Mark Scandrette

Dan Kimball and family were kind enough to make the drive up from Santa Cruz to see our show in Oakland this summer– even though they had been displaced by the forest fires near their home. (Am just posting now because I finally figured out how to reduce photo size).

My friend Gareth Higgins is in town for a night and we thought it might be fun to get a few people together. Gareth and I met in London and have spent time together in L.A., Nashville, SF and the Bahamas. We like to talk about sex, God, justice, literature and art– and together make profane jokes about dead Christian mystics.

So, I thought I’d have Gareth read a bit tonight from the manuscript of his latest book and tell some stories while we drink some wine and have pleasant conversation. You are invited to join us at 8:30 at our place, 3166 25th St. SF, CA. Please RSVP if you plan on coming.

Gareth Higgins is a writer Belfast, Northern Ireland now living in Durham, North Carolina.

He is a graduate in sociology from Queen’s University of Belfast (BA, PhD). He was a co-founder (in 1998) of the zero28 Project, a faith-based peace and justice initiative in Northern Ireland. He has written and spoken widely on religion and conflict, art and spirituality, postmodern theology and practice, and film, with his work appearing in The Independent, The Irish Times, Sojourners, and Third Way Magazine, among others.

He appears regularly on BBC Radio, and in October 2006 he and Jett Loe began a film review podcast called ‘The Film Talk’.

Today I started growing out facial hair again for that indomitable and loveable preacher A.L. Withee, who will be spreading revival wild fire with Big Brother Duke and The professor in Pittsburgh in a few weeks at the National Youth Worker’s Convention. This was my favorite photo of the Preacher from the Church Basement Roadshow this summer, when he was giving a whoop and a push and all he’s got.

Tomorrow afternoon I will be flying to Birmingham to attend my 20 year high school reunion in Moundville. My old buddy Moose will be picking me up at the airport and I will be staying with them in their trailer down the road from the house where I lived in high school.

As you probably know, I’m not really from Alabama, but it is an interesting wrinkle in my life story.

The other reason for being in Alabama will be speaking with various groups in Birmingham including the Birmingham Emergent Cohort, Disciples Fellowship, and folks from Journey community at Dawson Family of Faith. I will be telling stories speaking about my book SOUL GRAFFITI.

Bryan Allain interviews me on his faith and sports website here. I hope sports fans aren’t offended.