Zack Newsome, Author at ZackNewsome.com

You can now donate to Communitas online

Written by Zack Newsome on February 27, 2007. Posted in Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

I currently make a part of my living from the generosity of some friends and family that believe in the efforts of the non-profit I operate (The Communitas Collective). They contribute to Communitas and those contributions help me be able to be freed up to dream, to work to see those dreams through, and to provide for my family. I am honored by their generosity and thankful for their sacrifice.

Communitas is a collection of community projects exploring the spaces where we find a collision of the human and divine. We are obsessed with exposing people to the reality of the Kingdom of God by inviting them to experience the spaces of community, Christ, creativity, & compassion. In other words, Communitas cultivates communities surrounding the spaces of Christ, community, compassion, & creativity. Currently we are working on developing two faith communities (Symbol & Sky Harbor), a network of artists and activists working together for change (Foundarts), and a network of faith practitioners centered around conversation about the future of faith, the church, social justice, and mission (The Communitas Network).

If you are interested in getting involved (or already are a supporter) you can now donate to Communitas online on the Communitas website. You can give a one-time donation or set-up a recurring monthly donation in amounts of $25, $50, & $100. The donations are accepted using PayPal, a secure and effective way for Communitas to accept donations from credit cards, bank accounts, or PayPal accounts.

Your support and generosity helps us continue our work and the work of The Communitas Collective.

– Communitas Online Donation Page

Lent: a rookie attempt

Written by Zack Newsome on February 22, 2007. Posted in Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

I, along with many symbol folks, are participating in lent this year for the first time. We have come to love the idea of lent being a seasonal rhythm preparing us for Easter. For those of us from protestant backgrounds, we've talked about how this is new and unfamiliar territory for us. But we're excited. At our "40" gathering last night we shared some of thoughts of what we're planning on doing/giving up this lenten season. There was a lot of talk of slowing down, creating space for rest, and to be more mindful of our busyness. Personally, I am doing a couple of things: 1.) giving up caffeine 2.) creating intentional space to "create" (write, draw, photography, design, etc.) each day of lent. I will let you know how it goes.

UPDATE (2/27): I have been wrecked the past week with nagging headaches that grow as the day wears on. Caffeine withdrawal no doubt. The good news is that the creativity part is coming more naturally than expected. Just about every day I find myself discovering space to create without even trying. Encouraging.

It’s on: Patio Party this Saturday

Written by Zack Newsome on February 21, 2007. Posted in Uncategorized. 2 Comments

So, I know this is late notice (it's not that big of a patio anyway), but for you locals who don't already have plans on Saturday night around 6:30pm, you must come over and hang around the new firepit on the new front patio with us. Rob and Ang will be in town so for sure the 4 of us will be breaking the patio in right. You don't need to bring anything (unless you don't like red wine, Guinness, or dos equis), but you can bring the kids if you got 'em (we'll make some s'mores). Leave a comment if you can make it.

This is probably a great time to thank Shawn and Zach for helping with the early stages of the patio.

one year later:the patio’s finally done

Written by Zack Newsome on February 17, 2007. Posted in Uncategorized. 2 Comments

In an attempt to deepen relationships with our neighbors, last Christmas Kelli and I decided to turn a small area of gravel in front of our house into a patio. We figured that if we were out front more often, it would give us more opportunity to catch up, be in touch with what's happening in the neighborhood, and maybe even help us meet neighbors we have yet to meet. I started the project a year ago committing to have a finished product by the end of the month. Wishful thinking. A year and a month later – it's done and the monkey is of my back. So far the intent of the patio is working – our next door neighbor shared tools with us (and even helped himself one Saturday), the neighbors on the other side let us borrow a trailer to haul some of the excess dirt away, and various neighbors have come over to see the finished product (two even came over when I rented a tile saw this week wondering what the awful noise was!) Anyway, it's done and in the last few months we decided to ditch the fountain that needed work for a propane firepit – a great move I think. Check out the before and after pictures below:

BTW: there's talk of a "patio party" next Saturday – details to come!

the symbol communities

Written by Zack Newsome on February 12, 2007. Posted in Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

The faith community (it's really more of a community of communities) that has begun to emerge here in the East Valley finally has an online presence @ www.symbolcommunities.org. To help discover our identity together, we are tackling some exciting projects (which I will post about soon) and have scheduled a worship gathering (or collective) for Ash Wednesday entitled "40: a symbolic journey". We are unsure of what the future holds for us, but we are sure that sharing a common identity forged around a shared way of life (living a symbolic life) is the road we're on.

If you are in the Phoenix area and would like to share in "40" with us or would like to learn more about the symbol communities, email me at znewsome@mac.com.

The Symbol Life

Written by Zack Newsome on February 12, 2007. Posted in Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

While in Northern Ireland last week, I had a chance to talk further with others who are a part of an emerging global community deemed,"The Symbol Society". While this society is in it's infancy stages (we've been accused of having a name and a logo and so were trying to form something logo-worthy around those pieces of identity), what is emerging from this conversation is a sharing in a common way of life – a symbolic one. This symbolic life attempts to as Kester has said recently, "… to point to something beyond ourselves. It is to live in hope, realizing that everything we do will have some ill effect somewhere, but believing that to keep raising symbols will, in some small way, have some greater impact at some unknown time in the future." I like Kester's definition of this symbolic life.

There is something wildy attractive to me about intentionally living in a way that points to an alternative, counter-cultural existence found in the kingdom of God. As symbols we will fail to fully represent what/who it is our actions point to, but at some point all symbols fail. After all, a symbol is not the thing it represents – it just communicates something about it. It is my hope that my existence (along with all those on this symbolic journey) will communicate well the beauty, the hope, the generosity, and the love that is central to the kingdom and the king we point to.

It is along these symbolic lines that a local community is beginning to take shape here in Phoenix. It is appropriately called, "symbol", or more formally, "the symbol communities".

May we be effective symbols.

Site changes

Written by Zack Newsome on February 8, 2007. Posted in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

I've decided to simply life (or at least the blogging part) a bit and merge the two blogs I currently post to, this one and therevolutionarylife.com. What this will mean is more of a death to therevolutionarylife and a re-birth to zacknewsome.com. I once felt a need to carry on two different sets of conversations for two different sets of readers – this distinction has recently disappeared.

This site is getting a bit of a facelift currently – so please forgive the chaos. It should be up and running with some new features before the end of the week.

UPDATE: the changes are mostly done in terms of features/layout. Just some design tweaks to go. It's a bit busy for my taste, but there is much more info (like the listening & reading lists).

@ Soliton in Northern Ireland

Written by Zack Newsome on February 2, 2007. Posted in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

Kelli and I are taking part in the Celtic Soliton Sessions in Northern Ireland along with Andrew Jones, Jonny Baker, Pete Rollins, Ian Mobsby, Si Johnston, Gareth Higgins, Kester Brewin, and others. Thought provoking sessions so far as we move tonight to the North Coast for the residential portion of the weekend.

Some highlights so far:

– Having a pint with Pete Rollins talking about community and the "trickster" role of Ikon in Belfast. (picture coming soon).

– Meeting Ian Mobsby who leads a community called Moot in London.

– Being exposed to the division, the hate, and the prejudice that has been such a part of Northern Ireland's history and how it affects the church here.

We anticipate that there is much more to come.

Here are some pictures we have taken so far

Headed across the pond

Written by Zack Newsome on January 28, 2007. Posted in Uncategorized. 4 Comments

Tomorrow AM Kelli and I head to Northern Ireland to spend time with some good friends and participate in a series of conversations known as the Celtic Soliton Sessions. Good things are ahead. Check back here for updates.

Flagstaff with Friends

Written by Zack Newsome on January 18, 2007. Posted in Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

Community life has been stretching recently, but no matter how challenging it gets to intentionally “share life” with others, I can’t stop smiling about how truly meaningful and fun it is. These pictures from a recent trip to the mountains with our faith community captures the beauty of it well I think.

Author: Zack Newsome