Tomorrow will mark one month that I have been here in Seattle with Mennonite Voluntary Service.  So, I thought this as good a time as any to give you an update on my life here in the beautiful Pacific northwest.

As many of you already know, my placement is with an organization called ONE/Northwest.  (ONE stands for Online Networking for the Environment, a confusing name, to be sure, but it’s what we’ve got.)  Back in the heady days of the late 90’s, ONE/Northwest set up physical computer networks for environmental groups, connecting them to the internet.  These days, we serve environmental nonprofits in four areas: Web sites, e-mail, databases, and strategy consulting.

One of the things that has most impressed about the ONE/Northwest is the organization’s strong commitment to its mission, which is building a sustainable society.  Initially, I wasn’t too sure about working for an environmental organization, because I’m not a tree-hugger, a save-the-whales activist or any of the other “environmentalist” stereotypes.  That said, I’ve discovered that sustainability is something I can really get behind, since it’s all about connecting people to each other and to the land.  It includes things like community-supported agriculture and “green” jobs–things that directly affect people’s lives and their relationship to the natural world.  As a result, I’ve found that working for sustainability connects with my faith as it relates to stewardship and care for all of creation…not to mention that it’s really exciting work!

At ONE/Northwest, every project we consider is evaluated to determine whether it fits our mission and strategy.  We also talk a lot about creating “leverage” within the environmental movement; that is, investing our time and energy in the places where it will produce the greatest return in term of sustainability.  In addition to providing technological tools for our clients, folks at ONE/Northwest have laid out the philosophical grounding for the work we do, most notably our Theory of Change.  As a result, we’re respected as leaders not only in the technology sector but also in the environmental movement at large.

So far, my work at ONE/Northwest has been a combination of reading, programming, and receiving (lots of) training.  Two weeks ago, I attended a week-long “Plone Bootcamp” held on the University of Washington campus.  (Plone is the software we use to build Web sites.  And as for the bootcamp part, well, let’s just say that the “drill sergeant” was a pretty big geek…which, coming from me, is a compliment.)  Then last week I went on a two-day planning retreat with the rest of the organization, which also proved to be a great chance to get to know my coworkers better.

Our office is on the tenth floor of the Vance building, which is right in the heart of downtown Seattle, just a few blocks from the Pike Place Market.  There are approximately 15 of us that work in the Seattle office, with a handful of other folks scattered around the Pacific northwest.  I generally walk to work in the mornings, which takes about half an hour, if it’s not too cold or rainy.  In the afternoon, I often take a bus back because we live near the top of a big hill, and I don’t feel like climbing up the entire way. 

There are seven other MVSers in the unit, and we all live in a big house in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, which is next to downtown.  Though it doesn’t look like it from the outside, there are, in fact, eight bedrooms in the house.  I’m on the third floor under the eaves in the room the faces the street.  So, if you do Google street view on our address, the three little windows at the very top of the house are in my room.  (I also posted some photos on Facebook, if you’re interested.)

So far, we’ve been getting along remarkably well as a house.  We share jobs like shopping, cleaning, and house maintenance according to a chore rotation, and we take turns cooking dinner in teams of two on Monday through Thursday.  Five of the people in the house are vegetarian, which was a bit of an adjustment for me, but actually I feel like we’ve been eating very well.  (It turns out that people love to give you food when you’re poor!  So, for example, I got to take home all of the leftovers from our ONE/Northwest retreat.)

In our spare time, we like to sing and play music together (piano, guitar, and, of course, my ukulele!) or go on excursions to one of several parks within walking distance.  One of my housemates, Chet, and I bought rollerblades at a local thrift store, and we’ve had fun using them a few times so far.  This week we fixed up some of the bikes that came with the house, and this afternoon we went on a ride since the weather was beautiful.  (The problem with all of these wheel-related sports is that any outing from our house necessarily involves a steep uphill climb on the return trip!)  Last week I also went to a Mariners baseball game since Bekah, another one of my housemates, gets free tickets from her placement.  And yesterday, I went with several of the other VSers to the Washington MCC sale in the eastern part of the state.  (Fresh apple cider…yum!)

Two churches support our unit here in Seattle: Seattle Mennonite and Evergreen Mennonite.  SMC is the larger of the two congregations, and it tends to be more intellectual and experimental in terms of worship style.  EMC is more family-oriented and tends toward a more traditional worship style (though, it should be noted, “traditional” is somewhat relative).  I haven’t been to either church too often yet, so I’m not sure yet which I’ll end up connecting with more often.  I feel more at home at Evergreen, but I’m also interested in some of the issues that SMC is exploring.  So, we’ll see.  In either case, I feel like both congregations are excited about welcoming us to their city and inviting us to get to know them better.

There’s more I could write, but I’ll leave it at that for now.  All in all, I feel like I’m in the right place, and I’m enjoying my time here.  Thanks to all of you who have written, called, prayed, or supported me in any number of other ways.  Your support has been felt and appreciated!

Matt