I heard Liz ask Zoe about how school was going, and she said her grades were some good and some bad (two A’s, two F’s). Liz then said, “Oooh, tell me about the A’s.” I ordered an iced coffee and came back to the table. I listened as the group chatted for a bit, then…
All posts by kyle
All Tapestry: Subbing on Insta at Fall Picnic
The story of my engagement at the fall picnic begins before the event itself. Early in the week of the event, I received an email from Hannah: I’m going to be out of town for much of the month of September, so I will be missing the picnic this Saturday. Since I believe you’re going…
Encounter: Errands with Marie at Remembrance Event
Posted on Author kylePosted in Communion, Justice, Medgar Evers Park, Pastor, Recreation, Researcher, Spatiality, Storytelling
Operating mostly from an instinct I’ve developed as a pastor (say “yes” whenever you can, especially to invitations to make connections in the community), I accepted mentor Marie’s invitation to volunteer at a yearly remembrance event hosted by a racial and economic justice organization she’s a part of. The event commemorates the death of a…
All Tapestry: Mini Golf with Team R
Posted on Author kylePosted in Communion, Educational Practices, Justice, Partners, Presence, Producer, Recreation, Relational Practices, Researcher, Spatiality, Trail's End Mini Golf
I arrived at the course on my bicycle mid-morning. I could see a group that looked like Hannah and company in a large tent structure. I walked around to one end and came in. Upon entering, I said hi to Deacon Derek, and then sat down and talked to Liam, Hannah’s husband. He asked about…
Proposal Hearing: First Major Feedback from Committee
I have found it difficult to know how much research and facilitation process material to publish. One of my convictions in this project is that we shouldn’t overly and artificially separate unified experiences: process from product, narrative from analysis, and all the being and doing that accompanies research from the research itself. One process milestone…
Mentors: Another Thank-You Dinner
Posted on Author kylePosted in Communion, Faith-Adjacent, Justice, Logistics, Los Perros Felices Tacqueria, Pastor, Presence, Recreation, Relational Practices, Researcher, Roles
I arrived early to this second, more regionally targeted mentor thank-you dinner, and passed the time reading in a café a couple doors down from the taqueria. It was the kind of place I think would have felt modestly upscale against the backdrop of the neighborhood’s past identity as a broadly targeted shopping district and…
Meeting & Mentors: Planning & Gratitude at WSCC
Posted on Author kylePosted in Communion, Faith-Adjacent, Logistics, Partners, Relational Practices, Researcher, Spatiality, Storytelling, Tracings, Walnut Street Community Coalition
I arrived early at the Walnut Street Community Coalition to do some other work and take a call. The cafe was large, and open. It included a book store space, a register with various kinds of gift wrap (including Hanukkah-themed), and a long counter. I noticed prominent tattoos on several employees’ arms. I texted Hannah…
Mentors: First Volunteer Training
Posted on Author kylePosted in Communion, Educational Practices, Faith-Adjacent, Formation, Guiding Principles, Hope, Logistics, Partners, Pastor, Presence, Recreation, Relational Practices, Researcher, Spatiality, Spiritual Practices, Stillwater Children's Center, Storytelling, Tracings, Trauma
Although I had already begun to understand my relationship to Tapestry as genuinely inquisitive, the January 2019 training for new Tapestry mentors was the first engagement in which I took proper field notes. This account and many subsequent accounts are drawn largely from those notes, from which I have removed identifying or seemingly extraneous details.…
All Tapestry: First Participation Framed as Inquiry
Posted on Author kylePosted in Communion, Disruption, Faith-Adjacent, Hope, Pastor, Presence, Producer, Recreation, Relational Practices, Researcher, Spiritual Practices, Stillwater Children's Center, Tracings
Although I would not yet apply for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for my research for many months, and I wouldn’t start taking long-form field notes until my next engagement, I nevertheless think of my participation in this holiday party in late 2018 as the beginning of my formal ethnographic presence with Tapestry. This event…
All Tapestry: First Time Meeting Participants
Posted on Author kylePosted in Beaumont Square, Church of the Resurrection, Communion, Faith-Adjacent, Pastor, Presence, Relational Practices, Researcher, Spiritual Practices
I arrived 20–30 minutes after the start time Hannah had given me, possibly because Beaumont Square is near where I was living at the time and I was trying to squeeze too many things in before walking over. However, I think I was also operating on the assumption that as a matter of ethnographic presence,…