Imagine a culture grounded in love...

So the IAM Encounter 10 has begun - and this year is very different from year's past. It is more intimate - 10 short presentations with follow-up conversations - and also time to "encounter" both people and the arts scene in NYC. Tomorrow there will be conversations about nourishing creativity in children, the role of the church in supporting the work of artists as well how the realm of physical and digital art can coexist.

The founder, Mako Fujimora, posed an insightful and challenging question: what would it be like to create art - and nourish a culture of creativity - that is grounded in authentic shalom and agape? What would art, music, sculpture, poetry, dance, etc. be like if it embodied the words of St. Paul? An art that...

...never gives up... cares more for others than for self.
... doesn't want what it doesn't have.
... doesn't strut,
... have a swelled head,
... doesn't force itself on others,
isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

When asked who is doing that kind of art... he said not many but... Bono clearly is! The opening set by jazz pianist, Deanna Witkowski, was BRILLIANT. Not only is she technically gifted but deeply grounded in liturgy and prayer. Her most recent composition includes a new jazz setting of the Eucharist. (I will be bringing that back to Pittsfield - with her score book - for sure!)

Earlier in the day I had a chance to revisit old haunts in the East Village - and close the day with dinner at the "Kyber Pass" (an Afghani eatery.) Also a little trip down both St. Mark's Place and Bleecker and McDougal Streets!

I first snuck into the Village when I was 15 - my guitar buddy and I went to the LATE show of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention - telling our respective parents some tale. It was a total trip to be 15 years old, wandering Greenwich Village in 1967 at midnight and then taking the 5 am milk train home. The old Garrick Theatre (which used to house the Cafe A Go Go downstairs) is where Zappa recorded "We're Only In It for the Money," Lenny Bruce was busted of obscenity and Springsteen played some of his first shows in 1966. It is now housing for NYU students.

As a kid I used to take the train in from Connecticut to NYC and head over to the Fillmore East at least once a month form 1967-70 - saw some of the greatest shows ever in that psychedelic palace - so having this convention here is kind of sweet. Tomorrow will be warm and filled with new and engaging thoughts. I hope to spend some time with both the young artists as well as a few old timers - and then wrap up the day with the kids having dinner and maybe hearing some live jazz.

In addition to the joy and insights of the conference I have had LOTS of time to read - especially Henri Nouwen - as I travel in and out of Manhattan on the R train. This is good for my soul. As Nouwen makes so clear: prayer and solitude are a double-edge sword that not only draw us closer to God but also expose our fears:

We often feel a real desire to pray and at the same time we experience a strong resistance. We want to move closer to God, the source and goal of our existence, but at the same time we realize that the closer we come to God the strong will be God's demand to let go of the many "safe" structures we have built around ourselves... In the act of prayer, we undermine the illusion of control by divesting ourselves of all false belongings and by directing ourselves totally towards God's love... Prayer is the bridge between my unconscious and conscious life. Prayer connects my mind with my heart, my will with m passions, my brain with my belly.

I miss Dianne something fierce - and love the blessing of cell phones - I also cherish having time to visit with my children. And so another day comes to an end - and I am grateful.