rural studio fieldtrip invite

05Jul08

Hey B’ham area friends,

You’re invited to come along on a guided tour of Rural Studio this Friday, July 11th. We’ll be leaving bright and early at 7:15 a.m. from the Disciples’ Fellowship abbey (2970 Lorna Rd). We’ll return around 5 p.m. Bring $10 for gas money and a picnic lunch.

Auburn University’s Rural Studio in western Alabama draws architectural students into the design and construction of homes and public spaces in some of the poorest counties in the United States. They’re creating beautiful and economical structures that are unique in the world — and that nurture sustainability of the natural world as of human dignity.

–Speaking of Faith on Rural Studio

Drop a line if you’ll be joining us!

The Rural Studio model for architecture has so many parallels with Christian community, and the vision was born of the late Samuel “Sambo” Mockbee, a man of radical faith. Rural Studio is incarnational, as students who are working on projects actually live within the community that they are hoping to bless. It is relational, as students are commissioned to get to know families and the surrounding community in order to better see and meet needs. It is missional, as students seek to transform the world around them by going out, discerning needs, and bringing a bit of heaven to earth. It is social, as students seek to offer a bit of decency for those who had no other way out. It is redemptive, as RS recycles and reuses materials, putting new use to old things without consuming more than necessary.  And RS is holisitic, as it seeks to bless not just individuals but communities, and seeks not just to build structures but physically bless lives.

this site tells the story well.

SOF podcast is here.

Filed under: ecclesia   |  
Tags: missional, incarnational, rural studio, alabama, social justice, holistic, social, relational, SOF