Third Places

Posted on May 30, 2007
Filed Under community, relationships, mission and justice | 7 Comments

 

So, what do you think of Third Places (aka Third Way)?  This concept really interests and excites Jonathan and I.  We are due to move to Canada (probably East Coast) at some point over the next 12 months or so.  The time is down to a) When our visa comes through, immigration take quite a while to go through the permenant residency visa process (been waiting almost two years already!) b) we could go earlier but we need the financial support, which isn’t easy to get.  Anyway, back to the present!  When we arrive we really want to open a Third Place area (coffee house, bookstore etc) and build a community around that.

Brother Maynard has a really interesting post today about The Terra Bite Lounge which is based in Kirkland, WA.  It’s a voluntary payment cafe, which is an interesting concept.  I get really excited when I read on Jamie’s blog about The Dusty Cover, the third place bookstore which Ywam Winnipeg are launching later this year.  In the UK I’ve recently become aware of a childrens clothes store called B@titude, which is in Leatherhead, just south of London.  This clothing shop has a real community around it.  People from all around donate their unwanted childrens clothes, toys etc and they are sold there, nothing is more than £2.50 ($4.50) and families come and browse and buy what they need.  The difference with this small shop though, is that there is a childrens play area and a coffee area for parents.  This coffee area is the hub of this shop.  Everyone is welcome, some stay ten minutes, others most of the afternoon, chatting, supporting one another etc.  There are special cards on the counter where people can write down any items they desperately need such as a car seat, high chair etc, and the shop will source it for them.  The community within this clothes shop have brought a goat for a village in Kenya, they have funded a well in Uganda, are currently campaigning so that gypsies in the local area can have a permenant home.  What a difference this small clothes shop, which has a community hub around it is making - bearing in mind that most of the people who shop there are on lower incomes themsleves.

This is the kind of stuff I long to be involved in.   Do you know of any third places?  Are you involved in one?  Do you think they have a point, and can bring Jesus into a society which doesn’t connect with church? Are they places whose workers can be viewed as missionaries?

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Claude Nikondeha

Posted on May 29, 2007
Filed Under article, mission and justice, blog, current affairs | 2 Comments

Cindy has a post on her blog, you can view here, which is an interview with Claude Nikondeha about The Amahoro Africa gathering.  It’s a wonderful interview where Claude shares his testimony and his love for Africa, plus his concerns at the way Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar and co are spreading the good old prosperity gospel out there via TBN and other Christian broadcasters who have taken hold out there.

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Golden community

Posted on May 28, 2007
Filed Under community | 2 Comments

 

Yesterday I watched an episode of The Golden Girls whilst sorting through the laundry. It was called Three On The Couch.  The episode was based around a therapists office, as the girls had not been getting on well.  He basically told them that they were incompatible and should not live together.  I found the last five minutes of the show to be really profound.  Blanche, Rose and Dorothy were sitting around the kitchen table discussing apartments which were up for rent, and where each of them might move to etc when Dorothy’s mom, who I think is called Sophia, came into the kitchen.  She asked them what they wee doing and they told her, she then told them that they were being stupid and shouldn’t listen to the therapist.  “What do you mean?” they asked her.  “Well” she said, “sometimes we get on each others nerves, and we eat. Sometimes we cry together, and we eat.  Sometimes we laugh together, and we eat.” “What are you saying mom?” Dorothy asked.  “What I’m saying is we are doing life, we’re not getting on right now, but we’re doing life, we’ll get over this, and will continue to do life, and eat!”

It kind of got me thinking about Christianity.  Within Christian community we laugh together, we cry together, and we don’t always get on.  We eat together.  The eating is a really important thing within our communities.  We do life together.  Why does this sometimes go wrong?  Why can we sometimes not get over the not getting along bit, and let anger spill over instead of love?

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Agents of Future

Posted on May 27, 2007
Filed Under music | 6 Comments

Jonathan and I are lovin’ listening to Agents of Future’s music.  They are the band from The Bridge in Portland.  Their music is different from your normal worship music - quite rocky, and very “real”  Another bonus is that you can download their MP3’s for free, which is very generous of them.

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Across The Faiths

Posted on May 26, 2007
Filed Under relationships, mission and justice, faith | 11 Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot about how Christians come across to people of other faiths and beliefs. Generally in the media we only read about Christian extremists who, to be honest, give us all a bad name. I think to achieve peace within our cities, countries and the world, end poverty etc we need to put aside our differences and really work with other religions. This might not lead to mass conversions, but it will build relationships which are really lacking. The longer the war on terrorism goes on, the wider the gap is going to get between Christian and Muslim. The longer the situation in Palestine continues the wider the gap becomes between Muslim and Jew and so on. At the same time though, we have to figure out how we can work with people from different denominations within our own faith effectively, without getting petty over doctrine etc. Some would say that if we can’t even do that, then how do we expect to have effective relationships with those from totally different religions and belief systems?

Why is it that within our towns and cities we are wary of working with people of other faiths on projects that would benefit everyone?

Do you, or do you know someone who, is regularly involved with building relationships with those from other faiths and beliefs?

Would you like to be more involved, but feel ill equipped?

Do you think that Christian leaders should regularly meet with Imams, Rabbis, Buddhist Monks, Pagan Leaders etc to build relationships and get a deeper understanding of a) their beliefs and b) their experience of Christianity?

Are you someone who is not a Christian? What has your experience of working with other Christians been?

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