Art and Spirituality have always been closely connected. From the beginning we see God creating. In Exodus when they are preparing the Tabernacle, the home for God, we see Bezalel is chosen and filled with the Spirit to be able to create a dwelling place of beauty for God. We see David being a wonderful musician with lyre, and have many beautiful poems from him.

This past week was Mighty Oak Academy’s Spring Break. While the team and students got some much deserved rest, I stayed around to work on some projects that were easier to do with people out of the buildings. Without all the normal activity around it led to a very quiet week, which is exactly what our Spirit needs every once awhile.

This week we got the opportunity for volunteer groups to come through and learn from and serve at Love City helping us with some of the projects that we have going on. Volunteers have always been a part of Love City’s story, helping us to restore our neighborhood. This week we got two groups from Arkansas of middle and high school students on their spring break.

Time changes, beautiful weather, spring cleaning; despite Spring not officially beginning until next week we have been blessed with an early week of spring weather giving us all a boost of energy. This weather brings with it renewed activity around the neighborhood, neighbors emerging from their hibernation and getting back out to greet one another. This weather also brings some beautiful changes all around Love City. 

Yesterday we got the opportunity to take our entire school to the zoo. It is always a great time when teachers get the chance to spend educational moments with students outside of a traditional classroom environment, allowing for curiosity to take the lead and for visualizations to supplement the learning that happens in classrooms. It also allows students and teachers to see a different side of one another.

If you have never physically visited Love City you may not know that we have two urban greenhouses for growing vegetables. We have had these for 7-8 years and they have been used as ingredients at Porkland, for selling fresh produce to local restaurants, neighborhood farmer’s markets, and Mighty Oak gardening classes.

This week was Mighty Oak’s mid winter break. One of our breaks throughout the school year that gives both students and educators time to rest and come back refreshed and ready to create the best possible educational time during instruction. It was a cold, snowy break but a lot was still accomplished.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It is the question that can throw someone on the brink of graduation into a spiral and one that has sparked plenty of quarter-life crises. It can be overwhelming for young adults transitioning into a new phase of life, whether that is graduating high school, earning a degree, or entering the workforce.

This week, our after school programs for this semester kicked into gear. Every school day has after school programs of various types, some days even have multiple options for kids to attend! Now, we have more options for students than we have had in years. It has been awesome to see our team step up to lead these programs and the excitement it has created in students. 

I think people may not understand how community driven Love City is. Not only is everything we do based on what our community needs, but we also will pivot at a moment’s notice if those needs change. We have done it before with food distribution during CoVid, with the creation of Mighty Oak Academy in the fallout of NTI in our neighborhood, but also in smaller moments.

We all know a gym rat, someone who seemingly cannot get enough time in the gym. They love shooting ball, or lifting waits, or doing anything active. At Love City we seem to have two of these gym rats: Sebastian and Santana. Some of you may have heard Sebastian’s story before, but he has a twin sister Santana who is also on our team. 

With the winter weather this past week, many people’s lives hit pause. School’s were called off and businesses called for remote work. One great advantage of having community based education, is that the weather was not as big of a hindrance and if anything, only helped in bringing the community together more. 

t’s no secret that we expect a lot from our students at Mighty Oak Academy. We value education and the time that we get to spend with our student’s every day. But we also want our students to be excited to come to school and to understand how fun that learning can be.

A few weeks ago a young couple came in. They were from Portland, I had seen them around before but had never really talked to them before. But they came in and said “we need some help, we’re getting married and are still looking for some stuff”. Over the next couple of weeks they made multiple stops in, each time getting some things they needed, dresses for their flowergirls, a shirt for the groom, shoes for the bride.

With Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Thred Up, it has seemingly never been easier for somebody who has something they don’t need to give that thing to somebody who does need it. The concept in its simplest form is amazing, letting resources flow where they are needed, but it can often get complicated when the giver begins to ask “what can I get out of this?” Greed can take hold and lead neither party to budge, preventing the resources from getting to where they need to be

Yesterday we got to celebrate Thanksgiving at Mighty Oak before the school went on their holiday break. This year we decided to have a more intimate meal and instead of doing the whole school at once, we did one class at a time. Parents were allowed to attend lunch with their children and sit down and enjoy a meal with them. We were blessed to have Lou Lou in Middletown provide the food as well as many helping hands from their team to serve food to our families. 

In September 2023, I had been studying for my Master’s in creative writing and teaching as a graduate assistant for the English department at my university. After spending a week in the hospital, I knew the best decision for me was to drop out. My choice hinged upon one crucial factor– I hated teaching… or at least I thought I did. 

Portland is a community full of love and joy. Many people will read that sentence and find it hilarious, thinking Portland is just some broken community with no future ahead of it. But the way I see it is just so different. 

I generally don’t get too involved in holidays but it is hard to not have a lot of fun at breakfast as all the kids come dressed up in their costumes. That fun was not the only bright spot in the week. In the week of the holiday that celebrates death, the Love City community has had three babies born. 

It is a day with fans and haters. A day that brings smiles to some and dread to others. A day that, through wars, depressions, and the rise of smartphones has remained a tradition in schools across the nation: picture day.