Sculpture

On Thursday 6th August we'll have a go at creating a sculpture out of old communications technology waste - old TVs, computer bits etc. A bit like the Wee Man in the picture, but not quite on such a big scale perhaps. It should be really good fun, suitable for all ages.

I put a post on Freecycle for stuff five minutes ago and have been offered four TVs already... If you have any junk sitting aroung waiting to be dumped please bring it along. We could also do with borrowing hot glue guns (to stick stuff together, not to be built into the sculpture...) if anyone has one please.

Incidentally, there are some great other art ideas on this website. I love the idea of moss grafitti!

August plans

We are nearly at the end of the second of our long discipleship themes; we have now thought about how we should deal with money and technology as followers of Jesus. I hope that everyone has found something useful in these. The next theme will be 'Seeing God in Everyday Things', more on that later. But I thought that we'd wait until September to start this and do some more creative, fun, kid friendly things through the summer holidays.


30 July :: Celebration meal, 6.30 at the Fishburne's
6 August :: Sculpture project
13 August :: cafechurch at Costa Coffee, Tesco's Crewe, 7pm
20 August :: Film night -The Lion King
27 August :: Photography
(29-31 August :: Greenbelt festival - contact us if you'd like to come too)
3 September :: Start of the new theme - Seeing God in Everyday Things - coming up with tasks

Monthly Sundays?

Hi gang!

Just a quick post to sound you out on some thoughts Andy and I have had.

SofaChurch:Sundays have been very minimally attended for some weeks (though it's always a treat to see you, Andrea!) We were wondering if we need a bit of a re-think. We'd appreciate your thoughts regarding the following possibilities. Thanks all.

* Keeping SC:Sundays as they are

* Changing it to a different day of the week

* Making the events monthly (ensuring they are well publicised)

* Dropping the socials for the meantime

Communications technology celebration meal

We're nearing the end of this topic, and as normal we plan to mark the end with a meal together and a chance to reflect and recommit ourselves to God. I thought that this time we'd have a barbecue at our house. Children very welcome! It will be on Thursday July 30th, with an earlier start of 6.30. It would be very useful to know how many of you can come so I can buy the right amount of food, so please let me know. As normal the food will be as local and ethical as possible.

Gran Torino

This week's film is Andrea's recommendation, and is supposed to be very good. Starring Clint Eastwood, 15 rating.

RSPCA Open Day

For today's Sunday outing we'll be going to the RSPCA open day at Stapeley Grange. Highlights include animals aplenty, stalls and the Allsorts dog display team. Meet at the SC room as normal at 2pm.

Greenbelt freshers

This is a post for people who've been to Greenbelt or have camping experience (you don't have to be a SofaChurcher, btw) to post their tips to help everyone else. I'll get the ball rolling...

Positive uses of technology

A slight change to the published schedule; we should be finishing off the current series with a celebration meal this evening, but we're not organised enough for it this week and haven't given anyone warning. So that will have to be in two weeks' time.

So this evening we'll have a look at the topic we tried to do last time - how technology can be used to enhance our lives as followers of Jesus. Come along and pick up some new ideas and share your own. The meeting will be led by Susie.

Sounds like us, Mr Bell

I was just listening to a talk by Rob Bell* (how holy for a Saturday night?) on the Mars Hill podcast and this section jumped out at me. I instantly nabbed the Mac from a bemused Andy (who was only trying to find a new house for us) to tap it out for you to read.

This could certainly be written about me: how about you?

"For parents, sometimes you'll hear the story: "I'm so concerned about my child, they've gone off on a search; they've left the church; they've gone off and they're reading this speaker or this one," and there's a tear in the parents' eyes. "We raised them, they went to church, they went to Sunday School, they heard all the stories: what's happened?"

I would argue that what happens naturally, developmentally, when you've grown up around a particular faith tradition, is that you've grown up knowing, which is different from knowing.

And so oftentimes, what the search is and what looks like a departure, may actually be the most healthy thing imaginable, because this kid - this adult - may have come to a point of realising that, "I know, but I don't know; and it's not enough for me to just know about, I want to know."

And so sometimes what happens is that the Christian community freaks: "They're reading this, they're exploring this, they're talking about this!" When the Christian tradition should celebrate that this person is not satisfied just to 'know about', they want the full epigonosis** enchillada!

And at the very moment when as Christians, we should celebrate someone who says, "I actually want to know what it is that I believe and I want to live it. And I want to sift and sort and I want to know what's out there, because I want to have an authentic understanding of my own journey and what it means to believe and live in the world." At that moment, the church should be cheering the way because there's no fear.

Instead the church freaks, shuts down and reinforces all of the closed, narrow-minded stereotypes this person has in the first place. Because perhaps what's happening - perhaps - this person has realised that I don't just want to know, I want to know. And we should celebrate that impluse wherever we find it."

* Main speaker at Greenbelt this year - yay!

** Greek term meaning something along the lines of 'super-knowledge' (makes more sense in the context of the rest of the sermon)

Because I'm worth it...

Pick up any magazine at this time of the year and you'll be sure to find at least one article telling you how you can lose those surplus pounds to look great in your bikini on the beach.*

If, like me, you've had just about enough of feeling crap about your body and eating in crazy, unhealthy ways in order to try and look like a 12 year old, come along to this weeks' Cafe Church where we'll be looking at the whole area of body image and self-esteem.

Highlights include a 'his and hers' interview featuring our very own Rev. Austin for the boys' view, and yours truly giving the no-holds-barred experience of being a girl of the Kate Moss generation.

Why do we spend so long worrying about our appearances? Who gains from our preoccupation with image? Why is beauty considered so much more desirable than other traits? Why can we only start to feel good about ourselves when we look a certain way? And how might God prefer us to think about our self-worth?

Hope to see you all there for more question (and tiffin square**) chewing over.

* Er, what bikini? And what beach?

** Unless you're on said bikini diet, that is.

Sunday rest

Anyone around this Sunday afternoon for some Sunday afternoon fun? 

Thought I'd check who's around before planning the activity. And the picture? Oh, any excuse to show off my beautiful boy.

Engaging with technology

This weeks' SofaChurch will continue our look at technology and the effects of communications technologies in particular on our lives. 

This week we'll be thinking about the more positive sides of new technologies, focussing especially on how, as Christians, we can keep up to date with and exploit newer methods of communication to get some positivity out there.

Hope to see you there.