The Child Inside

We were all born to create. Whether it's a song, a painting, a shelf, or a hearty dinner, we all have the amazing ability to create something from nothing. Your shelf may look different from my shelf because I need it for particular things and my brain constructs in different ways than yours. We are blessed with unique creative abilities.

Although we have the ability, we may be stifled by barriers like more pressing things on the daily calendar, or a belief that "I'm not good at art," or our paid jobs require us to be more pragmatic. Join us on March 14th at 8:00 PM on Zoom to remember the child inside you who created without judgment and spend time making something from nothing.

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday March 14th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2022 Gathering Schedule

Monday, March 14th from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, April 11th from 7:00 - 8:30 PM IN PERSON at Northminster Presbyterian Church

Doing Nothing

We live in a world where a myriad of stimuli beg/demand/yearn for our attention. Work emails chiming from laptops, Instagram notifications buzzing in pockets, glowing billboards selling new internet plans or weight loss schemes as we whiz by in metal boxes upwards of 60 miles per hour – there are pervasive persuasive vehicles that attempt to engage our attention. 

Guided by Jenny Odell’s book How to Do Nothing for February creative night, we will to mark space to reflect upon what it might look like to resist the attention economy, to actively root ourselves in time and space, to challenge the siren call of productivity, and to maintain space for reflection and self-regulation. What possibilities emerge when we “do nothing?” What might this mean for the communities we live in? Join us on February 21st!

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday February 21st, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2022 Gathering Schedule

Monday, February 21st from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, March 14th from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, April 11th from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

“As with all things centered on people and relationship, nothing we create together with our whole selves, our baggage and damage, our dreams and passions, is going to be clear or static or definitive.”

“How We Show Up” by Mia Birdsong

For our January creative gathering, we will reflect on this quote through creative practice. How do we think about community as it changes and evolves, and how do we conceive of ourselves as we morph, change, and evolve? What kinds of internal and communal practices encourage us to make friends with the dynamism of our inner life, and the life of the communities we find ourselves a part of? 

Join us on Monday, January 17th at 8:00 PM on Zoom as we engage together through conversation, reflection and creative practice.

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday January 17th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2022 Gathering Schedule

Monday, January 17th from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, February 17th from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

For those of us who grew up in religious contexts, the idea of orthodoxy held a lot of power. The line between “right-think” and “wrong-think” defined the boundaries of conversation and belonging. Questioning established patterns of thought and practice was often perceived to be a threat to stability and tradition. 

While undoubtedly many of us have encountered orthodoxy in religious spaces, some of us may also have experienced it in other non-religious spaces. We have social and cultural orthodoxies, political orthodoxies, ideological orthodoxies; the list goes on.

Last month we engaged in conversation around our community values, and one that emerged was a commitment to shepherding a fluid space where unorthodox ideas are welcome. For our December creative gathering on Monday, December 13th at 8:00 PM, we will focus on the relationship between orthodoxy and our own stories. What is it? How do we see it show up in our own lives? What orthodox ideas have been painful for us? What orthodox ideas comfort us? Is there something inherently flawed with the idea of orthodoxy? Does it have something to offer us?

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday December 13th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, December 13th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, January 10th, 2022 from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Shepherding Our Space Together

In August, we had an opportunity to reflect on the kind of community space that Coastland Commons would like to set when we gather. We were able to record the responses from that evening and reflect them in some statements that we thought best captured the spirit of our time together. 

At the heart of these reflections, we heard some shared themes: a desire to shepherd spaces that encourage creativity, vulnerability, authenticity, and bravery. We synthesized some of these themes into statements that we want to submit to the community, as communal practices that guide our times together:

Communal Practices of Trust and Care

We commit to shepherding a fluid space, where creativity and play can exist joyfully without judgment, where unorthodox ideas are welcome, and where multiple ways of being and processing are held.

We commit to shepherding a curious space that invites reflection, that is comfortable with silence, that sits with discomfort, and that has a cushion of grace.

We commit to shepherding a hospitable space, that celebrates the uniqueness of the other, that receives each person with radical love, and balances care of neighbor and care of self.

We commit to shepherding a brave space, where authenticity is desired, vulnerability is honored, where we listen with humility, trust each other’s intentions, and embrace ways of healing that do not harm in the process.

We will use these statements as a jump off point for our reflection and creative time on Monday, November 8th at 8:00 PM. Whether you were at our August gathering or not, we welcome any reflections on these statements that came from that conversation!

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday November 8th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, November 8th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, December 13th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Finding Our Home in an Evolving Community

I don’t know who God is exactly.
But I’ll tell you this.
I was sitting in the river named Clarion, on a water splashed stone
and all afternoon I listened to the voices of the river talking.
Whenever the water struck a stone it had something to say,
and the water itself, and even the mosses trailing under the water.
And slowly, very slowly, it became clear to me what they were saying.
Said the river I am part of holiness.
And I too, said the stone. And I too, whispered the moss beneath the water.

“At the River Clarion” by Mary Oliver

Community is always in motion. Composed of relationships, our collective body continues to evolve. What happens when the changes begin to raise personal questions within each of us? What happens when the ever-changing river of community creates in us a sense of confusion, isolation, or even loss? How do we find our way back into the larger body? How do we talk about the moments of dis-integration? As a community that holds the values of inclusion and diversity, how do we do the work to make genuine space that can shore up these values?

We’d like to use our creative time on Monday, October 11th at 8:00 PM on Zoom to think imaginatively about the space we are co-creating. We will consider questions like: what do you need to bring your full self to community? What kind of practices can you imagine will help us hear and see one another better? How can we create the conditions for radical love and radical inclusivity? 

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday October 11th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, October 11th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, November 8th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, December 13th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

The Power of the Process

“A small circle of limited duration that is intentional about its process will have a deeper, more life-giving impact than a large, ongoing community that is shaped by the norms of conventional culture.”

- “A Hidden Wholeness” by Parker Palmer

At Coastland Commons we have always been as concerned with the space we are creating as we are about the content within those spaces. For us, the process is the point. Of course we care about the content, but if the container does not hold the content well, then we have missed the point. Perhaps this might be what Jesus meant by his comment, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins.” The point is not about the wine, but the container that holds it. If we don’t have a sturdy container, as Jesus teaches, “the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins.” 

The spaces we create together as a community hold us as individuals. We are the content. Our lives, our hopes, our dreams, our heartaches, our joys; these are the wine, and it is precious. So, we must be diligent to create spaces that hold our lives in ways that create a space for growth, joy, healing, and hope. 

We’d like to use our creative time on Monday, August 9th at 8:00 PM on Zoom to think imaginatively about the space we are co-creating. We will consider questions like: what do you need to bring your full self to community? What kind of practices can you imagine will help us hear and see one another better? How can we create the conditions for radical love and radical inclusivity? 

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, August 9th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, August 9th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, September 13th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

We Belong To Each Other

What does it mean to live together in community? What do we owe one another while maintaining our individual personhood?

In Christian spaces, we often extoll the value of community. Paul uses the analogy of the body to illustrate how we belong to one another and the Divine. We also see community at work in a casual walk through a healthy forest where plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and other organisms work in concert to create a strong ecosystem. 

Indeed, community is part of the ethos of Coastland Commons, which is a PC(USA) New Worshipping Community that “seeks to participate in the local community through the sacred and creative work of God.”

For our next creative night we will consider, ask questions, and reflect on what it means to be in community. Why community in the first place? What are the bonds that tie community together? Who belongs to a community? Where is community? How do we negotiate the rights and responsibilities of the individual and the community?

Join us on Monday, July 12th at 8:00 PM on Zoom as we engage these themes. If you’d like some resources to prepare yourself for our time together, check out “Worms,” a poem by Carl Dennis, and “Find Your Marigold: The One Essential Rule For New Teachers.”

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, July 12, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, July 12th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, August 9th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Living Radically Within the Constraints We Are Given

In The Mad Farmer Liberation Front, Wendell Berry issues us a string of challenges: 

“Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest. Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold. Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.”

How do we live into this reality? How do we choose to live radically while also knowing we are committed and constrained by our time, our context, and our limited vision. In essence, how do we live both for the future and for the now, and who will be choose to be?

We will guide our upcoming creative night through the lens of Wendell Berry’s “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.” You can read the full text here. Join us for a reflection on that work, and a chance to engage your creative self around these ideas. Bianca Quezada, one of our community leaders, will lead us this Monday, June 14th from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM on Zoom. Zoom links are below!

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, June 14th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, June 14th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, July 12th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

An Invitation to Presence

How Good to Center Down!

How good it is to center down! To sit quietly and see one’s self pass by!

The streets of our minds seethe with endless traffic; Our spirits resound with clashing, with noisy silences,

While something deep within hungers and thirsts for the still moment and the resting lull.

With full intensity we seek, ere thicket passes, a fresh sense of order in our living;

A direction, a strong sure purpose that will structure our confusion and bring meaning in our chaos.

We look at ourselves in this waiting moment—the kinds of people we are.

The questions persist: what are we doing with our lives?—what are the motives that order our days?

What is the end of our doings? Where are we trying to go? Where do we put the emphasis and where are our values focused? For what end do we make sacrifices?

Where is my treasure and what do I love most in life? What do I hate most in life and to what am I true? 

Over and over the questions beat in upon the waiting moment.

These words from Howard Thurman point us toward a place that perhaps the human heart and mind both fears and craves. Who am I when I center down? What will surface when I do? What if being present with myself, and with others, produces something that I can neither account for or accept? Can I find a sense of presence with myself that brings clarity and calm? Direction and vision? 

We believe that these questions are best met in the process of creativity, and that the process itself shapes us. This process has the potential to create, condition and direct who we are. Tending to the process is tending to ourselves. Finding center and finding presence in the current moment takes on its own importance even as the past may ground us and the future may beckon us. 

We will take the opportunity in our next creative night to explore some practices that are meant to help us find connection with the present moment, to help us pay attention to the process of becoming. 

To RSVP, head over to the Facebook event to let us know you’re coming.

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, May 10th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, May 10th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, June 14th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, July 12th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

You Are Sacred Text

When we think of sacred texts, we often think about ancient documents that religious traditions revere as special sources of knowledge about God. For Christians, the Old and New Testaments are our sacred texts.

The Methodists name four sources when asking the question, “how do we know God?” They call this “The Wesleyan Quadrilateral.” The four sources are scripture, tradition, reason, and experiences. Though the Methodist formulated this idea, all denominations and religious traditions draw upon some combination of these sources to inquire about who God is. In the West, we have prioritized the first three: scripture, tradition, and reason, but have been suspicious of that final source: experience.

At Coastland Commons, we believe that part of reclaiming our spiritual lives is to learn to trust and rely upon human experience as a source of Divine revelation.

Your life is a sacred text. Your body contains a host of experiences that are a wealth of creative resources to access. You are a well of life and within that life is the Divine. When we connect to our stories, when we learn to listen to our bodies, when we work for our neighbor's wellbeing, we are participating in knowing God.

For our April gathering on Zoom, we are going to consider our lives as a sacred text. Kyle will offer a short reflection, and then for our creative time we will use poetry as a way to draw from the well of our experiences. We invite you to join us to explore the wealth of resources we possess within us.

Kyle will guide us through our poems with prompts, and you are invited to write whatever comes to you. This is your life, so there are no wrong answers!

To RSVP, head over to the Facebook event to let us know you’re coming.

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, April 12th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, April 12th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, May 10th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, June 14th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

The Story of Inner Healing

Communities of faith have always wrestled with the balance of inner healing and outward action. For many of us, this has been especially true in the Christian tradition. Some have been bruised by theologies of inaction, ways of being that demand introspection at the cost of the whole self. Others of us have felt forced into certain theological movements and actions that feel white-washed and hollow. 

Examining the origins of Christianity in its earliest iterations, we might conclude that ancient people of faith were also trying to strike this balance. Perhaps the way of Jesus suggested a different way of being, a new way that did not compromise inner healing for performance or masquerade passivity as self reflection. Instead, Jesus and those that came from him did their best to cultivate inner transformation for the sake of outward action. 

The way of Jesus intimates that we find this balance in practicing vulnerability, promoting intimacy and relationship, and continually re-examining our understanding of power. So how do we do this?

We know that it is not human instinct to enter into vulnerable space. Opening ourselves up to others is a dangerous act. It contradicts the work of the ego that exists to keep us contained and safe. It challenges our constructed realities by welcoming stories that contradict our experience.  We also know that creativity reminds us that we share a common humanity; a humanity that when cultivated with care can lead us together toward flourishing not just for the few but for the many.

So in the practice of vulnerability, we turn to creativity and story. For our March gathering, we will share story as creative practice. Do you have a story from your life that pleads to be told? Do you have a story from your life that needs air and breath? We invite you to tell it! Tell it in words, in images, in silence, in melodies. Whatever you bring, we desire it in our creative space.

Join us on Monday evening, March 8th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM on Zoom. Zoom links are provided below. To RSVP, head over to the Facebook event to let us know you’re coming.

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, March 8th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, March 8th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, April 12th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, May 10th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Tracing the Roots

Whoever we are, and wherever we come from, we all have roots that run deep. We might imagine our roots to be our hometown, or our faith tradition, or our family lineage. Sometimes we know these roots. Sometimes we don’t know they are there, or perhaps we may wish that weren’t there at all. However little or much we have examined them, the journey of tracing our roots can help us be more fully ourselves.

The roots of Coastland Commons formed around the Christian tradition, and we consider ourselves a New Worshipping Community. What does this mean? What does it mean to even use a word like worship? How can a posture of worship impact every part of our lives? How did the stories that Jesus tell lead his followers into worship while keeping them present in their exact moment? Can we rediscover worship in our lives during this time of intense human change? Many of the practices that we engage in as a community are designed to bring our minds in alignment with our bodies. How can worship be a part of this alignment?

In our time together, we will talk briefly about corporate worship. We’ll spend most of our time talking about personal worship, including the quiet moments of awakening that perhaps no one else is able to see. We will then engage in our own time of alignment or worship. This includes creative response, meditation, contemplative prayer, and other soul awakening responses. We will close our time together with a spoken word liturgy.

Join us on Monday evening, February 8th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM on Zoom. Zoom links are provided below. To RSVP, head over to the Facebook event to let us know you’re coming.

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, February 8th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, February 8th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Yin Yoga on Sunday, February 28th, from 7:30 - 8:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, March 8th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Yin Yoga on Thursday, March 25th, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Creative Night

As we begin 2021, we hold both hope and loss in tension. If the last two weeks tell us anything, it’s that we are not out of the woods yet. We plan to continue using our gatherings for creative space in the next few months, with both unstructured creative time and conversation around the creative process. We believe that creativity is the tool by which we will carve out both rest and action, regardless of what the coming year holds.

The goal of these nights will be to refresh you, to give you the opportunity to rest, read, journal, draw, knit, light a candle. These nights will not require any preparation or materials other than what you choose for yourself. Bring yourself and whatever grounds you in the moment. 

Join us on Monday evening, January 11th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM on Zoom. Zoom links are provided below. To RSVP, head over to the Facebook event to let us know you’re coming.

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, January 11th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, January 11th, 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Yin Yoga on Thursday, January 21st, 2021, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, February 8th 2021, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Creative Night: In Preparation for Winter

As we prepare for the possibility of more lockdowns and longer quarantines in the coming months, we are suspending our outdoor, in-person gatherings until the early spring as we watch how the pandemic shifts.

We are again anticipating Zoom exhaustion and the loss of margin for many of us, perhaps even more acutely than the spring. While we have spent time this fall providing learning opportunities around redlining during our Zoom gatherings and walks, we have chosen to host more open creative space on Zoom during the winter. mic shifts in the next few months. We continue to point to our muscle memory in this way.

The goal of these nights will be to refresh you, to give you the opportunity to rest, read, journal, draw, knit, light a candle. These nights will not require any preparation or materials other than what you choose for yourself. Bring yourself and whatever grounds you in the moment. 

Join us on Monday evening, December 14th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM on Zoom. Zoom links are provided below. To RSVP, head over to the Facebook event to let us know you’re coming.

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, December 14th, from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2020-2021 Gathering Schedule

Monday, December 14th, 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, January 11th, 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Yin Yoga on Thursday, January 21st, 2021, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, February 8th 2021, from 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Taking a Creative Pause Together

Regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, we know there will be a litany of things to process and reflect on. It is going to take a lot of time and energy for us to absorb the results of the next few weeks and months. How will we pause and take a breath? How will we lament? How will we celebrate?How will we continue to grow our capacity for long term change? How will we direct our hopes toward a better tomorrow while also grounding ourselves in reality? 

We know that the answers to these questions will not simply be a set of disconnected intellectual exercises. It is the work of our whole being; mind, body, and soul.

On November 9th from 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Coastland Commons and Lake Burien Presbyterian in conjunction with the Seattle Presbytery, will be hosting a creative space that will join us together as we process the unfolding results of the presidential election. There will be music, liturgy, and space for reflection. If you have any elements that help you feel grounded (a candle, picture, piece of art, etc), we invite you to bring those in preparation. Check out this resource to help you to know what to expect for our evening.

We hope that you will join us as we pause to reflect and take a breath together. To let us know that you’re coming, please register through this link so we can send you the Zoom info.

2020 Gathering Schedule

Monday, November 9th, 8:00 - 9:00 PM on Zoom

Monday, December 14th, 8:00 - 9:00 PM on Zoom

Redlining: Our Neighborhoods and Our Bodies

Coastland Commons has always believed in the potential of healing work. We embark on the journey of healing when we engage each other through creative practice, by sharing a meal, in hosting conversations that take commitment, intention and intimacy, and by providing a space for people to process their experiences of the institutional church.

To participate in our own healing and in the healing around us, we have to know who we are, we have to know where we have come from, and we have to know where we are. Healing from the trauma that has been inflicted upon us, and the trauma that we have inflicted, comes not from dismissing the past but in confronting it and recognizing when it manifests in our present.  

To that end, we are going to focus our fall Zoom gatherings on the issue of redlining in the city of Seattle. We will pair our conversations with body exercises and creative nights that help us not just to absorb information, but to also ask how that information lands in our body so that we can learn better ways to respond and work towards anti-racism. This is the healing we need. Then we will respond by taking community walks together, which you can learn more about here.

In preparation for our time together, we recommend that you check out some resources. You can look up the redlining history of your own zip code and read the language of racial restrictive covenants that are still on the books in Seattle at UW’s Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, or more history of redlining on the Seattle Municipal Archive. We also recommend checking out the book How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood.

Join us on Monday, September 14th, Monday, October 12th, and Monday, November 9th from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM on Zoom! Information below.

Here is a reflection resource for this coming October gathering to help you prepare for our conversation together.

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, September 14th, Monday, October 12th, and Monday, November 9th from 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

2020 Gathering Schedule

Monday, September 14th, 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, October 12th, 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Monday, November 9th, 8:00 - 9:30 PM on Zoom

Play.

If we know anything from the last five months, whether we are reflecting on the virus, racism, the protests, or politics, one thing feels true: it seems that we are in this for the long haul. There are no quick fixes or magical solutions to the myriad of issues that confront us on a daily basis. Gathering together in community in the ways we are used to is at best on hiatus, if not over completely. Excavating the depths of racism in ourselves and our country, and interrogating systems of white supremacy is both urgent and long-form work. For some of us, we are on the brink of the unknown. Others are traumatically and intimately acquainted with it. 

As we have been processing together each month around creativity on Zoom, it has continued to feel vital to develop our creative muscles, as a way to get to know ourselves better so that we know what we have to give to a world that requires engagement. 

There is so much that needs our attention, and yet we may find ourselves exhausted, with little to no energy for things that feel like they matter. This got me wondering: how do we refresh ourselves? How do we enjoy ourselves and each other? How do we express ourselves through play? I began to wonder if we could use an evening that explored the relationship between play and creativity.

For our next gathering on August 17th from 8:00 - 9:30 PM, we are going to engage in a sense of play. We will have a conversation about how we see playfulness expressed in our own lives, and then have a chance to play together with some various games and online tools. I hope that it will be chance to laugh at ourselves, and to create a space of levity that will refresh us and fill us up.

If you would prefer to have a more private creative moment like we have been making space for the last few months, you are free to do that as well! Bring whatever you need to connect with yourself. 

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, August 9th, 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

Dial by your location:

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 301 715 8592 US +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782

2020 Gathering Schedule

Monday, August 17th, 8:00-9:30pm on Zoom

Monday, September 14th, 8:00-9:30pm on Zoom

Awaken the Body

In My Grandmother’s Hands, therapist Resmaa Menakem says, “While we see anger and violence in the streets of our country, the real battlefield is inside our bodies. If we are to survive as a country, it is inside our bodies where this conflict will need to be resolved.”  These words were penned in 2017, before COVID was even a threatening rumor. Now, when the air that we breathe runs the risk of being toxic, how do we exercise gentleness and respect for the very body that keeps us alive? If Menakem offers us a key for healing, how do we enter the realm of the body where we can begin to mend that which is broken? Each body is different and each approaches creativity from a unique perspective. Perhaps then, each body holds unique wisdom for how to enter the healing journey.

Join us on July 20th from 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM on Zoom, where we will share a meditation to help awaken our mind-body connection through slow movement designed to awaken the creative within. Then we will move through a mindfulness meditation to bring balance. Creative exercise and reflection will follow. 

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, July 20th, 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

Dial by your location:

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 301 715 8592 US +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782

2020 Gathering Schedule

Monday, July 20th, 8:00-9:00pm on Zoom

Black Lives Matter and the Work of Coastland Commons

Dear Coastland Commons Community and Friends,

We are all reeling from the events that have take over our world. I watched a livestream until 1am last night and witnessed the police attack a peaceful protest. I saw Capitol Hill turned into a war zone as the cops attacked everyone, including news media personnel. I awoke today in a fog. I am sitting at my computer trying to “get some work done” and it all feels meaningless. I am sad, angry, and scared. I don’t know what to do.

If there is one thing I do know how to do though, it’s show up, listen, and act. As a white led organization, we have prioritized these three things. Over the last few years we have hosted a number of conversations on white supremcy and anti-racism/anti-colonialism, and if there is one thing I have learned from these conversations it is: the horrific reality of American life will not be fixed quickly so we better get some good walking shoes. We need to show up for the long haul. Not just for the intense moments, but for the quiet, insignificant moments too. When we show up we better be ready to listen and work. To get our hands dirty. To labor not to lead. We listen to our Black and Brown leaders and do as they ask. This is messy work and we won’t get it right all the time. But we will keep learning from our mistakes and show up again. Listen again. And act again. 

I do not believe that I will live to see this problem fixed, but I am committed to doing the work from now until the day I die, it’s that important. This is exactly why we as Coastland Commons center the arts in this work of faith and justice, because it is only through growing our creative muscles that we will flourish together.

As the poet Jericho Brown said:

“Hope is the opposite of desperation—it’s not as comfortable as certainty, and it’s much more certain than longing. It is always accompanied by the imagination, the will to see what our physical environment seems to deem impossible. Only the creative mind can make use of hope. Only a creative people can wield it.” 

This coming Monday, June 15th, we will join together again to exercise these creative muscles of hope. To take all that we are holding and find ways to craft it into beauty that can change us and the world around us. I look forward to seeing you. Bring whatever creative resources that you need, and scroll down for Zoom links and relevant info.

I love you all and I am here if any of you need someone to process with, rage with, or cry with. We keep marching. 

Black Lives Matter.

Kyle Turver, Co-Director of Coastland Commons

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, June 15th, 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

Dial by your location:

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 301 715 8592 US +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782

2020 Gathering Schedule

Monday, June 15th, 8:00pm-9:00pm on Zoom

Monday, July 20th, 8:00-9:00pm on Zoom

The further and further we live in this COVID-19 world we are recognizing at Coastland Commons that pushing deeper into creativity is essential, even as our physical gatherings are considered non-essential. Some of us have used our creativity as a refuge from the stress, anxiety, fear and restlessness of our current moment. Others have used creativity to meet, explore and process where they are. Regardless of how you choose to employ your own creativity in this time, we believe that exercising our collective creative muscle is more vital than ever.

In the last 8 months Coastland Commons has gathered around dinner tables and conversations, old friends and new friends, around values of inclusion and learning, all in the same physical space. Of course we are not able to predict when this format can resume, even as we recognize that this way of gathering around a meal enabled us to tackle difficult conversations in a formative and disarming way.  

So rather than resume our conversation-oriented gatherings via Zoom for the rest of our program year, we will continue holding creative nights for May, June, and July hosted by friends and different members of our community. Our hope is that these nights will give you the space to reflect, grieve, and process what is going on in our world right now. Join us on Monday, May 18th at 8:00 PM on Zoom as our friend and artist Matt Whitney partners with us in our creative practice. You can read more about Matt here.

Bring whatever materials that will help you engage your creative practice best; your journal, sketchbook, instrument, or whatever you have. Below are the Zoom links to join us.

Zoom Links

Date and Time: Monday, May 18th, 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/768143631

Meeting ID: 768 143 631

One tap mobile:

+16699006833,,768143631# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,768143631# US (Houston)

Dial by your location:

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 301 715 8592 US +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782

US Meeting ID: 768 143 631

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abHeV6Kszo

2020 Gathering Schedule

Monday, May 18th, 8:00pm-9:00pm on Zoom

Monday, June 15th, 8:00pm-9:00pm on Zoom

Monday, July 13th, 8:00-9:00pm on Zoom

As long as Coastland Commons has existed, we have leaned into creativity as a way of learning how to be more ourselves. During this time of confinement, we hope more than ever that making space for creativity and reflection will offer us peace, hope and perspective.

We are planning a Creative Night on Monday, April 20th, from 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM to share in multiple creative practices together via Zoom. Here is a document that will help guide you through the evening.

Come with your sketchbook, journal, scrap paper, laptop, watercolors, pens, pencils, instruments; bring whatever gives you life. If you are a writer or a poet, we encourage you to bring your words. If you paint or draw, bring your paintbrushes and pencils. If you make music, play your instrument or try your hand at writing a song. If you want to print out a finger prayer labyrinth, or work on a mandala, we invite you to do that.  We have also created a Spotify playlist that you can use if that helps your reflection. However you choose to engage is welcome. We hope you will join us!

Queer Theology 101

We are excited to host a conversation on what we are calling Queer Theology 101. While this is not meant to be an exhaustive conversation on all things queer, we’re going to dive in. If you are wondering how faith communities can look at theology, the Bible, and life through a queer lens, this night is for you. We will be talking about the positive and life-giving contributions of a queer perspective to theology, rather than focusing on how we can argue for its relevance. Bring your questions and your imagination on Monday, March 9th from 6:30-8:30pm!

At Coastland Commons, we are always striving to be more aware while acknowledging that we are on our own journey of being as inclusive as possible. We unequivocally affirm that queer people should be celebrated and welcomed for who they are, especially in religious and spiritual communities. We believe that full inclusion in all of life and society is the birthright of queer people, full stop. For the community that we are and aspire to be, there is no debate on whether or not queer people should be wholly affirmed because there is nothing to debate. They are affirmed because they are immutably good.

So much of the conversation has been dominated by arguing for a queer inclusive interpretation of the Bible passages that condemn same-sex sex, a conversation we believe is necessary for certain spaces. Yet we also desire to move past queer apologetics because we know that queer people have much to contribute to our understanding of the Bible and our communities of faith far beyond their right to be a part of the conversation. 

To help us know how to prepare for our March 9th gathering,

RSVP here.

Coastland Commons meets on alternating second and third Mondays of the month at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Ballard (7706 25th Ave NW, Seattle, WA, 98117), where we share a meal of locally sourced food and have conversations on theology, creativity and the arts.