futurechurch is people and groups
who are moving beyond critiquing the mainstream church,
towards building networks, theologies, communities and practices
that connect faith and life in ways that help us both make sense of
and engage with the world around us, and make sense of our tradition.
It is open and questioning, tending to focus on an incarnational God,
and with an openness to encounter God anywhere along the way.
If you are part of futurechurch through your dreams or practice,
this gathering is for you. |
Prodigal Journeys will include workshops,
spirited conversations, engagements over food and wine and open evening sessions where will reflect and tease out some key issues in our communities.
Instead of keynote speakers, we have used the idea of animators - key people in our communities who can help us engage with each other, with the issues and questions in front of us. Who are the animators?
Come and weave with us |
“In order to pioneer new forms of church we have to self-consciously step outside mainstream tastes, which always accept the status quo. We have to engage with the leading edge of our culture in order to reconnect the creative engagement that should never have been disengaged.”
Spike, The Prodigal Project |
“Keepers of the Fire: The Holy Fires are places where fragments of hope and meaning are gathered and celebrated, where they are connected to other stories, and where we gain strength to continue our journeys.”
Rosemary Neave, futurechurch.org.nz |
“What do I dream about? Strategically-placed centres which are self-sustaining, where people can develop a heightened sense of themselves as spiritual beings living in just relationships with God and with each other.” Geraldine Leonard, Communities Australia |
“This is the litmus test: could we invite all our friends along to our gathering? If not, why not?”
Rupert, The Prodigal Project |
“We need to see new forms of church developed that are not shaped by the values and forms of Christendom but by a genuinely missionary encounter between the gospel and culture of twenty-first century New Zealand. My belief is that these cannot be developed by those of us who have lived in and been shaped by the church for twenty years or more, but must be developed by those who have been brought up in that culture and who have come to faith in Jesus.”
Kevin Ward, The Impact of Postmodernity |
“(a) I believe the whole Church needs to ‘emerge’ into the present and the future, and
(b) I believe that both old and new forms of Church have treasures that they should share with each other. The experimental daring of new forms is a breath of fresh air to the tradition.”
Maggie Dawn, UK |
“I suggest that we need to shift from seeing church as a gathering of people meeting in one place at one time – that is, a congregation – to a notion of church as a series of relationships and communications … a network or web rather than an assembly of people.”
Pete Ward, Liquid Church |
“There is a point at which everything becomes simple and there is no longer any question of choice, because all you have staked will be lost if you look back.”
Dag Hammarskjold, Markings |
