iChurch

Calming the Storm

2007-05-21T11:42:00.000Z

On Sunday 20th May we did a "calming of the storm" themed service. The theme took us into both the Bible story of Jesus in a boat telling the wind & waves to be still and also the fact that life can have its own storms and God is with us as we face these.

From about 1pm we screened the film "Chariots of Fire" while enjoying coffee and cake - our new "iChurch lite" idea whereby people in the town can just wander into the open Church and enjoy our hospitality.

At 3.00 our iChurch proper got started, with singing, dancing and then a superb puppet show of the biblical calming the storm story by our Banbury-based "Go & Tell" puppet ministry team. It was one of the real highpoints of the iChurch project so far in my opinion.

We then made origami boats, complete with bible-verse sails and finished off with more singing and a boat-in-the-storm cake created by Lynda Spokes

This was probably our best attended iChurch so far, and once again everyone's "CD Passport" discs were updated with a new music track.

Our fourth music track, called "Giver" speaks of an all-powerful God creating and controlling nature. It's by the artist "Wahba" and can be listened to here!

Wahba's own website is http://www.wahba.net/

iChurch Silent Communion

2007-05-10T15:24:00.000Z

On Sunday 15th April we did something quite new in iChurch - a "Silent Communion". After some music numbers (our first with a proper band!) we all assembled in a circle on the church's stage and a communion celebration with no words, just symbols & actions , took place.

One adult member of the congregation later commented that it was the most moving church service she'd ever been to!

Our third music track, an Easter-themed song again by Megan Pettengill, can be listened to here!

Megan's own website is http://www.meganpettengill.com

Fresh Expressions; Emerging Church. 24th March

2007-03-30T17:42:00.001Z

Saturday the 24^th March was the last of three sessions where a small group from St Mary’s (URC) had been exploring models of Fresh Expression. Our challenge was to consider what in our church culture are the essentials, desirables and the optional things when we gather together and the freedom to allow these elements of church to be explored “out side the box” whilst remaining connected to wider church. We were left with the thought from Rowen Williams concerning Church, “Church is what happens when people gather regularly together around Christ”. It was the happening not the gathering that defined Church; what happens is not defined. Indeed it cannot be if we are to allow the Holy Spirit to be really at work when we gather. A conclusion from our first session was that as we journey together at St Mary’s the challenge that may lay before us is to be prepared to sacrifice some of our preconceptions as to what ‘church is’ so as to allow ‘church to happen.’ This is so that the Holy Spirit really engages with us and those whom we may encounter though mission and through this St Mary’s may become more and more a real, living expression of the gospel.

What is Worship?

2007-02-27T09:40:00.000Z

What is Worship? What would you include? What might you consider less or more essential? That was the question we where asked to consider as we started the second session of this ecumenical conference. The chances are the list you might come up with will be different from other people. The truth is though that everyone’s list is of course valid. But if you had to pear down a definition to a single sentence I wonder what you might conclude. Our “Journey Group”, came up with this definition, ‘Worship is, Our, Being, in communion with God.’ All this lead on to considering “Liquid Worship.” So much of what we do in inherited church worship is solid and fixed with all of us doing the same thing at the same time. Liquid Worship allows for a varied response with the ingredients of worship expressed in a way that is relevant to each of us, moving from element to element as we feel led. Increasingly, studies on Church growth call us to consider that society is evermore liquid itself, and less engaged with a ‘Solid Church’ model, and that more a “Liquid Church,” offers a more relevant opportunity to worship. The real challenge for us today is possibly operating a duel economy, of ‘Inherited’ and ‘Emerging’, ‘Solid’ and ‘Liquid’ Church. These key elements we are asked to maintain; UP to God, IN to fellowship, OUT to Mission and OF - connected to the whole church.

[To find out more about fresh expression and ‘journey groups’ do talk to Lynda Spokes, Julian Jordan, Neil Eldridge to find out more]

Emerging Church: Fresh expressions

2007-02-27T09:26:00.000Z

Last month a small group where to attend a short course looking new models of Church. A definition of fresh expressions is, “ a fresh expression is form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church”. Well our first session was at the end of January and we meet with Anglicans, Methodists and United Reformed Church folk, from around the south of England to explore what this may mean. Our original intention was to discover how we might develop ichurch@stmary’s, the URC’s All-age worship service, the group quickly discovered that by exploring this area of mission you ask as many question of “Inherited Church”, (The model we are used to week by week) as it does of any fresh expression of church. What does it mean to be church? What values underpin that, what preconceptions do we employ to sustain, ‘Our’ church? Fresh expression of Church are based on the principles of Loving service, Community and Discipleship.

I am sure any of the group, Julian Jordan, Lynda Spokes and Neil Eldridge would be happy to talk through their experienced thus far.

As we journey together at St Mary's the challenge that may lay before us is to be prepared to sacrifice some of our preconceptions so as to allow the Holy Spirit to really engage ourselves and those we may encounter though mission? That St Mary's might be a real fresh expression of the presence of Christ

Fresh Expressions (1)

2007-02-26T13:14:00.000Z

Emerging Church: Fresh expressions. Last month a small group where to attend a short course looking new models of Church. A definition of fresh expressions is, “ a fresh expression is form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church”. Well our first session was at the end of January and we meet with Anglicans, Methodists and United Reformed Church folk, from around the south of England to explore what this may mean. Our original intention was to discover how we might develop ichurch@stmary’s, the URC’s All-age worship service, the group quickly discovered that by exploring this area of mission you ask as many question of “Inherited Church”, (The model we are used to week by week) as it does of any fresh expression of church. What does it mean to be church? What values underpin that, what preconceptions do we employ to sustain, ‘Our’ church? Fresh expression of Church are based on the principles of Loving service, Community and Discipleship.

I am sure any of the group, Julian Jordan, Lynda Spokes and Neil Eldridge would be happy to talk through their experienced thus far.

As we journey together at St Mary’s the challenge that may lay before us is to be prepared to sacrifice some of our preconceptions so as to allow the Holy Spirit to really engage ourselves and those we may encounter though mission? That St Mary’s might be a real fresh expression of the

Neil Eldridge

United Reformed Church Minister

St Mary's Banbury & Bernwode Forest Mission Partnership

01295 700043

iChurch 2 - "Capture the Moment"

2007-02-20T15:45:00.000Z

Sunday 18th February saw the second iChurch service, the theme being "Capture the Moment!"

Activities included digital photography and a pop-up beach tent, relating to the biblical story of the transfiguration and Simon Peter wanting to capture the moment by building shelters for Jesus and the two old testament prophets who appeared with him in the story.

Our second music track, by Megan Pettengill, can be listened to here!

Megan's own website is http://www.meganpettengill.com

iChurch iTunes feed

2007-02-20T15:32:00.001Z

You can now access our pod-safe music/ iChurch Podcast via an iTunes
feed!

Simply click this link:

itpc://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/GaGz

iChurch Launches

2007-01-22T10:47:00.001Z

Sunday 21st January saw the first iChurch service in St Mary's.

The theme was "The Body", and activities included a drama about "Which part of the body is the most important", a team exercise to make a person out of cardboard body parts, a team exercise to play a tune with hand bells and of course some explanation that the body of the church is made up of people with many different talents.

Attendance was very good, and our iChurch banner got its first airing at the front of the church!

Our iChurch "CD passports" were distributed, which will include songs and hopefully other materials as the weeks go by.

The CD contains "pod safe music", the first of which was a song called "Dream On" by christian artist Carrie Pettit

It is hoped to post the music here in the form of a podcast soon, until then you can hear Carrie's song here!

Carrie's own website is http://www.btpodshow.com/music/?artist_id=1236