Hi everyone, we realize it’s been very quiet over the last several weeks! Follow the link to find out why, and read our most recent update from The Renew Project. You’ll be glad you did! RENEW May 2010 Newsletter

“I like what you’re doing here — I like what you’re about.”

I heard this a few times last weekend, as we kicked off our Make Something! Parties in Castro Valley and Oakland. Standing around a cluttered table and surrounded by the festive music of this season, we sewed folio pages into journals, glued scraps of paper to box lids, and painted our way toward Christmas Day. For me, our December Make Something! Parties were an opportunity to “show and tell” what The Renew Project is about; a preview of things to come for our friends and family who have been curious, but not quite sure, what we’re dreaming about.

Even though many of us are motivated by the practical need to find affordable alternatives for Christmas gifts (and at $3-5 per gift, we have that going on), the most valuable dimension of this workshop is that it ramps up our imaginations about being more creative and resourceful with our lives. In the Advent Story, our Creator brings something supernatural – the Messiah, teh Son of God – but he does it through a very human process (just ask Mary). So a big part of our renewal experience is getting back in touch with what’s human in our spiritual journey. In other words, by not just grabbing something mass-produced off a store shelf and wrapping it in a pretty bow, we are engaging something spiritual: the act of making something that reflects our personality, our concern, and our love.

We had our own party in Castro Valley last Saturday, which saw participation from 15 people; then we joined Christ Church in Rockridge for a Project Peace Make Something Party the following day. In case you missed the first two, we have one more happening in Oakland next Saturday, December 12. RSVP to Serena and get directions via e-mail. Come and tap into your creative potential, and get a new sense of what we’re up to with The Renew Project.