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Jun 06 2019

FaithXperimental Spotlight: Compassionate Austin

by Darren Slade

In our travels around the U.S., both digitally and physically, we at FaithX like keep our eyes open for examples of people, programs, communities, or ministries doing creative, innovative, and experimental things in the area of faith. And when we do find one, we like to shine a spotlight on them in a FaithXperimental blog post.

FaithX founder and principal consultant, Ken Howard, bumped into (almost literally) Compassionate Austin in late March while presenting MapDash and FaithX consulting services at the New Story Festival in Austin, Texas (they were back-to-back in the exhibit area). While Compassionate Austin is not an officially religious program, there are many people and communities of faith involved, and Ken was struck by the underlying sense of spirituality that subtly infused the organization.

Compassionate Austin describes itself as a growing grassroots movement united to promote, strengthen, and celebrate compassionate action in Austin, Texas and its surrounding areas. Their vision is to exemplify and champion empathy in its purest form by creating a livable, vibrant, inclusive, and caring community in which all have the opportunity to thrive. By their actions, Compassionate Austin hopes to inspire everyone to become aware and conscious of the importance of showing compassion in the world today (taking care of others, yourself, and the earth). They seek to strengthen people’s empathy skills, tenderness, charity, and accountability toward meeting the needs of their community.

[Read more…]

Written by Darren M. Slade, PhD · Categorized: FaithX Blog, FaithXperimental Spotlight, Posts by Darren Slade · Tagged: Austin City Council Resolution, Charter for Compassion, Compassionate Austin, Compassionate Communities Campaign, FaithXperimental Blog, FaithXperimental Spotlight, grassroots movement, Leadership Austin, New Story Festival

Feb 28 2019

FaithX & Datastory at New Story Festival

Just a little over a month from now, FaithX and Datastory will be participating in the New Story Festival, which is being held on March 29-31 in Austin, Texas.

The New Story Festival is a new annual gathering for community, creativity, and the common good: a bold experiment for a better world, embodying imagination, spirituality, social action, and playful connection – defined above all by the practice of love.

Ken Howard of FaithX and Matt Felton of Datastory will be program presenters and will also be exhibiting MapDash for Faith Communities. FaithX and Datastory are also festivals sponsors. And because FaithX is a partner organization, those who register through the FaithX portal get a $20 discount.

As the Festival website says, the world runs on stories – the narratives that fuel the ways we live in this world and relate to one another. Our stories can liberate or oppress, encourage reconciliation or further separation, inspire new life or even bring death. But when we become conscious of our stories, we can begin to change them. Believing that “the best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better,” the New Story Festival seeks to lead us into a better story – one that encourages growth and liberation, healing and harmony; a story where the downtrodden are uplifted and everyone is included.

[Read more…]

Written by Ken Howard · Categorized: FaithX Blog, Posts by Ken Howard · Tagged: Austin Texas, Brian McLaren, datastory, datastory for faith communities, faithx, Huston-Tillotson University, ken Howard, Matt Felton, New Story Festival

Nov 01 2018

FaithXperimental Spotlight: The New Story Festival – March 29-31, 2019

From time to time FaithXperimental features stories about faith communities engaging their communities in innovative and experimental ways.

Today’s FaithXperimental Spotlight features the New Story Festival being held on March 29-31 in Austin, Texas. The New Story Festival is a new annual gathering for community, creativity, and the common good: a bold experiment for a better world, embodying imagination, spirituality, social action, and playful connection – defined above all by the practice of love.

The FaithX Project will be an organizational sponsor of the event, and Ken Howard has been invited to submit several proposals for presentations at the festival. FaithX and our newly launched and independently-governed SHERM Journal (Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry) are festival sponsors. And because FaithX is a partner organization, those who register through the FaithX portal get a $20 discount.

As the Festival website says, the world runs on stories – the narratives that fuel the ways we live in this world and relate to one another. Our stories can liberate or oppress, encourage reconciliation or further separation, inspire new life or even bring death. But when we become conscious of our stories, we can begin to change them. Believing that “the best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better,” the New Story Festival seeks to lead us into a better story – one that encourages growth and liberation, healing and harmony; a story where the downtrodden are uplifted and everyone is included. [Read more…]

Written by Ken Howard · Categorized: FaithX Blog, FaithXperimental Spotlight, Posts by Ken Howard · Tagged: Austin, Brian McLaren, festival, Huston-Tillotson University, New Story Festival, SHERM, Texas, the faithx project

FaithX is Datastory Affiliate

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