Friends:
Tonight we meet for “Solomon’s Porch” at First Cup coffee house, Five Mile and Inkster Rd. to discuss issues of the day, to delve into how faith and life connect within any given topic, and see where the Spirit leads us. The topic for tonight:
Last Sunday night was the season premiere of Sunday Night Football featuring the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. It was a time to introduce the new Cowboy stadium to the masses. At a cost of 1.2 billion dollars, it is one of the most expensive stadiums ever built. Yes, you read correctly, 1.2 billion. It will hold its pricey title until next season, when the New York Giants unveil their new 1.6 billion dollar field. The new Texas stadium features, among other things, a 600 ton Jumbotron television screen in the middle of the field, and at 3 million square feet it is three times larger than the field that the Cowboys played on last year. Owner Jerry Jones notes only 7% of football fans have ever been to an NFL game and he wants to encourage more fans to come out and experience live football. That experience does come with a price, however. The average price for a family of four to enjoy an NFL game with all the trimmings (tickets, food and drink, programs, caps and parking) is $412.64. At the new Texas stadium, that price is $758.58.
There are lots of places to join in the conversation of this topic. Do we really need billion dollar stadiums to watch a football game? Should we be spending a house payment to enjoy live football? What might be a better use of those funds? In most stadium situations, public and private monies are partnered together to build stadiums, touting the revenue that will be produced by having state of the art venues like this one, is it worth it? As people of faith, should we be speaking out against this type of excess, and if so, how? Should we be boycotting live events? Should we be advocating for a reallocation of these funds? Does it matter if it is private or public monies? Certainly people like Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys do a share of charitable giving, but is a one billion dollar stadium over the top?
Bring your opinion tonight to SP from 7-8 pm. As usual, if you cannot make it but have a comment to share, let me know today via e-mail. I look forward to seeing many of you tonight!
Showing posts with label Solomon's Porch Coffee House discussions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Solomon's Porch Coffee House discussions. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Solomon's Porch featured in the Redford Observer
Check out our article here
This is great news for our church. The next Solomon's Porch will be Tuesday, September 22nd at 7pm. I hope to see many of you there.
This is great news for our church. The next Solomon's Porch will be Tuesday, September 22nd at 7pm. I hope to see many of you there.
Monday, December 15, 2008
A new way to revitalize Detroit?
Does acre upon acre of barren blocks offer a chance to reinvent Detroit?
An interesting question in today’s Detroit Free Press offers a fresh look at a generation old problem of what to do with empty land currently taking up great blocks of space in Detroit. Our Solomon’s Porch coffee house discussion will look this week at one person’s take at a solution. The Free Press article can be found here.
Information for the discussion:
-A new map shows how to tuck the land mass of Manhattan, San Francisco and Boston into Detroit. All three urban areas would fit snuggly within Detroit’s 139 square miles with room to spare.
-Detroit’s population has declined from a high of 2 million in 1950 to under 900,000 in 2008
-the writer’s conclusion: hopes and plans to repopulate the city and redevelop the city’s vacant land are unrealistic, at least for another generation. Some redevelopment deals will succeed, but realistic Detroiter’s should seize the opportunity to become a leaner, greener city for the 21st century.
-When speaking of the best use of vacant land, urban farming is generating the most buzz. What if Detroit could provide a significant amount of fruits and vegetables for its population and the surrounding areas?
-All the mayoral candidates are mum on this topic at the moment. Why do you think that is?
-Did you know that Detroit was once called the city of Elms, a green city known for its parks?
-studies concluded in the fall of 2008 that all of Detroit’s current population needs around 50 square miles for living space. The remaining 89 square miles could be used for other purposes.
Faith issues: How are we called, if we indeed are called, as people of faith, to participate in the revitalization of Detroit’s vacant land? Would advocating for the greening of Detroit be connected to care of Creation? What sort of voice should people have that live outside of Detroit proper but are affected by the issue of vacant property and population decline in our largest city? What other uses of the land make sense to you? How should the church be involved in this process?
Bring ideas to these questions as well as some of your own to our Solomon’s Porch coffee house discussion tomorrow night at First Cup coffee house starting at 7 pm.
An interesting question in today’s Detroit Free Press offers a fresh look at a generation old problem of what to do with empty land currently taking up great blocks of space in Detroit. Our Solomon’s Porch coffee house discussion will look this week at one person’s take at a solution. The Free Press article can be found here.
Information for the discussion:
-A new map shows how to tuck the land mass of Manhattan, San Francisco and Boston into Detroit. All three urban areas would fit snuggly within Detroit’s 139 square miles with room to spare.
-Detroit’s population has declined from a high of 2 million in 1950 to under 900,000 in 2008
-the writer’s conclusion: hopes and plans to repopulate the city and redevelop the city’s vacant land are unrealistic, at least for another generation. Some redevelopment deals will succeed, but realistic Detroiter’s should seize the opportunity to become a leaner, greener city for the 21st century.
-When speaking of the best use of vacant land, urban farming is generating the most buzz. What if Detroit could provide a significant amount of fruits and vegetables for its population and the surrounding areas?
-All the mayoral candidates are mum on this topic at the moment. Why do you think that is?
-Did you know that Detroit was once called the city of Elms, a green city known for its parks?
-studies concluded in the fall of 2008 that all of Detroit’s current population needs around 50 square miles for living space. The remaining 89 square miles could be used for other purposes.
Faith issues: How are we called, if we indeed are called, as people of faith, to participate in the revitalization of Detroit’s vacant land? Would advocating for the greening of Detroit be connected to care of Creation? What sort of voice should people have that live outside of Detroit proper but are affected by the issue of vacant property and population decline in our largest city? What other uses of the land make sense to you? How should the church be involved in this process?
Bring ideas to these questions as well as some of your own to our Solomon’s Porch coffee house discussion tomorrow night at First Cup coffee house starting at 7 pm.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
