The Narrative Image

Back in October of last year, I mentioned Brian McLaren’s book, EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE in my post about 82nd Avenue and the Apocalypse. (see: http://thenarrativeimage.blogspot.com/2007/10/82nd-avenue-and-apocalypse.html ) It’s funny how things work out, but it looks like I’ve been given a venue in which to share some of the ideas set forth in that book. It’ll be at my church during its Fall education promotion – something called Resurrection Alive! It takes place during the next four Sunday evenings. The details, as they are printed in the official church brochure go like this: “RESURRECTION ALIVE!” Fall 2008 Opportunities November 2, 9, 16, & 23 5:45pm Dinner is Served! (donation appreciated) 6:30pm – 7:30pm Learning Opportunities for all ages Classes for High School and Adults: “Change” facilitated by Scott “Whenever we belong to a group, from a family to a church to a fan club to a political party to a nation, we are under that influence of that group’s fram...

It seems that one of the consequences of staying alive for a long time is that you begin to gain a sense of appreciation for the cost of change. This is achieved through the accumulation of memories, through the death of more and more of your contemporaries, through cycles of human construction and demolition, and occasionally, demonstrations of environmental tinkering via Mother Nature’s big box ‘O’ tools. Evidently in November, Mother Nature determined that a portion of the Sandy River needed a make-over It used to be that you would drive to Zigzag and turn North at the Lolo Pass junction, drive a little over four miles to forest road 1825 and then…but then it doesn’t really matter because forest road 1825 has a gate across it now. So it’s get-out-of-the-car-and-walk-time. At first, as you walk along the trails that snake along the river, you marvel at the delicate ground cover and the tenacious tree-like things that struggle to grow out of the moss and lichen covered rocks. But then...