The Urban Saint

"I've come to terms with the risks. I know my calling. I know what I'm supposed to be doing. I can't back away from what I've been designed to do because of some opposition." Harry Lehotsky, to a Winnipeg reporter.

I read Harry Lehotsky's bio this weekend. I recommend it. It was a bit hard for me to get into the way the book is written, but once I did, I was completely engaged.

Harry is an inner city pastor from a neighborhood adjacent to the one we live in. Over the years, I certainly heard a lot about him and was inspired over and over again by his actions and life. I remember inviting him to come and speak to our staff team over at ICYA. A couple of times, I brought young people who wanted to learn more about inner city ministry over to his office on Maryland. I heard him speak at Missionfest a few years ago. And I used to bring folks to the Ellice Cafe often, because Harry's vision for that place as a hub of community -where social position and other barriers didn't matter - was so meaningful.


I was driving when I heard on the radio that Harry had terminal cancer a few years ago, and I was immediately teary. I wept for the community that would lose one of its champions, for sons who weren't done needing their dad, for a wife whose dreams of grandparenting together would never be realized.

The book filled in a lot of gaps that I didn't know about in Harry's life. I knew a lot of the crazy stunts, but it was nice to learn more of the story behind the story. Some of the crazy things I've heard about were not even in the book, others I read about and had no idea.

Courageously crazy. That might be a good description of the Harry I just read about and the Harry I observed. I feel similar about Keith Green... we hear and sometimes shake our heads the outrageous stunts, but when we reflect on them a bit, we can see a heart that is breathtakingly committed to Christ and his Kingdom .... they reveal our fears by their lack of fear.

Some of the thoughts that grab hold of me in this book...

• Harry referring to himself as one who both comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable



• His constant invitation to be part of the neighborhood and love people - believing that more are called than are responding - responding to so many questions and affirmations with the suggestion that anyone can do it.



• realizing that his 'healing handprint' is all over Winnipeg's west end.



• the rawness of what deep commitment to a community and restoration can do to someone, revealing how deeply the hurts of a people and a community can 'undo' a person whose eyes truly see



• Harry was unabashedly committed to living and working in the same neighborhood. He challenged inner city missionaries who weren't willing to expose their families to poverty and other realities while those things were perfectly okay for the people who 'belonged' in that neighborhood. I was well on my way to having that same opinion long before I heard Harry talk about it, but he certainly inspired me. My husband and I still have to settle that debate - we thought moving to rural Saskatchewan would fix it once and for all, but ... isn't life funny, there are some things you just can't dodge! (I wonder if that's 'calling'?!?)



• considering the relationship between community activism and worship. Where is the line? Is there a line? What's the difference?



• Second chances, hope filled belief.. Harry exemplified a commitment to these in his relationships.

Have you read the book? What are your thoughts?

Do you know if you're in the right place and doing what you're designed to do?

Flat Fun

We have a lot of fun at Flatlanders!

...And since I'm too wordy and not picturey enough on this blog, here is a stab at correcting it ... by sharing our fun times with you... :)

an attempt at artsy photography last summer at the zoo...

Bernardin sisters and nieces -annual Tourtiere making - 2009

Bannock for communion meal with friends

.... hanging with friends from the neighboorhood

Bren is an artist - Painted on an old lead window salvaged from the undeveloped fourth floor of our building - it now hangs in the entrance on the third floor. The theme of his piece?

... ONE....

More salvaged materials and creativity! We now have a whole wall of artwork, made by friends and residents of Flatlanders!

How many 14 year olds do you know who have an indoor skatepark right in their building?! Owen is thankful.. or at least I pretend that he is.

Art show at the December 2009 Coffee House. Created by one of Flatlanders residents! (We are now the proud owners of the piece on the right. It hangs by the door to our dorm...)

Thanks for reading! I think I will try to do a fun Friday post every once in a while.. maybe every other week...

By the way, if you're inspired by the last picture, be sure to check out our HOUSE CONCERTS ... at Flatlanders every second month in 2010.. first one coming up on March 3.

Stay tuned! There will be more info in the coming weeks on FB and at www.winnipegcentrevineyard.com.

We will have all sorts of artists sharing their creativity with us -- musicians, photographers, poets, painters... Hope you'll check it out if you're in Winnipeg...

what we do at Flatlanders...

I am often surprised at how often people ask what we really DO at Flatlanders.. like you know, what is the WORK?

There is no shortage of tasks, but our emphasis is often relationship. So tonight, I sat with Kenny, who adores old-time music, and we listened to this you tube video. Over and over and over! As we listened he shared some good memories and laughs.

He just plain enjoyed the song.
... so I hope you will too!

confessions about chronic late-ness....

I am often late. not always, but often. Its not that I can't plan well, I can. (and frequently do!) Its not that I don't own an alarm clock or a watch, I own one of each. I've never missed a plane or a speaking engagement. But I often come to appointments a few minutes late. the biggest reason? I misjudge distance or prep time.... and I usually have a lot on the go!

I've heard people refer to folks like me as not valuing the time of others, I even read a recent frustrated blog post that called people like me 'self important'! (everyone has a lot on the go .. I recognize this!)

Still, I challenge this perception! I value others a great deal. And I don't think I'm more important than others.... so why am I often late? i've asked myself this question often. My husband has asked me this question often!!

... been thinking on this... and have spent a lot of time in my life trying to be a more on time person! i've actually made some progress...!! But I've also realized that its a huge effort for me to do it. Seriously.. it is like putting a square peg in way too small round hole multiple times/day. Consequently, I'm wondering if lateness is a personality thing. If it's not really a choice.. its just the way some of us are. Some of us are quieter, some of us boisterous. some of us expressive, some are reserved. Some are more apt to be defensive, others rarely take offense. Some are meticulous about appearance, some more haphazard. And some are chronically late while others are always on time (or even early!)

i'm wondering... can we find ways to 'create space' for one another rather than judging or personalizing the actions of others? Can the person who comes late to a meeting be appreciated even if they're always 6 minutes later than everyone else? Can it be okay to just get started and welcome the late person when they get there?

i'm wondering... does the world need more ways to make people feel guilty, more pressures to conform to expectations? How can we be genuinely okay with diverse characteristics among people?

these might sound like crazy ideas, but I'm just wondering.

what do you think?

you have to check out this post...

i have been receiving info from Steve Bell's promo machine lately.

I sometimes read it, sometimes not. But i enjoy keeping tabs on steve, seeing as he's a native Winnipegger, lived in the North End, makes great music, and I just plain think he's cool :)

today's blog post is a must read. I mean it. Click here.

haven't clicked yet? here are a couple of excerpts...

"Truth is indeed shy and remains obscured until it is teased out by the ones who really want to see – who patiently attend and show they will honour and cherish disclosure. Maybe that’s why truth is not easily found. We tend to lay claim on, commodify and then consume. No wonder we’re alienated from creation, from others, from ourselves. We’ve bought into the great western experiment based on the assumption that human nature is autonomous and self interested. Our politics, economics and infrastructures are based on this assumption."

... relating a long ago conversation with his Aboriginal foster daughter; “No,” she said,” I don’t mean that… I mean in commercials. There are never any Indians in commercials selling soap or cars or anything like that.” I was silent for a minute as I was trying to anticipate where she was going with this. “Nobody wants to see us do they?” She said sadly. I didn’t see that one coming. And I had no answer. We just sat in lonely silence until supper."

Read the whole post here... and thanks, Steve for food for thought.

thoughts from Isaiah 32

(paraphrased from NRSV - Isaiah the prophet, chapter 32)

See, a King will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.
Each prince will be like a hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempest.. like streams of water in a dry place.

THEN the eyes of those who have sight will not be closed, and the ears of those who have hearing will listen.

A fool will no longer be called noble, nor a villain said to be honorable.

fools .... speak folly
plot iniquity
practice ungodliness
utter error concerning the Lord
leave the hungry unsatisfied
deprive the thirsty of drink
ruin the poor with lying words (even when their plea is right)

Those who are noble plan noble things.
By noble things they stand.

When a Spirit from on High is poured out ...
justice will dwell in the wilderness
the righteous will abide in fruitful fields

The effect of righteousness is peace. The result is quietness and trust.

come, Lord. Pour your spirit on us.
Amen.

the same tribe

this post is about community. I am always exploring this idea of community.. how great it is, what it does mean or can mean, what's missing when its missing... the topic is on my mind often. If you read this blog very often, or if you know me very well, you know that community is a 'biggie' value.

A new friend gave me some new words to think about when considering community.. a mentor of hers had used the phrase 'we're in the same tribe'. The phrase was used to communicate affinity, some common ground, a connection - something mutual. So, I got to thinking about pseudo-community and genuine community - and how much 'being in the same tribe' affects those two concepts.

I get the psedo community phraseology from M. Scott Peck's book 'The Different Drum; Community Making and Peace'.

Peck says that pseudo community is a place on the way to genuine community, but that some groups get stuck there.

What follows is either a combination of my ideas and Pecks or a complete massacre of his ideas. If its the latter, forgive me! - I'm not trying to do a book review here, just to give credit where it belongs!

basically, the thing that excites me about genuine community is the potential.. we can accomplish something not only better, more beautiful, more unique and totally exciting when we are a genuine 'we' ... but its something that could never otherwise be. There's no other way for it to exist other than the magical, spiritual, symbiotic, energy filled, dynamic union of a group's unique experiences, ideas, personalities, gifts. The 'something' that is created can be a simple but meaningful gift to the world, or it can actually be a common project, cause, vision .... I took the liberty of drawing my little thoughts for all 6 readers of this blog...

See these happy people in genuine community?!?!? They're united and smiling, and the thing that has grown into existence as a result of their bond is dynamic and real... they are involved from their hearts, hands, even feet! And the thing that now exists (artfully depicted above their heads...) is not only influencing them, its having a bigger impact.. they've given to it, its giving to them, and its growing to influence others... My drawing is so beautiful and accurate (ha!) because I've experienced this kind of community. It's not life-sucking. It's collaborative, open. It's not necessarily easy.. but its real. And it is so, so GOOD! This is the experience that could characterize all of our relationships! .... if only ...

These folks are in pseudo community. They are creating something, but its less dynamic, more rigid. Even though its probably a really easily definable thing that they are doing together, its not something your spirit or heart recognizes. Instead of working together creating the 'new thing that couldn't otherwise exist', these folks are occupied more with not getting on each others nerves! There's more rules about whats acceptable and not in this group, (not that there aren't rules with the group above, its just that rules aren't a defining element). This group, to use Peck's words, are stuck in trying to convert and heal each other towards a specific expression -usually the ideas of someone within the group - so the 'new thing' that could be created is resisted before it even begins... Sadly, i've been part of this kind of community, too.

Just so the ideas hit home, here is a thought about each type of community...

genuine community.. I once led a team for about two years. We had a purpose, and our purpose involved multiple ways of communicating with stakeholders, some internationally, we had to organize events, awareness and fundraising, and speaking opportunities... i actually am surprised at how much we did! But somehow, it all got done, and each time we pulled something off, we debriefed after the fact and said.. 'wow.. this exceeded all of our expectations!'... during the course of our time together, we learned what different gifts were among us and began to integrate the uniqueness of our team into our actions. We learned about each others families and visited each other's homes. We supported each other in other areas of life and prayed for one another. i stopped leading this team when I moved to Hepburn, but I am frequently reminded of all that I learned from this humble little group. Were we 'all from the same tribe'?.. certainly not by looking at the outside! There were more differences than similarities amongst us. There were men and women, older and younger, retired and professional... The thing was, no one had to be 'right'... no one believed that they had 'the' idea. We really believed and acted like 'together' was the key word. And something very unique and effective grew out of our community....

pseudo community... A few years ago, in one of my workplaces, i participated in a monthly 'group' meeting. This group was gathered to improve communication and the feeling of team in this particular organization. the idea to create this group was suggested by several of the people who attended, but when the meetings actually became a reality, no one really wanted to be there. the ideas that were generated fell flat, any attempts at humor were only politely tolerated. People showed up late or not at all. Creative and gifted people were definitely present, but somehow their contributions were stifled or not even put on the table. What started as an idea borne to be helpful and meaningful turned into one more thing that contributed to the very problem it was trying to address... why?!?!?

was it because this group were 'not from the same tribe?' - this is where this language (as much as i like it) begins to be less applicable... but the lack of commonality, of shared goals, even of hope... this is a really important consideration in this expression of pseudo community. Those present at the monthly meeting didn't believe that their efforts could make a difference... and it showed. There was also a lot of resentment, turf protecting, old un-addressed and festering wounds, and a few of the people had 'the way we should go' all figured out. There was no openness to the 'beautiful new thing' that could be created if only genuine community had been welcome...

Anyway, thats enough words for today. As i type this post, i am so, so, so thankful for all the people and places that have taught me about genuine community. I hope that your experiences are as rich as mine...but come to think of it, I think that heart breaking pseudo community experiences are what makes genuine community so much richer.. so I guess I wish both kinds of community for you!

thanks for tolerating my artwork...