Bože! independent catholic ideas, identity & theology
OC/IC Models of Community
“Obey”! – being accountable, being in community.
This series of three short posts by Bp. Alan Wilson (Anglican) is well worth reading and sitting with. We talk alot both here, and amongst ourselves in other places about the longevity of OC/IC communities – what it means to be “in community” and how we can re-vision some of our ideas about being ekklesia [...]
Web Church
I’ve stumbled across two articles this week related to Ekklesia 2.0 (a long running topic here) which are worth a read – and I hope, some discussion. The first is from Christian Today reporting on a recent meeting on “Web Church” such as St. Pixels a project of the Methodist Church in Britain, and iChurch [...]
Theology – The Voice of the Church
Theology is the dialogue between the tradition, and an individual’s experience of the faith. This is a slightly altered summary of Berger, Questions of Faith. It is nothing new – but gave me a moments thought yesterday. Those following on Twitter/Facebook will know about this. Today – however, I was struck by the idea of [...]
The Spiritual Life – Backbone of Community?
Last week Lyngine commented: “I’m leaning towards the idea that it may hinge on teaching/helping individual clergy and laity to cultivate a strong, grounded spiritual life and how to sustain that as an OC/IC priest or lay person in the midst of isolation—ministry then flows from that—-if the strong spiritual/religious grounding isn’t there or can’t [...]
Hopping & Zapping: The Numbers Don’t Add Up
We’ve talked about the “numbers game” in relation to notions of “success” in ministry (here). There is however, another branch of this “game” which we often bemoan, and joke about behind the closed doors in OC/IC circles; but rarely, constructively, in the open. For lack of a better term I’ll call this “High-speed Zapping”. High-speed [...]
Flux & Stability
Stability within our communities is and has always been a challenge, created in part by small group dynamics. The vast majority of OC/IC projects have 20 people or less. This means that unless a higher proportion of the assembly is “committed” to the project – any minor fluctuation in say membership or even attendance can [...]
This Is How We Practice – But How Do We Talk About It?
Making my morning rounds recently I’ve been struck by the number of essays, news items, and “other” that in one way or another touch on the idea of why religion matters to us, to the world around us. This morning, for example I read a discussion guide of Krista Tippet’s book Speaking of Faith: Why [...]
The Numbers Game
Last week Lyngine observed: “. . . the focus isn’t on numbers, but on living out one’s faith in a particular way and then inviting others to share in that if it fits them.” It made me think of how certain trends and even established ideas in the wider Christian community can be a trap [...]
Know Who You Are: Confident Identity As A Resource
Lyngine posted an interesting comment today which not only deserves to be highlighted but which has inspired in me at least 4 additional post topics (way to go Lyngine!). In her comment Lyngine points to a very important issue in our communities – using a clear sense of identity as a valued resource. We have [...]
Re-Envisioning Our Models of Community
I stumbled into this essay a few minutes ago. It made me think of Fr. Chris Tessone’s recent post, as well as considering models of community that might work better in our OC/IC context other than attempting to repeat the familiar models of “parish” and “diocese”. I am also reminded of the recently deceased Cardinal [...]