#organic Saturday church

[organicsaturdaychurch]

Took some nice springy pictures with Whitenoise Whisper and Organic Saturday Church!!!

Whitenoise whisper pondering upon the pink tree

Organic Saturday Church prowling upon the pink tree

Both of them on/around the white tree!!!

Happy earth day guys like, if you have access to nature like go there!! go to the nature!!

[brimstone-rose]

[lightgaswaterelectricityrent]

Ok. The correlation in time between when I started noticing the organist and when my gym closed.....

[reasonsforhope]

"Buried among Florida’s manicured golf courses and sprawling suburbs are the artifacts of its slave-holding past: the long-lost cemeteries of enslaved people, the statues of Confederate soldiers that still stand watch over town squares, the old plantations turned into modern subdivisions that bear the same name. But many students aren’t learning that kind of Black history in Florida classrooms.

In an old wooden bungalow in Delray Beach, Charlene Farrington and her staff gather groups of teenagers on Saturday mornings to teach them lessons she worries that public schools won’t provide. They talk about South Florida’s Caribbean roots, the state’s dark history of lynchings, how segregation still shapes the landscape and how grassroots activists mobilized the Civil Rights Movement to upend generations of oppression.

“You need to know how it happened before so you can decide how you want it to happen again,” she told her students as they sat as their desks, the morning light illuminating historic photographs on the walls.

Florida students are giving up their Saturday mornings to learn about African American history at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum in Delray Beach and in similar programs at community centers across the state. Many are supported by Black churches, which for generations have helped forge the cultural and political identity of their parishioners.

Since Faith in Florida developed its own Black history toolkit last year, more than 400 congregations have pledged to teach the lessons, the advocacy group says.

Florida has required public schools to teach African American history for the past 30 years, but many families no longer trust the state’s education system to adequately address the subject.

By the state’s own metrics, just a dozen Florida school districts have demonstrated excellence at teaching Black history, by providing evidence that they are incorporating the content into lessons throughout the school year and getting buy-in from the school board and community partners.

School district officials across Florida told The Associated Press that they are still following the state mandate to teach about the experience of enslavement, abolition and the “vital contributions of African Americans to build and strengthen American society.”

But a common complaint from students and parents is that the instruction seems limited to heroic figures such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks and rarely extends beyond each February’s Black History Month.

When Sulaya Williams’ eldest child started school, she couldn’t find the comprehensive instruction she wanted for him in their area. So in 2016, she launched her own organization to teach Black history in community settings.

“We wanted to make sure that our children knew our stories, to be able to pass down to their children,” Williams said.

Williams now has a contract to teach Saturday school at a public library in Fort Lauderdale, and her 12-year-old daughter Addah Gordon invites her classmates to join her.

“It feels like I’m really learning my culture. Like I’m learning what my ancestors did,” Addah said. “And most people don’t know what they did.”"

-via AP News, December 23, 2024

[organicsaturdaychurch]

I am leaving this in my drafts NO LONGER!!

YALL REBLOG THIS POST WITH UR MOST CRYPTIC/CREEPY PICTURE OF UR LOVELY FURRY FUZZBALLS THAT ARE FURBYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[meetmeinthesandbox]

In 1992, Sinead O'Connor ripped up a picture of the Pope on live television, in protest of the rampant child sexual abuse the Catholic Church was actively covering up.

Ten days later, she was scheduled to perform at Madison Square Gardens, as part of a celebration of Bob Dylan. As soon as she got to the microphone, the audience began loudly booing her, seemingly in unison.

The organizers tasked Kris Kristofferson with removing O'Connor from the stage. He instead went out and put his arm around her and checked in on her and stayed until she'd steadied herself and was ready to perform. When she came off stage, he wrapped her in a bear hug.

"Sinead had just recently on Saturday Night Live torn up a picture of the Pope, in a gesture that I thought was very misunderstood. And she came out and got booed. They told me to go get her off the stage and I said 'I'm not about to do that'

I went out and I said 'Don't let the bastards get you down'. She said 'I'm not down' and she sang. It was very courageous. It just seemed wrong to me, booing that little girl out there. But she's always had courage."

[theineffablesociety]

"Perhaps one day we could... I don't know. Go for a picnic." ~Aziraphale, 1967

The Ineffable Society Synchronous Picnics!

Crowley and Aziraphale may not have had their picnic yet but we can show them how it's done:

TIS is inviting all Good Omens fans to join us on Saturday May 10th wherever you may be.

It's Good Omens' 35th Anniversary after all!

This is the day that the book was originally published in 1990, and the day of the bombing of St Dunstan-in-the-East, the church which inspired the one in the Blitz scene. St Dunstan later became a public gardens in the 1970s. 👀

How to have your own TIS Picnic:

* Minimum of one person, you!

* Minimum of one tasty treat, preferably eaten or drank outdoors

* On Saturday May 10, 2025 at any time of day

Will it be you and your angel/demon having a picnic on a tartan blanket at a park? Or will you invite several of your friends to your house? Will you enjoy some cosplay? Will you theme your beverages, meal, snacks, and dessert with Good Omens themes?

Or will you invite any local fans to join you at a more organized event?

There are people starting to plan picnic meetups over on our Discord server. I will link that below. You're welcome to post about yours in there as well but it is not mandatory, especially if you are planning something more intimate. Just by having a little picnic on May 10, you too have become part of The Ineffable Society's celebration!

DISCORD LINK

https://discord.gg/JQzyWnBf

Current Planned and open to the fandom picnics include:

1:30pm - 7pm at Historic Smithville Park in Eastampton, New Jersey (Pavilion secured! See you there!)

11:30am - 4pm at Springbrook Nature Center in Itasca, Illinois Near Chicago! (Pavilion Secured for "Book Club Potluck". Contact Oldblackhat via Discord DM, also on the TIS Discord Server)

12pm at Fernbank Science Center in Atlanta, Georgia for picnic. Followed by 2pm Planetarium show "Forward to the Moon". "Pics after if people want to cosplay."

11:00am at Caffe Vita KEXP in Seattle, Washington (by the Space Needle for lunch!)

11:30am - TBD at Rochester, New York in Highland Park for the Lilac Festival [Note: This is upstate NY.] At tulip garden by the park sign @ South and Reservoir. (map pin: https://maps.app.goo.gl/kMD5w9p64cHdYoZ96) Contact callistazm via Discord DM or bsky: kittensceilidh.bsky.social. NOTE: The Lamberton Conservatory is an indoor activity right next to the meeting spot if rain happens.

Current Plans-In-Progress and open to the fandom picnics include:

Plans for: TIME & LOCATION TBD. Hell, Michigan. Yes. Hell. Michigan.

Plans for: TIME & LOCATION TBD. Austin, Texas

Plans for: TIME & LOCATION TBD. Washington DC area

Current Areas Seeking Plans open to the fandom picnics include:

Seeking Plans in: Oklahoma (Oklahoma City or Tulsa), United States

Seeking Plans in: Arkansas, United States

Seeking Plans in: Tennessee, United States

Seeking Plans in: Massachusetts, United States

Seeking Plans in: Connecticut, United States

Seeking Plans in: Portland, Oregon, United States

Seeking Plans in: Tampere, Finland

Seeking Plans in: Berlin, Germany

Seeking Plans in: London UK (Who wants to HOST in St. James's Park? It can be you!)

That last group? We have at least one person in who is interested meeting other Good Omens fans for a picnic, and one could easily be organized if there's interest. THEY NEED SOMEONE WHO IS READY TO ORGANIZE. If you're good at making choices, come join us in the server.

We shall add more to this list as people organize!

If you enjoy a picnic on May 10: We would love to hear about it! Share us your deeds of the day with some pictures using any of these tags #GO For A Picnic, #Good Omens Picnic, or #The Ineffable Society Picnic.

Want to get involved with art, fic, cosplay with a picnic theme? That's also encouraged for any and all Good Omens characters!

AO3 collection archiveofourown.org/collections/GOforapicnic

[afriblaq]

Florida has required public schools to teach African American history for 30 years. Yet, according to the Associated Press, many students receive lessons that are incomplete or inadequate.

In response to growing distrust in the state’s education system, community organizations, churches and cultural institutions are stepping in to fill the gaps.

In Delray Beach, Charlene Farrington leads Saturday morning classes at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum to teach teenagers the history that schools often omit.“You need to know how it happened before so you can decide how you want it to happen again,” Farrington told her students.

Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has spearheaded efforts to limit discussions of race, history and discrimination in classrooms. His administration has banned certain Advanced Placement African American Studies courses, citing alleged legal violations and historical inaccuracies.

Community-driven initiatives are gaining traction, with churches and advocacy groups taking the lead in educating students. Since launching its Black History toolkit last year, the nonprofit Faith in Florida has enlisted over 400 congregations to incorporate the resource into their programs.

Read more about this initiatives at ESSENCE.com.

[organicsaturdaychurch]

Faceless Organic Saturday Church: Octorber 30th 2022

[blushcoloreddreams]

Perfume IS an essencial: Here’s 4 reasons why

Good Afternoon Dear Reader! Happy Saturday directly from Argentina

Before we dive into today's topic, I wanted to talk briefly about why these "practical" and lighter and style blog posts are JUST as important as the heart-felt blogs on heavier topics and more practical ones like organization, cooking and cleaning tips

This blog is a place where I am trying to gather useful information to help us grow as feminine women, whether that is in our hearts, our homes, our lives, or even in our own skin. I believe in a well-rounded growth perspective: I am trying to improve many areas of my life, even if they are just practical and simple.

So today I wanted to talk about one of these more "practical and simple" topics: perfume.

At first glance this topic can seem kind of boring, like "yeah, no one likes smelling bad, so wear perfume, DUH." But I think perfume is so much more than that!

I believe that a spritz of perfume can actually improve your day, your confidence, and your overall aura as a feminine woman.

***DISCLAIMER: I know that smells can trigger allergic reactions in people, and there are actually fragrance-free zones such as certain churches or work environments. Do not break those rules just to follow my advice LOL!

The women jn my life were always had a passion from perfumery and I remember using it even as a child, but I only started being interested in it during my teenage years and in the past my interest and collection only grew. But I remember that during times of intense sadness in my life, I understand that something simple as even filling in your eyebrows can be a completely exhausting task! So much personal care falls off your daily routine when you can't handle what life is throwing at you and I think that adding perfume to your routine can be an easy way to elevate your grooming.

In order to really stick to this habit, I decided to focus on WHY I should wear perfume. So here we go! This may convince you too.

1. Perfume Adds LUXURY To Life

I know what some of you may be thinking: "I'm just at home, and deodorant is good enough for me!" or "I'm just in an office chair, why do I need to smell amazing?" and finally, "I'm just going to work out later so it doesn't matter!"

You know what I say to all those reasons?

You are an amazing woman and you deserve to have a little extra luxury in your day, even if you are behind a vacuum, a computer, or a treadmill.

Most of us aren't going to be lounging on a velvet chaise with champagne and a cashmere blanket wrapped around us tonight anyways! We're not living that lux life, so why not add extra luxury into our days?

When you're vacuuming the house or reading through spreadsheets, it can be easy to feel like cinderella BEFORE she went to the ball. A fragrance reminds you that you are an elegant, feminine WOMAN, and that you are WORTHY of a little luxury.

So pick up a fragrance you love, (doesn't have to be costly,) and indulge! You are WORTHY of that extra 10 seconds on yourself.

2. Perfume Can Make You HAPPIER!

So today I was spritzing on some body spray when I realized that I had a soft smile on my face. Seriously: I was just smiling to myself! Sol de Janeiro cheirosa 71 (my newest obsession! ) evokes a reaction of pleasure: it makes me smile.

Do you remember learning about the senses in school? They can evoke emotion, thoughts, feelings, and action. Touch can make you take action when you feel pain. Taste evokes pleasure when you encounter delicious food. Likewise, smell can evoke pleasant emotion or distaste.

If there was a little life hack that could have you smiling 2 more times a day than you already do, wouldn't you do it? Fragrance is SUCH simple way to accomplish this!

And a bonus? When you smell good, other people notice! I LOVE when my husband tells me I smell good, or when a friend goes in for a hug and comments that she loves the smell I'm wearing. Smelling good feels GOOD!

3. Perfume Helps You Get in Touch With FEMININITY

When I was a kid, Id watch every morning my mom and grandma get ready and wear their favorite perfumes ( that I have the smell in my memory to this day). I made a promise to myself that when I became a woman at the age of I would begin doing 3 things EVERY DAY: wearing lipstick, carrying a stylish purse, and wearing perfume.

I think I knew, even as a child, that perfume was for women. Full grown, feminine, gracious, beautiful women. Adding fragrance to your routine is a way of stepping into that feminine womanhood and embracing yourself.

Perfume can also be especially helpful for women who are kind of uncomfortable with their femininity. You can begin exploring the possibilities with just a small change. Add a bit of mystery, femininity, sweetness, or glamour to ANY outfit. Elevate your look and tip toe into femininity with a fragrance. Pair a ponytail and sneakers with some vanilla body spray: you might be surprised at how it makes you smile!

4. Perfume Helps You EXPRESS Yourself

I truly believe that the sense of smell is neglected in our modern culture. We are MUCH more focused on the visuals of our beauty routine: hair, fashion, makeup, etc. And why? Well, you can't smell a picture on Instagram! Why invest in something so small when no one can really experience it? Who cares about smell?

Well, maybe we SHOULD care! When you meet someone, you are taking them in through a lot of the senses: a firm handshake, the visuals of their face, the way their voice sounds, and yes, THEIR SMELL!

When you go out into the world, think about the entire picture of you as a person: your smell, your style, your "vibe." What is your overall aura? Perfume can help you add a dimension of creative expression to your overall vibe and style. Express yourself!

***Bonus tip: Hydration is essential for perfume performance and it starts from the inside by drinking enough water and continues with applying lotion before your perfume. (Even better if you can do it post shower when your skin is still a bit damp). Some people also apply a small bit of vaseline or petroleum jelly to your wrists and neck (the pulse regions) before you spray. It helps your scent last longer!

And closing, perfume can add luxury to our day, help us feel happy, help us get in touch with femininity, and allow us to express ourselves! What's not to love?

xoxo

Júlia

[azriona]

Friday Five Rec List: Stucky Edition #1

Okay, fine, it's Saturday, be quiet. Rec lists are awesome and I used to do these all the time. I'm organizing these by pairing since that makes the most sense, but as I create more of them, I'll try to keep them linked together. Anyway, Stucky was requested first, so here's five of my favorites. All links lead to AO3.

Ain’t No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) by spitandvinegar

(E, Canon Divergence, Stucky, warnings for drug use, past non-con, and mental illness, aka “The One with the Goddamn Kids”)

Post CAWS, Steve is in New York, trying to find Bucky. Bucky, however, has given up on trying to find himself, and instead has taken on the mantle of “Revelations John,” a religious-inspired vigilante systematically taking down Hydra with extreme prejudice. Oh, and he’s also adopted a couple of Goddamn Kids, as well as a serious heroin addiction. This is about how he found himself again. All of the characters are wonderful in this, and I love how they are so very different from each other but also very recognizable. Steve’s religiousness (he goes to church twice a week), Sam’s practicality, even the Goddamn kids’ brightness and determination. Bucky’s personality shifts are delicately handled, as are his addiction and mental illnesses. Sam’s theory on Steve as a War Refugee is my favorite thing.

❤️

Operation Gros Michel by SquadofCats

(Explicit, Stucky, Canon Divergence after CA:TWS, Steve & Bucky take on Florida, definitely not about bananas)

Steve and Bucky move to Florida, learn to garden, learn to surf, learn how to be again. And then they become renegade activists and only sometimes Avengers. It’s a lengthy exasperated love letter to Florida with some of my favorite original characters, and Steve and Bucky in Speedos live in my head rent-free entirely because of this fic.

❤️

Hot Neighbor and the Sunshine Baby by ZenaidaMacroura

(Mature, Stucky, Trans!Steve, parenting, slow burn, no powers AU)

Steve and Bucky are both single parents to two little girls who are best of friends. Which is why Steve’s simultaneous crush and inability to say two words to Bucky without putting his foot in his ass is a huge problem. Don’t worry, it works out. Eventually. Bucky saying all breathily “Yeah, I can do that” lives in my head rent-free, btw; this fic’s fault.

❤️

The Steve Rogers Problem by relenafanel

(Mature, No Powers AU, Actor!Steve and Fanboy!Bucky, a love letter to fandom and fanfic honestly)

Bucky Barnes writes smutty fanfic about the characters in actor Steve Rogers’ TV show—and then he realizes he and Steve were childhood friends and Steve’s back in town and wants to renew their friendship. Basically, it is every fanfic author’s worst nightmare. (Mine, anyway.) Hijinks ensue. There’s an AU within the series where Bucky isn’t a fanfic author, and it’s equally delightful.

❤️

Strays by snarklyboojum

(Teen, Bucky on the run, not-Alpine, post CA:TWS)

Bucky saves Steve from drowning, follows him to New York, adopts a kitten, breaks into Steve’s apartment multiple times, and somewhere along the line learns to be a human again.

[organicsaturdaychurch]

Look what I requesteddddd 🐛🐛🐛🐛🐛 when I have more furbys I’ll be BACK 😈😈😈😈 very happy about very yummy 10/10 would recommend

sorry for such a long wait, but here it is!! Organic Saturday Church stimboard!!!

requested by @organicsaturdaychurch

🌟 💛 ✨

💗 💖 💗

🌟 💛 ✨

rqs open!!

(sorry i couldn't find credit for the top middle one anywhere iwi)

[mariacallous]

Cantor Jennifer Bern-Vogel was used to hearing her mother tell the story.

On the evening of Nov. 9, 1938, her mother, then Marianne Katzenstein, who was 16 at the time, was in her family’s synagogue in Bielefeld, Germany, practicing the organ. She finished up, used a key to lock the building and returned home. Later that night, the synagogue was burned to the ground by the Nazis in the Kristallnacht pogrom.

Only two items survived the fire: a Torah scroll and Katzenstein’s key.

“I just remember her talking about it, her voice would change and she was just kind of slower and softer and very nostalgic when she talked about the whole story,” Bern-Vogel, 67, said in an interview. “Whenever she told the story and then held up the key, people always — and I experienced it myself — there was always this kind of gasp.”

Bern-Vogel, who has been the cantor at Congregation Emanu El in Redlands, Calif., since 2009, said the story of the key was “legendary” in her family.

And on Saturday, 86 years after Kristallnacht, the key returned home.

Bern-Vogel spent the past week in Germany, where she had lived for more than a decade when she was younger, reconnecting with friends, family and the Jewish community of Bielefeld, where the synagogue was reestablished shortly after the Holocaust. It was her first trip to Bielefeld with her husband and daughter, and her brother and niece, as well as a cousin from Denmark, also flew in for the occasion.

On Friday night, Bern-Vogel and the cantor of the Bielefeld synagogue led Shabbat services together. Bern-Vogel sang a song that was adapted from a poem written by her grandfather, with music composed by a longtime friend from Germany.

And following Havdalah on Saturday, the town held a ceremony that began at the site of the destroyed synagogue before moving to City Hall, where the official hand-off was made. The key was added to the collection of the town’s history museum and will be on display at the current synagogue building.

According to Irith Michelsohn, the president of the town’s Jewish community and of Germany’s Progressive Jewish movement, Bielefeld’s Jewish community has 450 members. The synagogue the community uses now was renovated from an old Protestant church and was inaugurated in 2008.

Prior to the Holocaust, Bielefeld was home to almost 1,000 Jews, Michelsohn said. The community has been revitalized since Michelsohn took the helm on Jan. 1, 2000, at which point she said there were only 35 members.

Michelsohn said the key’s return is immensely meaningful to the community.

“I was so excited, because we only have one Torah scroll, and now the key, that’s all we have from our old synagogue,” Michelsohn said. “And now the key is back. That’s so great, you can’t imagine.”

Michelsohn said the key is especially important as a vehicle to educate the current community about its past. She explained that like many German Jewish communities, Bielefeld’s Jews are almost all originally from the former Soviet Union.

“You don’t have many people who are originally from Germany,” she said. “Some of them converted to Judaism, some immigrated from Israel or other countries or are working in Bielefeld with a university, but most of the members in all of our 120 Jewish communities in Germany are from the former Soviet Union.”

The key, Michelsohn said, represents an opportunity to “teach them something about history, about the past, what we lost.”

It also returns a physical reminder of the old synagogue building, which had been built in 1905 and was commissioned by the Katzenstein family. Bern-Vogel’s maternal grandfather had been the head of the Jewish community, and helped hundreds of families escape Germany.

“It symbolizes a connection to the old and very, very nice building which we had,” Michelsohn said, adding that the destroyed synagogue was “such a marvelous building.”

Like the key she kept, the remarkable story of Bern-Vogel’s mother did not end in 1938. The following year, she and her younger sister escaped to England on the Kindertransport. Years later, she was at a Shabbat dinner in Israel when she met Julian Bernstein (later shortened to Bern), Bern-Vogel’s father, who also survived the Holocaust.

Julian was one of six children from a Lithuanian family, but only he and one brother survived the Holocaust. That brother, Leon Bernstein, and Bern-Vogel’s mother were both working for the World Jewish Congress; Leon hosted the Shabbat dinner where Julian and Marianne met.

The two were engaged within a week, and eventually settled in Iowa, where Bern-Vogel and her brother were raised.

In the later years of her mother’s life, Bern-Vogel said there had been efforts to bring the key to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. But a contact her mother had at the museum passed away, and in 2017, so did she, at 94 years old.

“It just held a very deep connection,” Bern-Vogel said, referring to the key, a copy of which she still has. “I don’t think I thought about, when we were growing up, that the key would be anywhere else but with us. It kind of belonged to us.”

But as her mother aged, Bern-Vogel said her family wanted to determine where the key should go to be best taken care of and hold the most meaning. After a couple recent trips to Germany, Bern-Vogel said the answer crystallized.

“It just became clearer over the last couple of years, and especially after I went there last summer to meet with them at the synagogue and the museum, that it would really mean the most for everyone and future generations for it to be there,” she said.

Bern-Vogel said that even though her mother had a fraught relationship with Germany because of how her family’s time there ended, Bielefeld will always be their home. And she knows her mother would appreciate knowing that the key has made it back.

“I think that she would be incredibly moved by the reception that the key is going to have, and the people that are involved in the city,” Bern-Vogel said. “I think she would be very honored and happy, and I think grateful.”

[glitter-stained]

What your favourite batfam member (of the ones I know enough about) says about you- a 100% accurate list of logical conclusions that are true about everyone.

(Those are not assumptions, just cold-hard logic based on what is appealing about each of the batfam members.)

> Alfred: One time in a shop, you picked up a holiday decoration, one of those bright red and gold shimmery ornaments they hang on Christmas trees, and it was so simple and beautiful your throat clogged up with grief over something you could not name and you were tempted to crack it open like an egg. You didn't.

> Kate: The other night, you were at the park, and it was that time of the evening where the cold breeze picks up just a little and breathing just a little raw, and there was a woman standing under a street lamp with a long black coat and she was smoking a cigarette and she took a deep breath and exhaled a cloud of smoke and the lamplight went out and you watched the woman disappear.

> Bruce: At the nearest comic store next to you, there's a young woman behind the counter who chews bubblegum and has a pink strip in her hair. She knows every issue you will think of and can navigate the obscure sorting system of the shop in her sleep. Sometimes, on the weekends, there's a little kid in a big scarf that will huddle in a corner of the shop and read comics, and she will not say anything about him, and neither will you.

>Barbara: At your local library, the books are organized along the official system, but you can tell this change was recent, due to the faded book tags on the spines. Very often, people will leave their bookmarks in the books: elegant, woven lace or printed leather ones, painted ones homemade with care and watercolours, practical ones that double as a ruler, thematic ones from books or shows or favourite bands, the ones with the holographic animal pictures... The librarians know this. They leave them in the books like a little treasure hunt.

> Dick: You were a little kid, eating cereal in the morning before your parents were awake, watching cartoons with the volume on low. Your favourite cartoon came up and you hummed the theme song under your breath, careful not to wake anybody up. It was a Saturday, no school today. You were wearing your favourite pyjama.

> Cass: When you were ten years old, you would crouching over a tree root in a corner at recess, watching a little colony of firebugs travel in line out of the tree trunk. You took a little bramble and held it in their way, just to see what would happen, if they would climb on it instead. They walked around it and carried one their way; you didn't insist. Nearby on the ground, you found a beautiful marble.

> Steph: Seven months before you were born, your mother was walking down the street to get some last minute work groceries, when she took a wrong turn and ended up staring at a tv screen from inside a shop, and she couldn't hear the noise but something in the image petrified her, mouth open in awe, blue light reflecting in her eye with the empty grocery bags hanging limp in her hands.

> Jason: Your neighbour has a dog. Though you've never seen it, you can hear it barking and whining from behind the wall. When it gets cold, you blow in your hands and rub them together, and the air you breathe out swirls up in a little cloud. Something you stand on the side of the road for a little too long and that old lady sitting at the bus stop looks at you with concern. It's going to snow soon.

> Tim: On your birthday this year, a group of old ladies gathered together to discuss the important events of this month. One of them made tea and offered it to the others; the whistling of the kettle and the chiming of cups and little spoons sign the beginning of this ritual like the ringing of church bells. They didn't know that this was your birthday. If they knew, maybe they would have whispered about it amongst eachother - "didn't you hear? This one's one year older, just today. My, my, how time flies."

> Duke: One time you and your friends were swimming in the lake and your friend's necklace slipped out. You dove under the surface and opened your eyes to find it, and came face to face with a fish that swam away the moment that you blinked. You're not that good at holding your breath, but your friend really cared about that necklace, so you swam deeper and eventually you saw it, slowly sinking between dead water flowers floating around like algae. You picked it up, dizzy, and swam to the surface; when you emerged, you took a deep gulp of air, and it felt like stepping out of a different universe.

> Damian: Picture a frog. It's a relatively normal-sized frog, round-shaped like a little ball with big, comically bulging eyes on either side and a prehensile tongue that jolts out from time to time to catch a fly. It looks a little silly, fingertips wide and splayed on a water lily, but also very serene, practically unmoving, in the middle of the pond. The frog is a beautiful glossy green like the grass in a luxurious valley. Now here is a mind frog. You like the frog.

[organicsaturdaychurch]

Organic Saturday Church can be the broom he’s so marriageable!!

She’s good and hip with kids and apprentices

AND he’s good with animals what more could anyone wish for in a spouse???

I'm marrying Satin off. Who wants to be his bride or groom?

[reasonsforhope]

"Across religions of all creeds and sects, there’s a unifying theme of helping one’s neighbors — and that’s a mission that pastor Michael Jones wants to prioritize for his community in the coming years. 

Recently, Jones’ Village of Faith Ministries, a church based in Sandston, Virginia, joined congregations around the country in converting church property into affordable housing. 

“We knew that, at some point in time, we would look to position ourselves to sell a portion of it, or all of it, to simply aid where our congregation is trying to go in the future,” Jones told Next City in January.

The church is presently eying a portion of its 1.5 acre property on its Southside location with plans to construct 192 apartments and 40 townhomes. 

Jones told Next City that the homebuilding company D.R. Horton worked with the church to develop a housing plan that could meet the church’s financial goals while also keeping rent costs low. 

“We know that housing is a need,” Jones said. 

Jones sees a bright future for the 232 housing units yet to be built, and the 232 families that will call their property home. 

Jones wants the church to be a community hub, where people can seek services, meet their neighbors, and even visit the community garden on its property. 

“Our churches should not be vacant Monday through Saturday,” Jones said. 

Village of Faith Ministries joins a growing number of faith-based organizations that are addressing the housing crisis in a variety of ways, whether it’s by building tiny home communities for the homeless, offering zero interest loans for low-income families, or extending rental assistance to those in need. 

In response to cynicism surrounding new housing developments — often boiled down to the phrase “not in my backyard” — churches across the United States started the faith-based movement: “Yes, In God’s Backyard.” 

The grassroots effort works to address the nationwide deficit of affordable housing and inspire faith leaders to use their resources to give back to their communities. 

And it’s working. 

Last year, a bill titled “Yes, In God’s Backyard” passed in California, which permits religious institutions to convert their land into housing without being held to local zoning regulations. 

In early 2025, Virginia’s state senate considered a similar bill, “Faith in Housing for the Commonwealth” — a bill that was still under review at the time of publication. 

“[We proudly support the] ‘Faith in Housing for the Commonwealth Act’ to build more affordable housing where it is most needed by allowing churches to build affordable housing on their land through a streamlined process,” the Commonwealth Housing Coalition said in a press statement. 

“Today in Virginia, too many of our neighbors and community members struggle to afford a place to call home,” the coalition continued. “We have an opportunity to help more faith-based institutions help solve this problem by allowing them to build homes on their land.”"

-via GoodGoodGood, March 12, 2025