Thanks to the readers of Yorocko for sharing part of the 2012 journey. I did you wrong for half the year.
A few highlights:
- The series on Diana Butler Bass’s Christianity After Religion. Really the only substantial thing the blog accomplished all year. It took about a week and featured daily posts culled from chapters of the book. It got the author’s attention, somehow, which fueled the completion of the series.
- PLGRM Magazine. The product of texting conversations with the inexhaustible Landon Whitsitt, the magazine was born of Landon’s energy and infinite sense of possibility. We published two issues, and we’re planning on more. I got to interview Douglas Rushkoff. Douglas Freaking Rushkoff.
- The All Star Game. Brian Ellison is such a good friend that he invited me to join him in Kansas City for the Major League Baseball All Star Game. Gawd it was great. Brian is great. Really, really great.
- Peru. In July I accompanied a group of 11 high school students and seven adults from the San Gabriel Presbytery on a 10 day work trip to Ayacucho, Peru. We partnered with churches and mission workers in the synod and did things none of us thought we could.
- 10 Year Anniversary. Meredith planned a week for us in Napa to celebrate our 10 years of wedded bliss, and her folks came and stayed with our 4 year-old. Wine, mud baths, a hot air balloon ride, and terrific food: could anything be better?
- Ministry collaborations. I have good friends in ministry where I live, a fact I know much more clearly today than 12 months ago. Becca, Paul, Reece, Erin, Erik, Jason–this crew led a junior high work week in June and then a high school confirmation retreat in November. Without this team, neither of these events happen. They made my year.
- Ramak. My man stumbled into my work in July, and the time I’ve spent listening to him and working with him has been the most easily passed time of the year. He pitched me on the idea of a photo workshop with junior high kids, and he taught them how to take portraits with a Rollieflex. No small task. Some students were more into it than others, but working with him was 100% worth it.
- Bucket of Hooves. Jeff Bryan is a terrific writer, and this year he published a quasi memoir that I gobbled up in days, practically hours. He’s the consumate human being, and it’s a delightful book.
- Music. The Tallest Man on Earth; Best Coast; The Lumineers; Shearwater; A.C. Newman; The Gaslight Anthem; Bhi Bhiman; Big Deal . . .
YoRocko! 