Thursday night (in addition to being Taco Thursday) was Spirituality Night for our community. I've really been missing praying the Liturgy of the Hours lately, so I volunteered to create a reimagined version of Evening Prayer, using quotes and passages suggested by the community in place of the official psalms and readings. I have to say, I was rather pleased with how it all turned out :-) There's something so joyful about praying in community, especially in the call-and-response format of the Liturgy of the Hours. I love the safety and the sanctity created by the rhythm of our voices, by the intentionality of our words. It was also wonderful to share with my community a form of prayer that is so special to me, in a way that I hope allowed each one of us to find some meaning.

In other news, we've decided to be a bit more environmentally-conscious in our community by composting - or, more accurately, by joining a Philadelphia-based program that provides pick-up service for compostable organic waste (the perfect solution for composting neophytes like ourselves!) Our "collection container" was dropped off this evening. During the week we'll fill it with fruit cores, vegetable peels, coffee grinds, tea bags, egg shells, clean paper, and cardboard (plus a few surprising things like dryer and vacuum cleaner lint...) Every Thursday night, the guys who run the program will swing by our house to pick up our organic waste, which they'll take to what I'm assuming is their own giant compost pile. Instant composting, with none of the smell or the hassle - and for only $10/month! The company is called Bennett Compost (http://www.bennettcompost.com/), and while it only serves Philadelphia, it's a great idea that could easily be implemented in other cities. For much better information on the benefits of composting than I could possibly provide, check out the EPA's website: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/composting/benefits.htm.

It's such a blessing to feel the different values of JVC coming together in unexpected ways - a spiritual exercise becomes an opportunity for community bonding; an aspect of simple living raises our consciousness towards issues of social justice. We're certainly not living quite as intentional, integrated lives as we could be all of the time - but in some moments, the beauty and value of this year-long experiment become so clear, enveloping my soul in joy and thanksgiving.