Skip to main content

Building church...


What is involved in building church?
I was privileged to join a church's midweek service -"MORE"- where some 15 people met for worship, bible study, group discussion, fellowship, prayer and holy communion - ie 'more' and indepth than Sunday, I guess...
There is no church building so they meet in a community centre; young, old, different nationalities, social backgrounds and varying abilities - together as one in Christ...
We explred the idea of "Living stones" -
Sharing individually an inspiring building we had visited - and why it was so.
In small groups, using our Lego, we built something that modelled some of the characteristics of God - and shared this with others. ( Can you spot the Tree of Life, Open Door, Bridge, Window that formed part of ours....?)
We sang and read the Bible together.(1Peter 2:4-10) and, in groups, considered questions related to the passage and shared our findings with one another.
Everyone's opinions were listened to respectfully....
In our groups we then considered the good and bad aspects of the different building materials ( polished stones, rough cut stones, colourful wooden blocks, playdough - see them in the photo).
We were also invited to ask ourselves which building material we most resembled...
For our intercessions we walked the "bricks and mortars" of the high street and 
(privately or out loud) prayed for the people / the "living stones" of the area...
On return to the community centre, we made our confession, shared communion (and the Peace) together as well as God's blessing....
For me, there were elements of the "house group", interwoven with cafe church and distinctive elements of the eucharist...
Spiritually, sacramentally, socially and biblically we were nourished as we built one another up into the household of Christ....
I came away feeling very blessed to have been a part of this church as well as with a lot of practical questions which I will save for another time....
How do we in Dyffryn Clwyd / Ruthin build one another up under Christ our cornerstone....?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Give a "hug"....

A church in Speke (based in its own cafe) gives people "hugs" (personally and prayerfully knitted scarfs wrapped in a clear bag) complete with a personal dedicated card from the knitter. They're (freely) given out to anyone deemed to be in need of a "hug". Know someone who is "down", bereaved, recently divorced or having a hard time? Give 'em a "hug"... Just imagine how many "hugs" our local knitters could produce.....!
Post a Comment
Read more

Siarad Cymraeg!

Moving on from Ushuaia to Trelew, Patagonia brought me closer to my final destination in Argentina and, in a strange way, closer "home"...! During my first full day in Trelew (a town established by a certain Mr. Lewis!) I ventured on the local buses to visit two of the main communities in the Chubut valley - Dolavon (a town meaning "river meadow", reflecting the vast network of irrigation channels, waterwheels and fertile land established here) and Gaiman (a name meaning "arrow / stoney point"  not given by the Welsh pioneers who settled here but the earlier native Tehuelche inhabitants who wintered in the area.) Both small, rural communities had a genteel, stately charm, their scattered low rise buildings perhaps reflecting the key priorities of those early settlers - chapels (Tabernacl, Bethel and Bethlehem amongst them), co-operative stores ( for selling produce and acquiring materials imported from home) and railways (quaint stations, tunnels and war...
1 comment
Read more

CORDOBA - clever, cultured and cold....!

Travelling from the lush tropical rainforest of Iguazu to Argentina's second city, Cordoba, came as something of a shock! Firstly, there were all the usual trappings of a city - traffic, buildings, people, hustle and bustle. (The very comfortable but "simple" hotel was also a bit of a come down! Indeed, intermittent wifi has made sending blogs a challenge but, here we are...!) Although a travel cliche, Cordoba really is a fascinating mix of old and new... 17th century ecclesiastical buildings stand next to the latest shopping centres. CLEVER: Indeed, this city boasts a long established academic foundation: Manzana Jesuitica, Argentina's first university (so it claims!). The next door academic establishment, Colegio Nacional de Montserrat, with its baroque exterior walls, may be as old - it all depends on whether you consider the date building began or charters were established! Visiting the university's oldest library and being shown a 17th century bible...
1 comment
Read more