The Yellow House Barbecue invite
Picture blogged here kathrynusherart.blogspot.com/2011/03/one-week-without-fac...
UPDATE SHREVEPORT TIMES COVERED THE PARTY
shreveporttimes.com/article/20110319/NEWS01/103190339/Gro...|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Group of youths
hope to create
community-based
home
Written by
Adam Duvernay
aduvernay@gannett.com
11:39 PM, Mar. 18, 2011|
There's a big yellow house on Dalzell
Street, and one day soon it'll house a
community living for the community.
In an attempt to recreate the early Christian
church described in the Bible's Book of
Acts, seven young people are working to
renovate an enormous lot at 410 Dalzell
Street into a communal living space
designed to uplift the Highland
neighborhood in Shreveport.
"We're hoping to provide a house and
home for a community of all types," said
Britney Winn, one of the house's future
tenants. "After every conversation we have
it seems like someone else catches on to
the vision."
Yellow House of Highland is all about that
vision.
Anna Connell, another of the future tenants,
said they're trying to relearn the communal
life of the earliest churches. She said her
hope is to have the house serve as a
community hub, growing shared food,
providing rest for the area's homeless and
bringing art and music to the
neighborhood.
"We're going to live in community here and
serve the neighborhood and have them
serve each other," Connell said.
Connell said the idea came after the group
spent time in Haiti following the devastating
earthquake and working to end it's
enormous humanitarian crisis. After
deciding to live together for the good of the
Shreveport community, they started house
hunting.
Fortunately, Connell found herself baby-
sitting for Hilary and Bill Free, locals who
had just returned to Shreveport after s
erving with the military. When Connell told
them about a house they found — the
$100,000 yellow house on Dalzell — Hilary
Free said she felt drawn to the idea.
"It was like God was tugging at us, telling us
this is why he put us here in Shreveport,"
Hilary Free said.
And after a lot of prayer, they bought it in
February to serve as the community
ministry.
Though the entire group agrees the house
is perfect for their needs — it has an
enormous yard for the community garden,
eight bedrooms, a loft area for recording
music and a big porch — it's not ready yet.
In the first of what will doubtlessly be many
community events, the group — who are
applying for not-for-profit status — hosted
a barbecue on Friday to meet the
neighbors and hopefully raise some money
for the thousands of dollars worth of
repairs needed to bring the house up to
code.
Dozens of neighbors and friends showed
up to support the cause.
"It seems like their mission is good," said
neighbor Karen LaBeau.
"Hopefully they can make it come to fruition
and get the help they need."
The cost
Following are high-priority repairs for Yellow
House of Highland:
Foundation leveling: $8,000 to $15,000
Electrical issues: $7,000
Plumbing issues: $9,000
Window replacement: $12,000
Heating/AC issues: not available
Kitchen gutting/fixing: not available
Send any donation inquiries to
yellowhousehighland@gmail.com.
You don't have to live on the same block to come. The kids said it's open to everyone.
FRIDAY MARCY 18TH
6-9 PM (PRESENTATION AT 7PM)
THE YELLOW HOUSE
419 DALZELL STREET
SHREVEPORT, LA 71104
FROM INVITE "...WE'LL SHARE LOTS OF GREAT FOOD, STORIES OF THE COMMUNITY THAT IS ALREADY DEVELOPING, AND AN INVITATION TO ALL WHO ARE INTERESTED TO BECOME A PART OF THOSE STORIES..."
They are tapping in to social media to spread the word or I guess it could be The Word yfrog.com/hsz3pvij
FROM THEIR WEBSITE
About Us
The Yellow House is located in the Highland neighborhood of Shreveport, LA. Here you will find a small group of twenty-somethings living in hopes of offering a home and a hub for the larger community at which they feel welcome to plug in, serve out of, seek help, think imaginatively, be creative, make music and art, study scripture, eat together, and live life fully together.
//The What
We’re the Yellow House of Highland, an intentional community in its infancy stages, and we are moving forward in all of our rawness, excitement, naivety, praying and dreaming. The seven of us living in the house have felt led by God over time to live a life that is not disconnected and isolated, but one that is tightly woven with the lives of the larger “family” around us. Our vision is to cultivate a space where people can connect and meet each other’s needs with the understanding that full life and real change will come from that.
The objective of The Yellow House is to relearn biblical community, creativity, and collaboration –– and to offer an example of what life can look like when done together in today’s culture by providing a home and a hub that welcomes all community members.
//The Why
In the Bible there’s a book called Acts, where you can find the story of a group of people living out the message of a then recently persecuted and revolutionary man named Jesus.
It went like this:
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” [Acts 2:42-47]
We think this kind of life is worth relearning. And we know that we are preceded by a rich tradition of folks who have sought the same before us, to whom we look for wisdom, inspiration, and encouragement. So we want to give it a shot, feeling confident that many quality, restorative, laugh-filled, creative moments will come along with this endeavor.
//The How
It’s a simple list with an ever-growing story surrounding it, as the idea of doing life together becomes more and more contagious:
1. Renovate the house.
2. Grow the family while kicking off activities and ministries.
The first part is where we find ourselves now. We’re excited to see whose paths will merge with ours in the near future, and how God is going to provide for the completion of the renovations. Much is to be done, but the process will be as fun as it is worth it.
The second part is what we love the most — meeting people and doing life with them. We aspire to make available to the community: a redistribution center for food and clothing, a community garden, after school opportunities for children, homeless outreach services, a venue for art and music house-shows, community meals, and professional service offerings for low-income individuals and families.
//So what can you do?
First, come and see!
410 Dalzell Street
Shreveport, LA 71104
IMG_4112
The Yellow House Barbecue invite
Picture blogged here kathrynusherart.blogspot.com/2011/03/one-week-without-fac...
UPDATE SHREVEPORT TIMES COVERED THE PARTY
shreveporttimes.com/article/20110319/NEWS01/103190339/Gro...|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Group of youths
hope to create
community-based
home
Written by
Adam Duvernay
aduvernay@gannett.com
11:39 PM, Mar. 18, 2011|
There's a big yellow house on Dalzell
Street, and one day soon it'll house a
community living for the community.
In an attempt to recreate the early Christian
church described in the Bible's Book of
Acts, seven young people are working to
renovate an enormous lot at 410 Dalzell
Street into a communal living space
designed to uplift the Highland
neighborhood in Shreveport.
"We're hoping to provide a house and
home for a community of all types," said
Britney Winn, one of the house's future
tenants. "After every conversation we have
it seems like someone else catches on to
the vision."
Yellow House of Highland is all about that
vision.
Anna Connell, another of the future tenants,
said they're trying to relearn the communal
life of the earliest churches. She said her
hope is to have the house serve as a
community hub, growing shared food,
providing rest for the area's homeless and
bringing art and music to the
neighborhood.
"We're going to live in community here and
serve the neighborhood and have them
serve each other," Connell said.
Connell said the idea came after the group
spent time in Haiti following the devastating
earthquake and working to end it's
enormous humanitarian crisis. After
deciding to live together for the good of the
Shreveport community, they started house
hunting.
Fortunately, Connell found herself baby-
sitting for Hilary and Bill Free, locals who
had just returned to Shreveport after s
erving with the military. When Connell told
them about a house they found — the
$100,000 yellow house on Dalzell — Hilary
Free said she felt drawn to the idea.
"It was like God was tugging at us, telling us
this is why he put us here in Shreveport,"
Hilary Free said.
And after a lot of prayer, they bought it in
February to serve as the community
ministry.
Though the entire group agrees the house
is perfect for their needs — it has an
enormous yard for the community garden,
eight bedrooms, a loft area for recording
music and a big porch — it's not ready yet.
In the first of what will doubtlessly be many
community events, the group — who are
applying for not-for-profit status — hosted
a barbecue on Friday to meet the
neighbors and hopefully raise some money
for the thousands of dollars worth of
repairs needed to bring the house up to
code.
Dozens of neighbors and friends showed
up to support the cause.
"It seems like their mission is good," said
neighbor Karen LaBeau.
"Hopefully they can make it come to fruition
and get the help they need."
The cost
Following are high-priority repairs for Yellow
House of Highland:
Foundation leveling: $8,000 to $15,000
Electrical issues: $7,000
Plumbing issues: $9,000
Window replacement: $12,000
Heating/AC issues: not available
Kitchen gutting/fixing: not available
Send any donation inquiries to
yellowhousehighland@gmail.com.
You don't have to live on the same block to come. The kids said it's open to everyone.
FRIDAY MARCY 18TH
6-9 PM (PRESENTATION AT 7PM)
THE YELLOW HOUSE
419 DALZELL STREET
SHREVEPORT, LA 71104
FROM INVITE "...WE'LL SHARE LOTS OF GREAT FOOD, STORIES OF THE COMMUNITY THAT IS ALREADY DEVELOPING, AND AN INVITATION TO ALL WHO ARE INTERESTED TO BECOME A PART OF THOSE STORIES..."
They are tapping in to social media to spread the word or I guess it could be The Word yfrog.com/hsz3pvij
FROM THEIR WEBSITE
About Us
The Yellow House is located in the Highland neighborhood of Shreveport, LA. Here you will find a small group of twenty-somethings living in hopes of offering a home and a hub for the larger community at which they feel welcome to plug in, serve out of, seek help, think imaginatively, be creative, make music and art, study scripture, eat together, and live life fully together.
//The What
We’re the Yellow House of Highland, an intentional community in its infancy stages, and we are moving forward in all of our rawness, excitement, naivety, praying and dreaming. The seven of us living in the house have felt led by God over time to live a life that is not disconnected and isolated, but one that is tightly woven with the lives of the larger “family” around us. Our vision is to cultivate a space where people can connect and meet each other’s needs with the understanding that full life and real change will come from that.
The objective of The Yellow House is to relearn biblical community, creativity, and collaboration –– and to offer an example of what life can look like when done together in today’s culture by providing a home and a hub that welcomes all community members.
//The Why
In the Bible there’s a book called Acts, where you can find the story of a group of people living out the message of a then recently persecuted and revolutionary man named Jesus.
It went like this:
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” [Acts 2:42-47]
We think this kind of life is worth relearning. And we know that we are preceded by a rich tradition of folks who have sought the same before us, to whom we look for wisdom, inspiration, and encouragement. So we want to give it a shot, feeling confident that many quality, restorative, laugh-filled, creative moments will come along with this endeavor.
//The How
It’s a simple list with an ever-growing story surrounding it, as the idea of doing life together becomes more and more contagious:
1. Renovate the house.
2. Grow the family while kicking off activities and ministries.
The first part is where we find ourselves now. We’re excited to see whose paths will merge with ours in the near future, and how God is going to provide for the completion of the renovations. Much is to be done, but the process will be as fun as it is worth it.
The second part is what we love the most — meeting people and doing life with them. We aspire to make available to the community: a redistribution center for food and clothing, a community garden, after school opportunities for children, homeless outreach services, a venue for art and music house-shows, community meals, and professional service offerings for low-income individuals and families.
//So what can you do?
First, come and see!
410 Dalzell Street
Shreveport, LA 71104
IMG_4112