This Saturday, a group of us will be looking at the all the work that we have done so far on listening to God for God’s vision for our future at MCC Newcastle. There will be the boards that were up at the back of church for four weeks, so that people could share ideas, images, words from songs and poems. We will also be looking at the graffiti wall and other art work from our Creativity Day. In these, and in our discussions, we will be looking and listening for the key themes that keep emerging.
Activities like this require us to dream a little, to take a risk, to examine all possibilities. Jesus brought the gospel, the ‘good news’, a radical new message about a different way of having a relationship with God and each other. People took a risk in listening to him and then choosing to follow him. Many of the Christian denominations that exist today came about because one individual, or a group, who wanted to do things differently from how they had been done before. Metropolitan Community Church started because Troy Perry believed that God was calling him to reach out in a new and radical way to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community, and beyond.
One of the key questions we need to ask ourselves in a process like this is “Is this authentically from God?”, or is just our own agenda that we are promoting? In the best circumstances, it will be a combination of both. Our passions, gifts and skills will be in line with what God is calling us to do. God may challenge us, may take us beyond our comfort zone, but ultimately, we will find that we grow into what God sets before us. Similarly, there are things that happen that are not of God, and so we turn to God for strength, grace and patience to get us through the tough times in life.
In his book, “Care of the Soul”, Thomas Moore says the soul is linked with the imagination, rather than the intellect. He reminds us that we use the words “soul” or “soulful” to describe music, writing or even food that has a deep and profound quality to it. We might not be able to fully grasp or articulate what that quality is, however it resonates with us and others. That is what we will be looking and listening for on Saturday. The ideas and dreams that speak most fully to our soul, as individuals and as a faith community. Please keep us and God’s vision for MCC Newcastle in your prayers this week.
God bless
Cecilia
Activities like this require us to dream a little, to take a risk, to examine all possibilities. Jesus brought the gospel, the ‘good news’, a radical new message about a different way of having a relationship with God and each other. People took a risk in listening to him and then choosing to follow him. Many of the Christian denominations that exist today came about because one individual, or a group, who wanted to do things differently from how they had been done before. Metropolitan Community Church started because Troy Perry believed that God was calling him to reach out in a new and radical way to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community, and beyond.
One of the key questions we need to ask ourselves in a process like this is “Is this authentically from God?”, or is just our own agenda that we are promoting? In the best circumstances, it will be a combination of both. Our passions, gifts and skills will be in line with what God is calling us to do. God may challenge us, may take us beyond our comfort zone, but ultimately, we will find that we grow into what God sets before us. Similarly, there are things that happen that are not of God, and so we turn to God for strength, grace and patience to get us through the tough times in life.
In his book, “Care of the Soul”, Thomas Moore says the soul is linked with the imagination, rather than the intellect. He reminds us that we use the words “soul” or “soulful” to describe music, writing or even food that has a deep and profound quality to it. We might not be able to fully grasp or articulate what that quality is, however it resonates with us and others. That is what we will be looking and listening for on Saturday. The ideas and dreams that speak most fully to our soul, as individuals and as a faith community. Please keep us and God’s vision for MCC Newcastle in your prayers this week.
God bless
Cecilia
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