“Theos ein a gape ” (“God is lo ve ”) -- 1 John 4:8
Agape Times
Winter 2009 Volume 1, Issue 4
Radi cal Li vin g Christia n Comm unity / ww w.radi ca llivi ng ny c.c om / pho ne 212. 444.2701
Living in Bed-Stuy By Jason & Vonetta Storbakken Spec i al Fe at ures: • Events Calendar • Poetry
Feat ured A rt ic le s: Living in Bed-Stuy
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The Catholic Worker
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The Role of a Prophet 2 Theo. of Immigration 4 Eat the Book
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As our community’s roots deepen in our neighborhood our commitment to one another, our neighbors and the kingdom of God also deepens. Many radicals have become members of neighborhood churches, others volunteer at local organizations, and rather than taking the train to a hipster neighborhood for an overpriced cup of joe many members opt to get coffee at a bodega or local café.
Most recently in our weekly Bible Study we’ve been discussing gender and sexuality. We began by discussing samesex, non-romantic relationships in the Scriptures. We examined David and Jonathan, Naomi and Ruth, and then we considered themes of intimacy and vulnerability in our culture as well as in cultures around the world. It has been a time of searching, learning and growing.
We have chosen to identify with our neighbors and our neighborhood, rather than seeking to find like-minded people who reinforce our presumptive worldview.
This year is the centennial anniversary of the brownstone house at 32 Hart Street, our flagship house. The house was built in 1909, and we can only imagine the varied people who have passed through here. In August 2007 our community took residence here. It is a blessing to be rooted in Bedford-Stuyvesant, planted in a historic brownstone, and growing on the vine of Christ!
Since the folks that live at Radical Living, as well as those who join us for fellowship, range in perspective from conservative to anarchist, we intentionally ask questions of ourselves and of God in regards to contentious issues (e.g., immigration, sexuality, etc.). Although we may differ in opinion, we try to remain centered in Christ. We have learned that through tension and conflict we have the opportunity to truly deepen as a community, to respond in love and grace, and to grow as a body of believers.
Radical Living has a new rhythm of community, and you are welcome to participate in it with us. Check out our website to find out more about dinners, Bible Study, vigils, and more. Jason and Vonetta Storbakken are cofounders of Radical Living.
A Day at the Catholic Worker , part 2 By Sarah Outterson I can't really tell you how I first heard about the Catholic Worker, or about Dorothy Day, the woman whose life and work led to the foundation of "houses of hospitality," communities whose work has continued from the Great Depression to the present day. I can't even sort out very well all the different aspects of these communities or categorize them for you. What I find the most fascinating is how the houses serve as a base for all different
kinds of work and groups of people. There's the soup line, but there's also the paper, and the assorted activists, young and old, who come by to talk over lunch or dinner, and the farm, where I spent a week this spring planting potatoes, and the people who live in the houses, and the people who've spent thirty or forty years working with each other, (and the people who come to the Friday Night Meetings (for "clarification of thought," as it was originally put (Cont’d Page 4)
The Role of a Prophet Remembering MLK By Jason Storbakken Today there are many self-proclaimed prophets and prophetesses. One can merely walk down any churchlined street in Brooklyn and see signs that read: “Founded by Prophet Malachi Thompson” or “Pastor: Prophetess Jackie Smith.” So, we must ask: 1. Are these people really prophets? 2. Do prophets exist today? 3. And, if so, what is the role of the modern prophet? To answer the first question I must admit that I have seldom attended an alleged prophet’s church and thus cannot attest to the actuality of their gift. As to the second question, I adamantly affirm that prophets do exist today, but to more clearly explain my reasoning the role of the prophet must first be defined. The point and purpose of prophecy is to speak forth the Word of God. The prophet is to stand in the stead of God. Thus, a prophet employs both foretelling and telling forth. The Lord speaks to the prophet in dreams and visions, he speaks to the prophet’s heart and reveals the Word through his Spirit. A prophet can be man or woman, young or old, rich or poor. In fact, Philip the evangelist had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. Yet we must beware of false prophets. Christ warns, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.” The Lord said to Moses: “I will put my words in [the prophet's] mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.” A prophecy is always to be checked against the scriptures and will never be in opposition to that which is written in the Bible. The most common themes emphasized throughout the writings of the major and minor prophets are justice and mercy. The prophets cry, “Repent!” They say, “Change your ways. Follow the way of the Lord.” Jeremiah wrote, “If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien,
the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever.” Prophets emphasize peace, godliness, justice for the oppressed and mercy to the disenfranchised. The best example of a modern prophet, that comes to my mind, is Martin Luther King Jr. Although he was a Baptist preacher and perhaps the most notable Civil Rights leader in the twentieth century, his role, defined by God, was clearly that of prophet. He was a prophet of peace and justice and spoke powerfully in the name of a holy God. Among his many mighty sayings he declared, “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.” Not only did he call a nation to repentance, he also spoke of dreams and visions. His most famous speech is entitled “I Have a Dream.” MLK, like every prophet in the scriptures and every person who ever lived (except our Lord Jesus Christ), was a flawed person. When we look at the lives of the prophets it is almost shocking to see the types of lowly, broken people he used to broadcast his holy message. Hosea married a whore, Elijah begged for death and Jonah was outraged that God didn’t consume Nineveh with his wrath. And yet these men were used by God for the advancement of his kingdom and for the glory of his namesake. Ultimately, God uses who he will to advance his kingdom and bring glory to his name. I wholeheartedly believe that prophets do exist today, but they surely are not a common commodity. Rather than assuming titles, they pursue the glory of God’s name. They stay close to the Lord and yield before his mighty throne. They wait and listen and speak that which the Lord wills.
Agape Times
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The Politics of Faith By James Bri ggs In the midst of the longest presidential election in United States history, I constantly was disappointed to find people so willing to hand over their hope to politicians. And during the weeks since Barack Obama became president-elect, I’ve been saddened to observe the idolatrous following that has risen up – people buying political paraphernalia on the streets as though wearing an Obama “hope” pin can solve every societal ill. National politics has become akin to religious experience, but I don’t think we, as followers of Jesus, should share in it. Here, I think, is the clearest description of our duty to political leaders: “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our savior, who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2: 1-4). What was our duty to President Bush? Pray for him. What is our duty to President Obama? Pray for him even if we dislike them. In fact, there’s a strong chance the people who first heard this teaching didn’t like their leaders, since the rulers of that day had an affinity for killing anyone who publicly professed faith in Christ.
So while you might be repulsed by the idea of praying for Obama or Bush, your boss at work, or any other leader, at least no one is commanding you to pray for someone who wants to kill you (well, at least not in this passage, but check the Sermon on the Mount). The longest presidential campaign in our history is over. Our new president just took office. Yet, the hungry are still hungry, the sick are still sick, the poor still need clothes and even the wealthy are suffering from disconnection and intense loneliness. To extend to a president – Republican or Democrat – any loyalty or hope beyond Paul’s call for prayer is to veer off track from our identity found in Christ. What kind of change should we really be giving our lives for? We are a broken nation filled with hurting people. And while I think Obama will be a fine president, no one who puts their trust in him will find new life, forgiveness of sins or a changed heart. The only true hope for people is found in Jesus. James Briggs is a church planter with Communitas, and a member of Radical Living.
A Gift A poem b y Rach ael Ri chm an Outside it is dark and cold and wet, but in the haven of Tiny Cup, crowds of people silently commune with their laptops. I’ve been mesmerized by my screen for the past three hours. I do not notice the old woman carefully piling pennies on the counter until she hands me a sugar cookie, and then I can only blink and stutter. Her back is bent nearly parallel to the ground, and when she looks up she stares at my heart. With a wide smile and a shock of purple hair she sweeps the room, offering the sweets she has just purchased. As she steps into the street she turns and calls out: I love you all you good people. I love you even if you bad people. Whenever God opens up my eyes I love you. The door closes behind her but she leaves her grin and we pass it around awhile. I can see her disappearing down the block. She struggles to walk but she seems to have mastered flight. Rachael Richman is an NYC-based poet and actor. She is also a member of Radical Living.
Theology of Immigration: God, Immigrants and Activism By Jason Storbakken Last fall the Radical Living community organized an event called Theology of Immigration: God, Immigrants and Activism. The event began at the start of a new holy season we consecrated unto the Lord as we sought his wisdom on the topic of immigration. The season started on October 12th, the Day of Indigenous Resistance (and the day before Columbus Day) and commenced on Thanksgiving Day. The idea for the Theology of Immigration event came about after a series of conversations in the Radical Living community. As a community we were trying to hear what God was saying about the issue of immigration. We were realizing that the prejudices surrounding immigration had been thrust upon the church by a hostile, broken world, and that the Word of God was saying something very different form what many politicans, pundits and even some pastors were saying.
Rev. Salguero expounding the Word! In the midst of pursuing the mind of Christ on this very important topic we encountered wise persons who offered to impart their knowledge to us. The Radical Living community then took the opportunity to learn from these persons and organize an event to put the issue of immigration into a Biblical framework. What emerged was The Theology of Immigration. (Cont’d on Page 7)
Catholic Worker, cont’d from p age 1 back when the Worker was providing one of the only ideological bridges between the mainstream Catholic Church and the communist and socialist revolutionaries of early-20th-century New York), and even the Tuesday night Mass at St. Joe's with a rotating series of priests. The Catholic Worker is not simply a social service organization, nor a political NGO, nor a soup kitchen, church, or nursing home, though it sometimes looks like a bit of each. It's not even an entirely "intentional community," with its motley group of varying levels of commitment and varying levels of contribution.
but no one's getting a guilt-trip for their neediness either. Many of the most involved in the houses' work do not live in a Catholic Worker House, and those who do (who are the most visibly involved with the daily work of making food and keeping house) do not see themselves as a separate group existing to fix those who need help or somehow make them better. Somehow, for those at the Catholic Worker, serving others really is a way to serve God and fill your own deepest needs.
It's not a movement or organization, since anyone can start a Catholic Worker house and no one gives you permission to do it. That's one of my favorite things about it, and in a sense the most spiritually challenging to the mainstream world. The work they are doing is not just the responsibility of some ultra-spiritual bunch of ascetics, but the work of every person and every household, even every family, a community in miniature. Dorothy Day once said that if every Christian family opened its doors, there would be no need for the Catholic Worker. Moreover, the work of the Catholic Worker houses is not simply a one-way transaction of charitable services rendered. They do not close themselves off from the poor by limiting their idea of "the community" to those like them.
Work, as a method of spiritual formation. The power of this idea reminds me of what I've begun to discover about prayer, or tithing. Sometimes the process of committing to a discipline enables you to understand the truth of it. You may not understand at first, and it may seem like blind faith, but the work itself, the service, the commitment to time spent in pursuit of what's right, teaches you the truth behind why it was commanded in the first place. (It's like AJ Jacobs discovered in his book, The Year of Living Biblically, or the "costly grace" that the theologian Bonhoeffer writes about.) In the Protestant tradition I come from, we often place a lot of emphasis on grace, or faith, or belief, or theology... but sometimes the action itself teaches you about the truth behind it. Spending time at the Catholic Worker is like that. In the works of mercy we encounter Jesus as literally as he said we would.
This is part of the reason it is so hard to describe the community. No one's getting paid, sure, and admirable,
The detritus of the consumer machine in the city is impossible to ignore. (Cont’d on Page 6)
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Agape Times
Eat the Book
Christians at the Border A book review by Melinda Faust
“Christians at the Border” provides a good starting point for discussion around how followers of Christ may understand scripture as it relates to immigration, both followers who are immigrants and those who are not. While I craved a more in depth look at scripture and a call to action from Carroll that did not fear stepping on toes, his purpose was clearly stated otherwise. After describing the history of Hispanic migration to the U.S.,--it should be noted that the book looks almost solely at Hispanic immigration—Carroll cites two of the primary fears of immigration that many U.S. citizens hold: a weakened economy and a loss of national identity. He encourages Christians to consider the fact that many Hispanic immigrants are Christians and that all people are created in God's image as we figure out how to respond to the issue of immigration and people who are immigrants. He also emphasizes again and again that our citizenship as followers of Christ is first and foremost our identity, and the place from which we enter the immigration debate. The rest of the book traces immigration through the story of God's people and the church in the Bible. Themes of hospitality to the stranger, sometimes at the expense of law or the social mores, the sojourns of God's people, and acclimation to the host cultures arise. He also sheds interesting light on how we as Christians identify with a refugee and sojourner: Jesus. Analyzing Jesus' treatment of people who were different from him ethnically, it's clear that he often acted radically different from his peers. However, Jesus never taught directly about immigration, and certainly not about the nature of the law. We must look at Christ's life and words, and glean from it what we can, but there are no easy answers.
The book provided an opportunity for our community to assess each of our relative closeness to immigration. Many of us take pride in the development of our individual American identity, whether it happened generations ago or we ourselves are immigrants. Understanding that we came to the United States in a variety of circumstances with differing levels of choice, and understanding how immigration is part of our story as Christians too, has enriched our foundation as we figure out how, as a community, we may consider people who are immigrants. Many questions linger as the immigration debate continues. As more and more people become convinced that immigration law desperately needs reform, it is important to remember that we enter this debate as Christians. Melinda Faust is a social worker and member of Radical Living.
“ If it were up to me, he wouldn’t be President ” By Sharaya Tindal If it were left up to me, my cynical understanding of American perspectives, we wouldn’t have a Black President. Never marching or protesting, yet fighting for my civil rights daily through my sheer existence, I felt entitled. Entitled to my disbelief about the change in American attitudes; the change in the notion of the powerless minority; the change in the power that Americans have given hate. If it were up to me, on Tuesday, there would have been no pilgrimage to see
the reconciliation of the dark past to the bright future ahead. No celebratory shouts and tears of joy from Black sisters and White brothers, Asian children, Indian uncles and Latino grandfathers. There would be no elation, no feeling of release from the bondage of faithless disbelief. For while I honor those civil rights warriors, my trust in my homeland and my countrymen therein, stayed far from a reality. (Cont’d on Page 8)
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Agape Times
Catholic Worker cont’d But somehow very quickly I began to realize that I was actually thankful for the visibility of the trash on the streets. The bulk of New York sidewalk trash reminds us every day of the wastefulness in our lives in a way that the hidden dumpsters of less-populous areas do not. City life demonstrates to all, even the richest of us, its own consequences. Every time I catch myself annoyed at a gigantic pile of garbage blocking the sidewalk, it forces me to be aware of both my actions and their effects. In the same way, we spend time with the crazy, dirty, hungry, and helpless to learn from them about our own spiritual neediness, our shared humanity of loneliness and suffering. But here I am falling into the trap of making their suffering about me and my needs. What I mean to say is that we are all God's children and to deny that or look away, that kind of deliberate blindness, is lying to oneself and to God. That's always unhealthy, for you and for your relationships with everything around you. We must not ignore the poor, by which I mean especially those who we ordinarily feel uncomfortable serving. We have got to spend time with them, both because Jesus did and because it's self-gratifying deliberate ignorance not to. Furthermore, the commitment to live with others is, I have realized, a way of expanding your own character and fixing your ultimate self-worth and joy in God. I spent almost a week living at St. Joe's last spring, which was a much more difficult experience than just volunteering there. Community is not easy. Arguments can be easy to handle if you only step into them for a few hours a week, but when they're full-time it's exhausting. And needs are endless. The phone is always ringing, someone's always at the door, someone's always looking for a sympathetic hearing to their latest complaint about another person in the house (who has just finished complaining to you). When you're there for a short period of time, it's easy to identify all the problems people have, and all they ways they need to change. But, in another conversation, someone explained to me a devastatingly simple and maturing way of dealing with it: "As a human being living with other human beings, I do not have the right to control anyone, nor do I have the power to make them change." The Catholic Worker is historically a pacifist and anarchist group, which made Dorothy Day's relationship with the Catholic Church sometimes tempestuous(though there's no ideological or religious code of any kind for living there, working, volunteering, eating, or hanging out, and as I've already explained there's no club whatsoever to join).
Politically, the newspaper often argues against all forms of human violence and hierarchical oppression. What is perhaps more astonishing is this way in which people at the Worker demonstrate a deliberate ethic of non-violence in their interactions. They do not set out to fix others. They take Jesus seriously when he says to worry about the plank in your own eye before judging another. I don't even understand this well enough yet to explain how it works, but while the philosophy of not telling others what to do can be really frustrating when someone spends all her money on cigarettes or ignores everyone cleaning around him without volunteering to help, the fundamental truth is that God is the only one who can judge, and part of learning to follow Jesus is giving up on controlling others. I said at the beginning that I don't know exactly how I first found the Catholic Worker, and the real reason is that the process of discovering it has been part of my entire ongoing process of finding a purpose to life. At a young age I began to realize both that I would one day need a job and that the world was really messed up with a lot of people needing help. I think that was how I first became interested in the idea of intentional communities, or, as I thought of them, alternatives to the normal and messed-up ways of living and working in the world. While I'm excited to join Marcy House at Radical Living this fall, I don't see the fact of living in community, even "Christian community," as the ultimate solution to this problem of finding ways of living to follow Christ. He did, after all, call us to leave everything behind to follow him. I still don't know exactly how to do that, and while the people I have met at the Worker are living lives of communal service and action that differ radically from the usual treadmill of self-centered consumption, that's just a start. Sarah Outterson is a teacher, student, and member of Radical Living.
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Theology of Immigration cont’d When the teacher of the law asked Jesus, "What is the most important commandment?" Jesus responded, "Love the Lord your God, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself." When Jesus said "love your neighbor" he was quoting from Leviticus 19, a chapter that uses the word "immigrant" (i.e. alien, sojourner, stranger) and "neighbor" interchangeably. Lev. 19:34 says: "The immigrant living with you must be treated as one of your native-born."
Our community reached out to Juan Carlos Ruiz, a Catholic priest and community organizer for the New Sanctuary Movement, who shared with us personal stories of families who are being systematically torn apart by unjust immigration policies. We also spoke with Reverend Gabriel Salguero, Director of the Hispanic Leadership Program at Princeton University and pastor of Lamb’s Church in the East Village, who provided us with a theological understanding of immigration. We then reached out to the John Wesley United Methodist Church, located in our neighborhood, and asked if they would host a forum we were organizing. We chose this particular church because they have free legal aid for immigrants and regular workshops on immigration. They warmly welcomed us and even suggested that Naomi Madsen, program manager of immigration and refugee ministries at Justice for our Neighbors, speak at the forum. The gathering included clergy and layperson, immigrant and native-born, neighbors and even people from as far as New Jersey and D.C. After the event the Radical Living community decided to continue to seek an understanding of this complex issue. During our reading group, Eat the Book, we read “Christians at the Border” by Dr. Carroll, and during our morning worship we read passages of Scripture specific to immigration
Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus emigrating to Egypt and we prayed for just legislation to be passed, for the families caught in the system, and for the redemption for all involved. During this season of study and prayer we learned that Abraham was an immigrant when he left Ur of the Chaldees to venture into Canaan; Jacob and his family were immigrants when they left Canaan due to drought to enter Egypt; Moses and the Hebrew people were emigrants when they left Egypt after 400 years of slavery and oppression; and Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and his family were forced to immigrate to Egypt when he was a child due to Herod's genocidal attack on infants. We began to understand that many of the reasons people immigrated in Biblical times are the same reasons people do it today. They were economically disenfranchised, socially marginalized, and they suffered persecution. We learned that most immigrants merely desire opportunities for themselves and their children that have not been afforded to them in their birth country, and that there are many underlying circumstances that force a person or family to uproot from their home to venture into a strange and often dangerous land.
When the teacher of the law asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritans were foreigners, considered by the Jews to be religious heretics and racially inferior. And yet Jesus showed how the Samaritan was better neighbor than the religious hypocrites (the Levite and the priest) who upheld their "law" over human dignity. The forum was an opportunity to partner with new friends and organizations dedicated to pursuing justice, and to gain a deeper understanding on an important issue. Jason is husband to Vonetta, daddy to Chloe, and cofounder of Radical Living.
“ If it were up to me…” cont’d If it were up to me, there would be a march on Washington everyday. For real and raw are the wounds of racism on my consciousness. For me, everyday is a struggle, a battle to belong, to be counted-to be seen. Everyday I hear the echoes of my adversary telling me “You don’t matter”. And I turn to my white neighbor with anger, for surely his sentiments are the same. Everyday, I wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with powers and principalities and spiritual wickedness that I have affixed to all places, not just the high ones. I have boxed myself into protect myself and have guarded my heart from the healing it has so desperately longed for.
of my character flow judgment, reversed racism and intolerance.
I yearn daily for men and women of every race color and creed to judge me on the content of my character and not the color of my skin, never acknowledging that in content
If it were up to me, he wouldn’t be president.
No, if it were up to me, we would be afraid of what is now, the ever-shrinking dominance of white America. We would look down our noses at the American way of “white is right” and judge everyone who benefits from it. We would question their motives and critique their altruism. We would harden our hearts and stiffen our necks standing securely on the notion that are not free at last, but bound indeed; bound to the pain of prejudice and the sting of inequality.
Sharaya Tindal is a member of Radical Living.
Bound A Poem by Alissa Moore It’s raining, misty drops, so small, so subtle, but rhythmic and constant Accumulation And there is a powerful rhythm in the chaos of getting wet Running Running down my cheeks and my neck, rain drops collect at my temples They are sliding and tumbling to the ground Right foot over left foot, right knee over left knee, right muscle and tendon and joint over left Pounding the pavement, pounding: my heart The beat of my music into my ears, into my heart, into the ground And out of the corner of my eye I see something white in the predominately black, muted landscape Oddly bright, the box sits resolutely on the cement and slate in the front yard of a Brooklyn brownstone It causes my head to swivel, my legs to halt, my heart…it keeps on beating, faster than normal, egging the rest of my body onwards Curious eyes seek out the contents first And titles jump forward: Walking with Jesus, Knowing the Lord, Jesus our Lord and Savior Lives, etc. My body follows my eyes and I quickly step up to the wrought-iron fence guarding the stern apartment building and I have to double over and stretch out my arm to reach the mess of bound paper They’re crying Tears forming at the edges of the bindings, and rolling down the covers as I try to reach books hidden under more books I stand there entranced As soggy paper gets soggier and the hard backs begin to warp, my heart still pounding fast, and my mind grinding through thoughts and questions Do I take one with me? How do I carry it? Do I compromise one of my arms, stopping it from swinging to the rhythm of my stride? My heart and legs spring forward, but my mind is left behind dwelling among the cardboard and the ink and the printed words As I fall back into my stride, legs flying over the uneven sidewalk, I run as a whole being, towards my Lord, letting the joy of knowing who He is and what He’s done fill me with effervescent joy I am aware of my ability to move a body that He created, and His love, and the complexities of a written language, moves me to deeply My cheeks are baptized with emotion mixed with rain, and I contemplate my pumping heart that is complete Alissa Moore is a member of Radical Living and Co-executive director of the NOMI network.
Events Calendar Please check our website, or email to confirm times and location of events
Radical Living
Weekly
Phone:
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Dinner and Bible Study – Every Wednesday at 7 p.m. we gather for dinner. Bible Study begins at 8 p.m.
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Prayer Breakfast – Every Friday morning from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. we pray for one another, our community, the city and the world. Prayer is followed by a light breakfast.
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Fellowship Dinner – Every Friday night at 7 p.m. we gather for dinner and to spend time together.
212.444.2701
Email Events: gather@radicallivingnyc.com Agape Times: agape@radicallivingnyc.com General: info@radicallivingnyc.com
ADDRESS: 32 Hart Street Web: Brooklyn, NY 11206 www.radicallivingnyc.com
Monthly •
Potluck – The second Sunday of every month at 2 p.m. we gather to fellowship over a common meal.
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Eat the Book! – The first Monday of every month at 7 p.m. we meet to discuss a book.
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NY Faith & Justice Meeting- Every first Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
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Vigil at ICE – Every second Friday at 7 p.m. we gather with folks from Catholic Worker, New Sanctuary, and various congregations to stand in front of a secret prison at 201 Varick Street.
About Us… Radical Living is an intentional community located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. We are a multicultural, intergenerational, and ecumenical community of artists, workers, and students that includes single men and women and a young family. There are three houses—Hart House, Pulaski House, and Marcy house—associated with Radical Living. They are located one block from each other and function as one community with 18 members. In essence we are dedicated to a meditative, prophetic and prayerful life, centered in Christ, engaged in our neighborhood, concerned with social justice, and led by the Holy Spirit.
Radical Living serves its neighborhood via education initiatives, prayer, and community service activities. If you would like to contribute a story to Agape Times or partner with Radical Living you can call, email, or write us a letter. To make a donation, make checks payable to Radical Living, and mail to:
Radical Living Christian Community 32 Hart Street Brooklyn, NY 11206