Wednesday, April 13, 2005

espresso ver1

espresso – our potential cafe congregation – got a first trial last nite. The “guiding group” meet, in-house, to try the evening for ourselves. I mean, if it wasn’t going to sustain us spirituality, it was going to be hard work pursuing!

: Gathering ritual
: Discussion guidelines – be honest, be considerate.
: A discussion question introduced and discussed
: Closing ritual

We were nourished and energised and challenged. We made a few tweaks. We are going to offer espresso ver2, with a few more friends, and their evaluation, but still in-house, 10th May. Little steps, rather than big jumps, potentially allow a gradual evolution and a shared sense of community and ethos to develop.

Posted by steve at 10:47 AM

1 Comment

  1. I am part of a team of church foundation-layers in Dublin. We are at ground-zero, building bridges into the lives of non-believers and desire to see vibrant churches peppered across Ireland. We are interested in taking the gospel into existing social structures within Irish culture and so this espresso idea is noteworthy. Question(s): How would you describe the kind of relationship you had with those you asked to come along? You mentioned mini-steps….what would those steps look like (however impressionistic)? How are you going to move from individual relationships to community without creating a pastoral dead-end? Did these attendees express further interest to the point of inviting their friends? Were they suspicious of a “religious” gathering and, if so, how did you deal with that suspicion? OK, I will stop here. Great creativity and gusto. Risk-taking faith to be sure. God bless. Roy

    Comment by Roy Angle — May 14, 2005 @ 12:15 am

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