Breakfast Church?

An array of cereal, smoothies, fruit juice, yogurt, fruit, croissants, pancakes, muffins and not a rasher of bacon or fried egg in sight.

Numerically (do numbers really matter) we were more than last week even though two from last week couldn't make it, so we're up to eight in total.

We enjoyed the food and conversation. Interestingly the Bible study I'm leading this session is focusing on Luke's gospel and the accounts of Jesus sharing a meal with a variety of people in their homes, often at their request. So, there we were sharing breakfast, enjoying conversation, making plans for the card making "fun" next week, I wondered what Jesus would have said to those gathered?

In the back of mind I have the question is this church, can this be church and at the moment my answer is - all depends on how you define church. Church should be rooted in mission, and this is very definitely mission. Fresh expressions are defined as listening first, then loving and serving, creating a place for the unchurched. So there's a lot of listening going on. Maybe I'm just impatient, maybe the listening will take longer and need to be ongoing? Yet we can't make church happen. Roxborough and Romanuk comment

"we do not plan its emerging future; we do not define it in a vision statement that can be realised through a controlled and managed strategic plan .... God eludes our systemising; God's ecclesia cannot be mastered or managed or made"

I'm also wondering does the fact that we meet weekly help or hinder? Will it just become another weekly programme? will the enthusiasm diminish?

Breakfast and card making in the morning .....

"What have I become?"

Johnny Cash mournfully sings "what have I become?" I wonder if "church" could sing would it join in that lament?

What has church become for people? Not a question I propose to answer here but as my first Saturday morning of this new venture has been and gone it is a question I struggle with. People jumping ship, wanting nothing to do with denominations, those who used to "come" but for a variety of reasons can't or won't.

What I'm trying to do on Saturday mornings is provide a "safe space" (their words not mine) for those who I've discovered feel condemned by church (how did that happen) those who feel not good enough to be there on Sunday morning.

So our first get together became a time when five parents and a couple of toddlers shared coffee/tea and eats (using fairtrade products). I provided the morning newspapers hoping they would spark a deep theological conversation on the state of the world (maybe another day)but the conversation that emerged was one of pain, hurt, needs that actually can be met in that safe space.

These get togethers will be driven by the people who come, I have no set plans, so to meet the needs raised we will look at health issues, family issues, the strain of being a parent, not all had had time for breakfast (agreed that next time I would provide breakfast). Leaving those issues aside, they also wanted to have fun (what? fun in church?) so over the coming weeks we're going to learn how to make cards, cross-stitch, crochet, read books, watch dvd's. This will be fun because I'm not too good with the "crafty" things in this world. They shared how it would be good to meet with the children, see what they are doing, join in (sounds like messy church to me) and so the possibilities go on.

I'm excited, those who came liked the informality (unlike everything else they have experienced of church), they appreciated the "time-out". I struggle with the fact that we meet on church premises, yes I know they are dropping their children off at the Saturday morning club, and I know there is no where else in the estate like a coffee shop to meet, so for now the church hall will have to do.

What have we become? I live with the God given hope and imagination of what church can become for those who meet on Saturday mornings ....

New emphasis

Now the emphasis of this blog changes!

I'm doing some study on Mission, particularly the emerging church (whatever that is)
Anyhow, when I signed up to do it I noticed for one module there were 3 choices: a literature review on emerging church,... attend training course/s on emerging church/fresh exp ... or pioneer a church. Okay, so the attend training course appealed, the others did not. Guess what - the rules changed: only option was to pioneer a church.
Yikes!
Here are the criteria we've to follow: it's to be fun; it's to be done in spare time; it does not require a lot of leaders; it does not need a big budget! Oh and you have to blog about it :)
Can it be done?
Well, I'm about to find out.
First and foremost I've listened .... I've listened to people within the community I work, people who don't come to church. They leave their children at various activities.
So, way back last November, some of them asked me if they could do something on Saturday mornings when they left the children to the Saturday morning children's club. I tried to dissuade them by suggesting it was great to be able to leave the children and go and have some time on their own - but they disagreed!

As i listened, I heard needs, so I said I'd think about it - they persisted, I resisted!

But now, tomorrow, we meet! Will this be church? It's new.
It will certainly be my project for my Masters. Is it pioneering?
I've listened ..... I'm on my knees ..... there'll be plenty of coffee .... conversations ..... let's see what emerges .....

This blog will now be the place where I will track the progress of this experiment/project/church/pioneering initiative ..... and as the title of this blog says ... I can only imagine .....