The Project F-M has (what we hope is) a huge event on Monday night, May 13th at 5:30 PM out at Rustic Oaks.  “Spring for the Soul”  hopes to gather both “Project Participants” and those who may not consider themselves part of our demographic, but are curious about what we are doing. We hope to gain some supporters and friends.

Expect food, wine, beer, lemonade, and some amazing truffles. All board members and the Director of the Project F-M will be on hand to talk with people. There will also be a time of learning about what The Project F-M is up to these days, along with some information about the sociological demographics of the group of people The Project F-M is geared towards.

The evening will conclude with a worship experience we call “Sounds Sacred (to me)” which uses poetry and music centered around a sacred theme. On this night we will explore what poets and musicians have to say about the scripture of the world. Following Jesus’ teaching, we will “consider the lilies of the field” and see what we can learn there. We will head into the wild, deserted places to see what comfort we can find, and we will listen for the song of all creation.

The songs will be presented by a band that is led by musician Michael D. Larson and other Project Participants. Songs from people like Josh Ritter, The Beatles, The Weepies, The Fray, Cloud Cult, U2 and even John Denver will be shared, and you are welcome to sing along if you want. The poetry will also be read by Project Participants, from poets like Marge Piercy, RS Thomas, Wendell Berry, e.e. Cummings, and Mary Oliver.

Come if you are curious about The Project F-M. Come if you like poetry, music, and nice Spring evenings on a farm. Come if you want to support an emerging style of ministry for young adults.

If giving a financial gift to The Project F-M is a possibility for you, we hope you’ll consider it around this night. We have four generous “challenge gifts” that we hope to meet on that night. Olivet Lutheran Church Foundation and Tom and Siri Fiebiger have both given a dollar for dollar match, equal to $5000. So for every dollar that comes in up to $5000, it will be matched. Help us reach that challenge!

In addition, if you are a “Project Participant” (meaning that you come to events sometimes and are somewhere in the ballpark of 20-40 years old…) Clark Tufte will give $20 for any donation you make. Then, the Eastern North Dakota Synod of the ELCA decided to kick a challenge in that says for every $10 a “Project Participant” donates, they will donate $25.

This is a great way to maximize your gifts, which in turn maximizes our ability to do the kind of work The Project F-M is doing. We hope what we do at The Project and what we learn along the way helps inform the whole Church (and world) as we all attempt to move into an unknown future where new paradigms are emerging.

The Project F-M sees its call as “Making space for people in their 20’s and 30’s to love God and love their neighbor, by cultivating an open-minded, curious faith.”

Rustic Oaks is located South of Moorhead. Go South out of town on 8th St. (HWY 75). Turn Right on 120th Ave S, and Left on 3rd St. South until you see the sign that guides you in to Rustic Oaks.

(Otherwise known as “Where will Theology Pub be in May?)

When you read that headline up there, “Its all changing!” does the voice in your head sound like dread? Or is it filled with possibility?

The Project F-M is in a unique place among “faith communities.” We don’t own a physical space. That comes with a lot of freedom–it means that there are never any meetings of The Project F-M where we are making hard decisions about whether to cut ministry in order to pay for a new roof or furnace. We don’t have any space that is “owned” by anyone–meaning, there is no person who has really strong opinions about the location of the silverware in the kitchen, or the ways the brass is handled.

But it also presents some problems. One is finding good spaces to meet on a limited budget. For the past few months we have been experimenting with different locations for Theology Pub. Like Goldilocks and the three bears, nothing is perfect.

For the Month of May, Theology Pub, (which happens on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month) will be at the Sidestreet Grille and Pub. (The bar is attached to the HoJo, at 301 3rd Ave N in Fargo). They are gracious enough to let us use the room that is right behind the bar, sort of separate from the rest of the bar.

Here is the beautiful part about it: human beings have to try really hard to not get into the rut of deciding things should always stay the same, making it difficult to move forward into possibility. The Project F-M needs to do its best to work against those patterns and resist the urge to remain unchanging. For the sake of ourselves and for the sake of the world, we need to remain changeable.

We will probably not always move Theology Pub. I hope we eventually settle in somewhere so that people know where to find us. At the same time, I hope we can always avoid the temptation of thinking or saying things like “We’ve never done it that way before” or “I like the way things used to be.” When words like that are used, new people (and there are always new people–that is one thing that hasn’t changed) are given the clear impression that they are not part of the “we” that “used to be” and in fact, are part of the change that people resent. I hope instead we can always say, “Its all changing!” And I hope the voice in your head is one that is filled with possibility, not dread.

Where you can find The Project F-M this month:

Monday, May 6: Theology Pub, at the  Sidestreet Grille and Pub, 7:30-9 PM
Monday, May 13: “Spring for the Soul”  event, Rustic Oaks, 5:30 PM
Monday, May 20: Theology Pub, Sidestreet Grille and Pub, 7:30-9 PM
(No Meeting on Memorial Day.)

See you there.

Holly Johnson

Director of The Project F-M

Earlier this year, The Project F-M started a whole new gathering, centered around poetry, music, art, and sacred story. We use a lot of voices and instruments, with poetry and music from sources generally considered secular….but when put in the context of a larger, “meta-story” like the stories in the Bible, there is space for new meaning.

Tonight’s SS2M is called “Ashes to Ashes” because we are in the middle of Lent in the Christian calendar; a season that begins with asking us to consider our own mortality, and ends with Christ on the Cross. Tonight’s poetry and music will look at the ways we are broken, and then tells the story of Jesus, leading up to the last week of his life (what we call “Holy Week”) and how that life speaks into our brokenness with healing.

Here is what happens: You enter the theatre. You  will be handed a program. You can hang out and talk to people, or go find a seat in the Theatre. The program lists all the poetry and songs you’ll hear, along with some “storytelling” that tells the sacred story we are working with. Poetry is read by designated Project participants. The music is played by project participants, on piano, guitar drums and voice. Some of the words will be on a screen, along with images.

During the introduction you will be invited to participate in whatever ways make sense to you. So if you just want to sit, you can. Because sometimes it is all you can do to just be there. You are also welcome to sing along, and you are invited to draw or write your responses–words, phrases, images that stand out to you, or take you to a new place. You can keep that to yourself or let me capture it in photo after the main part of the gathering.

In the middle of tonight’s gathering, there will be “open space.” Music plays during open space, and you are welcome to get up, move around and interact with the story in various ways. There is a “heart” you can add things to. There is a book of gratitude for you to write in, along with an offering basket. There will be a place to bury something that represents you, and “what it is you want to do with your one wild and precious life.” Communion will also be part of open space. All are welcome to participate in whatever ways make sense to you.

Then, there is more poetry and music, and that wraps it up. Hang out in the lobby and chat if you want, or sneak out the door.

That is the make-up of a “Sounds Sacred (to me)” gathering. The Project F-M is all about making space for people to love God and love their neighbor, and we do that by cultivating an open-minded, curious faith. This gathering makes space for spiritual/ritual expression. Come and be a part of it!

Previous SS2M events have been “A sort of Homecoming” that was about how we leave home, long for home, get called back home, and find a home in God, using the story of the Prodigal Son. In Advent, “From Darkness to Light” looked at the various ways we experience darkness in our lives, and how the coming of Christ speaks light into that. “Resolution” allowed space for considering the last year, what to leave behind, and starting fresh with all we have to offer. The next SS2M is April 8 at Studio 222, and it is called “GroundBreaking.” It centers around Easter!

For as long as it has been a thing, Theology Pub has met at Usher’s in Moorhead. We now need to move locations, so the first place we are going to try is Rhombus Guys Pizza on Main Ave in Fargo, just at the end of Broadway, clearly the coolest pizza place in town. We will take over some of the tables in the back.

Theology Pub meets most 1st and 3rd Monday nights of the year (though we tend to take holidays off, and sometimes some other event gets in the way) and we meet from 7:30-9 to discuss a theological topic. This week it is “Where is God in our suffering (and where are we)?” I order aps for everyone; you can order more food than that if you want. Drinks are on your own. Pretty sure this next week I’m going to order the S’Mores pizza. You should come.

There is no litmus test to get in–you can believe whatever you want to believe, bring whatever experiences or knowledge you have. We just ask that you bring respect for others and an open mind.

Facebook event details are here.

Questions? You can email me at holly@theprojectfm.org.

Holly Johnson

Leader of The Project F-M

It doesn’t always look like a blizzard when you’re in it.

Right now, we’re in the middle of a blizzard. That is what the news tells me anyway. I can hear that it is really windy, but other than that, I can still see Downtown Fargo, and there are still cars going across the bridge at their normal fast pace.

But supposedly, in various places, the weather is so bad the road is drifting over in ways that make people just drive right off the road. Some roads in Fargo are closed because of this. Earlier today I saw someone try to walk across the Main Ave. bridge, and it looked like a struggle. The person was trying to walk backwards, face covered.

And because I’m a geek for finding metaphors in life, this seems like a good metaphor to me. That person on the bridge probably felt like it was a blizzard. And there are definitely times in life when you know the thing you are going through is totally messed up.

But far more often, we’re in the middle of really messed up situations and the only way we know is if someone else can point it out to us in a way we can hear it. This is a nearly impossible task, because we’re too busy trying to get through whatever it is, ignoring the warnings, pretending this situation is not that bad.

Until later, when we look back on it from a more clear perspective, and can see that yes, that was the storm of the century, and I’m really glad I lived through that, dumb as I was.

So, in those situations in life, who or what are your travel advisors? How can you know which voices to trust? Do you believe that there may be more wisdom in community than just your own “gut feelings?”  How can we train our “gut feelings” to be “good feelings?”

Right now, no travel is advised in the FM area. I will hope that clears before tonight when we gather at 8 PM to say goodbye to Erik. But if it doesn’t, please listen to the advisors. On all kinds of roads.

One year I had one of those flip calendars with a quote for each day, and the quote on the last day of the year said “There are years when nothing happens, and years when everything happens.”

Here we are at the end of another year. For you, was it a year when everything happened, or a year when nothing happened? U2 sings a song that has this great line in it: “It’s too late tonight to drag the past out into the light.” But if you have to drag the past out into the light, this is the time of year to do it. So take some time to consider the past year, figure out what is worth carrying into the next year, and what you can leave behind. Consider these questions over the next week: