Monday, December 31, 2007
feig in 2007
2007 has flown by, as the year always does.
feig wasn't called 'feig' in January 07. It wasn't called anything. It was simply a few people who'd been meeting for a couple of months.
we're a year on and lots has happened.
here's some of it:
In February six of us went to the Ammerdown retreat centre near Bath to try and decide where things might be going.
In March Dan and I were invited to lead worship at a gathering of emerging church leaders from around the UK
In April we hosted 'Be Still' our first worship event in the cathedral.
April also saw ten adults and seven kids head into the forest of Dean for the first feig picnic.
In May twenty of us met at Longleat for a fabulous day of lion spotting and maze-wandering.
Jacob arrived from the Netherlands around this time too...
We began to host feig-contemplate: a monthly 12 hour reflective prayer space in a hidden chapel in the cathedral.
The summer brought the wettest ever feig-barbeque.
It also brought Greenbelt festival where we staffed the New Forms cafe and hosted our first truly 'public' act of worship.
The autumn brought new arrivals to the core community, a deeper level of intimacy during our Wednesday evening meals and worship, and the launch of our website (here).
The autumn also saw us experimenting with 'feig film' at the Gloucester Guildhall, and the mighty and superb 'feig feast' in the cathedral.
The year has been about forming a new and fragile community of people who want to understand better what a life of faith is all about by spending time with God, with each other (us and God together)
I say together because this year I've understood in a new way that you only really work out what it is to know God in the company of others.
why is a mystery. but nevertheless, without others I reckon God starts to look a bit like you, and that seems to me to be missing something...
2007 has also been about experimenting for feig, We are a new community and new communities don't know where they'll end up, or even really what they're for.
So they have to try stuff and make mistakes and evolve gradually.
Some of the things we've done will remain in the past, but other things will grow from shoots into sapplings.
As we contemplate 2008 our focus is on bringing to life a Sunday evening feig cafe. There will be a time of worship, teaching, discussion and prayer at the start (we are a Fresh Expression of church afterall) and after this the venue will be a place where people can meet, connect, discuss, drink coffee, build relationships and laugh a lot.
We aim to kick off in February.
look forward to seeing you there one evening...
feig wasn't called 'feig' in January 07. It wasn't called anything. It was simply a few people who'd been meeting for a couple of months.
we're a year on and lots has happened.
here's some of it:
In February six of us went to the Ammerdown retreat centre near Bath to try and decide where things might be going.
In March Dan and I were invited to lead worship at a gathering of emerging church leaders from around the UK
In April we hosted 'Be Still' our first worship event in the cathedral.
April also saw ten adults and seven kids head into the forest of Dean for the first feig picnic.
In May twenty of us met at Longleat for a fabulous day of lion spotting and maze-wandering.
Jacob arrived from the Netherlands around this time too...
We began to host feig-contemplate: a monthly 12 hour reflective prayer space in a hidden chapel in the cathedral.
The summer brought the wettest ever feig-barbeque.
It also brought Greenbelt festival where we staffed the New Forms cafe and hosted our first truly 'public' act of worship.
The autumn brought new arrivals to the core community, a deeper level of intimacy during our Wednesday evening meals and worship, and the launch of our website (here).
The autumn also saw us experimenting with 'feig film' at the Gloucester Guildhall, and the mighty and superb 'feig feast' in the cathedral.
The year has been about forming a new and fragile community of people who want to understand better what a life of faith is all about by spending time with God, with each other (us and God together)
I say together because this year I've understood in a new way that you only really work out what it is to know God in the company of others.
why is a mystery. but nevertheless, without others I reckon God starts to look a bit like you, and that seems to me to be missing something...
2007 has also been about experimenting for feig, We are a new community and new communities don't know where they'll end up, or even really what they're for.
So they have to try stuff and make mistakes and evolve gradually.
Some of the things we've done will remain in the past, but other things will grow from shoots into sapplings.
As we contemplate 2008 our focus is on bringing to life a Sunday evening feig cafe. There will be a time of worship, teaching, discussion and prayer at the start (we are a Fresh Expression of church afterall) and after this the venue will be a place where people can meet, connect, discuss, drink coffee, build relationships and laugh a lot.
We aim to kick off in February.
look forward to seeing you there one evening...
Sunday, December 30, 2007
silent disco on NYE?
if you haven't got new year's eve sorted yet and don't like talking to other people or having to compromise in any way at your party, you might want to get yourself down to the Silent Disco at London's Southbank Centre...
Silent discos popped up in the UK in 2005 at Glastonbury Festival and have been making the rounds since.
'clubbers' who turn up are given a set of 'digital double channel wireless headphones' and can switch between DJs (in this case Michael Minten (DJ OD) and Nico Okkerse (NO DJ). The RFH say: 'Dance, chat and watch the live screen projection of specially created visuals. Take the headphones off and all is quiet - apart from the singing and dancing of a thousand lucky Silent Disco-ers.'
'Lucky'?
hmm...
I might give it a miss this year.
Although it's given me an idea for church.
Wireless headphones that allow you to switch between greetings at the door, worship songs, sermons, liturgical responses, and final blessings!
why didn't someone think of this before?
genius...
we'll dry run it at feig in 2008...
because that's what life (and church) is about right? it's all about me. right?
oh, and also...
I couldn't possibly stick up photos of feig in 2007 without including one or two of Greenbelt...
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Graham
I wrote the following words this week. It is part of a first draft of a much longer piece for the Church Times. It describes something that happened a couple of weeks back.
I've pasted it into my blog because of something I found out this morning:
'He stumbled into the empty cathedral just after 7.30am on the wettest Wednesday I can remember. He crashed down on the seat beside me and began to mumble something. I turned to look at him properly. He was leaning forward, his head in his hands, and he was rocking gently and moaning. His dirty jacket and thin tracksuit bottoms were soaked.
I leant closer and asked him his name. There was silence. I asked again. Slowly he raised his head, paused, and then spoke. “Graham”.
As Graham lowered his head once more, I bantered on, acutely aware of saying things that sounded contrived or worse, patronising.
Eventually Graham’s gentle moaning became more coherent and, without looking up, he said:
“Starving... Haven’t eaten for days. I’m really, really starving.”
I offered to get him something to eat. He raised his head and nodded.
Within ten minutes we had made the round trip to the sandwich shop, Graham had devoured a bacon roll and we were once again seated at the back of the cathedral. A moment later, and without a word to me, Graham lifted his legs, curled up on the seats and appeared to go to sleep. I looked around, unsure of what to do next.
A member of staff from the cathedral school arrived in the side aisle and started getting things ready for an assembly. Graham was lying where pupils would later need to be seated. I left Graham for a moment and asked the teacher what he usually did when this happened.
He didn't really know, but was pretty sure Graham wouldn't be able to stay.
I walked back to Graham and tried to rouse him. He mumbled something and snorted. He was asleep. Minutes passed, the teacher left and we were alone together in the warm, ancient silence. As I looked down at Graham I was reminded of my children sleeping.
I put my hand on his damp shoulder and prayed. At first it was simply a longing of my heart towards God on Graham’s behalf - an anxious, wordless prayer rooted in my own sense of impotence at being unable to change Graham’s circumstances. And then words came - Aaron’s words as he blessed the people of Israel: ‘Graham, the Lord God bless you and keep you, the Lord God lift up the light of his countenance upon you and grant you his peace”. I spoke in a whisper. The prayer was rooted in an overwhelming sense of peace. God was with us: Graham and I, at the back of the cathedral on a wet Wednesday morning.'
I wrote the above this past week. This morning I heard that Graham died ten days ago.
He'd checked out of the night shelter in which he had a bed and froze to death on a bench in the park.
I am deeply saddened and shocked, as anyone hearing this would be, and I've asked to be able to take the funeral service.
As it happened, Graham spent the rest of the day on which I met him sleeping peacefully at the back of the cathedral. Several cathedral staff had been involved with him, not least Lynne Chitty, who'd befriended him at the homeless breakfast club we run.
I guess among many other things, reflecting on my few moments with Graham reminds me that now is the time to act - here in the present, with those whom we find ourselves alongside. I guess it is also a reminder to be continually pro-active in prayer and assistance to those on the streets who are struggling with mental illness, as Graham was.
There's lots more I want to say but here isn't the place. I don't want to make some huge point, just share a tragic story of a loss of life because stories move people and if people are moved enough things might be different for others.
I've pasted it into my blog because of something I found out this morning:
'He stumbled into the empty cathedral just after 7.30am on the wettest Wednesday I can remember. He crashed down on the seat beside me and began to mumble something. I turned to look at him properly. He was leaning forward, his head in his hands, and he was rocking gently and moaning. His dirty jacket and thin tracksuit bottoms were soaked.
I leant closer and asked him his name. There was silence. I asked again. Slowly he raised his head, paused, and then spoke. “Graham”.
As Graham lowered his head once more, I bantered on, acutely aware of saying things that sounded contrived or worse, patronising.
Eventually Graham’s gentle moaning became more coherent and, without looking up, he said:
“Starving... Haven’t eaten for days. I’m really, really starving.”
I offered to get him something to eat. He raised his head and nodded.
Within ten minutes we had made the round trip to the sandwich shop, Graham had devoured a bacon roll and we were once again seated at the back of the cathedral. A moment later, and without a word to me, Graham lifted his legs, curled up on the seats and appeared to go to sleep. I looked around, unsure of what to do next.
A member of staff from the cathedral school arrived in the side aisle and started getting things ready for an assembly. Graham was lying where pupils would later need to be seated. I left Graham for a moment and asked the teacher what he usually did when this happened.
He didn't really know, but was pretty sure Graham wouldn't be able to stay.
I walked back to Graham and tried to rouse him. He mumbled something and snorted. He was asleep. Minutes passed, the teacher left and we were alone together in the warm, ancient silence. As I looked down at Graham I was reminded of my children sleeping.
I put my hand on his damp shoulder and prayed. At first it was simply a longing of my heart towards God on Graham’s behalf - an anxious, wordless prayer rooted in my own sense of impotence at being unable to change Graham’s circumstances. And then words came - Aaron’s words as he blessed the people of Israel: ‘Graham, the Lord God bless you and keep you, the Lord God lift up the light of his countenance upon you and grant you his peace”. I spoke in a whisper. The prayer was rooted in an overwhelming sense of peace. God was with us: Graham and I, at the back of the cathedral on a wet Wednesday morning.'
I wrote the above this past week. This morning I heard that Graham died ten days ago.
He'd checked out of the night shelter in which he had a bed and froze to death on a bench in the park.
I am deeply saddened and shocked, as anyone hearing this would be, and I've asked to be able to take the funeral service.
As it happened, Graham spent the rest of the day on which I met him sleeping peacefully at the back of the cathedral. Several cathedral staff had been involved with him, not least Lynne Chitty, who'd befriended him at the homeless breakfast club we run.
I guess among many other things, reflecting on my few moments with Graham reminds me that now is the time to act - here in the present, with those whom we find ourselves alongside. I guess it is also a reminder to be continually pro-active in prayer and assistance to those on the streets who are struggling with mental illness, as Graham was.
There's lots more I want to say but here isn't the place. I don't want to make some huge point, just share a tragic story of a loss of life because stories move people and if people are moved enough things might be different for others.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
released
it's been great visiting Dan and Ruth and baby Rory in hospital these last few days - don't get me wrong - but I am oh so pleased for the three of them that they are finally being allowed to go home!
well done the three of you! now you can get down to being a family - after all the visitors / family / well wishers / neighbours / health visitors have come and gone that is...
on another note, this weekend looks like being busy and exciting and uplifting all at once. the cathedral has many services, all of which are packed and, as you would expect, about as far from fresh expressions as it is possible to get.
odd job this.
but good, obviously.
Happy Christmas to you - whoever and wherever you are.
well done the three of you! now you can get down to being a family - after all the visitors / family / well wishers / neighbours / health visitors have come and gone that is...
on another note, this weekend looks like being busy and exciting and uplifting all at once. the cathedral has many services, all of which are packed and, as you would expect, about as far from fresh expressions as it is possible to get.
odd job this.
but good, obviously.
Happy Christmas to you - whoever and wherever you are.
Friday, December 21, 2007
the right kind of Christianity...
at Greenbelt this year I went to listen to the theologian David Ford speaking about wisdom.
He was excellent.
He pointed out the massive growth of Christianity in south America, Korea, and parts of Africa, (which would seem to be a really good thing) but he added a question about what sort of Christian faith this might be.
Growth in the numbers of people coming to faith in God is fantastic but what have these people been taught to expect from their faith?
what do they think being a Christian is about?
I don't know. And neither did David - it was just a question. But it was a good question and one that comes up for me quite frequently.
I meet lots of Christians who say things like: 'We're excited about what God might be about to do with us.' or 'We think God's got some really big plans for us.'
You know the kind of thing.
But what about the here and now? We all know that the Christian hope is that one day Jesus will return and there will be a new heaven and a new earth, but people of faith are also called to live in the present.
The present is what we have right now.
To always be expecting God to do something 'exciting' at some point in the future is to miss the point, right?
What about what God is doing right now, here, with the group of people that are gathered now?
Do we ask God to 'do some new, and exciting thing' because actually we're a bit bored?
Is it because we find it hard to accept that the mundane might also be from God?
Is it because we need constant stimulation to stay interested in the life of faith, or in the people God has actually put us with?
And let's not forget that God already did an amazing thing. In fact he did the most amazing thing that has ever happened. Ever.
He sent his son to be born amongst animals in the middle of a backwater and to die on a cross between two criminals. And then he raised him from the dead.
And if we turn to him and accept his son's death as sufficient to pay for our sins, God counts us worthy to live with him forever and begins a lifelong spiritual transformation in us.
How much more amazing does it need to get?
seriously.
The exciting thing is living in the truth of this. Jesus already taught us how to live - if we read the gospels we know what kind of transformed life he calls us to live. It's up to us whether we take that seriously and strive to do it, or whether we cherry pick the bits we fancy, or just ignore it all together.
Jesus shows us how to be authentically human: how to live in relation to God and to others in the way that we were always meant to.
This is the exciting thing - if God is 'going to do some new thing with us' it's unlikely to be some huge drama that gets us all excited until we need another spiritual high, but more likely a realisation that being called to live faithfully in the place we find ourselves, alongside the people we find ourselves with is central to the Christian faith.
preach over.
He was excellent.
He pointed out the massive growth of Christianity in south America, Korea, and parts of Africa, (which would seem to be a really good thing) but he added a question about what sort of Christian faith this might be.
Growth in the numbers of people coming to faith in God is fantastic but what have these people been taught to expect from their faith?
what do they think being a Christian is about?
I don't know. And neither did David - it was just a question. But it was a good question and one that comes up for me quite frequently.
I meet lots of Christians who say things like: 'We're excited about what God might be about to do with us.' or 'We think God's got some really big plans for us.'
You know the kind of thing.
But what about the here and now? We all know that the Christian hope is that one day Jesus will return and there will be a new heaven and a new earth, but people of faith are also called to live in the present.
The present is what we have right now.
To always be expecting God to do something 'exciting' at some point in the future is to miss the point, right?
What about what God is doing right now, here, with the group of people that are gathered now?
Do we ask God to 'do some new, and exciting thing' because actually we're a bit bored?
Is it because we find it hard to accept that the mundane might also be from God?
Is it because we need constant stimulation to stay interested in the life of faith, or in the people God has actually put us with?
And let's not forget that God already did an amazing thing. In fact he did the most amazing thing that has ever happened. Ever.
He sent his son to be born amongst animals in the middle of a backwater and to die on a cross between two criminals. And then he raised him from the dead.
And if we turn to him and accept his son's death as sufficient to pay for our sins, God counts us worthy to live with him forever and begins a lifelong spiritual transformation in us.
How much more amazing does it need to get?
seriously.
The exciting thing is living in the truth of this. Jesus already taught us how to live - if we read the gospels we know what kind of transformed life he calls us to live. It's up to us whether we take that seriously and strive to do it, or whether we cherry pick the bits we fancy, or just ignore it all together.
Jesus shows us how to be authentically human: how to live in relation to God and to others in the way that we were always meant to.
This is the exciting thing - if God is 'going to do some new thing with us' it's unlikely to be some huge drama that gets us all excited until we need another spiritual high, but more likely a realisation that being called to live faithfully in the place we find ourselves, alongside the people we find ourselves with is central to the Christian faith.
preach over.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
tubestation
I am a member of Christian Surfers UK and just received the latest copy of their newsletter.
One of the items was about Tubestation - a recently opened church that is aimed at skaters and surfers down in Polzeath in Cornwall. (link here)
I know some of the guys who set this up and have surfed a few times with Chris Lannen, Tubestation's co-director.
The church features in the latest 'Fresh Expressions' DVD and is doing well so far.
It attracted a fair bit of media interest when it first opened because of the skate ramp in the main part of the space.
It'll be interesting to see where it all goes.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Rory George and calling
Great to drop into the hospital yesterday to meet 'Rory George Pierce' for the first time.
Bit of a handsome fella - as you would expect. All very exciting.
Oxford was good too.
After a meeting at Christchurch college, I headed round the ring road to find the all singing, all dancing, all very-flash-inside new CMS central offices: (I got lost, and it took a while)
I had lunch and a very helpful conversation with Chris Neal.
Part of Chris's job is networking together 'small missional communities' around the UK.
a three day get together is planned for a number of such communities in March 08 which I am looking forward to in a big way. It will be great to make more contact with others doing the same thing as us, to share stories and look for wisdom on shared issues / challenges etc.
Chris pointed out something interesting as we spoke about those who might seek to get involved with things like feig from other, local churches: this was the idea of 'calling'.
Most people are familiar with the idea of a calling to leadership, but not with the idea that Christians already in a community, seeking to leave and join another Christian community should know that they are 'called' away from one and into the other (as opposed to 'feeling' that they simply need a change of scenery).
This wouldn't apply to those without faith, or to those who are just starting to explore faith, because part of the purpose of any Christian community is to grow by welcoming those who aren't Christians into a space where they are able to discover God.
Oh, on another note, I downloaded Rob Bell's 'Sex God' from i-tunes to listen to in the car as I travelled. I only had time to listen to half of it, and apart from Rob's slightly annoying voice, I thought it was excellent.
In my (having only heard half the book) opinion, anyone thinking through the whole spirituality / sexuality / relationships / marriage thing would benefit from Rob's thoughts.
Not least because he is pretty gifted at explaining the cultural context(s) for scripture and applying it expertly to the here and now.
four out of five stars (and it's only the annoying voice that kept it from being five out of five!)
Bit of a handsome fella - as you would expect. All very exciting.
Oxford was good too.
After a meeting at Christchurch college, I headed round the ring road to find the all singing, all dancing, all very-flash-inside new CMS central offices: (I got lost, and it took a while)
I had lunch and a very helpful conversation with Chris Neal.
Part of Chris's job is networking together 'small missional communities' around the UK.
a three day get together is planned for a number of such communities in March 08 which I am looking forward to in a big way. It will be great to make more contact with others doing the same thing as us, to share stories and look for wisdom on shared issues / challenges etc.
Chris pointed out something interesting as we spoke about those who might seek to get involved with things like feig from other, local churches: this was the idea of 'calling'.
Most people are familiar with the idea of a calling to leadership, but not with the idea that Christians already in a community, seeking to leave and join another Christian community should know that they are 'called' away from one and into the other (as opposed to 'feeling' that they simply need a change of scenery).
This wouldn't apply to those without faith, or to those who are just starting to explore faith, because part of the purpose of any Christian community is to grow by welcoming those who aren't Christians into a space where they are able to discover God.
Oh, on another note, I downloaded Rob Bell's 'Sex God' from i-tunes to listen to in the car as I travelled. I only had time to listen to half of it, and apart from Rob's slightly annoying voice, I thought it was excellent.
In my (having only heard half the book) opinion, anyone thinking through the whole spirituality / sexuality / relationships / marriage thing would benefit from Rob's thoughts.
Not least because he is pretty gifted at explaining the cultural context(s) for scripture and applying it expertly to the here and now.
four out of five stars (and it's only the annoying voice that kept it from being five out of five!)
Monday, December 17, 2007
CONGRATULATIONS
...to Dan and Ruth on the birth of their baby boy.
nice one!
name yet to be decided. good weight. all well.
praise God!
(Ruth is a star. so are you Dan...)
nice one!
name yet to be decided. good weight. all well.
praise God!
(Ruth is a star. so are you Dan...)
Oxford
off to Oxford in the morning to meet with two ends of the spectrum.
first will be one of the chaplains at Christchurch college. I happened to meet him in the rain a couple of weeks ago - he rescued me and my family, but that is another story...
We are meeting again tomorrow because we got on, and because the dean of Gloucester cathedral used to be the chaplain at Christchurch etc etc.
After this I am meeting up with Chris Neal of CMS fame to talk mission and the future and exciting things to be doing in the twentyfirst century.
Chris is amazing.
true.
Well worth any amount of time.
he is almost a guru. but not quite. wrong religion. etc.
first will be one of the chaplains at Christchurch college. I happened to meet him in the rain a couple of weeks ago - he rescued me and my family, but that is another story...
We are meeting again tomorrow because we got on, and because the dean of Gloucester cathedral used to be the chaplain at Christchurch etc etc.
After this I am meeting up with Chris Neal of CMS fame to talk mission and the future and exciting things to be doing in the twentyfirst century.
Chris is amazing.
true.
Well worth any amount of time.
he is almost a guru. but not quite. wrong religion. etc.
Witness
Radio 4's afternoon play this week is called Witness.
It's five stories adapted from Luke's gospel and told through the eyes of Peter and his brother Andrew.
An old tutor of mine at Ridley, Mike Thompson, was the biblical consultant for the project.
Mike was a top bloke and the play, or the bit I heard today, seems good.
Jesus has a northern accent - a nod in the direction of the fact that he was a country lad.
see what you think: you can 'listen again' here
It's five stories adapted from Luke's gospel and told through the eyes of Peter and his brother Andrew.
An old tutor of mine at Ridley, Mike Thompson, was the biblical consultant for the project.
Mike was a top bloke and the play, or the bit I heard today, seems good.
Jesus has a northern accent - a nod in the direction of the fact that he was a country lad.
see what you think: you can 'listen again' here
about to be reading...
This arrived a week or so ago on recommendation from Jonny Baker.
'The Starfish and the Spider: The unstoppable power of leaderless organizations'.
I'm fascinated by this - it rings true for our present and I reckon it is certainly a large part of the future.
Odd, coming from a guy who works for a fairly 'top down' institution - although that institution has, in its wisdom, seen fit to release me and others to do very non institutional looking stuff.
I haven't read this yet so I don't know where they'll go with it, but it strikes me that there is always leadership, even if it doesn't look like traditional leadership. Someone is always leading.
And others are always following.
It's how we lead that should be up for debate - not whether someone leads.
Without leaders there is chaos. and anyway, like I just said, there are always leaders.
aren't there?
but maybe being 'leaderless' works in certain situations. I guess it's inevitable in a post-modern world. Maybe chaos is good for creativity?
Certainly listening to as many voices as possible is fundamental for creativity.
The blurb on the inside cover says:
'If you cut off a spider's head, it dies; but if you cut off a starfish's leg, it grows a new one, and that leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. Traditional top -down organisations are like spiders, but now starfish organisations are changing the face of business and the world.'
I'm not a businessman, obviously, but I want to read this through a 'church' lense.
I figure this idea's got to have applications all over the place, especially in thinking about how church is going to evolve in or culture.
cancellations and births
we had to cancel the feig Christmas party on Saturday.
not something done lightly.
it was supposed to be at our place but our daughter had been ill all week / up in the night, you know the score - and by the time the weekend arrived, she had passed her bug to mummy.
so saturday was filled with cold instead of party-goers.
bum.
oh well, there's always next year. By which time, incidentally, we should hopefully have a venue outside of our home in which a host a feig party.
somewhere, perhaps, like a cafe...?
Eloise and Ruth met on Sunday to further the vision for the feig cafe. They drafted a sweet little proposal which I have just passed on to the Dean (as it's the cathedral coffee shop we want to start out in...)
we'll see where we go with it. lots of possibilities.
we know we're going to make mistakes and have a whole bunch of teething troubles, but it will be an adventure to start hosting a social and worship space that is totally public.
On another note, Ruth only just got the proposal done in time.
As I type this she is in hospital, in labour.
wow! the first feig-birth. just at the right time of year too.
not something done lightly.
it was supposed to be at our place but our daughter had been ill all week / up in the night, you know the score - and by the time the weekend arrived, she had passed her bug to mummy.
so saturday was filled with cold instead of party-goers.
bum.
oh well, there's always next year. By which time, incidentally, we should hopefully have a venue outside of our home in which a host a feig party.
somewhere, perhaps, like a cafe...?
Eloise and Ruth met on Sunday to further the vision for the feig cafe. They drafted a sweet little proposal which I have just passed on to the Dean (as it's the cathedral coffee shop we want to start out in...)
we'll see where we go with it. lots of possibilities.
we know we're going to make mistakes and have a whole bunch of teething troubles, but it will be an adventure to start hosting a social and worship space that is totally public.
On another note, Ruth only just got the proposal done in time.
As I type this she is in hospital, in labour.
wow! the first feig-birth. just at the right time of year too.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
resource...
A resource worth a look for those working with, or who consider themselves to be spiritual seekers...
spiritual journeys
The home page on the site reads:
Helping you explore your faith through... exploring, looking, doing, asking and dreaming.Discovering faith through your mind, your senses, the world around you.
I'm not sure that all of the first years at Redcliffe would dig this...
spiritual journeys
The home page on the site reads:
Helping you explore your faith through... exploring, looking, doing, asking and dreaming.Discovering faith through your mind, your senses, the world around you.
I'm not sure that all of the first years at Redcliffe would dig this...
biscuits and thumbs
Eloise baked some Christmas biscuits for us to stuff our faces with after our shared meal last night.
nice.
oh, I just got the first thumbs up from the 'powers' for the cafe we want to kick off in the new year.
a few more meetings should hopefully give us an all round thumbs up and then we can get on with getting on with it.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Christmas at primary school
The lecture went Ok.
I think.
hard to say.
I got through the stuff I needed to get through, presented a broad view of what the emerging church seems to be about.
The biggest thing you can say about the emerging church is that it is really difficult to say anything about it.
it has no center.
it is an idea really - and not even a coherently shared idea at that.
it is different things to different people.
for me it's about understanding the gospel and trying to live that as faithfully as possibly in our culture.
It's about taking what's good from trad church and dropping what's not essential to the gospel, and looking around for other tools to help with the task, and being creative, and making sure everyone is involved.
it's about community and trust and being real.
anyway, got to stop - off to do an assembly in five minutes.
and then a cathedral Eucharist a bit later.
and then it's church this evening.
the frost looks nice on my lawn - (and on my flip flops)
I think.
hard to say.
I got through the stuff I needed to get through, presented a broad view of what the emerging church seems to be about.
The biggest thing you can say about the emerging church is that it is really difficult to say anything about it.
it has no center.
it is an idea really - and not even a coherently shared idea at that.
it is different things to different people.
for me it's about understanding the gospel and trying to live that as faithfully as possibly in our culture.
It's about taking what's good from trad church and dropping what's not essential to the gospel, and looking around for other tools to help with the task, and being creative, and making sure everyone is involved.
it's about community and trust and being real.
anyway, got to stop - off to do an assembly in five minutes.
and then a cathedral Eucharist a bit later.
and then it's church this evening.
the frost looks nice on my lawn - (and on my flip flops)
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Tuesday
always good to wake up at 4am when you have something big to do during the day...
so, I have this lecture to give at Redcliffe.
I know I'm making a big deal about it. It's just that the topic is so huge is difficult to know what to say that's worth hearing in the two hour slot Ive been given.
The Emerging Church...
If you Google it, you get 250,000 entries.
On top of that I have a stack of books on the subject and other things to get on with.
anyway - it's been a good chance to do some focused reading again and hopefully what I say will lead to a worthwhile discussion.
Oh, I forgot, I blogged about Ben Edson yesterday but didn't put any links in.
For Ben's blog go (here)
And for Sanctus1 go (here)
so, I have this lecture to give at Redcliffe.
I know I'm making a big deal about it. It's just that the topic is so huge is difficult to know what to say that's worth hearing in the two hour slot Ive been given.
The Emerging Church...
If you Google it, you get 250,000 entries.
On top of that I have a stack of books on the subject and other things to get on with.
anyway - it's been a good chance to do some focused reading again and hopefully what I say will lead to a worthwhile discussion.
Oh, I forgot, I blogged about Ben Edson yesterday but didn't put any links in.
For Ben's blog go (here)
And for Sanctus1 go (here)
Monday, December 10, 2007
just like them
I've been reading, once again, about Sanctus1 in Manchester, and realising, again, that their story is just like ours.
Or rather, ours is just like theirs because they've been at it longer than us.
But anyway, Ben's a good guy and he'd written the below about what they've been up to:
I think this is helpful a) because it's encouraging, but also (b) in thinking about the coffee-shop plan and how we might weave that together with public worship:
'Six people were interested in forming a church. We began to meet weekly and gradually invited new people. We aimed to increase in size and to begin having public worship events. Our first public worship was in Manchester cathedral. It was very experimental in content. Approximately twenty people attended. Since then we have been meeting for public worship once a month... The group that forms the backbone of Sanctus1 meets weekly on a Wednesday night... The growth within Sanctus1 over the past year has been organic. People have shared what Sanctus1 is about with their networks of friends and contacts... Growth and mission are part of the DNA of the church rather than an add-on annual event.'
Or rather, ours is just like theirs because they've been at it longer than us.
But anyway, Ben's a good guy and he'd written the below about what they've been up to:
I think this is helpful a) because it's encouraging, but also (b) in thinking about the coffee-shop plan and how we might weave that together with public worship:
'Six people were interested in forming a church. We began to meet weekly and gradually invited new people. We aimed to increase in size and to begin having public worship events. Our first public worship was in Manchester cathedral. It was very experimental in content. Approximately twenty people attended. Since then we have been meeting for public worship once a month... The group that forms the backbone of Sanctus1 meets weekly on a Wednesday night... The growth within Sanctus1 over the past year has been organic. People have shared what Sanctus1 is about with their networks of friends and contacts... Growth and mission are part of the DNA of the church rather than an add-on annual event.'
cafe..?
the weekend was a good-un.
you don't need or want to know about any of it so I won't say anything about London on Friday or Oxford on Saturday or May Hill yesterday but I will say a little about a gathering of feigians last night at our place.
we have been rolling the idea of a cafe around for some time - since some of our number worked in the cafe at Greenbelt in fact.
last night we met to discuss our vision and to bang out some kind of proposal.
The idea is to host something each Sunday evening in the cathedral coffee shop.
We would take it over, put in decent sound and light, project movies etc etc and sell excellent, fairtrade tea, coffee, chocolate etc etc.
It would be a place to hang out / drop in and out, blah, blah.
We reckon on going for an experimental period from late February. Hopefully a few months would allow us to iron out teething problems before going more public with it around summer.
We all agree this is a good idea, and reckon we could do a fairly good job of putting something worthwhile together.
The big point for discussion was about using part of the evening for worship.
As others show an interest in feig, we are needing to think more about public worship space.
There are lots of possibilities in terms of making worship part of the cafe vision, from an hour or so at the beginning, to a monthly big slot, etc etc.
More talking and praying and experimenting to be done.
It'll all work out in the end...
Now, back to work preparing my lecture on the emerging church for Redcliffe college tomorrow...
Oh, and it's lads X-box this evening at Gareth's place.
And what am I listening to? (as if you care...)
This... Because of the Time, by the Kings of Leon (interestingly (or not) two of the band are brothers and their dad was a pentecostal preacher!)
you don't need or want to know about any of it so I won't say anything about London on Friday or Oxford on Saturday or May Hill yesterday but I will say a little about a gathering of feigians last night at our place.
we have been rolling the idea of a cafe around for some time - since some of our number worked in the cafe at Greenbelt in fact.
last night we met to discuss our vision and to bang out some kind of proposal.
The idea is to host something each Sunday evening in the cathedral coffee shop.
We would take it over, put in decent sound and light, project movies etc etc and sell excellent, fairtrade tea, coffee, chocolate etc etc.
It would be a place to hang out / drop in and out, blah, blah.
We reckon on going for an experimental period from late February. Hopefully a few months would allow us to iron out teething problems before going more public with it around summer.
We all agree this is a good idea, and reckon we could do a fairly good job of putting something worthwhile together.
The big point for discussion was about using part of the evening for worship.
As others show an interest in feig, we are needing to think more about public worship space.
There are lots of possibilities in terms of making worship part of the cafe vision, from an hour or so at the beginning, to a monthly big slot, etc etc.
More talking and praying and experimenting to be done.
It'll all work out in the end...
Now, back to work preparing my lecture on the emerging church for Redcliffe college tomorrow...
Oh, and it's lads X-box this evening at Gareth's place.
And what am I listening to? (as if you care...)
This... Because of the Time, by the Kings of Leon (interestingly (or not) two of the band are brothers and their dad was a pentecostal preacher!)
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
wednesday
up early to prayer walk but didn't walk anywhere because we got hijacked by a soaking homeless guy who needed food and tea and a whole lot of care and attention.
Next up a meeting with my boss in which I shoveled onto the table a huge pile of regurgitated reading on the emerging church that I have been doing in preparation for the lecture next week.
hmmm.
The problem with lots of reading is that you get idealistic very quickly.
You start seeing where everyone else has got everything wrong.
You stop seeing that everyone is trying desperately to get it all right in the face of 'real life', whatever that is...
Anyway, I think it's probably quite difficult to get really passionate about radical ideas and then mesh them with reality.
'oh, no it's not!' I hear you say...
let me see you do it then, and I'll know where I'm going wrong.
Can you be truly radical and also a responsible husband and father?
I guess you can, if being radical is slightly different than we all assume it might be.
I suspect that radical ideas can be lived out quite well in seemingly 'normal', bland, everyday life type situations.
But I might be wrong.
Or weak.
Or getting older.
Lots of other things have filled the day, including presiding at the lunchtime Eucharist in the cathedral and now trying to get something sorted for church this evening.
ha, it's harder than hard - this creative church business. I can see why most churches go for the tried and tested, 'same old thing every week' formula...
Anyway, this evening Daniel Robinson is leading us in worship, after we've eaten - which is actually the main and best part - the part where I suspect Jesus is most comfortable (I don't say that lightly)(or to take away from D's leading of worship, which I'm sure will be a most acceptable offering).
Rachel is cooking and the kids are needing their dad, and the house is needing a hoover / general tidy so that's enough from me.
just to say that this is on in the kitchen and it's really good:
(The Cure: Acoustic hits)
Next up a meeting with my boss in which I shoveled onto the table a huge pile of regurgitated reading on the emerging church that I have been doing in preparation for the lecture next week.
hmmm.
The problem with lots of reading is that you get idealistic very quickly.
You start seeing where everyone else has got everything wrong.
You stop seeing that everyone is trying desperately to get it all right in the face of 'real life', whatever that is...
Anyway, I think it's probably quite difficult to get really passionate about radical ideas and then mesh them with reality.
'oh, no it's not!' I hear you say...
let me see you do it then, and I'll know where I'm going wrong.
Can you be truly radical and also a responsible husband and father?
I guess you can, if being radical is slightly different than we all assume it might be.
I suspect that radical ideas can be lived out quite well in seemingly 'normal', bland, everyday life type situations.
But I might be wrong.
Or weak.
Or getting older.
Lots of other things have filled the day, including presiding at the lunchtime Eucharist in the cathedral and now trying to get something sorted for church this evening.
ha, it's harder than hard - this creative church business. I can see why most churches go for the tried and tested, 'same old thing every week' formula...
Anyway, this evening Daniel Robinson is leading us in worship, after we've eaten - which is actually the main and best part - the part where I suspect Jesus is most comfortable (I don't say that lightly)(or to take away from D's leading of worship, which I'm sure will be a most acceptable offering).
Rachel is cooking and the kids are needing their dad, and the house is needing a hoover / general tidy so that's enough from me.
just to say that this is on in the kitchen and it's really good:
(The Cure: Acoustic hits)
at home in Gloucester
Before I pulled the plug on my existence in Facebook, I had written something on my profile that I'm thinking could have been open to mis-interpretation.
In the box for 'location' I wrote 'too far from London', which, I suppose, could be taken to be a slur on Gloucester.
It wasn't at all. Not in any shape or form. No way. NO sir.
I love London - it inspires me, we have friends there, it is huge and energetic etc etc, blah, blah, but I live in Gloucester and I love it here too. This is where our home is, our friends are, our life etc etc.
Gloucester isn't London, obviously, but it is home for this part of our journey and we love it here.
Long live Gloucester! May it thrive and be blessed!
In the box for 'location' I wrote 'too far from London', which, I suppose, could be taken to be a slur on Gloucester.
It wasn't at all. Not in any shape or form. No way. NO sir.
I love London - it inspires me, we have friends there, it is huge and energetic etc etc, blah, blah, but I live in Gloucester and I love it here too. This is where our home is, our friends are, our life etc etc.
Gloucester isn't London, obviously, but it is home for this part of our journey and we love it here.
Long live Gloucester! May it thrive and be blessed!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
3 people
people are fascinating.
three people have stuck in my head today.
1) Early this morning I was walking along Kingsholm road, towards St. Mark's church (now redundant), when a middle-aged lady coming towards me stopped at the chained church gates, put a hand out to hold onto them, turned towards the building (and the direction of where the altar would once have been) and stooped into a low, bended knee bow - the correct term being genuflected - before walking on her way.
2) Later, I was making my way through the city center and as I crossed the grave yard of St. Mary de Crypt, a young-ish guy dressed in rags was doing a crazy dance around one of the head stones. He was completely off his face and every now and then was stooping to gather up a load of rope he'd found and wave it in the air.
3) At the crossroads in the center of the city a street preacher was doing his thing. He was actually pretty good. He had a confidence and a calmness of speech that made it seem as if he belonged there. He was talking about the 'rest' that Jesus offers. A few people had even stopped to listen.
three people have stuck in my head today.
1) Early this morning I was walking along Kingsholm road, towards St. Mark's church (now redundant), when a middle-aged lady coming towards me stopped at the chained church gates, put a hand out to hold onto them, turned towards the building (and the direction of where the altar would once have been) and stooped into a low, bended knee bow - the correct term being genuflected - before walking on her way.
2) Later, I was making my way through the city center and as I crossed the grave yard of St. Mary de Crypt, a young-ish guy dressed in rags was doing a crazy dance around one of the head stones. He was completely off his face and every now and then was stooping to gather up a load of rope he'd found and wave it in the air.
3) At the crossroads in the center of the city a street preacher was doing his thing. He was actually pretty good. He had a confidence and a calmness of speech that made it seem as if he belonged there. He was talking about the 'rest' that Jesus offers. A few people had even stopped to listen.
Exiles
Exiles by Michael Frost arrived in the post yesterday.
I've only read the first chapter, but so far, so very good.
I'm using it as part of my preparation for a lecture on the emerging church that I'm doing next week at Redcliffe College.
Frost says:
'This book is written for those Christians who find themselves falling into the cracks between contemporary secular Western culture and a quaint, old fashioned church culture of respectability and conservatism... Such Christians live with the nagging tension of being at home neither in the world nor in the church as they've known it. Is there some way of embracing a Christ-centered faith and lifestyle that are lived tenaciously and confidently right out in the open where such faith is not normally valued?' I think so, but it will require a dangerous departure from standard church practice.'
Frost's writing is exciting. The things he suggests have the feel of revolution - not naive, removed revolution, rather a revolution that is possible - and necessary!
He talks about Christians in our culture seeing themselves as exiles. Exiles have to tell themselves stories to provide energy and life. What are our stories?
The troubling stories of a radical man, Jesus:
In our culture these are dangerous stories about rejecting the greed and consumerism that mark our times.
He also talks about the need for us (as exiles) to remember the dangerous promises God has made (that if we take the risk of speaking up God will ultimately vindicate us), for the need to engage in dangerous criticism of our culture, and for us to be energised by singing to ourselves dangerous songs.
I like.
danger.
Clarks and Fresh Expressions
my wife gets our kids shoes from Clarks.
we were laughing about Clarks being a bit like church:
There's one in every town, and we all know it's sort of somehow a good thing.
You go along with your kids because your parents took you when you were little.
There's a certain way to behave, and the pleasure of the liturgy of the foot measuring.
It can often be a bit hectic but you can always go for a coffee afterwards to get your head straight...
And, Clarks seem to have done a bit of rebranding themselves recently: new ranges of shoes, funky ads, redesigned shop interiors - It reminds me a bit of Fresh Expressions...
(although, to be fair, Fresh Expressions aren't supposed to be a re-branding excercise. Time will tell...)
Sunday, December 02, 2007
advent
I've just got back from a radio interview during which I was the: 'rough guide to advent'.
ha.
anyway, it went OK, I think: lots of thoughts about advent being a time for 'waiting' and 'preparing' and 'reflecting' - basically all the things that our culture doesn't do very well and doesn't allow people the space to experience for themselves at any time of year, let alone the run up to consumer-mas on the 25th.
but it was good to be able to talk about the obvious problem: we can't defeat our enemies unless we name them, and all that.
the thing I came away with was a reminder that as Christian I am in fact called to be 'waiting' for Christ to come again, just as the Jews were waiting for him to arrive among them the first time around.
The gospel reading set for this morning is a reminder of this from Jesus himself (this is him speaking to his disciples):
'About that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man...
Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming... you must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.'
(Matthew 24: 36-44)
ready.
waiting.
watching.
hoping.
wondering...
ha.
anyway, it went OK, I think: lots of thoughts about advent being a time for 'waiting' and 'preparing' and 'reflecting' - basically all the things that our culture doesn't do very well and doesn't allow people the space to experience for themselves at any time of year, let alone the run up to consumer-mas on the 25th.
but it was good to be able to talk about the obvious problem: we can't defeat our enemies unless we name them, and all that.
the thing I came away with was a reminder that as Christian I am in fact called to be 'waiting' for Christ to come again, just as the Jews were waiting for him to arrive among them the first time around.
The gospel reading set for this morning is a reminder of this from Jesus himself (this is him speaking to his disciples):
'About that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man...
Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming... you must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.'
(Matthew 24: 36-44)
ready.
waiting.
watching.
hoping.
wondering...
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About Me
- michael volland
- I trained for ordained ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and was commissioned as a pioneer minister by the Church of England in 2006 to grow a fresh expression of church in Gloucester city centre. I was also on the cathedral staff. I have just made the move to Durham where I have taken up the post of Director of Mission and Pioneer Ministry at Cranmer Hall.
