News article from The Belton Journal
From the Dec. 24 edition of The Belton Journal…
Jonathan Blundell, a former editor of The Belton Journal and Harker Height’s Evening Star, and a University of Mary Hardin-Baylor graduate with a degree in Mass Communications, has written an inspirational novel about getting a man who learns what true friendship is and relationships are and how to live life.
The story is about a man who thinks he has his life all together then it starts to fall apart. The pain of life, both recent and past isolate him from the world. He finds refuge in a small town North of Austin.
It’s through this towns pub that he learns the importance of community and how each person needs forgiveness and grace. He also finds out the importance of stories and the value of a person’s story and how important it is to share that story with others.
The book can be purchased online at www.amazon.com, www.stpetersbrewery.info, and at www.jdblundell.com.
The novel is a self-published book, which provided more freedom in the process.
“I always wanted to write a book,” said Blundell. “I just did it.”
Blundell became involved in an organization for novice writers called the National Novel Writers Month Group. The organization challenges it’s members to write a novel within a month and have it published.
“I just sat down and wrote it,” said Blundell. “It was an odd process because of the time crunch, I wrote 2,000 words a day and I didn’t worry about proofreading or editing.”
He added that it was a fun process and as the story developed he came up with different ideas.
“I want to do more writing in the future,” said Blundell.
He says that he wants to write more books like St. Peter’s Brewery and possibly try to write something’s that non-fiction too.
Blundell also claimed that story defined some things in his life and put his life in perspective.
He said he realized many things about himself he hadn’t thought about before.
Blundell is currently living in Dallas with his wonderful wife and their dog.
Tags: article, Belton Journal, newspaper
What church could look like
A friend shared a great post today from Jan Edmiston and A Church for Starving Artists.
Reading it, I couldn’t help but think of St. Peter’s Brewery.
As I was working here on this first Monday of the new decade, Sister Sledge was playing in the background. (“We are family . . .”) I had my coffee, my laptop, and the company of three strangers who’d joined me. As is my common experience here, we became temporary colleagues suggesting which salads to try or watching each other’s computers if someone needed to slip off to the restroom.
The two men were working together on some kind of Republican political event. The other woman seemed to be writing in her diary. After the men left, the remaining woman and I kept to our work, occasionally staring into space in search of inspiration. She was looking towards the bar when she said something out loud – sort of to herself – and I replied, “What did you say?” And she said it again: “I wish my church was like this.”
Don’t we all?
It wasn’t the first time I’ve come here alone or with friends and heard those words: “I wish my church was like this.” I interpret this to mean “I wish the church was easy and warm and comfortable and diverse and tangibly hospitable. I wish there was more art and moving around and conversation and work and laughter and sitting and even praying.” I’ve prayed here many times. I’ve had staff meetings here. I’ve celebrated births and deaths here.
Jan goes on to ask, “What makes a church a church?”
Surely it’s not the building? Surely it’s not the decor.
There must be something far deeper.
It’s about the people that gather.
Whether it’s in a brewery, an old city bar, a coffee house, a living room or under a shade tree or in the middle of a parking lot — it’s still about creating a space where people feel welcome, loved and cared for.
So if you could start from scratch, what would your church look like?
Tags: bar, church, coffee house, pub, shade tree, st. peter's brewery
