| All I want for Christmas…is a working left thumb, as I broke it last month — you guessed it — playing pickup basketball. My doctor says I’ll probably be out another four weeks (ugh), but the kids and I get to be together for Christmas and last month I got to celebrate one year of being with my girlfriend, Terra, and the Broncos beat Kansas City (yay and yay and finally)! As the holidays approach, I’m also remembering my Mom, Shirley Ann, who passed away in August and who left such a mark on everyone who knew her. This Advent, as the church year begins, I, too, am starting anew, as yesterday was my last day in my formal roles at the Refuge. Everyone gave me a nice send-off at our 10th-Anniversary Refuge Cafe celebration on Wednesday night, during which I received as a gift a “Broom to the City” (haha). Knowing the work there at the Refuge remains in good hands helps a lot. At the same time, I’m excited to have already begun laying the foundations for this new season of my ministry of presence, justice and memory in Broomfield. Moving forward, I plan to devote more of my time to advocating for 100-percent local housing stability; cultivating the budding Broomfield Sister Cities relationship with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes headquartered in Concho, Okla.; and companioning people on the margins of accepted society and history (while helping amplify their voices and stories). I’ll continue serving Broomfield and the North Metro Area under the auspices of “Everyday Epics,” which is the name of my blog and now also the name of my non-profit advocacy project through Global Service Associates (GSA), the Christian missional order I’ve been a part of since 2009. I’m a little nervous about how it’s all going to look, but mostly I’m looking forward to new challenges and possibilities. 🙂 |
Starting anew
