CCDA Conference

Andrea and I got back from the CCDA Conference on Monday. The theme was "Shalom", which is also the name of our little start-up in Oakland, so we had to go (I'm wondering if they would care if we stole the logo? :) We were surrounded by wonderful people. The plenary session speakers were inspiring and the seminars were actually extremely helpful and informative. I can be quite a critic of conferences, organizations and institutions, but the CCDA is legit. There's something about being with people who have a common vision and projection in life. A guy leading a seminar talked about moving into a new house with his Mom helping and then having the family run upstairs while there was a shootout in front of the new house, followed by repeated attempts at getting someone to talk to him after dialing 911, and we chuckled, sighed and groaned with familiarity. There is something beautiful about being with people who have similar stories. Side note: I was actually quite proud of my own mother when she took my kids to the nearby park and found blood all over the playground and was very calm about the whole thing.

We were reminded to be patient in our work here in East Oakland, to never neglect our own spiritual and emotional health, to worship the loving, peace bringing Jesus of the Bible, to care for our family (we were even we shouldn't be guilty about not sending our kids to the local elementary school) and to be confident in our calling in the midst of all the craziness in our country. I particularly enjoyed seminars on starting a mentoring program for children (led by this crew), the community and movement that made Martin Luther King Jr. the leader he was, "neighboring", and urban consumerism.

Andrea and I found a ridiculously inexpensive hotel a few miles away from the conference center, so we had an hour long bus ride twice a day. It didn't compare to my Greyhound trip to New Mexico a couple years ago, but it was a interesting little experience. I have to say that I prefer my normal mode of transportation...the bicycle. One of these days I'll get a helmet so Damon will stop reminding me to get one.

Now it's back to work...