What Your Help Means, and Means to Me...

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken." - Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

So as many of you know, from now until the end of January I will approaching folks via social media to look for 200 people to give me small, monthly donations of about $5-$10 to supplement my income while I finish my PhD work. It is going to take a fair amount of work to accomplish, but it is an effort I am happy to undertake. 2018 was very difficult for my studies in large part because I had to piece together income from disparate jobs in order to pay bills. The impact this had on my studies was devastating as it cut deeply into my ability to read and focus, so as we enter 2019 I know that if I am going to finish my studies quickly and effectively I cannot let this happen again.

Especially because the subject of my PhD research - the overlap between intersectionality and evangelism - will require a great deal of travel and time because have to collect hard data on the subject from multiple Christian communities (largely ELCA) all across the country. The need for this work was made beautifully clear in April in this year when, as part of my work for #decolonizeLutheranism, I coordinated a weekend-training that was likely one of the blackest, brownest, queerest, gatherings in the ELCA (to read the full story, click here). 

some examples of intersectionality

What will your contribution enable me to do? Some examples...

1. Eat.

2. Pay rent.

3. Pay bills.

4. Pay tuition fees.

5. Dental work.

6. Pay for expenses related to dissertation research.

7. Attend  an Eight-Day Ignatian Retreat through Creighton University, in May 2020

8. etc...

However, what I haven't talked about yet is the full scope of the project - and I'm kind of excited about it because those that help me out will be playing a much bigger role than just accomplish the above.

By contributing to this work, you will also be accompanying me through the reading, studying, reflecting and writing of my dissertation. Just as a three-fold cord isn't easily broken, for those of you who contribute to this fundraiser, I will be leaning on you to give me accountability as I make my way through to the completion of my dissertation. 

How?

1. Contributors who, monthly, give $10 or more will be part of a secret Facebook group for the duration of my work. we can share our thoughts and ideas in relation to the two central concepts of my dissertation research - intersectionality and evangelism. More specifically, my hope is that during this time together I will be able to get hard data on what it means to 'be' an intersectional Christian community, something which has yet to be studied systematically.

2. Also, the group will receive regular updates about how my research is going, and you can both encourage and chide me as the mood requires. The group of supporters that I have now has been vital in reminding me of my responsibility to the church, and in addition to support, their ideas and feedback have been life-giving for me.

3. I will also be opening up a special page on my website where you can access exclusive content - like notes from my reading and even early drafts of essays and such. I'm hoping it will be fun to share my book notes with all of you, giving everyone the ability to download and read and reflect upon them and see if they inspire anything in you. 

What's more, I hope that every month or two I can open up internal discussion in the group about the work itself. This I am quite excited about as I love the interplay of minds and ideas. So being able to chat about what it is I'm working on with all of you gives me great delight, because not only will you help me to more thoroughly internalize my reading, our conversations will also likely Inspire what I write. Kind of cool, isn't it?

4. Availability and permission permitting, occasionally I will also have Facebook live conversations with people connected with my research. Sometimes it will be pastors or lay leaders that I will be interviewing. Other times it might be one of my dissertation readers. Either way, it's bound to be interesting.

5. All contributors will also receive a special collection of mystical/erotic Christian devotional music that I've been writing. As creative self-care, once all the songs are written (only two left!) my hope is to work with some friends to have a brief concert of this sometime in the spring that will be recorded and used as the basis for a series of YouTube videos as well as a CD to accompany the printed music.

And as my economic support, all of you will be receiving a copy of this for free.

SURPRISES COMING!!!

6. There will be surprises too! For instance, if my travels take me near enough of you, I'll do something really crazy like find a house to set up and cook dinner for everyone that can come. Or maybe I'll set up shop at a happy hours somewhere and invite people over for a round of spirits and discussion - whatever. Just so long as we can share each others' company and I can actually find a way to show you how much I appreciate you.

However in addition to random events like this, there are also 2 special projects coming up in the next 3 months that will not be announced, likely, until next fall. However, as soon as they start to take shape - and you all swear yourselves to secrecy - I'll let you in on what kinds of schemes the Holy Spirit is prodding me to do, and give you regular updates as to how these projects progress.

And to take part in this, all you have to do is send me an email at chicago.polyglot@gmail.com letting me know if you want to give a gift of about $5 a month or  $10 a month (lump sums and larger monthly contributions will also be happily accepted!).  Once I get your name and contact information, then my lovely wife Sanja - who is virtuosic when it comes to administrative work - will be in touch with you soon to let you know the next steps.

Because I need your help to finish this. I'm not good at self-regulation when I do it by myself, but when working with a team and having regular interaction with folks I always have a much better chance of staying focused.

So thanks for reading, and if you have any additional questions find me on Facebook here or email me here!

pax Christi