word pieces

Terry LeBlanc - worldview Friday!

2009-03-27T18:02:00.001-07:00

[click on image for larger view]

The Story of Elizabeth & Tracey

2009-03-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

by Polly Krause - Mustard Seed Calgary

Here's what I saw:

They were as big as a billboard but like no billboard I've ever see.

Two women, women that may not even be here if they had been conceived now.

Two women, plain, no wind swept hair, no batting eyelashes, no perfectly aligned white teeth, no glossy, pouty lips, no cleavage or designer clothes.

Two women, plain, holding each other, bare and innocent and smiling broadly, as big as a billboard.

The sight was breathtaking. It's the love. You could see the love. It was all over them. The best billboard I've ever seen. I could buy into that.

volunteers...

2009-03-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

HOSPITALITY TO JUSTICE

2009-03-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

Radical community:

Social housing

over

existing parking lot

Forging partnerships

And social enterprises

No person left behind

hope advanced

[jumbled together by Mike]

God vs. Empire

2009-03-27T08:19:00.001-07:00

[click to view larger image -- highly recommended]

...change your worldview...

2009-03-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

[jumbled together by Mike]

ASK

2009-03-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

Breathe.

Its not all doom and gloom.

Ask.

Just do it:

Ask.

Don’t fear; carry on.

And ask.

More money is needed:

Ask.

Help!!!

Ask.

Hope.

And ask.

Grab the fundraisers by the collar and show them the front-line realities

Then ask.

Its just the tip of the iceberg, of opportunity

Ask.

Stewardship: it’s about people.

Ask and you will receive,

So ask.

Say thank you,

Ask and …

Remember to breathe.

[jumbled together by Mike]

the Garden

2009-03-27T06:29:00.001-07:00

our first official wordpiece from Street Level IV: a Legacy of Justice. this one is from the first set of workshops on Thursday March 26th. don't know which one, so if anyone recognizes any of the words and can let us know via the comments which one it is, that would be awesome.

so...whaddya think? what does this make you think of... what does this say to you...

The Tree...

2009-03-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

What's with the tree?

The StreetLevel Conference has two major goals: to teach and to nurture. At the high quality "close up" sessions, attendees will receive practical instruction and guidance from a range of experts that will enable them to better carry out their day to day work. During the Plenary sessions, delegates will all gather together for meaningful times of nurturing and reflection.

Thinkhouse Design was approached to explore the creative direction for the StreetLevel Conference in 2009, the theme of which is "A Legacy of Justice". We began by deconstructing this rather daunting theme, and carefully considered the meanings of each of the words, both independently and as a phrase. This exploration allowed us to get inside what is seemingly a very large and somewhat abstract theme. What follows is a linear look at the lateral thinking that led to the look and design for StreetLevel IV, A Legacy of Justice.

Legacy.
A legacy is a gift for some future use, familiar to all when we speak of "leaving behind a legacy". It is further defined through synonyms like bequest, heritage, endowment, and inheritance. These words imply the passage of time, gifts of historical significance left for the future. Through the training and equipping component of the conference, delegates will be learning how to practically live out their calling to serve others. Thus, a legacy is built on a daily basis, in the present, for the future.

Justice.
When we see this word, retributive justice is what most people think of first. This is the punishment for wrong doing. Retributive justice is concerned more with the process than the outcome. Have correct rules and procedures been followed? Was justice done? However, the justice we speak of in context to our theme is not retributive or punitive, but rather restorative. The synonyms here from a biblical stand point are righteousness, integrity, equity, straightness. A helpful definition we found was "Justice is: right relationships among all things in the created order of things". This presupposes God's intention for people to be in community. When people had become poor and weak with respect to the rest of the community, they were strengthened so that they could continue to be, or once again become effective members of the community, living with them and beside them.

Biblical Justice restores people to community.

Now we are getting somewhere.

A tree has two major parts - the visible and the invisible.The entire growth above the ground with all its beauty, colour and strength is made possible only when the "invisible" root system is within a healthy environment. In the creative execution for the conference, (some of which is still to be unfolded) all of the nurturing and reflective content is illustrated by a vertical motion, like that of a tree's roots growing deeper into the sustaining soil. The building and teaching sessions are illustrated by horizontal motion: the branches reaching out to produce the leaves and fruit that lead to new life.

Legacy of Justice.
Together,these two directions, the outward and inward, present a healthy view of Biblical Justice and a picture of a vibrant church.

Invisibly sustained in our relationship with God the Father, for the mission of bringing about the Kingdom. It is Contemplative Action.

A Legacy grows, like a tree, over time and will benefit those who never took part in its original planting. Its seed is taken from another tree, the fruit of someone else's legacy. Justice flourishes when it is firmly rooted in a healthy place, growing and spreading out to provide relief and comfort, both visibly and invisibly.

The website and the direct mail postcard state that: The truest hallmark of real justice is that every person, regardless of economics, age or culture, has the opportunity to leave legacies of meaning; legacies of hope, redemption and reconciliation, indelible imprints of truthtelling and peacemaking. Justice, demonstrated and experienced, always leaves a legacy.

It is our hope at Thinkhouse that all points of contact with the conference from our creative, to arrival and full participation in Ottawa, that every delegate experiences the thoughtfulness and care put into this event on their behalf by StreetLevel: the National Roundtable on Poverty and Homelessness.

We are honoured to do what we do on their behalf.

as i am

2009-03-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

appreciate me as I am
no matter whether I am bright blue and clear or raging storm.

accept and respect that I exist just as you do.

recognize that though my words cannot be of your choosing
that my truth is my truth.

and that if you give me the space...

I can be as limitless as the sky! - sue cohen

Please contribute your thoughts, poetry, revelations and photos, before, throughout or after the conference. Continue this conversation on justice. Share, share, share....

Welcome

2009-03-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Lyf and I will be your moderator.

This blog is mainly for the attendees of the Street Level IV conference. However if you have stumbled upon this and it intrigues you then feel free to read and comment.

To attendees and guests, please know that the comments are moderated and will not appear until I have approved them - which I will do as frequently as I can, but I am attending this conference too and so will be at many of the workshops. Please, keep the conversation civil. If you feel that I have unfairly deleted or kept your comment back, please e-mail me and we can talk: lyfs[AT]sanctuarytoronto[DOT]ca