For as long as I can remember, the idea of some form of community house has been part of the medium to long term vision of St Luke’s in the High Street.
We have been out of the original church building for almost 3 years now, and in that time have continued to gently experiment with community values and ways of connecting with those who would not usually have much or anything to do with the church community.
Last night we spent some time talking about what kind of thing we imagine such a property would look like, who it would be for, and why we might still want to pursue the idea anyway.
It’s a little of a ‘chicken/egg’ thing to an extent. Often, churches and community groups start with some form of centre, and ask themselves what they coud use it for. We have consciously tried to order the questions the other way: what kind of thing do we want (ideally feel called) to do or get involved in? What kind of place would we need in order to do these things. It’s surprisingly hard to stay true to this order, but productive.
As we spoke about I was struck by the word ‘space’, and how useful it is as a one-word summary of our collated plans.
We would like a space that is welcoming, safe, and available for people to use. We would like a space that people can be drawn to, and sent out from. We would like a space that offers prayer, peace and friendship. We would like a space where people can come as they are, and not have to wear any mask, or pretend that they are something they are not. We would like a space that is a home from home, where laughter echoes around the halls, but tears can flow freely if needed. We would like a space where people eat together, dream together, challenge and encourage each other, and meet God in. …Sounds a lot like the idea of church to me.
We would greatly appreciate it if those you who pray could remember us in all of this. We are presently exploring how we as a community can move forward into this, including the possibility of some of us renting a house near the High Street to see if we actually have the desire, capacity and discernment to do this stuff.
Watch this space.
Funny isn’t it that what you want is essentially a church, slightly nearer the high street but that doesn’t look like a church!
If only all churches did have those values about the use of their buildings. Would change peoples perceptions of church dramatically.
By: Chris on September 9, 2010
at 9:57 am
Thanks Chris.
I think the answer is somewhere between yes and no – we’ve never claimed to be in rebellion from the inherited models of church, nor are we deluded to think that our ideas are new or even radical. But we do intend to explore the possibility of living differently from the accepted normalities of our culture, and the provision of space and time for people to discover with us the God who we serve.
By: Ordinandy on September 9, 2010
at 10:05 am
three years have gone by since you shipped outta the church building, and i shipped outta the city,
man, where does the time go.
your in my prayers.
i read the blogs xx
By: fragmentz on October 3, 2010
at 2:16 am
[...] from a different location. You may remember that we have been looking towards running some form of community house, and this is something we are now experimenting with in 3 (or possibly 4) [...]
By: And after the silence… an update « St. Luke’s in the High Street on December 24, 2010
at 11:44 am