Peaceful Ventures

Issue 7, Fall 2009

A newsletter from Shalom House -- a community of proactive Christian peacemakers started by Circle of Hope
Greetings Friends! CSA shareholders, ready with a smile the complicated relationship between
or a story. peace and justice. In July we also
The summer has been a season of
had a guest writer on our blog, our
refreshment and reflection on God’s As another step in our work
friend Jonny Rashid, discussing this
blessing. With the transitions in toward ending gun violence in the
topic. In August we invited a special
June, Mimi and Emily are the only city, we have invited the cell groups
guest, Mary Wade, to our discussion
two community members currently at within Circle of Hope to join us for
time. She is a friend we’ve made
Shalom House. This, combined with one of their weekly meetings. Cell
through our work around ending gun
the generally slower pace of summer, groups are small groups within our
violence. Mary spoke from the
has given us an opportunity to re- network of congregations that meet
extensive work she has done
center on the work we are doing, our from house to house throughout the
regarding spiritual grounding in the
direction, and our focus. We week. Their purpose is to grow and
work of advocacy and peacemaking.
continue to ponder, discuss, and pray nurture the Church, the body. By
about new and deeper endeavors that meeting with cells, Shalom House We would like to welcome John
Shalom House could undertake. hopes to offer a more intimate Londres as the newest member of our
environment to discuss the difficult guidance team. John is part of the
The guidance team continues to
issues around gun violence, and to CoH congregation in Camden. We
accept applications for community
allow for deeper exploration of the look forward to John’s experience
members, and has interviewed
factors contributing to this issue. We and heart for the church in building
several people. While two
have been offering the free the Shalom House community, and
invitations have been extended, we
Mennonite Central Committee network of Peacemakers.
have no new Shalomers among us,
(MCC) packet on Gun Violence
yet. As we have had some time to
Prevention as a resource we well. In
reflect this summer, over weekend
Our thanksgiving this season has this way, we hope to educate and
projects and afternoon hikes, we
come most notably as a result of our mobilize Circle of Hope within our
have talked about the future and the
community supported agriculture city, to restore the Shalom of our city
continued formation of Shalom
(CSA) share. Every week we in this way.
House. What does it look like?
journey about a mile across the
Shalom House’s discussion What does it mean to work within the
neighborhood to our pick-up location
nights have continued. June’s community, the neighborhood?
to retrieve our share of fresh fruits
discussion, facilitated by Mimi, was What does it mean to truly lead
and vegetables. Susan is the hostess
“What’s the deal with non-violence?” Circle of Hope in peacemaking? We
for our pick-up site. She and her two
We discussed many of the familiar hope that you will pray with us, as
daughters are regularly spending
tenants Jesus calls us to, such as we continue on this journey.
time on their front porch, greeting
turning the other cheek and walking
- Shalom, Emily & Mimi
a second mile. In July we looked at
Coming Up: - Saturday, November 14. Shalom House is organizing
- September 21 is the International Day of Prayer for a training for skills in non-violent responses and
Peace. This was developed by the World Council of interventions to the violence we witness in our lives. We
Churches, after the declaration of the International Day of have heard a desire for such skill building from folks at
Peace, a hopeful call for a 24-hour cease fire. Churches our festival in the spring, discussion times, and personal
and communities around the world will be observing this conversation. We believe that in order to act and react
day and calling for peace in many ways. Shalom House is non-violently, we need to prepare ourselves continually.
helping to organize a prayer vigil in Philadelphia, to be Mimi and Emily are working closely with Daniel Hunter,
held in front of Colossimo’s Gun Shop. We believe our of Training for Change, to tailor a training that will
continued presence and continued pressure speaks truth specifically meet the needs of the Circle of Hope and
and hope to the injustice of the gun violence in our city. surrounding communities. It has been an energizing
The vigil will be held on Monday September 21 from process, tapping into the psyche of the church to provide
4:45-5:30 pm. skills and knowledge that will be relevant and useful, and
hopefully will spawn further action within our
neighborhoods.
 Shalom House is Looking for Community Members
Shalom House is an endeavor in common living and common mission. We work to support each other in our personal journeys
of faith and peacemaking. We work together to compliment each others’ strengths and weaknesses, seeking to bring the
peaceful Kingdom of God to our home, our community, and our world. Through our conflicts and our fellowship, our
transportation and our consumption, our work and our play we hope to realize the peaceful and loving ways Jesus calls us to
live.
Is it time for you to live differently? Is it time to try a new approach to living out the faith that calls you to build and foster peace?
Are you ready to join with others in a supportive community to build up the shalom of Philadelphia and the world around us?
Do you want to use your skills and gifts to engage others and spread the message of peace?
Shalom House is looking for four new community members to join our work and share our lives as we seek creative ways to
use our gifts and meet our call. Please call, write, or email us with any questions or to arrange a time to talk further about the
possibilities of becoming part of Shalom House. We are praying for you.
Would you like to join us? Do you know someone who might?
A little more about this process, and how to discern this possibility:
Think about it. A two-year commitment dedicated to deepening & applying your calling in Philadelphia and learning about and
connecting to God's worldwide community of peacemakers, just might be where God is leading you.
* Pray and listen for God’s leading
* Learn more about us. Give us a call or send us an email.
* Fill out an application, which you can find on-line.
* Meet with the Shalom House Guidance Team and House members
* Once extended an invitation by the Guidance Team, move in!
Shalom House welcomes young and old, single people and couples. Please be creative in helping us grow our community!
We look forward to serving with you.

Pray with us for: How you can help:

- New community members, from within Circle of Hope or
beyond!
- Some movement in the work to end gun violence in
Philadelphia
- New skills to be learned at the November training on
nonviolent responses & interventions to everyday
Rejoice with us for:
- Continued employment in jobs that pay our bills.
- The generosity of friends
- The bounty provided through the CSA
1. Be a prayer partner.
We are contributing to the formation of God’s network of
peacemakers around the globe.
2. Be a local partner.
Sign up at our website: www.shalomhouse.us
to be on the Circle of Peacemakers Listserve and participate
in our dialogue and actions.
3. Find further partners.
We have a new cohort of house members who join each year.
We are looking for those God has prepared for our
community.
4. Be a contributing partner. We need to raise money for
expenses beyond our mutual sharing.
If you would like to share with us in this way, make a check out
to Circle Venture and add “Shalom House” in the memo line.
We are grateful for your financial support.
 Community Living
Life in community has looked a little different over the
past three months; that is, if you can ever call it “typical”.
Shalom House waved good-bye to Adam and Brian at the
end of June and since then, everyday life has consisted of
Mimi and Emily. The work of coordinating two lives and
two schedules is infinitely easier than 5 or 6, logistically
speaking. However, we do miss the life that comes with
so many partners.
A highlighted change that has occurred since our last
update has to do with our common fund as a community.
Previously, the community had decided on a 100%
common pot, which would be filled with the income of
all community members, and meet all the needs of each
as well. After two years of this system, we have decided
that with terms as short as two years, this approach may
not be the most healthy or sustainable. In the new system
we have developed a common budget, and each
community member contributes a set amount to common
expenses and house emergency and activity funds as
well. Community members are now also expected to
cover personal expenses that may vary greatly from
member to member (student debt, health insurance,
transportation, etc). The hope and expectation remains
that as a community we will continue to share our
resources with each other as needed, however just not in
as structured a fashion.
Shalom House has had a number of visitors as well
throughout the summer, including friends, family,
prospective community members, and travelers needing
some shelter. We are blessed with the space and
resources to share in this time.
Part of the rhythm at Shalom House of work, prayer,
contemplation, and action is the quarterly house retreat.
This fall we will step away from our daily routines and
head to central PA for a weekend at Emily’s family’s
cabin in the Sproul State Forest. We’ll have time for more in-
depth dialogue and reflection on the state of our community
and peacemaking efforts while coming closer to God in times
of prayer and meditation in the forests of PA.
The Common Cup & Art and Peggy Gish
In August a group from Lancaster visited us. They are in the
process of starting an intentional community, called
Common Cup. We had an opportunity to share a meal with
our guests, as well as answer many of their questions as to
how Circle of Hope and Shalom House each operates.
Along with the group from Lancaster came a couple, Art &
Peggy Gish. You may be familiar with the Gishes from their
work in the Middle East with Christian Peacemaker Teams.
Art & Peggy have also lived in community for over 40 years.
They shared with Circle of Hope some of their experiences
and lessons learned during a public meeting.
With many CoH people living in community and wanting to
glean wisdom from these experienced elders, Peggy & Art
got a lot of questions. When asked, “how did your marriage
survive 40 years in community?” they replied, “prayer”.
When asked how they navigated conflicts and different
personalities, they ultimately answers, “prayer”. In their
openness to share stories form their community living, of
failure, kindness, blessing, and frustration, they showed our
church community the realities and possibilities of this
ancient way of Christians living together.

We would like to share a recipe for the last days of summer. We used red peppers from our CSA share for this meal, as
well as a fresh cayenne pepper from one of the community gardens run by Circle of Hope’s Urban Farm Team. We also
substituted white cooking wine for the chicken broth. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper-Cayenne Sauce from www.allrecipes.com
INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS
• 12 ounces dry fettuccine pasta 1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8
to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• 2 red bell peppers, julienned
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 2. Meanwhile, spray cooking oil in a large skillet and saute red bell peppers,
garlic and cayenne pepper over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes.
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3. Stir in sour cream and broth; simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove
• 1 cup reduced fat sour cream from heat and stir in cheese.
• 3/4 cup chicken broth 4. Toss hot pasta with sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste; serve.
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese Please check us out online at
• salt and pepper to taste www.shalomhouse.us or on Facebook for
information on upcoming events.
 if you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, please email mimi.copp@shalomhouse.us or give us a call.
more information!
Contact us for
emily.kephart@shalomhouse.us
Emily Kephart
mimi.copp@shalomhouse.us
Mimi Copp
www.shalomhouse.us
215-474-1195
Philadelphia, PA 19143
Details inside... 401 S. 51st Street
We’d love to hear from you!
members!
for new community
Shalom House is looking
Non-profit Org.
U.S. Postage PAiD
Philadelphia, PA
Shalom House Permit No. 4477
c/o Circle of Hope
1125 S. Broad St. 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19147
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Shalom House is a tool for proactive peacemakers to use to grow in their faith, to express the gospel of peace, to provide the option of reconciliation for people in
Philadelphia, and to secure a place for Circle of Hope among God’s worldwide peace movement.