Kyle Matthew Oliver · Becoming Tapestry – Ch 1 – No Group, Only Group Formation Objective: Introduce the project and research site as a whole; the purpose and approach of this account; myself as researcher, storyteller, and faith leader; some relevant social framing and theory; and two of the story’s other central characters, Hannah and…
I met Hannah and Sam at a deli in Powell Gardens after a morning of hustling around. I thankfully remembered before I left the house that I would need to go to a local music store beforehand to buy an XLR cable to use with my new shotgun microphone, since today would be the first…
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…
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…
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.…
On November 19, 2018, I met Sam for the first time. I rendezvoused with the co-directors at a major transit hub, and we walked a couple blocks to the nearby lobby of the Hotel Downtown. They told me they frequently take meetings there. I have returned myself at times when I’ve been in the neighborhood…
On October 4, 2018, shortly after relocating to a West Coast metropolitan area, I attended a worship service celebrating the appointment of a new leader serving a regional church role there. I arrived late, because my hometown baseball team was in the playoffs, and I stopped in nearby pub to watch the end of the…
