Journal

We spent our first Easter Sunday talking about what we believe the Easter Story is trying to tell us:

God is WITH us, God is FOR us (restoration not retribution) and Darkness and Death will not have the final word.

How much time do you spend each day looking at a screen? For the average American that number is just over 11 hours (!!). And no…that’s not including work related screen time.

The world has changed drastically in the last 20+ years. Perhaps nothing has changed more than our ability to access information, entertainment, shopping and just about everything at the touch of a button. But how is this affecting our ability to engage with real life? Are there negative consequences? (Spoiler alert…yes…duh). And what can we do to curb it?

Just because it doesn’t spark joy for you don’t mean it won’t spark joy for someone else. Some of the things you don’t need any longer other people do. And some things just need to go!⁣⁣⁣ So we invited people to do some spring cleaning/KonMarie-ing/joy sparking. We worked with local organizations to meet some of their specific needs. Here’s the specific categories we found homes for:⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
•On trend, little used men’s & women’s clothing — Simple & Just
•Warm men’s clothing, pants and camping supplies — The Bridge Care Center⁣⁣
•Kids Toys, Books and Clothes —⁣⁣ Mary’s Place
•Books — ⁣⁣ Two Feet Project ⁣
•Housing supplies (pots, pans, and large kitchen utensils that are still in good condition⁣) — ⁣ Vision House
•Clothing that needs to be recycled ⁣— GREEN TEAM Worldwide Environmental Group⁣
•Electronics — ⁣ InterConnection

You probably didn’t need Marie Kondo to tell you that you have too much stuff. But now she has and you can’t pretend that she hasn’t because it’s all over your social media feeds. No…this old nasty shirt does not spark joy. And neither does this box of old wine corks MARIE. Why do we even have so much stuff? Has it always been like this? Why does it feel so good when we let it go?

We believe that most people want to help others and do good in some capacity. In fact, it’s a critical part of our vision for the Bar Church community. We regularly make our time together about “Doing Something” and fundamentally believe that something is better than nothing. But if we aren’t intentional, our helping can be ineffective or even harmful. Helping can be really complicated. How do we do good effectively while also discovering and applying our personal passions?

What is prayer? Is it that voice inside us that reaches out to God? The universe? The unknown? A request? Is there a right way to do it? What happens to us psychologically and biologically when we pray? What are some of the tired (and often damaging) cliches that get used over and over with prayer?

How do you even begin to make sense of this giant, thousands of years old collection of poems, essays, songs and stories? Is it still relevant? What’s the point of the whole thing? How is it possible that people have used it for centuries to rationalize both terrible atrocities and great compassion?

What comes to mind when you hear the word church? The word (like god) brings up a wide range of opinions and experiences — both good and bad. But what is church anyway? What is its purpose? Does it still have one? We believe so.

This week we discussed our personal identity. Specifically — how do we let these three lies define our value?

1. I am what I DO. (i.e., activities, decisions, mistakes)
2. I am what I HAVE. (i.e., possessions, talents, skills)
3. I am what others SAY about me

How is it possible for good people to disagree strongly on major topics? Why do we primarily associate with people we agree with and what are the ramifications of doing so? And what was it that really got Jesus killed?

We partnered with our friends at HashtagLunchbag again to make and pass out over 600 lunches to those experiencing homelessness.

Our first event in our new space! We believe everyone is looking for a place to belong and a cause to be a part of. We aspire to create a place to do both. Hear how we hope our new space will help us do just that.

We’re finally got our own space! This Sunday Bar Churcher’s grabbed their cleaning supplies and helped get our new spot ready!

The previous week people wrote down their values and how they plan to live them out. This week we reviewed them together. What themes emerged?

Why are values important and how do we go about defining them for ourselves? Can we really care about everything equally?

We were joined by REST | Real Escape from the Sex Trade. We first learned more about sex trade and then we actually got an opportunity to help. Each person chipped in $20 and we paid for and assembled 60 Survivor Kits (leggings, socks, tops, pajamas, hygiene kits) for women that had been exploited and needed the kits immediately.

On our 1st anniversary for every person that showed up we donated $10 to the organizations that we worked with in year one of Bar Church. People came to celebrate — then they chipped in and we ended up with over $2500 for organizations we worked with in our first year. Not one big gift, simply people doing their part.