It is like a church, but not exactly:
• There will be no walls;
• There will be no pews;
• There will be no budget;
• There will be no board or by-laws or articles of incorporation;
• There will be no money collected or monies dispensed,
• Nor stewardship campaigns to encourage it;
• There will be no staff,
• And therefore no salaries;
• There will be no baptisms or funerals or weddings;
• There will be no denominational catechisms or annual reports to submit;
• There will be no members
• And therefore there will be no annual meetings.
What there will be, instead, is an open invitation to share a worship experience, rooted in the Christian tradition, convening outdoors, in the midst of creation, immersing ourselves in what once was, and once again is being called, “the First Bible.” Nature as active participant, not merely aesthetic backdrop.
And it will be called “The Furrow,” as in that readied slice into fertile top soil into which seeds are welcomed, received, and cultivated. For that metaphor is what we hope to embody in this simple, monthly experience of praise, thanksgiving, and wondrous awe out on our modest farmstead: to slice a little space amidst the fecundity of creation where the seeds of the soul can be nurtured.
“Be out. Get out. Look up. Walk where and when you can. Be curious. Be astonished by the world. Live in what John Muir called ‘a storm of wonder’ for a few minutes or a few hours each week.”
Robert Macfarlane, Fellow at Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge
• There will be no walls;
• There will be no pews;
• There will be no budget;
• There will be no board or by-laws or articles of incorporation;
• There will be no money collected or monies dispensed,
• Nor stewardship campaigns to encourage it;
• There will be no staff,
• And therefore no salaries;
• There will be no baptisms or funerals or weddings;
• There will be no denominational catechisms or annual reports to submit;
• There will be no members
• And therefore there will be no annual meetings.
What there will be, instead, is an open invitation to share a worship experience, rooted in the Christian tradition, convening outdoors, in the midst of creation, immersing ourselves in what once was, and once again is being called, “the First Bible.” Nature as active participant, not merely aesthetic backdrop.
And it will be called “The Furrow,” as in that readied slice into fertile top soil into which seeds are welcomed, received, and cultivated. For that metaphor is what we hope to embody in this simple, monthly experience of praise, thanksgiving, and wondrous awe out on our modest farmstead: to slice a little space amidst the fecundity of creation where the seeds of the soul can be nurtured.
“Be out. Get out. Look up. Walk where and when you can. Be curious. Be astonished by the world. Live in what John Muir called ‘a storm of wonder’ for a few minutes or a few hours each week.”
Robert Macfarlane, Fellow at Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge