“Inviting someone over for dinner in the hostile suburbs is regularly considered pathological. Suburban people are either too busy, too self-protected, or too worried what your agenda might be to ever come over. Likewise, I as a pastor and others in our church are regularly so busy, it hardly seems possible.Do I believe it is impossible? No. We must continue to pursue a relentless practice of being hospitable as a distinctive subversive Christian act in the suburbs. I must change my life to live more simply, have more time and practice neighborhood acts of cooperative living. I must ask my neighbor, co-worker or friend in the park over for dinner “70 times 7″ times if that is what it takes.”
A good article about living the mission of God in the suburbs. Read the whole article here.
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Wow. Great quote from a great article. Couple of thoughts: Perhaps since I am a member of the “post suburban” santa barbara, (a community in which suburban home ownership for the average income is a total myth) I am more detached from this narcissistic form of the American dream. I combined function of my spiritual idealisms and my economic status fused together make it easy for me to agree and to herald its evils. It also creates in me a longing for the future, where the new SB, G, IV, communal life is more urban and collective in nature. I use the word collective to perhaps land somewhere in between communal (think hippies and communists) and suburban. I haven’t processed this much, but, spiritually as well as culturally, I see this shift emerging, where life is processed more communally, where suburbia dies and where collective life (I’m thinking 3rd spaces, shared residential arrangements, etc) become more the norm.
(Interesting note: James Dobson’s focus on the family. Hmmmmm. Something missing?)
HE Program 4. A Encourage Co-housing, and Similar Collaborative Housing
Development. Work with developers and non-profit housing agencies to provide housing
using a co-housing model or similar approaches that feature housing units clustered
around a common area and shared kitchen, dining, laundry and day care facilities.
Timeframe/Target: 4 low income or special needs units by 2009
Responsibility: Private and non-profit housing developers and the Planning &
Environmental Services Department
HE Program 4.B Provide Appropriate Zoning and Development Standards for Single
Room Occupancy (SRO) Units and Efficiency Apartments. Establish opportunities for
development of SRO’s and small efficiency apartments in appropriate locations as lower
cost rental alternatives for single person households. SRO rooms are, by definition,
designed for occupancy by no more than one person and are usually very small,
between 80-200 square feet, typically including a sink and a closet but possibly sharing
bathroom and shower facilities with other SRO units. Review and revise zoning regulations
to allow Single Room Occupancy (SRO) units and efficiency apartments in appropriate
multi-family and mixed-use areas. This review should include:
HE 5.3 Density Bonuses for Special Needs Housing. Density bonuses per State Density Bonus law
may be used to assist in meeting special housing needs housing for lower income elderly and
disabled persons, consistent with roadway capacity, parking needs and neighborhood scale.
Senior care facilities, including residential care facilities serving more than six people, shall be
treated as a commercial service use and shall be subject to specific affordability requirements.
I have crossed the boundary from merely encouraging Christian hospitality into becoming a futurist but whatever. Anybody else thinking this way?
Continuing the Discussion