it seems really appropriate that the last thing blogged for sparrow community house would be a call for help from a trans woman in my new home state, north carolina. after all, the original house started after a call much like that.

after sparrow community house left its physical address, i continued carrying the mission of the house very close to my heart. this blog traveled with me and that mission for a little while. i will hold onto the name, the fantastic logo, the web address, and the possibility of a future sparrow community house…perhaps forever. but right now, my energy is focused on my unschooling and seeking out meaningful service in nc. the blog connected to this one  http://unschooledseminarian.tumblr.com/  is where you will find all new posts. a lot of the issues i wrote about here will be written about there. this is an evolution, not an end.

thank you for following the progress of the community. keep in touch.

blackamazon:

She needs “a bedroom for me and my stuff and my cat, some pain meds, and a line on a job.” She’s getting kicked out of her place by the first of the month, but she’s a real established organizer, a genius trans woman of color former graphic designer and in need of community…

(via poemsofthedead)

sexworkerproblems:

escortlife:

17. December International Day to End Violence against Sexworkers

Candle lit vigils and Sex Worker Speak out internationally at these events

http://www.swopusa.org/dec17/event-locations/

Apologies to Australia, New Zealand, and Japan for reblogging this so late.

(via transfeminism)

an article written by my partner about our first days in asheville. she’s great.

firstacoustic:

We arrived in Asheville on Saturday afternoon to sun and a local beer from our new roommate. Gulliver explored the grounds and lusted after the ducks in the yard before discovering the giant, low, bay window that he can stare out for hours at a time.

We’ve been reveling in the joy of living in…

i have long wanted to go to seminary but have had some problems with the idea of re-entering the university system and/or furthering america’s fixation on professionalism and certification. so during my first year in asheville i will be embarking on an unschooling project that i will be documenting on a separate tumbr account (link attached). check out the unschooled seminarian blog…ya know, if you want to.

cottonwood tree in albuquerque, nm

kiplinger magazine released a survey last week stating that more millionaires, 885 households, live in los alamos, nm than anywhere else in the nation.

according to census data, new mexico has the second highest concentration of indigenous people in the us at nearly 200,000 (9% of the states population).

in late june, the las conchas fire hit the people who live in santa clara pueblo particularly hard, destroying almost half of their watershed and eighty percent of their forest. residents of the pueblo say that the ecological damage cannot be corrected in their lifetime. the wild fire that hit this area was originally headed straight for los alamos and its nuclear labs when fire departments took measures to re-route the blaze away from los alamos and into santa clara.

this is what post-colonialism looks like.

in solidarity with the folks at (un)occupy protests all over the usa and all of our friends on the street who must face the cops daily, i’ve linked to crimethinc who has printed a new flyer concerning myths about police power and authority. take care of each other and stay informed!

“Consequently, when we stand in solidarity with the transgender victims of violence, we also stand in solidarity with the Christ who suffers with them.” -joint baptist statement

holy mary, mother of god

blessed are you as a woman and blessed is the fruit of your womb, jesus (a peasant like us!)

pray for us now and at the hour of our liberation

-a prayer recited at trinity house catholic worker during prayer hours

(photo of a friends’s trailer at the mesa outside of albuquerque, nm)

there are a lot of gospel songs about the name of jesus. type “the name of jesus” on youtube and you can listen to hours of songs about the power of the name, calling on the name, loving the name, blessing the name, etc. but last night, america chose a different name to proclaim. the moniker in question changes with time, sometimes it is “lynching” at other periods it has been “crucifixion” but it will answer to “vengeance” no matter the era. last night when america re-crucified christ through the nasty, sacrilegious practice of capital punishment, our values were revealed.

certainly, there were those who said “no”. perhaps, more people said “no” last night than have in a long long while in this country. but it wasn’t enough for troy davis and it won’t be enough for the rest of christ’s brothers and sisters sitting on death row. why is it not enough? because americans have elected men and women to office who love humans’ law more than humans’ life. americans have allowed the courts to be filled with well-paid judges who love their jobs more than justice (foolishly we believed they were one in the same). and by doing these things, this very young country has traded reconciliation, forgiveness, and community for strife, grudge, and acrimony.

so where do we go from here, now that we look more like the executioner than like christ? many people who weigh in on the death penalty are concerned with letting those who commit serious crimes live. however, there is too little said about our disturbing obsession with making anyone, regardless of guilt, pay for their indiscretion with their very life. i believe that is where we start. it is fine to state that troy is innocent. after all, he is. but that is not the reason he should not have been put to death. he should not have been murdered because it’s not the state’s place to take someone’s life. in fact, the state has no true authority to lock someone in a cage and control all their movements either. but i’ll save the rant about prison abolition for another day and say simply that we can’t continue to act like the death penalty makes sense. no person of conscience should support it. of course, no christian can support it (theologically or morally; see substitutionary atonement, the lords prayer, the gospels). so let’s stop the death dealing now. let’s fill our mouths with the call for life and forgiveness, with the name of the world’s most famous victim of the death penalty. when we do this, surely there will be no room for the name of vengeance on our lips.

troy davis as a child