Alister's Blog
If you are interested in reading more about Cafehchurch-y stuff, you might find our pastor Alister's blog interesting. Rather unimaginatively, it is at alisterpate.com
He is particularly proud of
Submitted by cafechurch on
Cafechurch, Faith, and Mystery
In a segment filmed for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN channel, author Brene Brown reflects on why she left the Roman Catholic faith of her youth, and how she has found herself back in the Episcopal church.
One of the key points she makes is that she originally “fell in love with the faith and the mystery piece.” However, over time her experience of church, “became less about faith and mystery, and more about politics and certainty.”
Submitted by cafechurch on
An Elephant on Mount Fuji
One of the key things about Cafechurch is that we are a safe space to deconstruct and reconstruct your faith. Many of us are making that journey, and we think that it is best done with fellow pilgrims. We are compiling some resources called An Elephant on Mount Fuji, for reasons which totally make sense in context.
Submitted by cafechurch on
No-One Talks About It
Recently the Christian interwebs were set a-twitter by a few high profile leaders saying that they had lost, or were losing, their faith. I was particularly struck by Marty Sampson's story. He was a worship leader at Hillsong church, and a big figure in the Pentecostal world. You can read what he has to say about his faith at Relevant Magazine (the original Instagram post seems to have been taken down.)
Submitted by cafechurch on
Community in a Time of Crisis
Anne writes: This coming Tuesday we will engage with how we can be community for one another in this time, through guided prayer and sharing. As Robyn Whitaker (Senior Lecturer in New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity) wrote in The Conversation in March at the start of the lockdown, 'how do you "love your neighbour" when you aren't supposed to be near them?'
Here is the guided meditation. You will need two cups, one with water in it.
Submitted by cafechurch on
The Existential Faith of Abraham
What does it mean to be Jesus' disciple? I haven't quite decided which of the weekly readings I'm going to go with for Tuesday. Either the troubling and mysterious story of the time God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, or Jesus' instructions to his disciples before he sent them out two by two. Either way, it should be an interesting evening.
Submitted by cafechurch on
Engaging Holy Wisdom
This week at Cafechurch, Rev Dr Sally Douglas, minister of Richmond Uniting Church and associate faculty at Pilgrim College will be resourcing our conversation about the female Divine.
The evidence indicates that in the earliest church Jesus was celebrated in the language and imagery of the female Divine, Woman Wisdom. We will dive into this evidence and explore some of the potential implications of re-engaging with this ancient understanding today.
Submitted by cafechurch on
The Promise
Once upon a time, long, long ago, an aged couple sat at the entrance to their tent, near a famous grove of oaks...
What does this ancient story have to do with us? Why would a promise made to a (definitely legendary, and possibly fictional) nomad sometime in the time before history have anything to say to us today - even if life does feel a little more medieval just now than it did say six months ago
7pm on 9/6/20, hit us up for a Zoom link. The resources will end up on this page, for your convenience
Here is the Change Gear
Submitted by cafechurch on
The Puzzle of The Trinity
Is the idea of the Trinity just some outmoded bunkum, an insistence that people believe "three impossible things before breakfast"? Wouldn't it make more sense to think about God as one thing, rather than with all this theological nonsense? These are all good questions - some of which I daresay I'll have a bash at answering, and some I will ignore, this coming Tuesday (2/6/20) at Cafechurch. Hit us up for a Zoom link - and there is some limited space available in housegroups for those who never want to Zoom ever again in their entire lives.
I suggest this for a change gear
Submitted by cafechurch on
An Elephant on Mount Fuji
Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also.” John 14:6-7a
There is a legend about the great Mughal emperor Akbar. He was a great and wise ruler, and famously not only tolerant of, but actually interested in religion. He had conquered himself a realm which contained a great many different religions and sects - who were continuously squabbling. One day, the story goes, he decided to set a test....
Submitted by cafechurch on
