Also on Worship Cafe.

Welcome

(at each response a candle is lit)

Wisdom is radiant and unfading,
She is easily discerned by those who love Her,

She is found by those who seek Her.

She hastens to make Herself known to those who desire Her.
One who rises early to seek Her will have no difficulty,

She will be found sitting at the gate.

To fix one’s thoughts on Her is perfect understanding,
and one who is vigilant on Her account will soon be free from care,

She goes about seeking those worthy of Her,

She graciously appears to them in their paths,

She meets them in every thought.

Wisdom’s Teaching

(each article may be spoken by a different voice)

May we learn both what is secret and what is manifest,
for Wisdom, the fashioner of all things, teaches us:

To know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements;

The beginning and end and middle of times,

The alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,

The cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,

The natures of animals and the tempers of wild animals,

The powers of Spirits and the thoughts of human beings,

The varieties of plants and the virtues of roots.

Wisdom’s Nature

(a canticle)

Wisdom reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, ~
She orders all things well.

There is in Her a Spirit that is intelligent, holy, ~
unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted,

Distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, ~
irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,

All-powerful, overseeing all, ~
penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent,
pure, and altogether subtle.

For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; ~
because of Her pureness She pervades and penetrates all things.

For She is a Breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; ~
therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into Her.

For She is a reflection of eternal light, ~
a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.

Although She is but one, She can do all things, ~
and while remaining in Herself, She renews all things;

In every generation She passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets; ~
for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.

She is more beautiful than the sun, ~
and excels every constellation of the stars.

Compared with the light She is found to be superior, ~
for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail.

Wisdom reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, ~
She orders all things well.

Invitation

Wisdom knows the things of old, and infers the things to come;
She understands turns of speech and the solutions of riddles;
She has foreknowledge of signs and wonders
and of the outcome of seasons and times.
She glorifies Her noble birth by living with God,
and the Lord of all loves Her.
For She is an initiate in the knowledge of God,
and an associate in his works.

(silence)

I love Her and seek Her from my youth;
I desire to take Her for my bride,
and become enamoured of Her beauty.

O God of my ancestors and Lord of mercy,
who have made all things by your word,
and by your wisdom have formed humankind
give me the wisdom that sits by your throne,
Send Her forth from the holy heavens,
and from the throne of your glory send Her,
Who has learned your counsel,
unless you have given wisdom
and sent your holy Spirit from on high?

I love Her and seek Her from my youth;
I desire to take Her for my bride,
and became enamoured of Her beauty.
Amen.

A friend and I went to the a town pub last Christmas Eve; we had two encounters, quite different.

The first encounter was with a young female – we didn’t get her name. As we sat and mulled over the past year we heard her speak about her faith, she attended an Evangelical Charismatic Church on the outskirts of the city. However she had a more liberal approach to her faith, both theologically and socially. She was clearly aware of the tensions between her worship environment and chosen faith community and her inner awareness.

The second encounter was with a young male, who was working at the a nearby theatre backstage. He shared how he had been a drug dealer, and then had a realisation of God. He and his friends were talking about God, and he spoke to us. My friend gave him a rosary ring, and affirmed him that it was okay to pray how he felt comfortable, just to talk to God.

The young man had found a measure of peace and direction, not in a traditional career path, but in a ‘McJob’ (one that is underpaid and under-skilled), and was willing to talk and tell stories. In ‘Generation X’ the players mainly communicate by telling stories, and this was his method. He told stories of himself, and of his friends, there was little need for him to express how he felt in non-narrative terms, I certainly recognised the transience of such feelings (sometimes good sometimes bad), what was important to him was his journey from darkness to light. She however was far more concerned with the community she practiced her faith in than what they believed.

This relates closely to my perceptions of Type 1 and 2 Postmoderns, which I had initially used in Alt.Worship, but actually is a useful model for understanding peoples pastoral needs.

As a type one postmodern he seeks religious meaning within a specific context that represents his culture.

As a type two postmodern she seeks religious meaning within a range of contexts, including ones that are not her culture.

Such narrow definitions cannot encompass us in every mood or state. So we can create a scale; at one end we have the type one, at the other we have type two.

I probably swing from a 2 to a 4 or 5 depending on mood. I enjoy 'normal church' very much, but I need to fill in the gaps with a specific religious postmodern element. Others however don’t require this and draw the rest of their requirements from elsewhere, such as their job and their social life.

Anyone with any experience of working with such scales will also recognize that the scale can actually be used three dimensionally: Past, Present and Ideal. So perhaps I would be a 5,4,1 whereas others may have a different matrix.

I was humbled by the openness of the young man; he spoke in a way that was unashamed of his story, yet we in the church are so nervous in speaking our stories. Instead we argue about principles and absolutes, when the stories are often enough. The young female reminded me that our labels do not define us within postmodernity, and that for her the community aspect of faith was far more important than the content. This is important for all of us. It is not what we do that is the most important aspect of our ministry, it is the way we are, and that is a living story.

When approaching people pastorally we need to be careful not to project our own pastoral needs and cultural needs onto them. The two individuals required very different responses. Long term he would thrive in a relaxed, ‘Café’ or ‘Pub Church’ environment, where he could discuss and explore the interaction between him and the Christian Faith Story. She however probably had already found a church that whilst not reflecting her faith journey provided her with good relationships, which she supplemented with relationships in the wider Christian faith community

The church is in total darkness apart from one side chapel, which is softly lit. Ambient music plays quietly in the background. One by one people arrive, they are young - mainly teenagers and twenty something's. There is a table in chapel with a range of sweets, drinks and snacks, people serve one another and themselves and relax. After a while Peter welcomes everyone to the gathering, he is the guide for the evening, although many people have contributed to its preparation. He introduces the first part of the gathering; there are a number of worship items to explore. People make there way to the various tables and chairs in the chapel.

Jennifer is in her early 20’s; she sits at a table on which is placed 9 glass cubes and a candle. A small sheet says:

these cubes look like ice, but are glass/
build them, carefully, so that the tealight shines through them/
what does this say to you/
how are we like the cubes/
how are we like the light/

She sits quietly and builds the cubes into a pyramid over the candle. One of the cubes has been shattered inside but still refracts the light beautifully. She pauses. Her thoughts are between her and God.

Christina is a German exchange student, she enjoys Sunday morning worship but language is always a difficulty. She picks up a small indoor kite attached to a cane and takes it to the chancel of the church, a place normally reserved for ministers and servers. As the music plays she flies the kite gently, worshiping creator free of cultural barriers. Although she is alone she remembers that the group made these kites together a few weeks earlier.

At another table a group of three sit: George, Penny and Peter. They are working together to build a cairn out of smooth polished pebbles; it is quite hard, a gentle touch is required else everybody's work will be undone. Penny finds this especially helpful, she works for the church and is often required to work alone, the exercise reminds her of how we are never alone, and how a gentle touch is required when building on other peoples contributions.

Geoff and Glen are at another station looking at some icons, instead of viewing the icon as a whole they are viewing it through a diamond cut in a piece of card. They are both keen on discussion, and soon end up having a lively debate about what the image could mean, but that is okay.

Focus

After a while Peter senses that it is time to move on. He introduces the next part of the gathering, a short liturgy. He explains that it will be by candlelight in the other chapel, and that people are welcome to take anything from the first part of the gathering with them. Christina decides to leave her kite, but Jennifer takes the shattered cube and Penny takes one smooth stone of such irregular shape that it never quite fitted into their cairn. Each participant also takes a candle, a sheet with a short liturgy, and they move in silence to the other chapel where cushions have been set on the floor in a circle.

The liturgy is a Celtic, and speaks of God as a creative community. It is said by all together. At the point where there might be a bible reading a faith story is read. Today it is extracts from the life of St.Francis, those happy to read out loud from the book. In response to the reading a glass Jar is set in the middle of the circle full of pieces of paper. Peter explains these are called cookies; they are snippets of information from the narrative that they have just read and heard. Each person takes a cookie and meditates on it. There are creative materials on hand, and those who feel confident fashion a response.

Cookies

Christina draws images from her part of the story, Peter writes a prayer, and others respond how they wish. These responses are placed back in the jar, and Peter now invites everyone to take one of these new cookies and respond to it in turn. Geoff and Glen find this way of sharing ideas without confrontation or discussion challenging and refreshing. George is more nervous as he doesn't see himself as very creative and worries that his cookie is wrong, but he sees a look on Penny's face when she picks his cookie, which encourages him. He asks her if it is "okay", she responds that it was just what she needed.

When the time is right the cookies are put back in jar. They will be kept for future gatherings for people to look at. Peter then invites everyone to link arms and say a Celtic prayer, a Caim. The group does so, and then the gathering is finished. They pick up their things and walk back to the other chapel. Before they go Peter points out that there is a range of sweets left, and suggests that people take them and give them to their friends and families. He suggests that this is a kind of "communion by extension", which results in a few giggles as he known for his high view of the Eucharist.

After everyone has tidied up the younger members go home to bed, it is getting quite late. Jennifer asks if she can take the shattered cube away with her. Some of the participants go onto the local pub, where the regulars are surprised to be given a range of sweets.

WorshipCafe

This article documents four experiences of church, four shapes of church that both represent what is 'emergent' and inform us of what forms future church may take. They are based on my personal experience over 12 years, they are therefore suspect as historical data; what is important is the shape, not the final details.

Future's Bright

Future was run on a sunday night at an evangelical URC church. Future was run by people in their twenties, and had a strong sense of alternative culture: it was the time of NOS and of Greenbelt being relevant. Future was in some ways a youth club, but encompassed more than that. There was a strong sense of community, of welcoming community, even if you smoked, drank, or had sex. Long before 'belong, believe, behave' became fashionable Future was living a vision that much of the church is still incapable of embracing.

Future was far less about its own culture and far more about other peoples. There was bible study, worship, prayer, snooker, snacks, candles, arguments, sleepovers, the whole thing was dynamic. Part of that dynamism was based on space, Future had its own space, a basement, for young people this was somewhere that was not home and not school or work, but was theirs.

Future was not the most popular group, there was often a sense of suspicion from the broader Evangelical Church. Because Future had doors that were open, many seemed to feel they were too open. Like many emergent groups Future was stifled by its birthing tradition rather than empowered by it.

Soft Cell

Cell is a popular management fad, and certainly has its critics. This particular Cell was part of a small evangelical charismatic church. It was a group of around half a dozen people.

Cell is based on Welcome, Worship, Word and Witness, but it soon became clear that this structuring had to be more flexible. The evangelical charismatic model of worship, with a guitar, was not suitable for such a group; soon the Cell began using creativity and art in worship. One night we sat in a circle, passing colored threads, sharing how that color spoke to us of God. Another night we wrote a poem together.

Community was strong, their was support for one another and genuine concern. The group seemed open, however Cell is very intense, in reality the model of inviting people to Cell seemed unrealistic - it is not open enough. The structure of Cell Church also taxed the Cell - because of the wider demands of church programmes it was unable to truly develop organically.

Sacredthree

Sacredthree is an explorative worship group in a church in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. The group developed out of the ideas of a group of teenagers and twenties into a group which had people aged from 8 to 80. Sacred Three started around a liturgical center, reflecting the worship of the Church it was part of but pushing the boundaries. Items were used in worship, that is creative activities, using objects that did not demand a particular meaning, but instead were open to interpretation by the individual. Stations were also used, activities with a clearer meaning. All of this was anchored in a pattern of evening prayer - you can read about it in Worship.

Sacredthree is not separate from the wider worshiping community, it reflects the catholic tradition with readings from the saints, and follows the church year. Worship is created by the community rather than individual leaders. Sacred Three has grown and changed, following a more thematic route, but in general it represents the emergent in healthy relationship with its birthing tradition, transforming it rather than being smothered by it.

Med:Euch

The Meditative Eucharist is a long way from Future. It is a Church of England communion service, based around liturgy from Common Worship, and drawing as well from Iona and Taize. There is bread and wine. There is silence. There is incense. There are candles. There are vestments. There is chant. There is reading from scripture. There is prayer. There is poetry. There is a 10 minute sermon. It is in form a traditional communion service - and yet it attracts a wide age ranging congregation, increasingly people in their teens and twenties.

There is community - the service is at 5.00pm, so when it finishes at 6.30pm there are cocktails at a local bar - but demand is not there, you can come and slip out, worship God without signing up for a rota. It is open, especially to people who wouldn't describe themselves as 'straight', it attracts christians, budhists and atheists. Med:Euch is honestly emergent, it is Church of England, it is Other, it does not pretend not to be church, and it is growing.

Conclusion

All four stories reflect some differing shape of church. The only thing common to all of them is me. Both Future and the Soft Cell struggled with the church context they were in, which was Evangelical. Both Sacredthree and Med:Euch thrived in a Liberal Catholic tradition. How Future and Soft Cell world have worked in a Liberal Evangelical tradition is an important question - very little now divides Liberal Evangelical and Liberal Catholic in the Church of England except for style and culture.

Most important, none of these groups set out to be 'emergent', all they did was be themselves.

A group fish. They catch nothing. A person calls out to them "you have no fish".

"No"

"Cast out to the right"

The people catch many fish.

On the shore the person has bread and fish on a fire. He gives them breakfast.

John

What lays at the heart of Church? What is Church? Is Church Place? Is Church Community? Is Church Worship? Is Church Safety? Is Church Local?

A man lived like no other man. A man died like no other man. His no otherness inspired many to follow him, to tell his story to others. They told the story and as the story is told others joined the story and the story grew and the story still goes on.

Join the Story.

Church=Gospel=Story

How do we tell a Story?

Words - Pictures - Movement - Place - Community

Is the the model of church we use a story we can tell? Christianity has at its heart the four Gospels which are peoples stories about Jesus and peoples recolections of stories told by Jesus. For the early Church the preaching of the Gospel was inseparable to being Church. Even though we rightly question if Jesus intended to form a church that is how His story has developed.

In Modernity we saw Christianity explained as 'spiritual laws', the Bible as an 'instruction manual'. Where is church in this? Where is community? Church was somewhere you went after you had become Christian, not something that was about being Christian. Modernity prefers structure to stories and yet postmodernity rediscovers stories. Christianity has had to relearn the art of story telling.

In exploring the Future Shape of Church we tend to think structurally. Modernity has separated Church and Gospel. Church and Gospel must be part of the same story. When we tell our story the story of Church is part of that. Church is a place of telling stories, hearing stories and being story. Some ways of looking at Church have wanted to detach Church from what went before. The new Church replaces the old, as if Church were a mechanical part in the engine of Christianity.

Church however is Christianity, if the Church had not been the continuation of the Gospel story then Christianity would not exist. The success of Church in the future is dependent on our ability to tell the story od Church as integrated into the whole Gospel story.