Further Notes From liveit! Conference

I posted some notes from Archbishop John Sentamus keynote speech at the liveit! conference a few days ago, but I thought it was time to share some notes from the rest of the speakers too…

* “Things have to change” really means “I have to change.” (Father Jim O’Keefe)
* We live in a time of transition – one of those transitions has to be in our hearts. (JOK)
* A constant invitation to change. (JOK)
* Sacrifice: the willingness to let go of everything in the belief that God will hold us and sustain us. (JOK)
* It’s blasphemy when we don’t hurt over things like the river dolphin going extinct, because we are contributing to the de-creation of the world. (JOK)

* Living simply is very complex, but it’s all about love.

Mike Edwards

[Mike Edwards playing didgeridoo at the liveit! conference]

* Solidarity is not with the likeminded, but with the oppressed. (David Wells)
* We’ve got caught up in an endless cycle of performance indicators, and it’s killing our souls. (DW)
* “Success is not a fact, it’s a comparison” – Nouwen.
* Do you tend to count your blessings or the cost? It has nothing to do with the cost and everything to do with the blessing. (DW)
* The issue isn’t just awareness, it’s can we stay grateful? Gratitude compels us towards compassion. (DW)

* We are a country who does all it can to be invulnerable (eg security systems). (Pat Gaffney)
* We can be driven by other peoples expectations in a way that blocks our access to simplicity. (Tina Beattie)
* “The contagion of desire” – the only way we can counter the consumerism is for our lives/communities to be so different and infectious that it draws other people in. (TB)
* The rich/poor divides are essential to our kinds of economy. To undermine it would be far more than undermining just our economy – it would be undermining our entire world/economic systems. (Tom Cullinan)
* Doors will open as soon as you’ve stood by people long enough for them to trust you. (DW)
* A new consciousness – the drama that God is playing out is not just the human drama, but the drama of the whole earth. (TC)

John Sentamu At liveit! Conference

A few weeks ago Holly and I were down in Manchester for the liveit! conference, organised by livesimply and CAFOD. The thing that grabbed both of our attentions was the fact that Archbishop John Sentamu was speaking. Here’s some notes I made from his keynote speech on the day…

Archbishop John Sentamu

* What would it look like to exchange places with the poor?
* God’s movement of change wasn’t just an ideology, it was an actual program of transformation.
* [We have] A conflict of responsibilities.
* We must never confuse simplicity with being simplistic.
* The life & teachings of Jesus were often encouched in paradox.
* In our world, the poor look for food, but the rich are looking for an appetite.
* We are not being called into activity, but into resignation, into surrender. Nothing matters aside from God, becoming nothing before him.
* The beginning of simplicity is letting go of concerns and releasing ourselves in abandon to God.
* “Heaven affords unlimited accommodation to the simple-minded.”
* Concern for justice/ecology/etc is not primary; it flows from seeking God first; however we are prisoners to his love and he has left us no choice.
* Freedom is a freedom to love.
* “Only the simple are free. All others are under the tyrannous ambition of self.” – Richard Foster

I just noticed that you can download and listen to Archbishop John Sentamus speech again from the livesimply website: click here and you will see a dialogue box at the top right side of the page.

Notes from the rest of the day coming soon.

“Becoming”

We can start changing people’s mindset. Instead of asking young people, “What are you going to do when you grow up?”, ask them, “Who are you becoming?” The question is not whether you will be a doctor or a lawyer but what kind of doctor or lawyer you will be.

[Jesus For President, Shane Claiborne & Chris Haw]

Etsy Shopfront

I’ve been exploring Etsy for the last few days, and today I took the plunge of signing up and setting up a storefront.

Etsy is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade.
Our mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers.
Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice:
Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade.

I’m going to be using it to fundraise for my trip to East Africa this summer with Fields of Life. You can purchase prints of some of my photographs on my Etsy store here. Would be grateful if you would spread the word!

Visit my Etsy store, Emma Boyd Photography, at emmaboyd.etsy.com