In 2014 I started a series called “My View from the Front Porch”. This is only the 5th installment! In the May 2015 installment, I reflected on my and Amber’s decision to put down roots in Springfield:“The next stage is to find a particular region, a particular neighborhood, a particular community, a particular house or houses. We will find this when we find...

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This op-ed article was written by Bethany Bell Today, Americans face a myriad of struggles from balancing work life and parental responsibilities, finding time to eat well, caring for the rapidly growing senior population and avoiding the emotional toll of social isolation. Unfortunately, the way we choose to live only exaggerates many of these problems.  Some Americans have started questioning the traditional dream...

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In Spare Key, birthday speeches are a tradition. I feel like teaching is a daily speech and I don't particularly relish sharing my thoughts out loud, so I typically refrain from the tradition. Well, this year is a big year for me, so I thought I would write a birthday letter for myself to read every year of my 30’s to remind me...

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This is just a quick note to mark an important day. The first gathering of what became Spare Key took place at Gailey's Breakfast Cafe on Feb 18, 2012! It is wonderful to be still celebrating intentional community five years later. Spare Key’s vision of what intentional community can look like in Springfield Missouri has guided us through changes and growth. Our common...

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A Note on Taizé in Springfield Amber and I went to a Taizé service at Brentwood the other day. It was the first Taizé service we had been too since we first discovered Taizé at East Liberty Presbyterian Church five years ago. Taizé prayer is characterized by contemplative songs, low lights, crosses, and candles. I don’t have a picture of the service to...

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Spare Key recently decided on new people for leadership roles, which we call czar positions. Last year, I was the Sharing Czar and I was asked to continue in this role. My main job is to find opportunities for us to share life in creative ways. This past year that has taken the form of hosting a wedding shower for Rob and Abbey,...

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Last year around this time, we had our first declaration of czars. Recently, we declared new czars for the next year. Here are the czars for the upcoming year... Adventure Czar - Bethany History Czar - Jay Study Czar - Jonathan Sharing Czar - Amber Service Czar - Ryan Communication Czars - Bethany & Tessa Photography Czar - Lauren Research Czar - Travis...

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