CapeConversation

A few of us met together on the 13 January 08 to chat. We briefly touched on the fact that we’ve been journeying and experimenting together and have grown toward a community. We spoke about our personal journeys and what this emerging community means to us. Here’s some key phrases from the convesation at 1 Malton.

Without naming names I’d like to put down some of the key phrases from what people were saying. I’ve taken the liberty of using Godde as a replacement for God and Goddess. I’ve got a bit of a discussion up here [link] for this who’d like to explore reasons for this further. We all spoke in the first person around what we individually have experienced and what we feel. I’ve changed the phrases a little but have tried to capture what people said:

• I’ve recently felt free to explore what spiritual life might mean anew, what it can look like if we start from scratch.
• I’d like to see what church could become if reinvisioned.
• I would like to see ourselves and others growing in various areas of spirituality.
• I would like to be able to bring people into an environment where they can experience Godde for themselves.
• I know we have well worn avenues for expressing our faith which don’t work for the kind of people we are and relate to. I feel challenged to come up with creative ways of expressing faith in a way that works for us without falling back into what is safe, traditional and unsatisfying.
• I just don’t feel that church offers that “something more” I’m looking for and doesn’t quite scratch the itch of my desire for spirituality, community and Godde.
• I’ve experience this community as a great forum to date for exploring spirituality in a more rigourous and informative manner.
• I’ve been half in and half out of church for a long time, with half of it really working – prayer, worship, the prophetic – while other things like the structure and male-centredness and lack of opportunity for women not working so well.
• I want to break into new things but also want prayer and I want worship.
• I have lived my life and my faith separately, my creativity distinct from my Christianity.
• I’ve investigated churches but didn’t feel that there is enough exploring, thinking and challenging and people are immersed in a set rhythm, an antidote to thought and real conversation. I feel fulfilled asking questions and being challenged.
• I believe that unless you are showing love to others and sharing love with one another the fullness of Godde cannot be seen. We need to seek Godde individually and have fellowship with one another. I want to find real ways of experiencing that.
• I found that creativity, space, the use of symbol, etc. was not accepted in church or the Christian environment. the life of dance was always thrown away to exhibitionism and sexuality and so I’ve felt that I was living two lives. My desire is to, while I’m not too old or before I die, to bring these two things together.
• I don’t feel cynical about what’s gone before, about the Christianity I’ve seen and experienced.
• My journey has been trying to find a Christianity that is relevant to non-Christians that is compassionate, allowing for weakness, but at the same time powerful and strong. I often compromise in areas and find a need for a community to be anchored in. Relationship with Jesus Christ is central and core and the power of Godde comes from that.
• I’ve found that the biggest challenge is just to simply connect with Godde, which is safe and good. In that space of connectiong I find that I usually receive something for others. I need avenues through which I can simply give Godde’s love away.
• I’m seeking ways to worship, to explore intimacy with Godde, that are creatively ambitious.
• I don’t feel that I fit the Christian mould.
• I feel called to announce and demonstrate the kingdom or dream of Godde, to evidence that Jesus is real. I want to be part of a community centred around Jesus, living together in broad and healthy community, growing together through life, genuinely expressing the dream of Godde, a safe place.

We didn’t go into detail about what comes next for us. We did however decide that we could explore this more in a blog post. In light of this sharing there is a general consensus that more experimentation is due, where those of us who want to contribute to creative communal experiences can do so. We planned on getting together on Sun 27 Jan to explore some Taize style worship. We’ decided to post some ideas up in response to this post.