Cohort Gathering Notes for Nov 18

We had a great cohort meeting on Saturday at Starbucks on Gandy. Thanks Sam for the suggestion of a meeting place.

We had lots of new folks: of the 12 people there, only three of us had been to a cohort meeting before. Folks traveled from east (St Pete) and west (Lakeland) to join us. Some have been in the Tampa Bay area for some time while others have only been here for a few weeks. We spent most of the meeting getting to know one another and learning a bit about what each person is passionate about.

While our group represents a diversity of passions, a common theme of social justice emerged, particularly around issues of poverty and homelessness. We talked about the harassment of homeless men and women in St Pete as the city redevelops downtown and the plight of poor and homeless people in Tampa as Tampa works toward redevelopment. We discussed the issues of gentrification that often come when cities seek to redevelop urban areas.

Several members of the group urged us to move beyond merely talking about justice to acts of justice. Bruce Wright at the Refuge Ministries in St. Pete told us about the Sleep Out on the Friday after Thanksgiving (see previous post). There are also opportunities to get involved in both grass roots ways and through organizations like Metropolitan Ministries.

We acknowledged that we need to work on multiple levels - direct work with poor and homeless people in the name of Jesus and advocacy in city and county government on these issues. If you are involved in projects that would be helpful for our group to know about, please let us know.

Our next meeting is currently scheduled for January 20. Some of you have expressed an interest in meeting again before then. Due to my schedule I can't coordinate the meeting, but if one happens and I'm able to be there I will be. You certainly don't need my permission to gather with friends in the name of Jesus!

May you all have a blessed and holy Thanksgiving.

Seek Justice for the Homeless - Sleep Out in St Pete

Cohort Bruce Wright passed out this flier at Saturday's meeting.

For more info, contact Bruce at 727-278-1547 or bgcwright@aol.com.

Meet at Starbucks This Saturday Nov 18 @ Noon

Hello all. Hope you're looking forward to our gathering this Saturday, Nov 18 at noon. We'll meet at the new Starbucks on Gandy and Himes in south Tampa. The address is 3615 West Gandy Blvd Tampa, Florida 33611. I know it's lunch time, so if you want to grab some food to bring with you there is a Publix in the same parking lot as the Starbucks and there is a Subway across the street. There are several fast food places with in a few blocks on Gandy or Dale Mabry as well. If you can, make plans to grab your grub and be at Starbucks at noon.

Please let me know if you’re planning to attend so we have a head count. Please invite others you think would enjoy being a part of the conversation.

There is no specific agenda other than getting to know one another. I anticipate we’ll have several folks there who don’t know one another at this gathering. Some things to think about are what brings you to this conversation (or how did you hear about Emergent Village, the Emerging Church, etc), what you bring to the conversation, and what you hope to gain from the conversation.

If you’d like a bit more to think on, check out the Emergent Village Values and Practices. We’re always open to finding ways to integrate these into our daily lives and the rhythm of our cohort.

Also, we’ll provide an opportunity for you to contribute a buck (or more) to Emergent Village if you want to. This is not a requirement, but rather a practice I’d like to encourage us all to follow as we continue on this journey together. It’s something we talked about at the Glorietta Gathering in October and I’ll say a bit more about it Saturday.

On a side note, if any of you are interested in heading out to the Tampa Cigar Heritage Festival afterwards, let me know. I'm hoping to go for a few hours. The 100 foot cigar has got to be a sight!

As always, if you have questions, please drop me an email.

Next Tampa Cohort Meeting Set for Nov 18

Several of you have responded that Saturdays generally work well for you, so I just wanted to confirm that our next cohort meeting will be Saturday Nov 18 at noon in Tampa. The actual place is still TBA, though I have had one offer to use a Starbucks in South Tampa. Its a bit far for those traveling in to town from points east, and I'll continue to look for something closer to I-4/I-275 in Ybor or downtown Tampa. We're looking for a new gathering spot due to a minimum $350 tab policy to use the meeting room at the Rock-N-Sports . In any event, watch your email and this blog for details on the meeting location.

I know that some of you can't make it on the 18th due to prior commitments, but those same folks also indicated that Saturdays generally work well for them. Looking to the future, how would it be if we plan to meet on the third Saturday of the month at noon?

Since December is a chaotic month with family and ministry events, parties, volunteer opportunities, etc, I'd like to propose that we skip a December gathering (unless y'all really wanna get together for a party or something) and meet again on Saturday January 20.