January 25 Godsend Gathering at St. Mark's Cathedral, Minneapolis
January 25 Godsend Gathering at St. Mark's Cathedral, Minneapolis
Many people are spiritually curious, but church is not on their radar screens. They didn’t grow up going to church, they’ve heard negative things about Christians, or they’ve had bad church experiences. It’s important faith communities to have spiritual pathways for these neighbors. Most of them will involve meeting people where they are, meaning where they live, work, and play. When we show up in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and the places we volunteer as trustworthy followers of Jesus -- as people who care about, listen well to, and love the people around us -- it’s not uncommon for them to ask
us about our lives, priorities, values, and faith. When people experience the light of Christ in others, they are drawn to it and want to know more.
On Saturday, January 25 (with a backup snow date of February 1) anyone interested is invited to gather at St. Mark’s Cathedral from 10 am to 3 pm to hear the Rev. Dr. Michael Moynagh, theologian of the Fresh Expressions movement in the UK, speak. He will be sharing what he and others in the Church of England have learned these last twenty years as they’ve engaged in all kinds of experiments to learn how to love and share Jesus with neighbors who don’t go to church.
On January 25 participants will experience something called “Soul Space” recently developed in the UK, and learn more about “the Missional Journey of Fresh Expressions,” a pathway for those seeking to form what the Episcopal Church in Minnesota is calling “New Christian Communities” (formerly known as “Fresh
Expressions”). Mike will focus on material found in his book Godsend: A Handbook for Christian Communities.
It's strongly recommended that you attend the January 25 Godsend gathering in person,
but if not it is available via livestream on the ECMN Facebook page at
https://boxcast.tv/view/ecmn-godsend-gathering-with-the-rev-dr-michael-moyna-
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The week following January 25 Mike and Episcopal Canon for Vitality and Innovation, Blair Pogue, will be traveling around the state meeting with groups of Episcopalians who want to continue the conversation. The dates, times, and places of these visits will be listed in the ECMN e-newsletter and on the ECMN calendar. If you want to learn more and/or have additional questions for Mike, you are welcome to attend any of these gatherings.
The formation approaches you will be introduced to on January 25 and in Mike’s handbook Godsend can also be used by institutional churches. Please rsvp to Blair Pogue at blair.p@episcopalmn.org by Sunday, January 19 if you plan to come, and let her know if you have any dietary restrictions. The gathering will also be livestreamed.
Mike is the author of numerous books including Godsend: A Handbook for New Christian Communities, Being Church, Doing Life: Creating Gospel Community Where Life Happens, Church for Every Context: An Introduction to Theology and Practice, and more recently, Giving the Church: The Christian Community Through the Looking Glass of Generosity.