Carol Bradsen

In Tucson we are part of an ecumenical intentional community. We are experimenting within our own context in the spirit of new monasticism and Catholic Worker houses. There are 7 adults and one toddler who live together in an old boarding house. We moved in March 1, 2009. Among us are an Episcopal priest, two Presbyterian ministers, a Quaker peace activist and folk singer, a former Evangelical, a Unitarian Universalist, and a writer with an M.Div. from an Episcopal seminary. We are offering hospitality, weekly gatherings and meals, gardening and permaculture work days, and we sing together a lot and take a Sabbath. For more see our facebook page: "The Restoration Project, Tucson."

The Search for Signs of Life Tour

In the fall, my partner quit her big episco-church gig and we went on a research tour. We traveled the Western U.S. in a veggieoil/bio-diesel truckcamper to meet emerging and creative church folks first hand. Now we are back in Tucson cultivating community and trying some experiments.

Here are some pics from some of the episcopal related communities we visited. More at our website: www.jointheliving.com or blog.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, St. Thomas of Canterbury, has managed to stay healthy, creative, and progressive, and is a campus ministry and a church all in one.

Church of the Apostles in borrowed digs while the Abby is getting an overhaul. This Saturday evening the vibe was warm and mellow for St. Francis day.

St. Gregory's of Nyssa, San Francisco, built their building to match their worship and service that includes much dancing and sharing—of their lives and of food.

Inside the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, Thad's gets ready to roll on a Sunday morning. Their band had a rockabilly, bluesy feel, like something from Austin.

Integration in Flagstaff, Arizona, is a college small group that Northern Arizona University chaplain Tamie Harkins cultivated over several years. It has been highly successful at transforming students' lives.