What happened to the Daily Dig?

Readers of this blog know that, every so often, I'd re-print the Bruderhof Community's Daily Dig. The Daily Dig was a daily quotation about spirituality, delivered by e-mail subscription. I looked forward to my Daily Dig, and when one especially hit home, I'd post it here.

Alas, several weeks ago the folks at Bruderhof signed off from the Internet. Gone are not only the Daily Dig, but Bruderhof's entire web site, which was loaded with wonderful spiritual writing, including essays and free e-books. All free, and no registration required.

Why did Bruderhof resign from the Internet? They haven't said. There's some speculation about it on the Gentry I/O blog. A fellow named Hoots has his own thoughts about Bruderhof's retirement. And some other folks have started a Bring Back Bruderhof web site, where anyone can add a comment.

For those who, like me, wish they had downloaded Bruderhof's e-books before Bruderhof's web site disappeared, there's some good news. A fellow named Graham has uploaded many of them on the Leaving Münster blog. They're free for downloading, just like they were at Bruderhof.

Meanwhile, inspired by Graham, I'm going to make my own tiny gesture toward filling the void. When I evacuated New Orleans just ahead of Katrina, I brought along a book: The Habit of Being, a collection of letters by Flannery O'Connor. Many times while reading this book, a sentence or paragraph would jump off the page. So as I read, I made a list of those attention-grabbing (at least to me) passages. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to post one of those passages every few days. I hope that people who find them troubling or perplexing will leave comments. Since we're still celebrating Christmas (today is the 6th of the 12 days), the first one will concern this feast. Look for it tomorrow.

Comments

[ashley]

All hail the wayback machine:

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://http://www.bruderhof.org/

[Hootsbuddy]

I'm a bit late finding you, but thanks for the link and visits. I didn't drink at the Daily Dig fountain as often as I might have, but when it was gone I felt a real loss. I emailed the address listed and received a wonderful reply. They have received over two thousand messages and are hosting a series of meetings one weekend in May, inviting people who wish to come in person.
The email said, in part, "We brothers and sisters and children behind the Daily Dig don't want this to be an end. We find ourselves spreading out into so many small house communities in different cities and countries right now that we can no longer devote our energies to maintaining a website, inspiring as it was, but need to focus on face-to-face relationships with those around us."
I'm not an active Bruderhof participant but I'm sure anyone who is interested can email them directly and receive a list of meeting sites and respective contact persons.
I also emailed Christoph Arnold and received a polite reply.
Thanks again for the link.

[Connie Brant]

I so loved the Daily Dig. They were such inspirational sayings and stories that helped me through so many tough times. I am going through more tough times, but was unaware that the Daily Dig was no longer to be gotten. I use to send them among our group at work. But I lost my job around November 8th and have not been on the computer much. I have had to apply for disability and medicaid and have been so sick. So I now need these daily digs to get me through each day.
Help me along....
I appreciate anything you can send my way...Thanks,
Connie

[lpkb]

I also felt a loss when the Dig stopped... In the last month I've found another daily quotes email. I've been quite impressed with it. It's called the Daily Asterisk and was started to try to fill the void left by the demise of the Dig. Check out the link below if you're interested:
Click here

[Ernie N. Guinto]

Yes, what a loss I have or we have because I always send this to our Community members of Marriage Enrichment Graduates and they really appreciate every words in it.

Is this permanent? Kindly bring it back.

Many thanks.....Ernie

[Robert Cannon]

The Daily Dig was a source of inspirational readings for my family. As so often is the case in these situations, with the void created by the loss of the Daily Dig, I sought to recreate a daily meditation myself. I found Tolstoy's A Calendar of Wisdom which has been truly joyous, and I read from many other books from Dorothy Day, to ML King, to Gandhi, Buddhism, and Flannery O'Connor. Ultimately, I have concluded to give A Daily Meditation blog a go. It is known as Galgalim and it can be found at http://galgalim.wordpress.com/. It is in BETA while a fine tune how to do this right. For those who loved the Daily Dig, I would very much welcome your feedback on Galgalim, and how to make it a true service.