From Darin Peterson this morning:

CONSPIRE.jpg

Call for visions and voices in our premier issue.
DATE:  Spring 2009 (March)

GENERAL THEME:  Resurrection Stories

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:
At the core of all Christian belief is this bizarre, astonishing, and
absurd claim:  That someone who was executed and killed came back to
life three days later.  Most of the time it seems that church folks
allow that belief to be a safe, abstract spiritual idea without really
grappling with its claim on their lives. 
 
Does the resurrection of Jesus actually have an impact on our
lives, personally and communally?  Have we felt resurrection in our own
experience?  Has the resurrection story transformed the way we lived
into certain situations or utterly changed the way we looked at our
options? How?

Have we gone through real deaths – losing someone we loved, bathing and embalming
the loved one’s body marked by brutal violence, or feeling our hopes
and possibilities crushed – only to come out at the other end, more
alive and on fire with hope?

 
Or is resurrection the ultimate Christian mind-game–a story so
hardwired into us that we are programmed to find resurrection whether
or not it is actually there. Are our resurrection stories a placebo to
cover up meaningless suffering and loss? Do we call things resurrection
when what we actually mean is that we have gotten over some death and
moved on?
 
This inaugural issue of Conspire! will launch around Easter, 2009.
In it, we invite you to share your musings on resurrection. Your
stories may come from your personal life, or from the life of your
community, or from the world around you.  How have you experienced
world-shattering hope, good news that turns you upside down and changes
your life – and is more than a spiritual cliché?  Maybe resurrection
happens in sly, subtle ways (after all, only a handful of people saw
the risen Jesus!).  Maybe resurrections are there all the time – but we
finally learn to open our eyes to see them.  
 

We are looking for various kinds of materials: 
Articles:   Articles can range from 200 to 1,500 words. 
We are looking for material that is personal, engaged, provocative,
challenging – not scholarly, not too heady, but neither too simplistic
or pious.  Most articles should relate to the specific theme of the
issue, though we will occasionally consider others as well.

Artwork and Photography:   Do you have an eye for the
visual image that compels our attention, draws forth deep resonance in
our spirit, unveils the unseen beauty around us – or maybe is just
cool?  Let’s see what you have -maybe it fits in our pages.

Poetry:   Do you weave words that yield the shock of
beauty, the jolt of insight, the opening of new awareness? Send
something our way – no long epics, please, no piety set to verse.

Short Fiction:   Are you a spinner of yarns that probe
the human condition, that navigate the interstices of meaning and
mystery in our experience?  Maximum of 1,500 words.

Reviews:  Are there some great books, films, art, blogs,
or other media out there that can spark our imagination, challenge our
paradigms, empower us in our subversive revolution of love?  Let us
know – in under 500 words.  (Note:  Reviews do not have to tie into the
theme of the issue.)

The deadline for submissions is January 9, 2009. 
Send manuscripts, queries, ideas to: editors@conspiremagazine.com

No large image files, please. Small, low-res jpegs, or links to online galleries.

WHO WE ARE: Conspire! is a quarterly publication that
shares stories of community, revolutionary love, and creative new
visions. Conspire! stubbornly insists that small, daily acts of faith,
conviction, and integrity can change the world. 

List of Community Co-conspirators: The Simple Way, AWIP, Rutba House, New Providence Community Church, Servants Vancouver, Flood, Centurions Purse, Christian Communites International (Bruderhof), Reimagine, Nehemiah House, The Banner House, Communality, Solomon’s Porch, Circle Venture, Mulberry House, Tolstoy House, Hyaets, Detroit Villages Lahash

International, Reba Place, Relational Tithe, and more to come…

Since Conspire! is just starting, we are not able to
offer compensation for articles at this point  – but we certainly will
provide you with a subscription!


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