This is my Starbucks... its in Borders... in the centre of Glasgow and its my fave place just now for cups of tea... reading books... and having fab conversations.
The latest conversation was with this man:
Stewart Cutler [blog / twitter] - we met for the second time for a cup o' cha and a blether yesterday.
I talked about "Everything Must Change" and spoke of the dilemma / challenge I have with the "Prosperity" section -- the one that describes/discusses "Theocapitalism". We spoke of independent coffee shops, open source software and charity shops as means of subverting the consumerist agenda. Fab.
We then spoke of a joint dilemma we face... how we bring people from "consumption" to "participation" in the expressions of church that we create/facilitate/direct... and how "interaction" is an important stepping stone in the transition.
It was a good blether and one that I hope we can continue.
After work... I headed over to the Salvation Army's West of Scotland HQ for a ((deep)) planning meeting. The pic above is the office next door... it looked good in the spring light.
My meeting was with Rita Pearce (L), Lucy Mann (R) and Paul Clement (in hiding)... to discuss the future of the ((deep)) event.
The outcome of the meeting was extremely encouraging... ((deep)) has a future into next year with Lucy taking over the mantle of management/DHQ liaison under the guidance of Rita as Divisional Director for Evangelism. We are going to expand the team and look to expand ((deep)) as both a community and as a springboard for new adventures.
Watch this space... but I am totally excited with Lucy's plans/ideas and am eager to play whatever part I can... you know... keep dreaming the dreams.
The next ((deep)) gathering is on the 24th May... at the City Centre corps, Glasgow. I'll post more on it nearer the time... but the gathering will centre around an open mic...
Afterwards... Olly (library pic) picked me up and we headed through to Erskine to the home of Ian and Liz Pye. Olly and I are heading down to the Borders for a spiritual retreat tomorrow... and last night we met a couple - Pamela and Graham - who are new to the Army and joining us at the Retreat. They are a lovely couple... and I look forward to spending time in their company. It was sweet to see Liz too... here brie bagels and rocket salads are awesome! Missed Ian though... who was in Ireland doing some training or something.
All in... a fab day! Thanks to everyone who made it extra special!
"We then spoke of a joint dilemma we face... how we bring people from "consumption" to "participation" in the expressions of church that we create/facilitate/direct... and how "interaction" is an important stepping stone in the transition."
ReplyDeleteglad to see we're not the only folks wanting to find an answer to this dilemma. one thing we're really striving for is getting folks to serve out of love rather than duty. we have no desire to guilt folks into serving - especially in areas they're not passionate about.
btw - ever think about ((deep church))? maybe a new expression of faith is exactly what Glasscow needs. what would your ideal church look like?