Next meeting

We'll be back on Thursday 10th January at the usual time - hope to see you all there!

Consequences poetry

An evening of fun and games was planned,
Everybody was nicely tanned.
People were paddling in the shallow sea,
Children were shrieking, giggling with glee.
They jumped and skipped and ran about,
One was so excited some wee came out.
It made a suspicious stain on the floor
They stepped over it and left, slamming the door.
The tinsel fell off and mum was quite cross.
Into her head popped Matt Goss, from Bros.
What a horrible image, her mind recoiled.
She pushed away her dinner, her appetite spoiled.
Even the sprouts were left untouched.
Which meant that the toilet went unflushed.

Snow is lying on the hillside
But inside the fire glows in the grate
And the children want to stay up late.
They were forbidden to do so as they had been naughty,
And were all sent to bed without any supper.
There was much rumbling of hungry tummies and many grumpy faces.
Bah humbug till the turkey and sprouts arrive.
The bad mood lasted until the evening.
It was eventually dispersed by loud music and wild dancing.
Much fun was had by all, the party raged on well past midnight,
And nobody had an early night, they all had a ball.
They all froze, however, when HE came to call...

I wonder what Santa will bring for me?
What will he leave beneath my twinkling tree?
"You'd better not peek till the morning."
Was the sombre warning.
Everyone listened with solemn faces
As they wished themselves in other places.
Suddenly the Tardis appeared and there stood Doctor Who!
His long scarf flapped - he'd know what to do!
He removed it in haste and waved it in the air.
He took off his hat and fluffed out his hair.
"Good day to you fine people" he declared.
He delivered his speech, most carefully prepared.
HIs words were received with rapturous applause,
And presents galore, form old Santa Claus.

Letter to man from God

In a future SofaChurch meeting, we'll be watching and discussing the latest video from Dans le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip: 'Letter to man from God'. Have a look ahead of time and let us know what you make of it... 

Watch the video on YouTube by clicking here.

Christmas games evening

Next Thursday night, we'll be having a social. Bring along any games you might have that you think we'll enjoy and maybe a few nibbly bits too... we'll have some fun and get in the festive mood! Normal time: 7.30 to 9'ish.

Why men hate going to church

Tonight Colin led a really interesting discussion on the question of why there are so many less men in church than women.

It's interesting to remember that a lot of the heroes of the Bible were men. And in the case of the disciples, they weren't softies but big butch fishermen.

Looking at the church today, it could be argued that it has become a place that encourages mainly feminine qualities (relationships, support, harmony, nurturing), with women taking most leadership roles. Even the church's activities seem to have a feminine bias: baptisms, weddings, fetes, creches and suppers.

We questioned whether there was a sense that men wanted to be 'real' men (drinking beer, looking at women and driving cool cars) rather than the kind of men the church encourages them to be (drinking grape juice, looking at Bibles and driving the church van).

There is a theory that there is a 'masculinity bank' which can be depleted by engaging in more feminine pursuits. We discussed whether perhaps men outside of the church are not attracted to come along because they fear they will have to be a different (and somehow less manly) sort of man.

We finished by thinking about how men enjoy being part of a team, forming relationships side by side, whereas women form relationships face to face. We asked whether we need to create opportunities within the church for men to enjoy this sort of relationship. We also questioned whether the church would benefit from a more masculine style of leadership - perhaps a more forceful 'tell it like it is' style.

It was a fascinating evening; a topic I'd not ever considered. Of course I had noticed that there are way more women in the church than men - quite an issue when I was a single lass! (Thank God for Greenbelt)

We concluded that the issue is the same as with kids in the church - if there aren't any there to begin with, new ones just aren't attracted to come along.

Do feel free to leave your thoughts, whether you were with us tonight or not - I'd be keen to hear what you think, especially all you blokes. Thanks Colin for a really interesting and well thought out evening.

Waiting

This week we'll be thinking about the theme waiting, how those times when we've had to really wait for things are often times that God uses.

See you there.

Worry

Don't worry - I'm not making you watch The Sound of Music this week! I thought as Andy's at a parent's evening, I'd take the opportunity to look at another of my 'hot topics' - worry.

Why do we worry? What do you worry about? What does the Bible say about worry? How can we stop worrying?

Come along and we'll discuss the issue then have a time of giving our worries to God. See you then.

Homosexuality & the church

Tonight a very select group of us (where was everyone?) thought about the issue of homosexuality and the church's (and our) response.

We watched a documentary by Louis Theroux called 'The Most Hated Family in America'. It was about a church in the States who feel that God wants them to tell homosexual people that they are destined for hell, by picketing and doing broadcasts. 

It made for quite disturbing viewing and I couldn't help but feel that Louis was the one best representing how Jesus would have felt. He made the point that it was an issue Jesus didn't actually mention and that he had other priorities.

We then discussed the programme and talked about the difficulties surrounding the issue. We thought about questions such as: Is it wrong for people to be practising homosexuals? Is it our place to tell them? Which issues should we as Christians speak out boldly about? Do we consider sexual sins somehow worse than other sins?

It was clear tonight that we all have different views on this tricky topic. Some of us feel that loving homosexual relationships are probably not such a big issue for a God of grace; others felt strongly that they need to take the Bible more at face value. Do leave us your thoughts on the topic.  

Christmas games evening

We decided last night (after the fun of playing consequences) that it would be good to have a games night on the last SofaChurch before Christmas. 

So an advance notice for you: the 20th December meeting will be all fun and games. Bring any games you fancy playing and maybe some festive munchies too... ho ho ho! 

Consequences

This week (our other) David led us with his thoughts on consequences in relation to the book of Jonah. 

We started with a game of consequences, (not played that for a few years!) then David read us the story of Jonah. 

We then had an interesting discussion, thinking about how Jonah's actions (and inactions!) had very definite consequences. We also thought about our willingness to be obedient to God and how he is the God of second chances. 

Thanks for a really interesting and fun evening, David.

David's USA experience

This week, David and Julie will be telling us all about their experiences in the States this summer. The whole family did a sort of 'life-swap' with a minister and his family from North Carolina; they swapped homes, jobs, cars and congregations - come and hear their thoughts on the whole experience.

Where exactly is God?

We discussed some ideas of where God is. Is he in a fluffy cloud? Is he somewhere much nearer? We looked at the ideas of Paul Tillich and thought how that impacts on our prayer lives. 

St John's Christmas Fair

On Saturday 17th November, St John's Church is holding its annual Christmas Fair. 

It's from 11am till 2pm, and there will be all sorts of stalls (cakes, clothes, tombola, raffle, jams etc) as well as light lunches in the church hall. Our SofaChurch room will be used as a coffee lounge.

Admission is free, so do come along with all the family.

Leading SofaChurch sessions

I've led the last few meetings in a row; while I'm happy to keep doing this, we originally thought that it would be good if lots of different people led meetings on topics that interested them. This would give us all a lot more variety and would help us to explore different facets of the faith. We have had a couple of offers, but if anyone else is keen to lead one do please let us know. It could be a discussion (you don't often need to prepare much - conversation flows quite easily!), something artistic, something alt. worshippy, something purely social... 

We'd also like to thank everyone for taking responsibility for making drinks, washing cups and bringing snacks. We want SofaChurch to be a communal thing, so this greatly helps. 

Pleasantville

This evening we watched (most) of the film Pleasantville, and then discussed how it intersected with Christianity. 

The first main them we discussed was how it mirrored the fall. The film contained very overt symbolism, including temptation and eating an apple in a garden. But in Pleasantville, the fall makes things better. The TV repairman character, who seemed to represent God, looked happy with how things had developed at the end of the film - it was as if he intended it to be all along. Did God intend the fall to happen? 

The other theme was how the spreading of colour could represent the advancing of the kingdom of God. The colour first came to a marginalised group of people, and then spread more widely. The coloured people were segregated and discriminated against, in a similar way to the early followers of Jesus. They formed a new society, with its own rules, and chose which rules of the dominant culture to follow and which to ignore. 

We finished with a prayer along these lines:

Lord Jesus, you brought so much colour and life into the world. People couldn't help but leave their grey lives and follow you. May we go now and live our lives in colour, and by your grace help us to spread some colour to the world this week. Amen.

Getting arty

This week we may be rather low in numbers, as there's an important Circuit service taking place on the same night. So we thought we'd take the opportunity to do something a bit different.

We're hoping to bring some acrylic paints and art paper, and see if we can do some paintings on the theme of Jesus appearing to the disciples after his resurrection (when the fishermen caught loads of fish and they had a barbie on the beach).

No artistic skills required at all, so don't panic. The pictures can be as abstract/expressionistic/naive as you like.

Looking forward to seeing (some of!) you there.

Is the Bible the Word of God?

We looked at what different Christians believe about the Bible. We started with the Chicago Statement - which sets out a common evangelical standpoint. I did my best to try and point out some inconsistencies and areas where nobody takes the Bible literally anymore with regard to what the Earth is like. 

After much discussion we thought about this quote from Karl Barth:

'The Bible is only God's Word to the extent that he causes it to be his Word; to the extent that he speaks through it.'

It will probably never be an area where we all agree, but it was good to have a frank discussion. 

Next week's meeting...

Next week, we'll be thinking about the first of our grittier questions: Is the Bible the literal word of God? (Eek - I think I preferred flicker books and Aslan...)

Depictions of God

This week we thought about how we imagine or picture God. We looked at various images and clips, including the grace scene in Talladega Nights and the blowing bag scene from American Beauty. We also looked at how God is depicted in art, as well as in more modern ways (e.g as Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia).

We had a good discussion about how we picture God. I personally was very surprised at how many people said they don't imagine God as a real person - I think I assumed everyone did! Rather, it seems that lots of people see God in other people or in the majesty of nature.

We then made little flicker book 'animations' of our ways of picturing God. I particularly liked the two who had depicted their idea of God as a comforting cup of tea - wish I'd thought of that one!

What makes someone a Christian?

Tonight we thought about what makes someone a Christian. It wasn't as obvious as it at first sounds!

We looked at three different models that people have come up with to try to explain it. 

The first, was a scale (The Engels scale) where non-Christians moved up the scale to a point at which they became Christians and then progressed further up the scale as they moved on in their Christian walks.

The second, was the idea that we follow Jesus as he moves all over the place. 

The third model, was of Jesus hounding us, rather like a cat wanting it's brekkie, pestering us and not letting us go.

We had a really interesting discussion about which model (if any) we felt most accurately described the experience of 'becoming' one of Jesus' followers. It seemed that the consensus was that there were good and bad things about each model and that perhaps elements of all three models made the best description.

We also talked about how using exclusive language (Christian - non-Christian) was perhaps unhelpful in a setting like SofaChurch, where we're all somewhere along the 'following' path. We went on to think about how SofaChurch can balance being a place that meets the needs of old-timers and newcomers alike. A tricky one, but perhaps a challenge that every church faces. 

Another interesting point was made in conversation at the end by one of our visitors, that his experience of SofaChurch, although interesting and enjoyable, was that the group was very much one of established friendships. Which on the one hand is precisely what we want, but on the other, we perhaps need to be careful not to become cliquey and appear unwelcoming to new-comers. Any thoughts on how you do this practically welcomed! It's a tricky one...  

Crewe Blog

Have a look at Tim's friend's write ups of SofaChurch on The Crewe Blog. It's encouraging to hear that people are maybe wanting to think about spiritual things but just feel that traditional church isn't for them.

Is SofaChurch your cuppa tea?

Inside SofaChurch

Coming next week...

Last minute change to the previously advertised theme; instead of 'Is the Bible the Word of God', instead we'll think about what it really means to be a Christian. I'm not sure that it's quite as black and white or easy as some people make it out. 

Sorry if you were desperately longing for the Bible one - I'm sure we'll cover this soon. Please come anyway!

Slow Club

For a while now, I've been aware that I've needed to slow life down a bit. Even as a part-time illustrator/housewife, I've noticed that my days can get pretty packed and that it's easy not to make time to say hi to God.

I decided a while back that there were a few simple steps I could take to get nearer where I wanted to be. Firstly, I asked Andy to jiggle my computer so that accessing the internet and email were impossible (I use his machine in the evenings for bits like this!) I also decided to stop leaping up every time the phone rang and began to let the answer phone take messages. I've also bought a book of daily readings that I hope will encourage me to attempt to connect with God every now and then.

At Greenbelt this year, there was a surprising emphasis on slowing down (particularly with regards to re-claiming the Sabbath). One talk in particular really stuck with me, so I downloaded it to use as the basis of our discussion. (It's by American Youth Worker Mark Yaconelli, son of Mike).

It was really interesting to hear everyone's views on the topic. Why do we find slowing down so hard to do? What do other people do to make time for God in the busyness of daily life? And how exactly do you have a day of rest when you have family and church commitments?

I know we only scratched the surface tonight, so do feel free to keep the discussion going here if you'd like to.

Spirituality in films

Many thanks to Bob for kicking us off with an interesting evening looking at the spiritual elements in secular films. We split into groups for discussion after watching clips from Rocky, Platoon, The Matrix and The Elephant Man.

If you know of other films that make you think along spiritual lines, do post a comment. 

Plus, we're always after films to show the Circuit's teens, so if you know of any that might be good, let us know. So far we've shown them Saved! and The Truman Show. (I'm currently working out how I can convince Andy that Night At The Museum has Christian content... ;o))

SofaChurch postcards

More SofaChurch postcards are on their way. Do feel free to take these and pass them on to friends.

Questions

Here are the questions that everyone came up with; things that they have always wondered about but never found an answer. These may well form the basis for discussion topics in the coming weeks/months/years.

- Is the Biblical account of creation literal - if so what about the dinosaurs?

- If humans evolved form apes, how come apes are still around today?

- How literally do we take the BIble - what does it mean to call it the 'word of God'?

- Why is Jesus nice but God in the Old Testament nasty?

- How controlling should people in authority in the church be?

- Other faiths

- Baptism - child or adult? What if the parents of a child are not sincere believers themselves?

- What does it really mean to be a Christian - which things are essential?

- Do we bring our children up to be Christian or is that tantamount to brainwashing?

- Do all paths lead to God if you are sincere?

- Are all denominations equally valid? How much 'heresy' is allowed before you draw the line?

- How do we explain paranormal experiences?

- What is heaven like?


Phew. I hope I got them all down - plenty to be thinking about then!

First SofaChurch meeting

Thanks to everyone who came last night for the first SofaChurch meeting. Andy and I were just delighted with how it went. 

We had hoped that the meetings would be a place where people would feel comfortable just being themselves and that that atmosphere of 'realness' would allow good friendships to develop. It was amazing to see just that happening last night, even in the first meeting when we didn't really know each other very well.   

We'll keep this blog updated each week, so that there's a rough record of what we've been doing. 

So - this week. We spent the first half hour working out how the coffee machine worked and chatting, then Andy outlined his ideas for SofaChurch. We then spent the rest of the evening sharing questions that we have about Christianity/the Church. Hopefully these will form the basis of some of the future meetings. 

As Andy said last night, we're very keen for SofaChurch to not be 'our thing'. For one thing, with little Minnow on the way we're very soon not going to have time for it to be. It would be great if everyone felt a sense of ownership of the group.

There's absolutely no pressure at all to get involved, but it's worth remembering that the more people who do volunteer to organise socials/lead discussions/present ideas for worship, the more varied SofaChurch will end up being (and more reflective of a true family, with all it's differences). 

It'd be great if we could make SofaChurch a place where people feel happy to have a go at taking an evening, without worrying too much about what others will think. There are so many ways of worshipping God and we can all learn from each other, however conventional/whacky the idea. Bear in mind too, that this will be easier for some than others, depending on personality type. I know I want to have a go at leading an evening, but I'm sure that I'll lose sleep the night before doing it!

Do leave your feedback. I'm always telling the runway kids 'It's your group' to get them to suggest things they might like to do, and this is even more true of SofaChurch. :o) 

The back row at runway...

Room pictures

The room is now finished. HUGE thanks to the Fergusons for all their hard work and also to Chris W for all his expert sofa assembling work (If you want an Ikea sofa put together, you know who to ask). 

We're really pleased with the final result. The room feels warm, inviting and cosy and we really hope it will provide the right atmosphere for friendships to develop and grow. Hopefully it'll be a relaxed place that we all enjoy going to (and wouldn't feel uncomfortable inviting our friends and neighbours along).

Let us know what you think!

First meeting

The first sofachurch meeting will take place on Thursday 6th September, from 7.30pm till 9pm in the back room at St John's Methodist Church in Shavington. 

The first half hour of the meeting will be a time for chat and drinks, then the 'meaty' bit will be from 8pm till 9pm, so come for as much of the time as you're able.

We'll be distributing publicity postcards to each of the Circuit's churches in the next week or so. 

Do spread the word to everyone in the right age/outlook group and really look forward to seeing you there! 

September start planned

Plans are going really well for sofachurch. We've had loads of really positive feedback and we've been delighted at how supportive and encouraging the church have been. They seem very willing to give the idea a go.

We're currently doing up the room. The painting is all done (huge thanks to the Fergusons), the new lights are being fitted this week, and a big Ikea delivery of sofas is due to arrive on Tuesday. 

We hope to get the new flooring laid after that, then assemble the furniture, add the homely touches and artwork and we should be nearly there!

We'll do a promotional sofachurch postcard which we'll distribute round the Circuit's churches, with details of the first meeting. 

In that meeting, we'll think about our ideas and plans for the group, sort out who's willing to lead when and (more importantly) who's baking!

It's very exciting. Please pray for the venture and spread the word that it's all go!

Solomon's Porch photos

The sofa church idea

We recently attended a Fresh Expressions day where we thought about fresh ways of being church. We came away really excited about how we might do something ‘fresh’ within our Circuit in Crewe. The Methodist Church has for two of it’s five current priorities:
- Encouraging fresh ways of being Church

- Nurturing a culture in the Church which is people-centred and flexible

It seems that within the Circuit, there are quite a lot of people in their 20s/30s/40s (or at least, in that younger mindset!) It also seems to be that same age group that is generally missing from our church services on Sundays. So we started wondering if we couldn’t organise some different way of ‘doing’ church that might appeal more to that age group.

In the same way that runway gets all the Circuit’s youth together each week, we thought it’d be great to get our ‘middle’ age group together too. It would be really good to get to know each other better, pray about problems, discuss current issues (and experiment with worship in a place where we know no one will have a moan about it!)

We’ve recently come across a really cool church in the States called Solomon’s Porch, which calls itself a ‘sofa church’. It looks like it’s all battered leather sofas, hot chocolate, laid back worship and muffins. Looking at their website got us thinking: wouldn’t that be a great way to do church? Wouldn’t more people of our generation want to come to a church that feels as comfortable and cosy as their lounge?

We’re wondering whether something similar might work as a fresh expression within the Crewe Circuit. Curling up on a couch to think about God stuff with your friends sounds really appealing to us. So we thought, why not start a new group called ‘sofa church’ where you could do just that?

We’re not thinking that sofa church meetings would replace our attending Sunday services. It’s great to go to church within the community you live and it’s good to mix with people of all ages. We were thinking more along the lines of a weekly mid-week get together.

At first, we were imagining that sofa church could take place in our lounge. But those of you who’ve been to our house know that if more than four people turned up we’d be overflowing into the kitchen! So we had the idea of doing up the back room at St Johns where runway meet each Sunday night. It’s a nice size, the kitchen’s right next door for making coffee and the room could really use a make-over. We know the runway kids would adore having a trendy room for their meetings too.

In terms of decor, we’re thinking along the Costa Coffee lines: second hand sofas, cuddly cushions, wooden flooring with rugs, soft lighting and real coffee. If you can imagine neutral walls, with maybe one feature wall picked out in a rich red, some rope lights spelling out ‘cosy’, canvas artworks on the walls... it could become a really nice space. We think it should be possible for about £1000.

We thought we could take it in turns to lead the meetings and bake goodies to munch on. Perhaps the leader for the night could talk for a few minutes, show a film clip or read something from a book they’ve found interesting, then a discussion could follow. We could worship together, pray... all the usual church stuff, only a bit more relaxed.

So we’re after your feedback. We figure there’s no point storming ahead with the idea if people don’t really fancy it or are too time-poor to even consider another group. So if you could take moment to scribble down some thoughts or email us, or write some comments on the blog here, we’d really appreciate it.

Susie and Andy Fishburne