Last night we were weavers and knitters with visions of a future and hopes of change and renewing our community and God's world! The bible was a major part of it - we were the theologian together as a group and the bible was a part of our group. Yep, I think that would be my summary of the 2 hours we shared. Read on if you'd like to find out more... (this is a longer blog - about 4mins reading needed!)
Renewal group (photo above) & Sunday worship the last 2 months have been themed on 'Being Biblical in Everyday Life'. As a result the weekly community gatherings with the bible have grown in people and in length! The more we read, share, think & pray together the more we want to read, share, think & pray together - and offer questions & challenges to the bible & each other! We also now meet for 2 hours rather than 1 and a half too - and the social teatime at the beginning has got shorter and shorter over the last few weeks. We also now always bring our own bibles rather than wait for others to provide them - and they are different versions and we quite like that as a group too! Sunday mornings is still up for discussion about what bible we use as a whole gathered group in communal worship...anyway
Last weeks gathering was fascinating (but I think they always are!) when we had the question which John Campbell offers in his book 'Being Biblical' and in the study guide by the same name. That is: what concerns do we have about the bible? We had 19 listed within a v. short space of time to be going on with and here are a few in summary:
1. If Jesus died to save our sins why are we still sinning?
2. What are we to make of same sex relationships today?
3. If God is about love and harmony why is there separation between different religions?
4. The bible is confusing because of the different writers & writings
5. What are we to make of adultery, divorce, re-marriage, deceit, murder, martyrdom etc then in the bible & now? This both in the context of divorce in Ghana, violence in marriage and civil partnerships in UK society
6. People don't read the bible much - we are concerned that is the most bought & least read book
7. Why is everything we do (in the church & worship) so focussed on the cross & the death of Jesus?
8. If Jesus died why do we still have to die?
9. How do we live with people of other faiths - is it the same faith or different, same God or different?
10. Is Christian marriage different from marriage?
And there are many more questions or concerns we are raising! This is just for starters!
This week we continued in a process of exploring the different ways in which we approach & experience the Bible - we shared an example each (confidentially) about a way in which the bible has had made a difference - for good or ill - in our lives eg a teaching, proverb, a parable (some beginning with the bible) but most began with our experiences and noticed a gap in our lives feeling either guilt, shame, or judgement.
We looked at the ways in which the church and the bible have been part of our lives through childhood, teen, young adult and older adulthood and shared when things had changed or not in our lives, faith and in relation to the bible.
The Catch the Vision process has been a lot about structures and shapes of church starting with the buildings, money and people we have and are rather than beginning with the values and visions - it's not what grabs me but we're making a few alterations and will see. One of the major shifts for us as a church in the UK is to connect with spiritualities 'in and out' the church. I think this one is vital about our spiritualities because we are going dry without it - the life blood is flowing out of us and in our community at st marks we are not trying to save a sinking ship or turn around an oil tanker - but trying to stay connected to god, bible, each other and the earth we are part of and see what happens. We will see what evolves from that - renewal group and Sunday congregation are not the same - we are all part of Sunday church but we are also looking more in depth at things, ourselves, our bible and our shared life. This space has become for me life-giving, life-enhancing and it is not rocket science - just a simple gathering of a small group of different people with a cuppa, the bible, some crisps and much praying, thinking, trying out and we are being renewed in the process. It is amazing and wonderful and massively hopeful. It is not one size fits all and its not the same each week and neither are we - we are being changed and transformed into interpreters of the word - we are making the word flesh in us.
God help us - we hope we don't let you down god - we hope we don't let ourselves down either.
(the other photo is from our recent harvest weekend of celebrations - urban harvest in Wythenshawe. It is tinned food for Women's Aid, fresh apples from the trees planted in peoples gardens by their mothers and blankets from bags full of donated wool the Tree of Life never seems to sell. The blankets were strung above the communion table (not to everyones taste but they were there only a week) and 15 were knitted for the babies & children we are building relationships and a vision of life with who are from Chingola, Zambia. They took the whole summer to knit and the women from the local area who organised themselves are now on to the next project with their ideas) see more on www.breadbreakers.co.uk
