Saturday night’s Art of Sound music festival was amazing. And although we didn’t raise what we had hoped, we did manage to raise just over a thousand dollars for The Freeway (and some more for Haiti as well), which is totally amazing. The musicians were all top-notch this year… really good line-up. And the people who came really seemed to enjoy themselves.

A few BIG THANK-YOU’S:

• To all the musicians and our amazing DJ who shared their talent with us. Your music was inspiring and beautiful. Thank you for giving your time and energy to help support the coffee house. Can’t wait to see you perform again soon.
• To all the folks who helped clean the coffee house, prepare for the festival, and then clean again, thank you so much. I am always amazed at what amazing volunteers we have at The Freeway.
• To all our fine baristas and other coffee house leaders who worked so hard before, during, and after the event, thank you so much for all your work. We definitely have the best baristas anywhere in the world… and people notice.
• To the sound technicians who made the job of the musicians so much easier, thank you. And to the DWL Group, thank you for providing the sound gear for our lower level stage.
• To everyone who came to support The Freeway and local music, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I really can’t wait until next year… and I hope to see you all at the coffee house supporting local artists and our community commons soon.

On Sunday I had the privilege of talking about The Freeway being geographically “planted” in the Beasley Neighbourhood. As part of the evening I wanted to have a slide show of local  photos to help us think about the area that surrounds the coffee house.

I sent out a general call to The Freeway community to send me their neighbourhood photos and I got an email from  Maja Hipkin (who also contributes to this blog) with a link to her Flickr page. I am always excited to discover that somebody has a creative gift, and I would just like to thank Maja for sharing her beautiful and artistic photographs with us.

If you would like to check out more of Maja’s amazing photographic tour of Hamilton click here.

All photographs (c) Maja Hipkin

I sit staring at a blank screen, thinking of what to write.  But there are no words. None.

My response will instead be one of prayer and giving. And I hope you’ll join thousands of others who are also praying and donating – we can all afford to be generous.

If you’re wondering how to help, The Globe & Mail recently posted this list of groups accepting donations toward work in Haiti:

• Médecins sans frontières (Doctors Without Borders) is taking online donations here or by phone.
• World Vision Canada is taking online donations here or by phone at 1‑800‑817‑7790.
• The Canadian Red Cross is accepting online donations here, by phone, or at any Red Cross office.
• Save the Children is accepting online donations here.
• The Mennonite Central Committee is accepting donations, click here to donate or by phone.
• The Salvation Army in Canada is accepting donations here, by phone, by texting the word HAITI to 45678 from any Rogers Wireless or Bell Mobility phone, or in person at any of its locations.
• Unicef Canada is accepting online donations here or by phone.
• The Humanitarian Coalition, which is a joint effort between Save the Children Canada, CARE, Oxfam Canada and Oxfam Quebec, is accepting online donations here.
• The Center for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) is accepting online donations here or by phone.
• Development and Peace accepts donations here or by phone.
• Plan Canada has been active in Haiti for 40 years. Donations can be made here or by phone.
• The United Jewish Appeal is accepting online donations here or by phone.
• Mission Aviation Fellowship of Canada, which has operated in Haiti since 1986, is taking online donations here.
• Ve’ahavta: The Canadian Jewish Humanitarian and Relief Committee is accepting online donations here.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has compiled a guide designed to help the public avoid scams and ensure their donations are of maximum value.  The Canadian government will match monetary donations to support relief efforts in Haiti, to a total of $50-million. This means that donating $50 will result in a $100 contribution.  Read more information about the program here.

Please, be generous.

And beyond today, continue to pray and donate and work for Haiti.  There is long-term work to be done in response to not only the current destruction, but decades of injustice in Haiti. 

Pray for swift and effective relief.  Pray for healing.  Pray for safety.  Pray for justice.

The Something Beautiful Podcast featured a two-part conversation with me talking to my buddy from Scotland, Thomas, about The Freeway and other stuff.

You can listen to part one here: Click here.

You can listen to part two here: Click here.

The Art of Sound is coming up next Saturday, January 23rd at 6:00pm. Are you excited? I know I am. We have a great line-up of musicians and it’s looking like it is going to be the party of the year… and for only $10!

If you haven’t already done so, check out the Facebook event page and make sure you’re on the list to attend. Also, pass this on to any friends, relatives, workmates, or little old ladies on motorized carts… that you think might be interested in coming and supporting a great organization… and listening to some terrific local music at the same time.

We really hope to see you there.

And by the way, please consider making a donation to The Freeway if you are unable to make it to the event (or even if you are). We can offer a tax receipt for any donation over $10… and we really appreciate your support. Drop us a line if you are able to do so: info@frwy.ca

If you are part of a church that is thinking of starting a third place, and you have ended up on this site as part of your research (this happens for us now and again, it seems), allow me to suggest that you consider not starting a third place if any of the following things apply to you:

1. If there is already a third place in your neighbourhood.
2. If you are thinking of designating a room(s) in your church building for the third place.
3. If you are planning to create a third place as a way to evangelize, or grow your church.
4. If you are planning for this to be a place that is seldom/rarely open (ie. one evening per week).
5. If you think this will make you a bunch of money to fund your church.
6. If you think this is the new model for missional church… the next thing to do in church… everyone’s doing it.
7. If you have a hard (impossible?) time with living in tension.
8. If you feel the need to see results (quickly?) in terms of the number of people who join your church, find Jesus, etc. through the third place.
9. If you are not completely aware of the neighbourhood you are wanting to start the third place in. Do your homework. Live there for a few years.
10. If you have not gone through a process of discerning what the Spirit of God is up to / creating /doing in your neighbourhood.

It may sound silly, but I can’t tell you the number of church leaders who have approached us to “learn the ropes” and more than one of the above applied to them.

If you would like to arrange a time to chat with us further about third places, mission, or neighbourhood engagement, drop us a line any time: info@frwy.ca, or consider coming to our Cultivate Learning Party on Saturday, March 20 in order to spend the day learning alongside us.

Our current teaching series is entitled: “Our Life”. We want to take four week’s to develop a sense of who we are at The Freeway, and what we are going to be about as a community this year. Here’s how each week will shake out:

Week 1: “Our Life: Unearthed” – A reflection on where we’ve been as a community. Who are we? What are the narratives that have shaped us over the years, especially the past year or so?

Week 2: “Our Life: Planted” – An exploration of our address (postal code / context / neighbourhood). Why are we here in this neighbourhood? What are we trying to do? Why does / will it matter?

Week 3: “Our Life: Cultivated” – An exploration of our intention to form our lives together as a community: spiritually, relationally, missionally. What will we commit (covenant) to together?

Week 4: “Our Life: Rooted” – A proposal of what sustainable missionality may look for us. How do we take who we’ve been and who we are and follow Jesus into the future as a community this year?

Hey Readers! You may or may not know that The Freeway has live music every Friday evening. Some things you should know about Fridays:

• It is usually $5 at the door which goes to support our musicians.
• We have 3 performers per night and music generally starts at 8 pm.
• It is an all ages venue with a wide variety of music.

If you are a musician (or know someone who is) and you have a website or myspace or a way we can hear your tunes, email me at miranda@frwy.ca … Let’s see if your sound melds with our venue and if we can book you in the near future!

And for you music lovers who don’t consider yourself a musician – don’t forget this great space on a Friday night. Come out and enjoy delicious fair trade coffee, fresh baked goods, and quality local music!

“State of Beings”
A collection of new paintings by Karyn Black
January 6th – 31st, 2010 @ The Freeway Coffee House
Opening Reception: January 8th, 2010 |  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Our featured artist for January 2010 is the very talented Karyn Black. Karyn’s sophisticated abstract paintings can be mathematically described as: 1 part beauty + 1 part style = 2 parts joy (as in a joy to behold)

You are all invited to come and meet this great local artist at her opening reception on Jan. 8th, 7-9 pm. It is a free event with a “pay what you can” concert happening afterwards featuring the music of Echo Mile and Either Day.

About The Artist
Karyn Black is a Hamilton-based artist. She attended McMaster University where she graduated with an honours degree in fine arts in 1998. Since then, Karyn has had the opportunity to work with many interior designers, creating custom canvases to suit the needs of their clients. The elements and principles of design, particularly line, texture, balance and colour are the inspiration for much of Karyn’s work. Currently, Karyn is focused on compiling a new body of work exploring modern symbols and stereotypes and is awaiting the arrival of adopted twins from Ethiopia.