Downtown Faith Collectives

There are those all around us who are open to exloring faith and spirituality but will never step foot in a church. Downtown Faith Collectives are communities of people exploring what it means to follow Jesus in the midst of the real, crazy, and busy lives we lead.

Downtown Faith Collectives typically include a common meal and shared dialogue and are made up of real people who come from all sorts of spiritual backgrounds. The Collectives provide a community in which we can practice hospitality, generosity, and learn from the various perspectives, understandings, stories, and experiences of one another. All are welcome and diversity is valued.

A Symbolic Order

Responding to the lack of rhythms we have in our modern lives, some of us longed to find ourselves in a context in which we could rediscover spiritual rhythms that call on the contemplative and mystical traditions of the Christian faith. As we've realized that we've forgotten how to slow down, how to nurture our spiritual, emotional, and physical health, and how to be present ot God and others, we imagined a set of comittments which when lived out, create a sense of balance and rhythm that aid in us becoming the peope we hope to become. Those of us embarking on this depth of journey have discovered travelling companions around Phoenix, across the US, and even across oceans. "A Symbolic Order" is a committed life which the ideals, hopes, and dreams we talk about are intentionally lived out.

The rhythms we're re-discovering together:

• a rule of life (Jesus, community, justice, & creativity)
• the daily offices (daily rhythms of prayer, reading, and contemplation)
• sabbath (weekly rhythm of rest and refocusing)

The order is a dispersed one. Although we share a set of rhythms & committments, we're spread across a variety of contexts and geographies. We share, though, a common heart and a common pursuit of a life lives intentionally as symbols who tell of another world.

First Friday Porch Parties

As downtown Phoenix develops, a unique arts and cultural scene is emerging. This scene is fueling much of the development, attracting people to both visit and to move back into the urban core of Phoenix. The arts help us to see what could be, inspire us to dream and act beyond ourselves, and invite us to "act out" of the cultural norms and expectations that hold our imaginations hostage. At the heart of the arts scene in Downtown Phoenix is "First Fridays". First Fridays is an artwalk that spans several downtown neighborhoods and attracts thousands of participants each month. It has grown to become the largest monthly artwalk in the US.

To celebrate and promote these unique art events in downtown, we host an party which is becoming First Friday "HQ" for many. Neighbors, friends, and often strangers converge on the porch of a 1920's bungalow to chat, catch up, and share life. Hospitality rules as everyone brings something to share.

Community Bike Rides

Grab your cruiser, road bike, mountain bike, fixie, or trike and join us as we explore the neighborhod together. Whether it's a breakfast ride, a ride to the farmer's market, or a pub crawl, these rides celebrate the enjoyment of life and others and help us to be more present in our community. Plus, these rides promote the emerging bike culture in downtown which is focused on urban living and environmental sustainability. And we've got a collection of bikes to share if you don't have one of your own.

Taco Day

Taco Day is an annual event that is part eating contest, part charitable event, part excuse to get together and all party. With over 120 people particpating, over 400 tacos eaten, and around $1200 raised for charity each year, Taco Day has become an important part of our annual calendar. It's an experiment in generosity an hospitality that is spreading the love and it's catching on. Look for it in Spring 2009.

Here are some of the details:

• 12 hours of tacos
• everybody brings some drinks to share
• we pick a new charity to raise money for each year
• each year we honor the person who eats the most tacos
• everybody's welcome - the more, the merrier
• it's lots and lots of fun

Laundry Love Projects are regular opportunities to help people who are struggling financially by assisting them with doing their laundry. Relationships are built, and LLPs become small communities of common concern in which participants often find that they receive assistance and benefit with other areas of their lives.

The idea is simple. Each month a few of us head down to a local laundromat with quarters and detergent. In an effort to care for and build relationships with the homeless and working-poor families in our neighborhood, we wash their clothes.

LLP's are done in partnership with JustOne - a non profit organization that was formed to stimulate greater global awareness about extreme poverty, and to provoke compassionate ideas and intelligent giving in order to provide sustainable relief.

To find a local LLP near you or to start one in your neighborhood, visit http://communitasphx.org/LLP

In our culture, the trashcan is where we collect our refuse—those unwanted and unclean items that we want to be rid of. For many however, the trashcan represents life—a medium through which daily sustenance is found.

TCMD is a collaborative redistribution effort that uses trashcans for the collection of new goods for those in need. The items collected are then specifically distributed to those in need through partnerships we’ve developed with other local non-profit organizations. TCMD is a growing network of concerned individuals, families, businesses, groups, churches and schools collaborating to host a trashcan in various locales, providing their communities with a visual reminder and an opportunity to embrace the values of generosity, social concern and cooperative living.

A Trashcan Can Make a Difference (TCMD) is done in partnership with JustOne - a non profit organization that was formed to stimulate greater global awareness about extreme poverty, and to provoke compassionate ideas and intelligent giving in order to provide sustainable relief.

Downtown Faith Collectives

A Symbolic Order

First Friday Porch Parties

Community Bike Rides

coming soon...