We’ve been moving into a warehouse over the last month, a new venue for Vox Culture and our Sunday gatherings for Access. It’s been a lot of fun to see people pull together to serve and contribute in new ways.

These are some photos from our Tenebrae Service back in April. The aged black and white feel was a better representation of the evening.

Photos from our “Vox Populi” show back in March, the voice of the people speaking up about poverty and the environment. Two of our team members were able to do a presentation on Floresta. We also had a fine lineup of talent. You can see the list and some videos at Vox Culture.

This past weekend was full of Vox Culture activities. First we had a show for Ayad Fadel and Dune-Micheli Patten. Ayad’s show “Blend” was a mixture of ancient Iraqi symbols and modern American influences. Dune featured new “Urban HIStories and Icons.”

On Sunday night, Dune got us a spot on KCOH with Natalie J. We were on the radio talking about Vox Culture, art, community benefit, and music. Natalie gave Matt’s album some air time. All in all it was a fun weekend. What a welcome home from the Covenant’s Midwinter Conference!

I’m on vacation with family this week. My brother Dennis went deep sea fishing. He didn’t catch anything but he ran across the same fishing boat at the docks the next day. The fishermen gave him a few bags of ahi for free.

We’ve had some of it as sashimi. And taking some inspiration from a teaching series I recently finished called “A Foodie’s Guide to Faith,” I tried my hand at cooking. I sliced a block of the fish, seasoned it, and seared it. Amy gets points for the presentation you see in the photo. Mmmm good!

A few days after Ike, the kids in the neighborhood came over to our backyard. It was like a kid-storm — bodies everywhere, bikes, skateboards, jumping off slides, wrestling, plastic ball warfare, and more. For a brief moment I got a few of them to sit for a picture. Then the storm resumed as they all jumped off the plastic roof. The kids had been stuck inside their homes for too long with no school and nowhere to let out their energy. In the background you can see storm clouds and the fading sunset.

Happy Birthday, Mia!

Click on the picture to see a few of my New York photos. I was in Manhattan last week for a conference called Q, thanks to the generosity of the L2 Foundation and friend DJ Chuang. It was a good time to connect with new friends and engage in conversations about shaping culture.