Radical Living

Godspell!

storbakken — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:23:49 +0000

Friends,

The Broadway revival of Godspell is currently showing. The Storbakkens were blessed to get a couple of tickets to see the show. It was amazing.

We are blessed to pass on to you a discount code to get reduced-priced tickets. With the code, GSPRD719 you can get tickets fo $79.50 (regular price: $125). Here is a direct link to that discount: http://tinyurl.com/GodspellBloggerDiscount

Peace,

Jason

Supporting our Neighbor

halzengreg — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:56:20 +0000

A group called Organizing For Occupation, which meets regularly at the NYC Catholic Worker, has picked up on the injustice of Ms. Ward’s situation here in Bedford-Stuyvesant. There’s plenty of media coverage about the situation and how her eviction was blocked by a neighborhood rally and by negotiations lead by a group of lawyers called Common Law.

A few of us from Radical Living have acted to support Ms. Ward and the efforts for reconciliation between her and the purported new owner of her home. Please pray for this process and Ms. Ward, our 82-year-old neighbor, who has lived in her home for the last 44 years. Feel free to join in the action and show your support, too!

Special screening of Our House!

storbakken — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:49:05 +0000

Join Radical Living for an outdoor screening of the film “Our House” (with the director) on Friday, August 26th at 7pm in front of 32 Hart Street in Brooklyn.

From the website:
“On Dan Taylorʼs ﬁrst day out of prison, he had nowhere to go and faced a life-changing decision: he could return to his past of drug addiction or try for something better. Through a chance encounter he met Derek, a young Christian anarchist, who invited him to move into a new and very unusual community called ʻOur Houseʼ.

“An alternative to the impersonal homeless shelter system, ʻOur Houseʼ was an under-the-radar, illegal squat where the founders and the homeless lived and ate communally in an abandoned warehouse. Besides a roof and daily meals, Dan also found lasting friendships, a spiritual haven in a makeshift ʻprayer tent,ʼ and the hope of putting his life back together. But when the warehouse is set for demolition to make way for luxury condos, Dan and the other residents must confront the inevitable end of their community and what that will mean for their futures.”

Visit http://www.ourhousethefilm.com/ for more info on the film!

2011 Annual Radical Living Retreat

halzengreg — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:29:45 +0000

Radical Living is only 4 years old, and to celebrate each year’s passing we have put together a weekend retreat. This year, our retreat was held in the Poconos just west of the Delaware River Gap in Pennsylvania. We have been able to do this each year by pooling together our resources in our common purse, planning a good balance of gathering times and relaxing “free-time,” and organizing meals that we share together. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to really step out of the “concrete jungle” and bond!

There were several key aspects about the retreat this year that made it special. Since all of us have different takes on what was the best part, though, please forgive me if you’re a Radical Living member and I’ve missed your favorite part!

The bus we rented for transportation was especially packed full of Radical Living members! Yes!
A location with wide range of possible activities during free-time such as: swimming, hiking, paddle-boating on a lake, basketball, board games (monopoly! with some interesting conversations), campfires, a tipi, and frisbee. Thank you, Mont Lawn Camp!
Lots of time around campfires (one lasted until 4am!) to hear honest updates from each other about our lives, and the sense of support and lack of judgement felt during these times.
A session for diving into the Bible to discover and better understand the Gifts of the Spirit.
Fun times with our 3 youngest community members.
A session to work on our asset-based community development by identifying the resources we have in Radical Living.
A lesson and tasting session from our resident chocolate expert about the process of making craft chocolate at her company, Mast Brothers Chocolate.
Being in nature with funny, wise, and spirit-filled friends.
A session to think about and process our methods of conflict resolution.
Prayer, songs, and spontaneous dance sessions (!) together.

May the energy we feel from this time together continue to build in us and move us forward as we share the love our Creator has put inside us! There are so many ways we can share the love in/through our life together (in our homes/micro-communities, at our work places, in our neighborhood, in our church congregations… everywhere)!

Room available!

storbakken — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:23:12 +0000

The Radical Living Christian community has one room available for a female. Monthly costs include: $500/mo. for rent and about $30/mo. for utilities. The room is in a 3-bedroom apartment in a brownstone in Brooklyn. The entire house as well as several other households within a one-block radius are part of Radical Living. For more info on the membership process, visit the membership page http://radicalliving.wordpress.com/for-rent/.

If interested, feel free to contact Jason at jason@radicallivingnyc.com or our Membership Coordinator, Jolene, at living@radicallivingnyc.com. Jolene is away for a couple weeks, so in the meantime please contact Jason for an application or if you have questions. Please feel free to share this email with anyone who may be interested.

Radical Living and the 2011 Hart St. Block Party

halzengreg — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:56:32 +0000

Each summer the Block Association gathers efforts of the residents from Hart Street (home owners and renters together) between Marcy Ave. and Nostrand Ave., and we make a full-day Block Party. This year, it happened on Saturday, July 16th. It’s a great way to “meet and greet,” share smiles and the summer sunshine, and work together to enjoy our part of Brooklyn. It really is the best thing that happens to pull our block together to feel like a village.

Here are a few highlights from this year’s Block Party:

Celebration of a year of monthly Block Association meetings after a lull of a few years without meetings;
Fun for the kids: A bounce house, open hydrants, & cars removed and blocked from 10am-8pm;
Lots of families out grilling, sharing food, and relaxing in front of the houses;
A cake for everyone donated by the Marcy-Hart Residence (operated by Services for the UnderServed);
DJ in the middle of the block to get us dancing a bit;
A sign stating the obvious: “HART STREET ROCKS!”;
A coordinated color scheme: Orange and white streamers;
and lots of LOVE!

Radical Living showed it’s love by having several members involved in the planning and preparations. We also were glad to join in by grilling outside 32 Hart House and enjoying all the festivities with neighbors. Praise God for such great memory building times!

“History, Practice and Meaning of Christian Intentional Communities”

storbakken — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:51:52 +0000

I’m speaking this Saturday at Citylights in Manhattan on the topic of the History, Practice and Meaning of Christian Intentional Communities. I will be joined by a few fellow communitarians from Radical Living who will participate in the q&a.

Citylights is pastored by Samir Selmanovic, author of “It’s Really All About God” and founder of FaithHouse. And worship will be led by Rev. Vince Anderson, originator of the musical genre Dirty Gospel. Rev. Vince is co-pastor of Revolution NYC and is the namesake of his band Reverend Vince Anderson and His Love Choir.

Hope you can make it!

Jason

Installation Service

storbakken — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 01:10:13 +0000

On Friday, May 27, during the evening chapel service at The Bowery Mission, Jason Storbakken, co-founder (along with his wife, Vonetta) of Radical Living, was licensed as a pastor in the Mennonite Church USA. The service was attended by friends, family, co-laborers, and the homeless community. It was a blessed time.

Spring Gathering of NYC Communities!

storbakken — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:51:34 +0000

Friends and Fellow Communitarians,

Spring, the season of new life and rebirth, is upon us! And with spring comes the NYC Community of Communities Spring Celebration! This gathering is an opportunity for the collective of Christian communities in NYC to deepen inter-community relationships and plot ways to usher in the Kingdom of God. All are invited!

We will gather on the lawn just south of the Cloisters Museum in Fort Tryon Park at 1pm for a drum circle, followed by the Liturgy of the Beloved Community, and a picnic. Each community should bring enough food for themselves, and maybe something extra to share, as well as a drum or other musical instrument. After the gathering we can visit the Cloisters!

Vitals
When: Saturday, April 30th, 1-4pm
Where: We will meet on the lawn just south of the Cloisters Museum in Fort Tryon Park. The address is 99 Margaret Corbin Drive; and is located just north of the 190th Street Station on the A train.

Peace!
Jason
(for more info, email gather@radicallivingnyc.com)

LentNYC: Lament, Repent and Re-Imagine!

storbakken — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:31:26 +0000

Over the last few years, many people have participated in the NYC Community of Communities gatherings. These gatherings have been an excellent opportunity to fellowship, share skills, and strengthen the body of Christ in NYC. As we approach Lent, a cluster of us who live in Christian community have been imagining what it might look like if Christ’s followers in all five boroughs had a common vision for the City and, in particular, what it might look like if we committed to prayer, fasting and repentance, as well as acts of charity and justice during the season of Lent (March 9 – April 23).

On February 15th, representatives from various communities, churches and faith groups met at the Christian Herald Association in Midtown to cast a Lenten vision for NYC. On March 9th (Ash Wednesday) we enter into that vision.

Beholding a common vision for the City, we, as followers of Christ representing the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island – commit to prayer, fasting and repentance, as well as acts of charity and justice during Lent. Each week of Lent we commit to learning about an important issue that affects our City, praying and reflecting on that issue in light of the Scriptures, and then acting on that issue through either a volunteer or activist project. Some of the issues we will pray and fast over include Poverty, Human Trafficking, Immigration, Education and Housing.

If you want to join us in the collective vision for NYC, send an email to jason@radicallivingnyc.com to request a Lenten Guide. The Guides were made for this particular Lent by New Yorkers who are working to address the issues that afflict our City – and to make a way for the Kingdom of God to enter in.