Simple Living- Year 2 (February Newsletter)

"God, Who is so great, so wise, no doubt has hidden secrets in all things He created" - St. Teresa of Avila I have been trying shift my focus towards seeing God in all things, especially in the parts of my life that are hardest to see hope in. It is easy to let life's distractions take away our awareness of God's ever present presence in all of our memories, relationships and hurts in our lives. When our sights are shifted from our focus, we are likely to become disoriented and confused. God patiently waits for us to gently shift our focus back towards our loving center. Not by force, lest we doubt our capacity, not by penalty of punishment lest our fears would overwhelm us, not by promise of reward lest in our excitement our thoughts should become busy, but with the same patience and gentleness that God has shown us.   Simple Living         My housemates and I have recently started building a relationship with one of our neighbors here in Kensington named, "Chris". This past week we had Chris over for dinner on one of our Monday night hospitality meals. After hearing of some of his needs, we provided Chris with some extra clothes, blankets and allowed him to make a few calls on our phones. Thinking we were a church or outreach center, Chris asked us, "What do you call this place?". Without missing a beat, my roommate Adam responded, "Home".      One of the challenges of Year 2 has been trying to find ways of making this lifestyle of hospitality and intentionality sustainable. Since we are no longer held under the same level of accountability as in Year 1, we are now provided with the challenge of questioning how our actions align with who we want to be. In some ways, it was easier to live out the values of Mission Year during the first year. Since our schedules we created by the program, we were able to focus on investing in our neighborhoods without as many distractions.       As I have been taking an additional year to transition between the structure of Year 1 and a traditional working life, I have enjoyed experiencing a sense of ownership in the added responsibilities of Year 2. It feels good to know that I am not living an intentional life because I am part of a program, or an organization, but because I have chosen to. This lifestyle of community, solidarity and hospitality is part of who I want to be, this lifestyle of love is becoming home.   Hey folks, I could use your help! As I try to live out this second year of intentionally learning, living and loving any prayers or words or encouragement would be greatly appreciated. I also have a financial need of $3,718.33 dollars to help fund my full immersion into this way of life that covers all of my living expenses for the year, including groceries, public transportation, rent and more. I welcome your partnership this year and invite you to consider becoming a one-time or monthly donor.  I am equally thankful for your ongoing spiritual and financial support. I pray that God reveals himself to you in all areas of your life this month and would encourage you in the pursuit to love your neighbor as yourself! REMEMBER! This month is the Love Drive.  February 2nd- March 17th       We have two shirts as gifts for this drive. One is a long-sleeved, teal Love God. Love People. shirt ($70 donation) and the other is a gray short-sleeved ($55 donation) Love God. Love [Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, or Philly] shirt. People can pick one of our cities to have on their gray shirt and our four cities are the only options. Donors can also get both shirts for $100.   Special shout out to Dawson Vosburg, Patsy Schuch, John Pappas,Yuki Burton and Crystal O'Connor this month, thank you guys! Much love, -CHARLIE charliejoconnor.blogspot.com

Simple Living- Year 2 (January Newsletter)

Unwrapping who we really are. "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." - John 8:32   Although parts of ourselves are hurt and broken, damaged or influenced, or feel forgotten and buried, I believe that there is a gift beneath all that. There is something waiting in anticipation to be discovered, the true self who God created us to be. Often we start to believe the layers of self doubt, failure and guilt that have built up around our true identity, are the foundations of who we are. "We are nothing more than our shortcomings". As we exit the season of advent and enter into this New Year, let us remember the hope of Jesus manifesting in our lives as he shows us where our true identity lies.    Simple Living      These past few months have been challenging. In being in a new job, in a new city, with new people, I have been feeling a lot of pressure to perform. I have been trying to live up to, and into, the images that I have created of what I "should" being doing. When I fall short of these standards, I often feel drained and disappointed in myself.      As you may know, I have been working in a high school with students who have emotional handicaps, or learning disabilities. With little experience working in education, I have tried to base a lot the way I approach students off of my colleagues, a lot of whom have been School Officers at some point in their career. I however have not been a school officer, and have never really been the authoritarian type. In fact, trying to pretend that I am has left me trying to keep up a pace and persona that I am just not compatible with.      For a lot of this past semester, I felt tired and inauthentic to my self and my ideals of leadership. Once I began interacting with my students in a way that was more like my true self, building relationships became much easier. It seems that when we try to be, or do something that is not authentic to who we are, our incapacity with it will inevitably be destructive to our lives. I have been discovering an incredible sense of freedom in allowing myself to accept that who I was created to be is enough. It seems that God's work in me is most contagious when people see that they are free to be themselves as well.   Hey folks, I could use your help! As I try to live out this second year of intentionally learning, living and loving any prayers or words or encouragement would be greatly appreciated. I also have a financial need of $4,610 dollars to help fund my full immersion into this way of life that covers all of my living expenses for the year, including groceries, public transportation, rent and more. I welcome your partnership this year and invite you to consider becoming a one-time or monthly donor. I am equally thankful for your ongoing spiritual and financial support. I pray that God blesses you in all that you do this month and would encourage you in the pursuit to love your neighbor as yourself! REMEMBER! This month is the Love Drive. February 2nd- March 17th We have two shirts as gifts for this drive. One is a long-sleeved, teal Love God. Love People. shirt ($70 donation) and the other is a gray short-sleeved ($55 donation) Love God. Love [Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, or Philly] shirt. People can pick one of our cities to have on their gray shirt and our four cities are the only options. Donors can also get both shirts for $100.   Special shout out to Dawson Vosburg, Yuki Burton and Crystal  O'Connor this month, thank you guys! Much love, -CHARLIE charliejoconnor.blogspot.com

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Poreign Folicy

"Sex trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Minors under the age of 18 engaging in commercial sex are considered to be human trafficking, regardless of the use of force, fraud, or coercion."

"Once a film or image with the girl’s face is uploaded onto the Internet, it is there forever. Traffickers know this and use it as a method of control and blackmail, letting the girls know that now they are on the Internet, they can never escape the life.Traffickers force girls into pornography for a greater financial gain. It is estimated that the pornography industry’s annual revenue has reached $13 billion. Traffickers can sell sexual photos of the women in addition to forcing them into prostitution at a great financial gain ..."

http://traffickingresourcecenter.org/type-trafficking/sex-trafficking

"Following nine months of intensive research—including two investigations in Pakistan, more than 130 interviews with victims, witnesses, and experts, and review of thousands of pages of documentation and media reporting—this report presents evidence of the damaging and counterproductive effects of current US drone strike policies. Based on extensive interviews with Pakistanis living in the regions directly affected, as well as humanitarian and medical workers, this report provides new and firsthand testimony about the negative impacts US policies are having on the civilians living under drones."

© Copyright 2012 Living Under Drones by Stanford Law School 

http://www.livingunderdrones.org/

-A poem remembering the voiceless and an apology for where I have perpetuated suffering-

I consume, they make. I consume, they make. I consume, they make, they make, they make. This repetition is no mistake, I am just attempting to replicate the repetitious empty imitation of love that is so unquestionably fake. Because consequences are very real and we don't have to deal with the deep wounds that take lifetimes to heal, bastard children waiting for their next meal. Lonely women, mothers without jobs because "sexy blonde nurse in a blue hospital room wearing red high heels" has lost it's appeal. But you can bet that putting that as her job description was not where her dream started, she fills the prescription because I create the market.

How can I say that I am a man of peace and loving the least while I continue to feast my eyes upon what ever I please? You're not hearing me, I battle this too. Please hear me I still battle this too. Please hear me I am still battling this too, because I have been molded and programmed for years to be addicted to somebody else's pain and to entertain myself with the pain of another person. I learned at a young age that if I just distance the face of my problems away, I can place the blame on whoever I want.

Youtube's greatest falls, face plants, trips, biffs, bike crashes and headshot shots- - sound familiar? We have been so consumed with the seduction of power and the submission to fear that now ever our bombs are controlled from miles away; airstrikes and drones that will even ignore children at play. Men behind desks not knowing or caring that they're scrolling over mothers wearing the blood of their fathers, trying to mourn over pieces of their daughters. But how do you hold half of a body, a dismembered little girl burned and bruised with her hair still in braids? What if we saw that here daily in the states? What if we had to deal with the repercussions on the other side of the button, or the click of our mouse. Have we forgotten that our screens are displaying real people praying "God make it stop! Make it stop! God please make it stop!".

But I can't say that I am surprised when we live in a nation that so defiantly places those who are suffering so far away to silently hide the scars of those who were so inclined to strive for more. But are now violently beaten and told whore, if you don't comply with me tonight you'll be sleeping on the floor. There is so much that we don't see behind the scenes of porn, and in the eyes of those who are casually blown off as casualties of war.

The scales are off in this UN-justice system when we are using myth to tip blame all towards the victim. There is nothing casual about a casualty. There is nothing casual about a casualty! How are we so casual about these global tragedies?

Limiting the Infinite

"Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD, or instruct the LORD as his counselor?"
-Isaiah 40:13

Awhile ago, my good friend Justin told me of a time when he was asked a question by a child about maturity. "How did you become so mature?" the child asked. Justin responded by telling him "I became mature when I realized that I will always have room to grow."

Growing up, I often looked to the adults in my life for answers as if they were the image of ultimate truth. Whenever I had a question about our beliefs that I didn't understand, I was told that one day I might be able to better understand once I reached a point of "spiritual maturity". This image of maturity that I was given seemed to be a place where all the answers were fixed, specific and indisputable, a place that you could arrive to. To have faith in God was to believe in all of the right answers, or at least the ones I was told, but to arrive at something means that you have decided to stop somewhere.

"For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself." Colossians 1:19-20 

Perhaps our fear of diversity, (be it worldview, interests, race, orientation, sex, age or dogma) is created when we forget that all things are being reconciled to the truth. My hope in writing this is not to prove, or disprove, anyone right or wrong, but to remind us of how important it is to listen to perspectives that our different than ours, because we never know who God will use to talk to us! In "Faith Rooted Organizing", by Alexia Salvatierra, Alexia breaks down the meaning of the word "angels" in Hebrews 13:2. "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Here Alexia discusses how angels can be described as a "messenger of God", which is not necessarily referring to a celestial being, but simply someone who delivers a message from God.

 Last year my roommate Caleb introduced me to a phrase that has proven true in most situations, "There is no such thing as comfortable growth". I think it is a common desire to be around people with similar perspectives as us, it's comfortable. But if growth is something we value, maybe it is time to start bringing people into our lives who are unfamiliar, strangers, angels to challenge ourselves with new insight and understanding. When we only expose ourselves to 1 way of viewing the world, God, or the Bible we begin to limit the infinite to our own understanding. 

-A poem I wrote this summer trying to express my desire for each generation to hear what the other has to say-

You see I've got this problem, you see we've got this problem that's laying in front of us. Because there are so many youth that hang on our words and actions as if they were speaking ultimate truth, I know I did. There are minds waiting to thrive, open eyes awaiting the next line while ours remain blind. Edward Snowden was a great reminder that someone is always watching, but we are big brother and big sister to those who come after us.

That is a big role! And I don't know about you, but I am NOT the image of perfection. I am just a reflection. Like everyone else, I am avoiding detection of eyes that seek to find section up section of lies that have compromised the ties between me and the divine whose life was undermined by the religious side of society's  standard. So instead of trying to meet the status quo of religious zeal, let's be real. When has the colonization of beliefs ever ended suffering or brought relief?

I want to to know that even if I made mistakes, I'll be alright.

I want you to show me how your darkness has turned into light.

I want to know that I am accepted, regardless of where I came from.

I want to see someone admit their wrongs, instead of being the one to place the blame on.

So although we tend to apprehend the ones whose relationships we need to mend instead of trying to bend them into what is more comfortable to end with, lets try to hear from those who we usually aren't friends with. Because when all the voices around us start to sound the same, it may be time to stand somewhere new.

Much love,

-Charlie

Simple Livining, Year 2 (October Newsletter)

What do you bring to the table? "Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready. But they all alike began to make excuses. ... The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ -Luke 16-18 and 21      At the beginning of each orientation in Mission Year, our meetings begin with being told that "God is in the City." In contrast to a lot of other missional programs , that can suggest that bringing the gospel somewhere means pioneering a way of thought, Mission Year has challenged me to question what it means to fully live out the gospel. If God is "overall, and in all, and through all", (According to Paul in Ephesians 4:6) then when I move into a new city, I am not going to bring God, but going to meet God.      Coming out of my first year, the need of building relationships, rather than trying to change people to my way of thinking, has proven to be a much more authentic way of showing love. I have seen that building relationships connects to people through our humanity, instead of trying to hide our humanity under theology. Building relationships has shown me the mutual need for love and acceptance, rather than trying to become a resource.      At the banquet Jesus talked about in Luke 16, we see that the people who "had it together" don't even show up to the party! Instead, we see people who are willing to admit that they are hurting, that they can't see their next step, and people who don't know how move forward, people who see their humanity. Jesus shows us that all who come to "the table" are suffering in some way. A Philadelphia team member shared some insight about this passage and described the banquet more as a holy potluck. A place where all both eat, and bring something to the table.  Simple Living This second year of simple living has started off very well! I am currently working as an Educational Paraprofessional for Esperanza charter school in Northeast Philly. My position entails a role very similar to a teachers assistant in the classroom, and a mentor/counselor figure during my free periods. It has been an incredible experience getting to know the students in the school, a lot of whom like to refer to me as "Jesus". So, when students have been whispering or talking too much in class this past month, I like to remind them that Jesus listens ! As I am settling into my new rhythm of life, I am also trying to remember the importance to set aside time to pursue my passions. These past few weeks, I have had the pleasure to volunteer in the Simple Way gardens. The Simple Way gardens have three different lots, on which I have seen an aquaponics system, a raised bed garden, murals, fruits, veggies, a few composting bins and more! This month, I plan to make contact with a Collaborative Arts non-profit, Yes! And.. , and hope to develop my background in theater into a tool of transformation for both me and the community around me. MEET MY TEAM ! Top Row: Adam, Amber Bottom Row: Me, Sophy Hey folks, I could use your help! As I try to live out this second year of intentionally learning, living and loving any prayers or words or encouragement would be greatly appreciated. I also have a financial need of $5,000 dollars to help fund my full immersion into this way of life that covers all of my living expenses for the year, including groceries, public transportation, rent and more. I welcome your partnership this year and invite you to consider becoming a one-time or monthly donor.  I am equally thankful for your ongoing spiritual and financial support. I pray that God blesses you in all that you do this month and would encourage you in the pursuit to love your neighbor as yourself! Much love, -CHARLIE https://missionyear.thankyou4caring.org/charlieoconnor

The Kingdom of Heaven is for Butterflies.

Hey all! I hope you are all having as beautiful of a summer as I am. 

I have had a pretty busy month after leaving Mission Year and preparing for the next step in my life, Year 2. In the midst of traveling between 4 different cities,  seeing about a dozen relatives,  catching up with friends and my best friend Daytona's baby being born, I am trying to remember the importance of being fully present in the moment. It is easy to get caught up in the momentum of traveling and forget to savor all that God has been blessing me with. Today I was listening to some music, (Check it out here, http://sharemytable.bandcamp.com/track/s-o-s )  I felt a nudging to become more present where I am, despite the noise and the chaos.

-a poem about enjoying the present moment-

I believe in things unseen. I believe in mystery. I believe in one who never ended and who never began and I know that is hard to understand but there is so much that we don't see. We only dwell in dimensions one, two and three and if you ask me, there are probably more colors than R.O.Y.B.I.V and G. Scientists say that even butterflies have more rods and cones than me, maybe thats what Jesus meant by the kingdom of heaven is seen by the least of these.

Because if the kingdom of heaven is now maybe it takes the most simple to figure out that there is life before death too! Vivid, wonderful, beautiful life that dwells in between suffering and boredom. We need to learn to open our eyes, and forget the lies that the grass is greener on the other side because really, it's just different shade of brown.

So until we learn to root is the present, instead of trying to dilute the unpleasant with things that refute to find worth in the king AND the peasant,  then we won't be able to appreciate what our brown can be.

Chocolate, coffee, oak, leather,

Cedar, root beer, cloudy weather,

Toads, and boats, and oats, and hopps

Mud, and wood, and spinning tops,

Rocky road, and cookie dough,

Tea, and toast I don't know,

Things that bring you life and give you hope

The first time Moses said hello to the divine God said " I Am."

Singular, uniform PRESENT TENSE statement telling moses

Hey kick off your shoes, slow down, enjoy this moment with me.

Don't worry about the tomorrow or try to figure it out, this place is sacred RIGHT NOW.

Rust and decay, old age and displaced things and time will be found in tomorrow

Build up your treasures in heaven. 

Excess and greed paving the way for tomorrow's wants while ignoring other's needs

Build up your treasures in heaven.

And if God's kingdom is now, let's indulge in the gift of today

And build up our treasures in heaven.

Very short stories

"It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story."

The day a bird flew into our house through an air vent

The day me and Dante slacklined in the park

The day we helped a friend clean up

The day we made some new friends

The day we went to ride bikes

With love,

_Charlie_

if you would like to donate to my experience here in Houston, please check out my page @
https://missionyear.thankyou4caring.org/charlieoconnor