Christian Community Development Association
Inspire. Train. Connect.
I missed childhood. I was old at five, wizened at seven and a sad old creature at eight. Yet, already, I was intent on remembering every detail, every sound. I eavesdropped because nothing was ever explained to me. I learned to hang around adults and listen. I learned never to ask questions …
Continue Reading about I Will Remember: Irene Finnigan’s Story →
There is a moment in every person’s life when they become self-aware of a truth they have hidden from. For some, that moment comes in a near-death experience, or when they take a trip to a third-world country. Others live day by day without experiencing that moment. Yet, no matter who you are, …
I know I am Mexican-American because of my hands. My hands are brown like café con leche. My hands are soft like a fleece cobija. My hands are smooth like a Cumbia rhythm. I explain my hands with a blend of English and Español, Mexican and American culture, because I am a living blend. This is …
Continue Reading about Mexican-American Hands: Why I am doing El Camino →
“Life in community is no less than a necessity for us––it is an inescapable ‘must’ that determines everything we do and think.” ––Eberhard Arnold “We live in a social order that has confused freedom with the isolation of the self. We may think we know one another, but our ‘knowing’ only …
Continue Reading about An Invitation Into a Life of Community, a Book Review →
In a few short weeks, CCDA practitioners will begin a 150 mile walking pilgrimage at the border of Mexico and California––El Camino del Inmigrante––to share in solidarity with immigrants who are migrating across the world. Pilgrimages are an opportunity for the re-orienting of oneself––not only …
Continue Reading about Mexican-American Hands: Why I am doing El Camino →
You know what’s hard? Loving people. And since love is really the heart of justice, that’s even more exhausting, because it means reciprocal connection, unearthing all our baggage in relationship (accidentally or intentionally), and walking in the ways of Jesus. I’m getting tired just writing that …
Continue Reading about Managing Disappointment through Friendship and Self-Care →
In 2012, I sat down with my grandmother for a rare conversation. Growing up biracial, I was always eager to learn about the Chinese side of my family, and I usually turned to my mother for the stories of her parents’ immigration from China to the United States. On this particular occasion, my …
Continue Reading about A Chinese-American Immigrant’s Story →
