I have some exciting news!  For a few months now, a group of funders have been talking about how we can better serve our charity partners.  So often we urge organizations to work together, to collaborate, to leverage each others networks and strengths for a common purpose.  But as funders, we’ve typically worked in isolation from one another, and sometimes, it must be said, at cross-purposes.

So eight of us (seven foundations and one couple) have joined together for Stronger Together 2010.  Here is the text of the announcement below:

Stronger Together 2010 is a collaborative granting initiative of eight Canadian faith-based funders. We value the work that Christian-inspired charities accomplish in Canada and around the world and have gathered together to ensure these organizations are able to successfully weather current economic challenges and emerge stronger in years to come.

Together, we have committed to grant up to $1 million in 2010 towards helping these charities build their organizational strength through projects that address specific needs and achieve defined outcomes.  Canadian Christian charities are invited to apply for grant funding to support projects that will specifically and measurably grow their organizational strength.

Grant applications should communicate how the proposed short-term project improves the charity’s performance and how this increased organizational strength will benefit those who are ultimately served by the charity.

The synergies created through funders working together allow us to offer a web-based application system for grants which will be simultaneously considered by eight granting partners located in cities across Canada. This initiative will save charities money, time, and energy. It will also broaden a charity’s audience, introducing potential donors and innovative charities to each other.

Eligible charities are invited to submit applications between January 2, 2010 and midnight (EST) February 28, 2010. Following a thoughtful process of due diligence, granting decisions will be made in the late spring, with announcements of successful applicants on June 15, 2010.

We encourage all Canadian charities to think strategically about what it will take to grow their organizational strength and to apply to Stronger Together 2010. We look forward to working and growing together with you in this process.

For more information and to apply, visit the Stronger Together 2010 website at www.strongertogether2010.ca.

The funders gathering together for this initiative are:  Bridgeway Foundation, Caritate Foundation, Catalyst Foundation, Charis Foundation, John and Rebecca Horwood, Legacy Foundation of Canada (Family Hope Fund), Legacy Foundation of Canada (Legacy Trust), and Maranatha Foundation.

My sister-in-law Kim sent me an exceptional gift this week — it came in the form of a voluminous email attachment.  Charting the Unknown is her first book, to be published in March 2010 by Los Angeles-based Behler Publications.  I was touched that she trusted me with her baby … aside from her husband, kids and publisher, there are very few who will have read the manuscript.

Before page one ended I was sobbing loudly in our easy chair.  My wife deposited a box of kleenex on the side table, and I grabbed a wad.  By page three, I was laughing hysterically.  And so it went – an emotional and moving journey on a rollercoaster of waves – for 280 pages.  It’s an intentionally-crafted piece of art that will take your breath away.   Behler selects books that speak of personal metamorphosis, and this has happened to Kim through facing Fear straight on, and plowing through.

[Behler's mission is to] publish personal journeys with socially relevant themes: stories dealing with how people are influenced and changed by their experiences, and how they deal with those repercussions. Not only do we want strong, honest characters, but also strong attention to voice and development. We look for books where readers say, “I’m a better/more thoughtful/smarter person for having read this book.”

And now, a synopsis of Kim’s memoir:

Charting the Unknown is the story of Kim and Mike Petersen, who, while in college, were inspired to write their dreams on a piece of paper, which was unceremoniously stashed in Kim’s Abnormal Psych book.

The list was forgotten through the course of life; jobs, raising a family, and experiencing the loss of a child. The list miraculously reappeared at a time when their children nearly teenagers. One dream stood out – living on a boat – despite the fact that their boating experience consisted of several hours canoeing on a lake, and a week on a Carnival Cruise Ship.

Undaunted, they purchased an unfinished 65-foot power catamaran shell, sold everything, and moved from Toronto to West Palm Beach, Florida to finish constructing the boat and begin living aboard. They faced humorous obstacles, fears, each other, and themselves, as they adapted to a new environment.

As they ventured into 4,000 miles of open water and crossing the Atlantic, Kim ventured deep into her own soul for a final showdown of her own fears.

Read more of the publisher’s (wildly enthusiastic) thoughts on Kim’s book here and here.   For a foretaste of the book, subscribe to Kim’s blog here.

I’m attending a unique symposium this weekend at St. Paul’s Anglican Church on Bloor Street in Toronto.  Cardus,  World Vision Canada, and the Canadian Urban Institute are collaborating in hosting a gathering of thinkers and practitioners to reflect on the role of the faith community in cities.   Think Different is going to be a (hopefully) honest look at whether religious communities benefit the urban fabric or not.  Speakers such as John Tory, Glen Murray, Karen Hamilton, and Christine Elliott will speak.  (Interesting that at least two of the speakers are contending for Mayor of Toronto in 2010.)

A book will also be launched to accompany the event.  You can preview it and order here.  To whet your appetite, I’ve included my contribution below:

I sat at the table chewing furiously on an overcooked steak.  Across from me was a former evangelical pastor, in tears, who told of his crisis of faith and recent decision to abandon his role at his church.  His belief system had been shaken to the core when the horrifying truth dawned on him: he no longer held to certain tenets of the tradition he had been preaching for ten years.  A literal interpretation of Scripture, a six-day creation, and blind commitment to male leadership in the church – all these issues became sharp sticking points for my friend.  While he continued to follow Christ wholeheartedly, he couldn’t make the rational leap to affirm some doctrines of his particular community.

But worse than the angst of his own personal dilemma was the intolerance for divergent opinion that existed in his congregation.  His church had not been a safe place for people to ask questions, admit doubt, probe truth, and express diversity of thought and practice.  Anyone who didn’t toe the party line was suspect, driving out those that couldn’t subscribe to the moralistic majority.  It was the kind of religious group that seems to get overexposed in national media and on YouTube, driving the impression that the church is filled with the intolerant.

In this case, push came to shove, and it was the pastor who had to leave.  So he resigned, seeking to serve God and his community outside the confines of the religious establishment.

It’s a story I’m hearing with greater frequency as a growing number of theological refugees exit inward-looking congregations to meet in homes and coffee shops, and serve those outside the church doors.  These people have not abandoned their commitment to Christ; they’ve left behind their allegiance to a religious system that can’t cope with diversity of thought and practice.

Churches and denominations more interested in fighting theological battles talk to themselves – loud, strident voices lead the debates that echo through the empty church building and in anonymous online forums.  When they do focus outward, it is to seek the vulnerable, proselytizing others to a proscribed way of thinking.  This rigid sequence is clear: you must believe our way before you can belong.

These last vestiges of a modern spirituality, based on a dated worldview, rear up intolerantly when pressed into the corner by a globalized culture.  Quibbling over words, and stocking our warehouse buildings with comfortable stacking chairs and Powerpoint projectors, these Christians seem to have all the answers.  But we’ve forgotten how to humbly say “I don’t know”, as well as “I’m sorry”.  And we’ve resisted learning how to live as people who follow Christ in the midst of the diversity of a complex culture.

My friend’s story would be utterly depressing if it were not for the many more people I meet on a daily basis who demonstrate the flipside of an ingrown spirituality.  Many are choosing an activist faith that takes one into the riskier alleyways and soup kitchens of service.  While it is “safer” to not venture outside the church walls, the more challenging option seems to prevail, often without the official sanction of a denomination or church.

These bold adventurers, motivated by a passionate faith and often some lingering doubts, are oriented towards serving people outside their four walls.   They have chosen to sacrifice the comforts of predictability, to follow Christ into the streets, institutions and businesses of the city.  Enmeshing themselves into the broader social fabric, they are net contributors, offering service and life to all with no strings attached.  Incorporating themselves into the broader community, eyes blinking as entering a bright room, they lean into inclusive approaches marked by actions before words.  They’ll offer a sandwich before an explanation.

My work brings me face-to-face with spectacular examples of hidden Christians who have organized themselves to live sacrificial lives of loving service in their communities.  Here are a few lesser known stars in the night sky:

• Gateway Centre for New Canadians in Mississauga, Ontario flings open the doors of their community centre to welcome hundreds of immigrants a month, including 250 Muslims who use the Christian centre for weekly Friday prayers.
• A Rocha’s community models sustainable environmental conservation through its leadership role in protecting the Little Campbell Watershed in South Surrey BC and parts of the Pembina Valley in southern Manitoba.
• My People International has a team that travels to remote indigenous communities in Canada’s vast northland, offering workshops and counseling for First Nations communities facing high suicide rates and sexual abuse.
• Word Made Flesh patterns itself after Mother Teresa, living in the bowels of gritty urban poverty and loving neighbours who are prostitutes, street kids, and war amputees in places like Kolkata, India and Freetown, Sierra Leone.
• Prison Fellowship Canada’s many volunteers visit those who never receive visitors, and offer prisoners skills and networks to adapt to post-prison life.

What is this dangerous journey we are called to as those who follow Christ outside the walls of our religious systems?  It’s one that does not reinforce and bulk up one’s own religious establishment, imposing burdensome regulations and expectations on people.  In fact, those were the types that Christ seemed to have the greatest issues with in His life.  Instead, those who believe Jesus is Lord imitate his trajectory downward and outward – He gave up His rights and came to serve; His life is an offering for all.  In like manner, followers of Christ identify with and serve others with great tolerance and respect, even when differences abound.  Approaches such as these create the environment for trust to be nurtured, and for transformation to be gifted to a community.

Just discovered that singer/songwriter Steve Bell has a blog.  And if the quality of this post on “Keeping Christ in Hallowe’en” is any indication, he is worth tracking with.  He explores the pagan origins of the event, and how Christian Celts added to it and enriched it when St Patrick came to Ireland.  (And you need to click on that post to view an amazing pumpkin carved by his wife.)

He says:

It’s true that the  origins of Halloween come from a dark, Celtic pagan festival called Samhain. The Celts believed there was a night every fall where the veil between the living and the dead became very thin and indeed, the souls of the dead could cross over to the land of the living.  This was frightening as it meant that besides the souls of departed loved ones, the souls of one’s enemies might also come by with evil intent.  To ward off the malevolent ones, the Celts would cut up gourds into frightening faces, and themselves would dress in costumes so as to be unrecognizable to the restless, roaming spirits.   It was a long and frighting night to be endured.

According to legend, things changed when St. Patrick came to Ireland.  He was aware of and saddened by the annual terror the Celts had to endure and so started to teach that as Christians, not only are we not afraid of the dead, but we celebrate the saints who have gone before; those who, still alive in  Christ, are always near and dear to us.  Patrick started the practice of going out on Samhain with a bag full of sweet cakes and knocking on doors,  cheerfully giving them to his cowering friends and neighbors.

Somewhere in there, and I’m not sure of the dates, the practice of cheerfully going out in generous neighborliness, instead of cowering in caged fear, became attached to the church’s celebration of All Saint’s Day. And Halloween,  All Hallowed Evening, came to be celebrated on the night before the Church celebrates all the saints who, though invisible to us, continue to pray for and root for those of us who have not yet completed our journey.

Final thought from Steve:

For we do not draw from a shallow well,  but the inexhaustible Christ who gave himself entirely so that all would know that the organizing and redeeming principle of the cosmos is not self-securing fear, but  self-donating love.

I’m participating in the annual gathering of Canadian philanthropists in a Calgary hotel this week.  This is the third annual conference of Philanthropic Foundations Canada in its short 10-year history.  And it’s becoming quite a big deal.  Last night it was announced that PFC will surpass 100 members by the end of the year.  (A list of current members is found here.)  My friend Hulene from the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation demonstrated that Waterloo Region really is making the right moves (see link).

I’ve found the sessions and networking valuable.  Foundations need to get out of their boxes, learn to communicate, and be willing to change and grow.  Best thoughts yesterday: a workshop on “Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted from Purpose” where we discussed maintaining accountability on grants while streamlining processes and information flow with grantees.   Project Streamline researched processes and controls with foundations and grantees, and has come up with ten tips that will strengthen and smooth out relations between the two groups.  (Full report found here.)

I thought this was a creative attempt at strategic advertising, and it gets a shout-out to the crowds gathered at last July’s Calgary Stampede.  Chuckwagon racer Kelly Sutherland – once again – decorated his wagon with the Opportunity International tarp.  And he wins the race!

(The race actually starts around 1.30 in the video.  Up to then, they are just getting ready.  Fascinating.)

Through the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s newsfeed, I discovered fellow Canadian philanthropists – from Vancouver – and known as the Guerrilla Givers.   Their approach is unconventional, fresh, and thrilling.

Here’s what they do:

What?

Guerrilla Giving is (r)evolutionary–at least it feels that way for us.

Revolutionary because in today’s world, freely giving of our own resources on a mostly daily basis subverts many of our silent agreements (e.g. capital equals security, give as a tax write off, save for a rainy day, etc.).  It calls into question our ego’s insatiable appetite for self-gratification.  It lifts our sights to a higher vision.

Evolutionary, because Guerrilla Giving emboldens us to step into a current of grace that draws us forward as a global community.  It opens our hearts and hands to each other, especially to the stranger.  It employs a model of trust in the benevolent spirit of life.

As such, Guerrilla Giving is, in truth, a kind of guerrilla marketing for a life of connection—between ourselves, our neighbours, and the transcendent (God, Universe, Spirit, whatever name you choose).  There are, of course, countless ways that people nurture their spirituality, whether it’s through yoga, meditation, prayer, or commitment to a spiritual community.  All of these are fantastic.  We have also found that giving on a (mostly) daily basis is one of the most exhilarating disciplines to teach non-attachment (for me–a daily struggle) and the interdependence of all of life.

When and How Much?

Just as we are blessed in innumerable ways each day, our plan is to give on a daily basis whenever possible.   For a year (a lifetime?), we’re committed to giving away 10% of our annual gross income in daily increments to mostly random recipients.  We have had experience with tithing in the past (10% traditionally)  but it was often done as an after-thought, at the end of the month or at the end of the year–written as a cheque or dropped in an offering bowl.  Giving like that was rarely joyful for us.  Guerrilla Giving, on the other hand, is fun, adventurous, and immediate.

Do we have any second thoughts, doubts, fears, anxiety about all of this?  Absolutely.  We’ll share some of these thoughts as we go along–but go along we will.

Where?

Wherever the Spirit leads.  The gifts will often be money–randomly planted in places throughout the city.  Other times, gifts will be things (food, clothes, flowers etc.) given usually to random people….

My thoughts?

I think it’s a tremendously good way to wean oneself off the addiction to making money and unthinkingly serving the all-consuming money god.  It’s taking “random acts of kindness” and “paying it forward” initiatives to a new level.  And for that, I congratulate and heartily applaud this family.

I also like the subversive nature of the act, as they mess with the system.  I am optimistic with what is happening in their hearts as they give.  And I love their blog.

But this initiative isn’t good philanthropy.   If I understand the model correctly, the guerrilla givers redistribute wealth without accountability.  Free money not linked to work and productivity isn’t all that helpful.  It is a nice surprise – a lottery win – for a lucky recipient.  But there’s no assurance that funds spent will be directed into charitable activity, and most gifts left for the public will likely be spent on consuming treats.   (That said, an occasional good report comes back, noted here.)   My question: Is this really philanthropy?

Your thoughts?

Here’s a great, provocative social justice conference being held at the Meeting House this weekend.  Consider going if you can.  And of course, with Paul Young speaking, you don’t want to miss it.  For more information or to register, click here.

The past three days I’ve been in Seattle at (my first of hopefully many) biannual meetings of the Image Journal board.   A stretch for me: I’ve never been extensively involved in a cultural organization before.  But my personal philosophy is that if it’s not a stretch, then I’m bored.  I need to serve with something that takes me beyond my own experience, and let me tell you, this is doing it.  Image is expanding its presence into Canada, and provides a much-needed broadening of the conversation as to what the work of people of faith must be.

As we partner with Christian organizations, I am often reminded of Image founder Greg Wolfe’s framework for understanding this work.  Philanthropy exists to preserve and create the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. A lot of Christian organizations have historically been involved in advocating for Truth: I think of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, for example, or the work of foreign missions concerned with planting churches and spreading the truth of the gospel.  Then there are organizations doing Good such as World Vision or Yonge Street Mission.

But who is creating Beauty?

That’s the main reason I’m involved in this work.  It’s a labour of love to nurture and encourage artists, creative geniuses, who transform the world with plaster and watercolours, jazz riffs and haiku.

Think about your daily life — how much art plays an integral part.  Are you listening to your iPod?  Reading an op-ed?  Planting a garden?  Making a gourmet dinner?  Great philanthropy must also consider the way human beings need to create beauty.  Without beauty in our lives, we do not reflect the divine image.

If readers would take a moment now to visit the Image Journal website, I’d like you to consider subscribing to this quarterly publication.  Invest time in allowing your mind and spirit to be renewed for creative purposes through reading the short stories, poems, essays, and gazing on the visual arts included in each issue.  And let me know if you do please.

Ripped, discarded saris

Exposing skin, raw desire

Creatively, lovingly knit together

Blankets cloaking shame

Redemption brilliance

In grimy Kolkata alleyways

Read this report in Faith & Leadership on the work Word Made Flesh is doing in Kolkata, India, and a partnership that has been struck between WMF and singer Chris Tomlin.

When Tomlin came to play near Omaha, Heuertz gave him a blanket, and the partnership came to a head in the silent arena that night.

Tomlin lowered the lights and talked. He took out the blanket Heuertz had given him, and held it “gently, tenderly, almost reverently,” Heuertz said. Then Tomlin looked for the tag and announced, “This blanket was made by a woman named Mukti.”

Chris Heuertz, WMF’s international executive director, sat in the 9,000-seat arena and sobbed. “She’s been called horrible things, lived in a dungeon, and here he is honoring her, in front of all these people,” he said.

That night, Heuertz called the Sari Bari community center — “sounding like a crazy person” — to find out more about Mukti, whose name, it turned out, means “freedom.”

“Could you tell her,” he said on the phone, “Could you tell her that her name was spoken with love?”

For Heuertz, that moment in which a once-nameless woman was recognized for good work displays the hope of Word Made Flesh.

“She’s not a cause, she’s not a label, she’s not a project,” Heuertz said. “But her name has been spoken in love in front of thousands, who are now praying for her on her way to freedom.”