Ambient Wonder @ St Stephen's

So, as anyone who finds themselves in this corner of the internet is likely to know, Ambient Wonder held an event on Thursday evening in St. Stephen's Church, Norwich. Now, for the uninitiated (should you be reading this) it is probably worth explaining that St Stephen's is a church more or less situated slap bang in the middle of the newest biggest shopping centre in Norwich (Chapelfield). In fact, it only just occurred to me that this may well be the Chapel after which the area is named. Seems obvious now... Also, it is worth noting, it was the penultimate late-night shopping opportunity before Christmas. It was busy. And very, very cold.

Anyway, for us Ambient Wonder peoples, this was kind of a Big Deal. Partly because someone was letting us loose in their beautiful old church... and partly because it was treading into the unknown, with our not-very-specific brand of worship experience. Not even a brand really. Just a bunch of things.

So we set up shop, supervised by some intrigued/baffled/terrified members of the church. The focus was on advent, and the significance of the build up and anticipation of Christmas. Anna and Neil had prepared a reflective prayer area, Tim had produced some beautifully thought-provoking poetry, and I had come up with a bunch of pictures thieved from around the internet that we projected onto a huge screen. And Debbie was dishing out free hot chocolate.

We had produced 'gifts' to pass to those that took an interest - small baubles made out of folded paper, each with a blessing written on the inside. We'd spent Sunday evening making tons of the things (an experience at once frustrating and uniting...), and the plan was to stand by the doors thrusting them into the hands of people as they charged into the church intent upon seeking enlightenment.

As it happened, there wasn't a surge. There was barely even a trickle. Heather dived into the throng of people, determined to draw attention to our event (since she started training to be a vicar, her sense of self-preservation seems to have diminished), whilst Paul, Ian and I wandered in a dazed state, wondering how to engage with the multitudes rushing past on their way to gather carrier bags from as many department stores as possible.

Eventually (for the long version, read my next post), we did start to get the interest of the odd-passer by, and a gentle flow of people into the church. Mostly there for the free hot-chocolate. But inside, with us, part of Ambient Wonder nonetheless. As we reached the final moments of packing away, a group of lads arrived in the Church, expecting to take advantage of our refreshments. Sadly, we had nothing to offer them, other than the meditation cards we had prepared and failed to distribute. They looked confused but grateful... (actually, the cards had the website address on them, so if you're reading, Hi Guys!).

We had barely given away any of the baubles. But we had prayed the blessings. We had experienced making them together. We had gone out and tried... something. And perhaps, as with Christmas, the significance was in the preparation.

Scruffy Edge

Sorry about the tedious delay between posts. Perhaps I will get the next one up sooner.

However, this is something I've been thinking of - we quite often talk about things being 'cutting edge' or (better still) 'bleeding edge'... and I certainly see that there's something wonderful and inspiring about things that are are the very forefront of their field. But somehow, this doesn't really seem to fit with my understanding of the things that we do at Ambient Wonder, or the wider world of the Emerging Church.

For a start, Cutting Edge suggests something refined, defined, clear and deliberate - cutting in one direction, and absolutely focussed on a single point with a single purpose. And I suppose that many Christians might say that this sums up what our faith should be. But in terms of how we function as a community it seems a little bit too... prescriptive? In my experience, movement forward in a creative community is (and should be) a little bit more all over the place than that. It's kind of, unpredictable, nuanced, experimental, and (here and there) wrong. People have ideas, other people contribute, and we end up with something that is somewhere ahead of where we were before.

So perhaps we're more 'scruffy edge' than 'cutting edge'. We are cutting something, but in our own, wartsandall, ramshackle, makeitupasyougoalong kind of way. It seems to be a little how the early Church functioned. Perhaps I just wanted to coin a new phrase. Your Thoughts?

Global Gathering and all that...

First off, welcome to the new and fresh 'Wondering' blog. Here's a space where the thoughts, ideas and reflections whizzing around inside the collective brains (and hearts) of the Ambient Wonder community can find a voice. A space where can deepen our understanding of God, and over time (I hope) a space for questions, response, discussion, collaboration, maybe even healthy debate.

So here's a good place to start. At the 'Global' Ambient Wonder last night, we explored what practices we could take from other faiths, and still remain true to our central Christian beliefs. It was always going to be challenging to our established ideas of 'in' and 'out'. Although we didn't want to alienate people, we perhaps wanted them to become a little uncomfortable as they pushed at the edges of their faith.

The thing that struck me most from the evening was a conversation with Anna afterwards (I hope she doesn't mind me mentioning this!), whi had curated the event. She noted that even though she had thought through the ritual of applying bindis to one another's foreheads (in acknowledgement of the presence of God within that person), her background and upbringing made her uncomfortable with it, and she was unable to participate.

My equivalent discomfort (and one shared by others I have met) is perhaps with purchasing items on a Sunday. Although my personal interpretation of the 5th commandment does not mean I have a problem with popping to the shops on the Sabbath, years of being brought up in a good Christian household have given me a slight unease even when using a vending machine on the day of rest (now i know how Pharisees felt...). Perhaps this is a good thing - I actualyl acknowledge the significance of the day, despite my heathen buying habits...

So, the item for discussion, I suppose, is what are those things that make you uneasy... that you sense are counter to your faith. And do you have a rationale for this discomfort, or is it in spite of yourself? Maybe you're uncertain. Thoughts, please!