catapult magazine

catapult magazine
 

Vol 2, Num 9 :: 2003.04.25 — 2003.05.08

 
 

Spring for *cino

This spring has been wonderfully slow, the stages varied and distinct, the hand on the thermometer an indecisive pendulum that swings further into summer territory every day.

We've watched loons and buffleheads dive for their aquatic food on a temporary rest stop in Michigan as they head to northern homes. We've become friends of a sort with a kingfisher who loves to swoop inches away from the water's surface and then up suddenly to perch atop the same flagpole every time. We've resurrected an old habit of sitting on the roof of the house after dinner to watch the sunset and listen to the evening calls of the birds. We've marveled at the incredible scent downwind of a magnolia. I've even taste-tested the leaves of the lilies that are yawning and stretching from their mulched beds in the front yard (did you know you can eat most parts of a lily?).

But I think that without all this, without all of the magic happening outdoors right now, I'd still be feeling a sense of spring.

Spring is the common metaphor for new beginnings, but also for things that are just coming alive and that?s where I feel *culture is not optional is at right now. *cino is coming alive, being nourished daily by new connections, new individuals who feel this work is important.

In the car yesterday, Rob said to me, "It will be nice to finally be able to say that, we've started a non-profit organization" instead of "we're in the process of starting." That transition was emphasized today when we signed, stamped and sealed our application for non-profit status with the IRS, a huge step that we could not have completed without the patient guidance and generous donations of others.

In fact, we could not be doing any of this without other people, without those who have donated money, who have sent a word of encouragement, who have challenged us to develop and communicate the vision, who have contributed work free of charge, who check out the magazine every day (or even once in a while), who have held us up in prayer to the Creator of the universe. It's a vision inspired by God and owned by all.

And that is why we conducted the iGNITE! campaign in the way we did and why we have a strong, ongoing desire to make room for contributions of all kinds that are not necessarily large, but consistent. We made it almost halfway to our campaign goal with $780 in monthly commitments. We also raised over $2,000 in one-time donations, including donations through a Maundy Thursday offering at our church in Indiana. In the meantime, we continued to publish issues of the online magazine full of excellent work all done by volunteers. We feel overwhelmingly blessed!

However, while it is spring, it is only spring. We have a long way to go before *cino is mature and ready to withstand the setbacks of winter. We have immediate and continuous needs for funding and contributors as well as long term needs for leaders who are willing to rise up and meet the challenge of the *cino vision. Essentially, we need people to help us grow in whatever way they are equipped to do so.

As the earth transitions into summer, I hope *cino can do the same, growing fuller and stronger day by day, weathering the storms, surviving the droughts, and thriving where it's planted. This is a scary and wonderful project and now that spring is here, we can have hope for things to come. Be prepared to be amazed.

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