch through an assignment for my Pastoral Theology class at Providence College, where my assignment was to read Church Re-imagined. The book is a fascinating look at a group of people trying to make sense of the faith during changing times, one of the strengths of the book is that it is written by the entire community not only the pastor.
Up until now Trisha and I were at a loss about what to do on Saturday evening within our budget, but just today I was checking out Doug Pagitt's blog and Solomon's Porch will be host something called Mockingbirds Nest. It sort of looks like an open mic thing for expression of faith, the weekend just gets better. Well I should start packing for the weekend.
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