Elihu Intro Post

I know, I know the blog thing is totally a thing of 2015. Clearly, I am late to the party. Blogs are one of the many things I am a late adopter of. If you are still reading this, I hope you will find the thoughts listed and discussed here as generative and give you a deeper character sense of who I (Evan) am and what kind of culture we have at Elihu Community Ministries.

 This blog post will fall into one of two categories. One will be reactions or stories regarding loneliness and social isolationism as they relate to Seattle Washington. I am passionate about Seattle and the pacific northwest. Seattle is a great city with world class vistas, interesting people and fun stuff to do. The Pacific Northwest has some of the best outdoor and nature scene in the United States. However, Seattle and people in the Northwest across demographic groups are struggling. We have so many people who are lonely and isolated here. Despite having such a high standard of living we are people who do not cultivate deep relationships well. Our senses of one-ness and community-ness are strained. On one hand we have tons of high paying jobs, and in the other tons of people with depression. This is a problem that we as an organization want to address. We want to address it with the next major category of this blog; Christian Spirituality.

 We are at our core a Christian organization. We are not trying to convert everyone we meet, neither are we trying to connect only with other Christians in Seattle. However, Christian spirituality is our method and our 'why' to this work. Before I go on too much further it is important to recognize that Christian spirituality is a broad term that has numerous different expressions here in Seattle, on each Continent and in history. I know that at this point in history faith-based or non-secularized thinking is not highly valued in the greater cultural conversation. Christian spirituality has a long history of impacting and shaping the ethics of people in America. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, sometimes it's hard to clearly determine. Therefore, regardless of your faith background or lack thereof, I think the dialogue happing in Christian spirituality is going to impact you and impact the lives of people in Seattle.

 This led us to a highly contentious point of how my Christian spirituality impact my politics. Somewhat complicatedly it is against my code of ethics to endorse a particular political candidate or a political party. Elihu is not a political organization, and our funds are not used to support local, state or national politics. I will say however, that Christian Spirituality has a long and vibrant tradition of critiquing people in power and their misuse of power that is contrary to God's ethics. As such I will spell out positions which very harshly critique a political establishment.

That is all for now. I hope that is a good general overview. If that overview got confusing, I hope some of the following posts will give you an idea of what our ideology and thinking is. Additionally, if you have questions or thoughts shoot us an email, comment or give us an old fashioned messenger pigeon.

The Pews are going to fall

As a faith leader, one of my responsibilities is keeping an eye on the spiritual landscape—not just in my community but across the country. People often have opinions about the state of faith in America, but hard data only comes in from time to time. Last week, the Pew Research Center released a major poll suggesting that the decades-long decline in Christian participation has finally slowed. More accurately, the rate of decline has declined. (I know, now I sound like I actually did well in college calculus.) The takeaway? Most of the people who were going to leave Christianity have already left, and churches may now be able to stabilize after three decades of dechurching.

But if you look closely at the data, it’s clear that this pause in decline is only temporary. We’re on the edge of a free fall. The majority of religious participants are 55 and older, with a significant portion in their 80s. Meanwhile, younger generations aren’t stepping in to fill the ranks. In other words, the stage is set for Christianity to experience a massive decline in the next 10 years. It’s hard to overstate how big this shift will be and how it will reshape American politics and public life. In terms of religion in America, this isn’t just a shift—it’s more like a mass extinction event. Places of worship won’t necessarily close, but entire branches of the American faith tradition may disappear.

I know many people in Seattle don’t think much about this. Some even assume that all Christians are just hardcore Trump supporters and say, “Good riddance.” But here’s the thing—Christian faith organizations will also disappear. That means fewer volunteers running food pantries, soup kitchens, and homeless outreach programs. Many small, neighborhood-based churches that offer food, clothing, and community support will shut down. Like them or not, churches often serve as gathering places in times of crisis and sorrow, providing for the most vulnerable. Sure, faith communities don’t always agree, and sometimes they drive each other up the wall with their debates. But losing them? That’s going to leave a real gap in our communities.

That said, when something dies in an ecosystem, it creates space for something new. So, I wonder—what might grow in place of what’s disappearing? Could something else rise up that brings more hope and life to our neighborhoods in Seattle? I don’t have the answer, but it’s something worth thinking about.

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.