I had the opportunity to spend the past 3 days in New York City for a series of meetings with the leaders of the various Communitas sites (New York City, San Diego, & New Orleans). It was a lot of fun and I think that our time together was really good both in getting to know each other better and in wrestling together through some questions of our future as a movement within CRM.

I really dig sharing in the experiment of communitas with these guys. They each are committed to exploring new ways to engage those outside the reach of the church with the beauty and reality of the Kingdom of God. They are a lot of fun too. We had a chance to explore a bit of Brooklyn and Queens while we were there as well as the obligatory tours of the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Times Square, and Central Park and many a trip on the subway (which I am deeply jealous of New Yorkers for).

The sights, sounds, and smells of New York were overwhelming – so utterly distinct from those we experience in the desert. I want to take Kelli sometime soon and have the opportunity to explore the urban world of New York that we have little exposure to having lived in the West for all of our lives.

Above is a picture from the rooftop terrace of Phil Alessi – who we stayed with and who serves as the New York City Communitas site leader.