sustain:if:able kiwi

emerging church postcards : Aotearoa New Zealand 4

For the last 6 months Fuller St Café has gathered on the first Sunday evening each month. We have a Café set up, fresh espresso and a theme for the night. First 6 themes were Narnia movie, Cancer panel, U2, Local Jazz band Toot & Croon, Da Vinci code panel, Christmas party. It’s an experiment in planting an alternative congregation at Kaiapoi Baptist.

a helpful Scripture in the formation and life of your church community: Only Scripture I can think of at moment reflect more how I am feeling about the project now – Isaiah 42:9 “See I am doing a new thing, now it springs up, do you not perceive it?” Reflecting attempt to plant something new but not feeling understood. And Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, it builders labour in vain” wondering if we’re on right track.

learning about spiritual formation: Not sure that the “community” has emerged yet and whether it’s just too attractional to work.

movie (or scene) might sum up your year: One movie that might describe the first 6 months is “50 first dates.” We are basically experimenting until we find a new, real and helpful way to explore faith and live life. Also I can relate to Pai in Whale Rider wrestling with leadership issues.

best mission moment in 06: Probably the cancer night where 70 people showed up. 20 of those were outside the existing KBC community and 4 in response to the ad we put in the local rag. We had a panel of brave cancer sufferers some who were in remission and others who were terminal. We asked them these questions: How did you hear the news about the cancer?; What was your reaction/ response?; The treatment – what was that like?; What support did you have from others, what was helpful/ unhelpful?; Where has God been in it all? We have just lost the second of the ladies who were terminal this week – please pray for her husband and sons (13 & 3yrs).

For more emerging church postcards 2006, go here.
For emerging church postcards 2005, go here.
For information on how your emerging church can send a postcard, go here.

emerging church postcards: aotearoa new zealand

OK, here’s the first emerging church postcard 06. If you want to submit one details here.

This church has no name. It meets in Porirua (Wellington, New Zealand) on Monday nights for meals followed by adult times later in the evening.

a helpful Scripture in the formation and life of your church community: The Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount. Great stuff.

learning about spiritual formation: Thinking through the three aspects of believe, belong and behave and the dynamic they create in our corporate life. Thinking through the issues of spiritual formation for our children (age ranges 17 down to babies numbering round 30) and attempting to mentor each others kids finding significant others in our kids lives. Trying to find safe places which will also be able to challenge us in relation to the men and women respectively. Realising the importance of providing space for people to grow though stages of faith.

movie that might sum up your year: Worlds Fastest Indian – esp scenes traveling thought the States, stranger in a strange land, full of confidence and humour and not much else but kiwi ingenuity, having moments of near disaster and tragedy, coupled with much laughter and flying by the seat of our pants.

best mission moment in 06: Sponsoring and settling a Burmese family and all the subsequent followup and complications therein, incl encouraging us to work in with 1-2 other local (organized) churches. Also supporting a regular to go to Sri Lanka to help in rebuilding after tsunami.

the emerging church in 2005: a visual summary

What does the emerging church look like? More specifically, what does the emerging church look like in 2005?

And they say a picture is worth a 1,000 words. So, why not gather a visual date stamp? Why not invite an emerging church to send a picture of their life? Collected together, they could offer a visual narrative of a year of life lived.

Thus Postcards05 germinated. I posted the concept on my blog in mid-December and invited anyone who wanted to send a postcard. I worked up a generic template, hoping for visual continuity. I never got my wished for postcards from France and Serbia. But I did get fifteen postcards from 8 countries; Ireland, England (5), Australia (2), Canada (2), New Zealand (2), Germany, Malaysia and Denmark (and had email conversations with people in Japan and South America).

Today I printed out all 15 postcards and wondered if there were some repeated echoes.

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emerging church postcards : Ireland

Time for a final postcard. Time for some fun. Maybe an emerging church from Ireland, maybe this is even better than the real thing?

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

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emerging church postcards : England5

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

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emerging church postcards : England4

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

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emerging church postcards : England3

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

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emerging church postcards : Australia2

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

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emerging church postcards : Canada2

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

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emerging church postcards : Aotearoa New Zealand2

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

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emerging church postcards : England2

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

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the power of a postcard

This is the power of postcard 05. It creates connections. It brings a vision a step closer to reality. Imagine being able to say to your church; hey, a church like us is doing this.

Every so often I am reassured that my dream/calling of creating and building community via a coffeehouse is achieveable… Check out FREEWAY in Hamilton, Canada. I am delighted to see we have a shared vision … I got the heads-up from Steve Taylor’s emergent kiwi blog. Freeway posted a postcard on his site. Interestingly, the comments on the postcard indicate that Freeway is part of the Salvation Army!!! NO WAY!!! Check out the postcard … If this is being done… then it can be replicated

Link

emerging church postcards : Canada

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

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emerging church postcards : Aotearoa New Zealand

For words about the image : birth : values : music: mission

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