This is a fascinating commentary about the disconnect between traditional religion and those in the community who are post-modern and post-religious, as it finds itself played out in religious rituals. I think within my own tradition that this conversation plays out [one side of it, anyway] with infant baptism. The church often makes judgements about…
the synod here is about to begin a strategic planning process. i wrote a couple of reflections as a resource for it, this is one: We are trying, God, and we are angry that the world will not listen when we try to speak of you, yet deep down we acknowledge that we no longer…
I was out at Brunswick UCA yesterday and Ray showed me the art / meditations that have been slowly building as part of the church’s engagement with Lent. It’s based around an idea that he took from Cityside’s Desert Files and reworked for the local situation – each week of Lent is given a theme…
i’m preparing at the moment for the wisdom’s feast alt worship workshop. i think most participants in the workshop will be firmly located within the church context, so it’s likely the conversation in the workshop will edge away from what’s possible, and towards ‘how do we make sure we do what’s right?’. a lot of…
i’m taking this week off… a couple of things before i head outside to make the most of this glorious sunshine… [still haven’t found my camera for photos from saturday night, although i confess to not really looking!] i was absolutely delighted to open this morning’s paper to the page where they ‘wrap up’ Easter…
i was trying to respond to Blair and Tom’s comments in this post below, but wordpress won’t let me leave a comment, and my internet is about to be cut off (i’m off work this week, moving house). so, very quickly… the people i’m talking of in this post want nothing more to do with…
A friend just emailed and asked why i wouldn’t call these new things ‘church’, because they seem to be what the church should be about. There are a few reasons: For those who are leaving the church, the naming matters immensely. They would not call these new ‘things’ church, so why would I? I think…
I’m a big believer in the church. I think it’s a wonderful movement of people that offers a transforming presence in the world, and that it is often a remarkable expression of God’s grace and love in the world. I no longer find my home there. I have tried to talk myself into it, to…
I had lunch with a friend yesterday who works for the church in a consultancy position – similar in many ways to a position i used to hold. She talked about how she’d just realised that the work she was doing wouldn’t change the church – that no amount of impassioned speaking, no cleverly crafted…
Things have been a little quiet around the blog for the last couple of weeks. i’ve spent the last week with church people at conferences… Tom Bandy and Brian McLaren… and living with an abscess on my tooth (which is a hell for which there are no words!). It’s been a surreal world. I’ve come…
