dear friends,

as the ground begins to thaw, we have been taking in the state of our yard and taking stock of what all needs to be done in the journey toward turning the jungle into a garden (hopefully, a community garden that can provide fruit, vegetables and flowers to the house and our friends/neighbors). Well, basically we’re a little overwhelmed.

the front of the yard looks manageable enough and we’ve started some work on it. we’ve contained the compost and started chopping wood for summertime fires.

our back lot, though, is out of control and we’re not so sure our tender little hands can do the work ourselves.

so, we came up with what we think is a fabulous idea and we want your feedback!

print by: meredith stern

the idea:

some saturday or sunday in late february or early march, we want to host a work day/party for our friends. this would be a lovely all-day affair.

we would work and tear up the land from 9-4 (or however long you can be there) and in return for our friends hard labor and solidarity, we would keep everyone after the work for a raucous, festive party!!! we’ll buy some beer, make some food and everyone would be invited to bring additional dishes or drink. We could have a fire, play some music and party like the old days until we’re too tuckered out to move.

if this suits your fancy, let us know! let us know any days that would specifically work very well for you or days that you definitely could not make it!

any additional ideas would be welcome!

love love love,

the folks at the house

we feel out of touch with our neighbors. by this point, this is definitely somewhat of a national epidemic. but i’m referring specifically to our household. so to make things right and create the community we all deserve, we’re having a little get together at the house.

next saturday, january 30th from 9:30 am to 11:30 am we’re going to host a coffee hour (don’t worry, we’ll have tea too…heck, i may even throw some biscuits in the oven). besides our personal goals of outreach to homeless friends, we know someone, maybe a person right down the street, has a vision that simply needs a space to unfold.

childcare will be offered on saturday for the really little neighbors so bring the whole family. if you can’t make it on saturday, we will have a second coffee hour monday, february 1st from 7pm to 8pm. if you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email.

we’ve got the space. you bring the vision. let’s make it happen together.

image by:

josh macphee

dr. maxwell anderson, a mentor and advocate for the trans community of georgia and abroad, passed away january 14th. his tireless efforts as a therapist and activist will not soon be overlooked.

maxwell was featured in the film southern comfort along with his best friend robert eads. over the past few years, maxwell had worked to complete a follow-up film entitled southern comforted: lives touched by the documentary.

his memorial service will be held this evening at 7pm at first christian church of decatur at 601 w. ponce de leon ave.

please keep dr. anderson’s loved ones in your thoughts.

serving dinner in south decatur on new year’s eve didn’t happen as i pondered resolutions or radical exertions that we were fighting the system. i didn’t want to be hasseled by the owners of the parking lot and i really didn’t want to answer too many questions about why i was serving chili off of an oldsmobile.

despite not maintaining a very new years-y, forward thinking posture during our service, there was a new resolve after we packed up everything and left. “the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones”, is one definition of resolution and that is what had greater meaning on the first day of a fresh year.

this mission is simple. serve and love those who receive that service. complexity is added by a world that wants poverty to seem normal, deserved. and the christian voices made public, nourish the confusion by creating moral distractions. jesus was a homeless man from a forgettable town who died as the result of a death penalty that the state, obsessed with war and money, just couldn’t get enough of. if ever there were a scenario that seemed relevant, it is this one. christ’s life, documented and preached about by millions, is lived out every day in this very city by people we can no longer face.

we are told that “they are simply not trying hard enough and to allow them what they need to thrive would be too costly and complex.” but with great certitude, i feel it’s the opposite: “how they arrived at this fearful juncture may indeed be complex but serving them is simple.” it is far past time, for each of us to stop making this work into a cumbersome obligation and start looking forward to the simple service we have before us. i’m resolved to simplicity as this year breaks. here’s hoping i’ll be in good company.