camino?

why call it camino house?

other folks in the house might have opinions or thoughts as to why we called it this, but here are some of my thoughts:

the camino de santiago is an old Christian pilgrimage route that winds its way through several european countries. it's had a bit of a revival in recent years as more and more folks have wandered it.

the late canadian violinist Oliver Schroer did a nice piece of violin music on the camino and wrote a journal and recorded the album of the same name along the way in the ancient churches and hostels - complete with ambient noise of other pilgrims and birds...

camino - the word literally means 'the way' or 'the path'.

as followers of Jesus, who called himself 'the Way', it seemed that this word 'camino' (which is shared as a word in the spanish & portuguese languages) would be a good thing to call the house.

an ancient path (with hospitality along the way). arts / beauty. and (most of all) Jesus. some nice resonances, to say the least.

for me, it reminds us that we're all pilgrims. that though we have the gift of this house (which we rent from the anglican church next door [yep, the one painted by the 'group of seven') we too must receive as much as we give. we must be guests as much as hosts. we learn as much as we teach...

it reminds us that we need to life a life of beauty, rooted in a healthy and passionate spirituality. that we need to challenge ourselves to share and open our doors. it reminds us that our spiritual tradition is an ancient one...

so there you have it: 'camino house'...

we're a part of the jeremiah community which is a missional (ie sent out) - new-monastic (ie having a shared rhythm of life) intentional community.

in the jeremiah community folks live in the village of this neighbourhood (brockton triangle / parkdale / dufferin grove / ossington / west queen west, etc) either in their own housing or in a community house, such as camino house (we're the first, really! - though we did have a prototype in 'emmaus house' which some of our members lived in). we strive to live a rhythm of life together... but more on that later... i diverge from the, uh, path.

camino... along the way.
do come by and visit!

the first two months

we moved in on june 1st, and it's already been 2 months of settling in and setting this place up. i thought i'd get this humble little blog rolling by sharing a few snapshots of what life's been like so far.

i'll begin by saying that in being here - in spite of all the challenges and struggles of living a less 'nuclear' existence - i feel like i'm living in a joyful and functional community house for the first time in many years (since my early years in the catholic worker movement, really)... it's rarely easy... but (for me, anyways) it's filled with a lot of beauty.

it's a refreshing feeling. filled with hope, times of over-activity, times of over-quiet - and filled with daily struggle (we are sooo human) and beauty (we are sooo human). it will take a while to figure out what it all means - and just what our 'calling' may be here in this brockton neighbourhood... but the seeds we are planting are already sending up impressive sprouts (i'm not just talking about our organic garden - but that too)!

this is the first time i've lived in a community house - a (so-called) "house of hospitality" as a 'family man' - with twins: yep, two 4-month old babies (2 months at the time of moving in) and a beautiful, wonderful wife to live this experiment together with - along with the 4+ other adults who are living here (another married couple and several other folks)...

there's so much i could write about - as one person noted - already in its infancy this is a 'very storied place'. there is much to say about this 'call' to live this way, and hopefully this blog can share some of what it means for 6+ adults and 2 babies to live together - sharing things in various ways as we're able...

here are a few of my memorable snapshots from the first few months:

- a person coming to the door at 11:30pm and asking for food, and one of the house members responding with some soup and conversation. this person returning another time and being accompanied to the grocery store by another one of the house people.
- weekly, sunday brunch house check-ins, where people share what's been going on in their week - and how camino house is, and isn't working! the level of trust, intimacy and vulnerability at some of these gatherings has been so beautiful.
- a neighbourhood person without a yard asking for a piece of garden to plot and setting up his own garden in the yard.
- intense (and often fun) theological discussion as we plan 'river' our community worship time.
- some refugee folks who hang out here getting in a conversation with another friend of the community - an Irish Canadian - about the common sources of violence in their countries.
- some of those same folks giving and receiving - showing us how to paint and fix plaster (these dreaded plaster walls) - and also coming by and asking about stuff we might be able to share (or find) as they set up their first home in Canada.
- getting this "abandoned place of empire" ( it used to house anglican priests, if that counts as an abandoned place of empire :) ) fixed up - new shelving and storage, fixing the dangerous front step (still to happen), fixing the water damaged walls, painting the fading and peeling walls, etc. etc..
- having space to take in the visiting swiss women for a couple nights. thanks for the chocolate!
- extending the garden! (phase one!). [phase two = composter building, spiral herb garden, figuring out how to really garden, etc, etc.]
- getting to raise babies with the support of people who come running with open hands and open hearts when they hear a baby screaming (i'll have to write more about raising twins in this kind of space later).
- hanging the art (together).
- michael putting up the clothes line.
- being challenged to minimize electrical usage based on 'peak times' and hanging the clothes (when i really don't feel like it)
- folks watching "capitalism: a love story" together (on 2 separate nights) and the conversations that ensued.
- reel conversations - the film nights here (though i've never made one, listening in on the conversation as I pass by).
- some artists and friends painting the banner (see the blog banner - this is one of the banners we're working on [ps the www.jeremiahcommunity.ca site isn't up yet - go to www.jeremiahproject.ca for now!]
- the woman who uses the front lawn to learn scripts for a play (or something).
- meeting folks in the seniors tower that the church next door built and used to run (whose yard backs onto ours).
- the couple from Nova Scotia (he used to work at the factory across the street in the 70's - when it was Neilson's) coming by and talking about the neighbourhood and the choir they sing in (and her characteristic Phillipina spirituality and hospitality).
- hanging the art together.
- michael building shelves (with Chris, who stayed with us for a month) helping out.
- helen baking yummy stuff.
- babies lying in the yard.

those are a few of my images...
there's so much to share.

i'll add more soon. and hopefully you'll be hearing from other folks in the house too!

- rob