progressive involvement

Habitat builds "energy neutral" home

The Department of Energy sponsors a "solar decathlon" each year.  It invites collegiate architects to design and build solar-powered energy efficient homes.  Two years ago, the winner was a German company whose house cost $2,000,000 and couldn't have looked like much since it was covered in solar panels. 

In this year's competition, a team of students from Stevens Institute of Technology, Parsons the New School for Design and Milano School for International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy wanted to build a home that made use of the latest technology, but that was also affordable for the average person.

They managed to build an "energy neutral" house in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Metro DC at a cost of $200,000.  The home is a prototype.  Habitat DC will be building six similar homes in the area.

Habitat homeowner, Lakiya Culley, was able to purchase the home for $133,000 on a no-interest, thirty-year loan.  Habitat follows the principles of what Habitat Founder, Millard Fuller, called "Biblical economics," one aspect of which is that the poor are not charged interest.  Think Progress:

Lakiya’s house was built based on passive house design principles. The basic concept of passive house is to lower energy consumption by being super-insulated and practically airtight. Empowerhouse has 12-inch thick walls and triple-glazed windows and, as a result, uses up to 90 percent less energy for heating and cooling than an ordinary house. Such low energy consumption enabled Empowerhouse to have one of the smallest solar panel arrays in the competition, which helps keep construction and maintenance costs down.

Habitat and its partners have done it.  They have created an attractive, solar-powered, energy-efficient house that is affordable.  It's possible that Lakiya Culley will never see a power bill, which could save her $72,000 over the life of her loan.

Bruce Reyes Chow: "We must keep talking about race"

Bruce Reyes Chow is one of those people whom I've never actually met but whom I feel I know fairly well.  Ah, the wonders of the internet and social media!

Bruce was moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) from 2008 to 2010.  His new book is titled:  But I Don't See You as Asian: Curating Conversations about Race.  I caught up with him recently and he addressed some of the issues raised in his book:

(PI) OK, Bruce.  What causes racism?

Bruce:  There certainly is not one easily determined answer to this one. Some would say it's the history of slavery while others might say that it is a modern outgrowth of interactions between people of different cultures as the globe shrinks.

If I had to name one reason today, I would say that it is our collective inability to see one another as individualized human beings. Now this is NOT about being color-blind or wanting people to so give up culture, but I do believe that we too often see one another as A Black or An Asian or A White that we do not allow ourselves to be empathetic or understanding to what it means to BE Black or BE Asian or BE White. When we do this, we are less likely to appreciate the nuances and complexities of each individual's experience of their racial reality.

I would also say that another cause - can't just stop at one - is our failure to see how institutions and systems can perpetuate an ongoing culture that lives certain racial groups above others.

(PI) Racism has been called the "original sin" of America. Comment?

Bruce:  I have not heard this much, but I can see how this is tied to our history of slavery and exclusion, mostly around African American and Native American and how so much of our economy and culture has been build on our history of slavery and marginalization of people of color...

I think this is an untapped area of discussion to be had because, in a day and age when we want things to be solved yesterday, we must find a way to see that the impact of generations of slavery and racial exclusion will not be solved quickly. Yes, there are always exceptions to every rule, but as a larger narrative for the United States, there is great opportunity in having this conversation.

(PI) What can be done to diminish racism?

Bruce:  Contrary to what some may want, it is not to STOP talking about race. I am a firm believer that deeply conflicted relationships are not served by silence. Whether a marriage or a society, unless we keep talking about and through our disagreements, we doom ourselves to further withdrawal from one another and a building up of resentment and distrust. No matter how difficult we know it to be, we must keep talking about race.

Bruce is a native Northern Californian and 3rd generation Chinese/Filipino who writes and speaks extensively on faith, politics, race, parenting and technology.

Bruce graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Philosophy, Sociology and Asian American studies (1990), earned his masters degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary (1995) and was granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Austin College (2011).

A prolific blogger and sought-after speaker, Bruce's previous books include The Definitive-ish Guide for Using Social Media in the Church (Shook Foil Books, 2012).  His writing can be found on his blog, www.reyes-chow.com, as well as The Huffington Post, Patheos and The Working Preacher.

Bruce is also a Presbyterian Teaching Elder having pastored multicultural congregations for nearly 20 years. In 2008 he was elected to the highest office the 2 million member Presbyterian Church (USA).

Bruce currently lives in San Francisco, CA with his wife, Robin, his three daughters, Evelyn, Abby and Annie and one very cute canine.  But I Don't See You as Asian can be purchased here.

 

Carter work project in October!

 

Pope Francis the Tillichian

Rabbi friends of mine tell me that it's possible to convert to Judaism, but they remind such potential converts that they're really better off staying what they are.  Jews are supposed to abide by the whole Torah, after all, while gentiles are only subject to seven general laws which cover everyone else.

According to these rabbis, you don't get anything special from God for being a Jew.  God doesn't love you more than others, and you don't get any special benefits.  What you get are increased responsibilities!

Pope Francis took it from another angle on Vatican Radio on Wednesday.  The Pope not only asserted that atheists can do good things as well as Catholics can, but they must do these things, he said.

“All of us have this commandment at heart: Do good and do not do evil. All of us. ‘But, Father, this is not (a) Catholic! He cannot do good.’ Yes, he can. He must. Not can: must.”

What struck people was not that Francis was calling on atheists to do good, but that he said atheists were capable of doing good.  It seems a small step--most people have been at this point for quite awhile--but this kind of generosity toward "the other", from the Vatican, is nonetheless refreshing.

That, however, was not really Francis' point.  Sure, atheists can do good, and what's more, we all better get crackin'.  As he elaborated:

“This commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: We need that so much. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

He is looking toward a "culture of encounter".  Back in the 1950's, this is what Paul Tillich called the "method of correlation."  He took it to mean the "encounter" between the religious and the secular world, each one open to the other, interacting with each other.

Francis' "encounter" centers on ethics--doing good.  The religious and the non-religious share life on this planet.  We can all make the place better.  As the United Methodists say, "Doctrine divides.  Service unites."  May this "method of correlation" and "culture of encounter" bear more fruit.

Metro Denver's 10th Annual Breakfast for Humanity

Metro Denver Habitat's Executive Director, Heather Lafferty, greets a large crowd at the affiliate's 10th Annual Breakfast for Humanity this morning.  

Breaking from its tradition of being addressed by governors and mayors, the message this morning was brought by Habitat homeowner, Farhana Morales, who recently graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in information technology.

Metro Denver Habitat is gearing up for the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Work Project this fall, October 6-13.  This year's Work Project will feature three venues:  Oakland, Denver, and New York City.

942,700

Number of nails that will be hammered during this year's Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Habitat for Humanity Work Project.

Rock concert

Metro Denver Habitat "sold out" the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in one day.  

That's not exactly how we look at it, of course, but, thanks to some nice news coverage in our city, and the on-going and long-term popularity of the project, Metro Denver Habitat got all the volunteers we'll need in just a few hours.

In this Habitat photo, executive director, Heather Lafferty, is shown at her appearance on 9News.

The Carter Work Project will be this coming October in three cities:  Oakland, Denver, and New York.

Carter Work Project: October, 2013

 

Next year in Denver

Video report on the 2012 Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Haiti.

 

Denver's 9News on the Carter Work Project