Organic Faith

Soul Cafe 5: Contemplation

Join us this Tuesday (8/3/10) for our 5th Soul Cafe!  The topic this month is Contemplation.  Come ready to share a reflection on contemplation in whatever way is meaningful for you: through song, poem, story, artwork, whatever!   Bring friends, bring thoughts, see you Tuesday!

Here's the Flyer (Click to Enlarge)

The Art Devotional Challenge

As summer begins it seems as if everyone is taking off all over the country for various music festivals, weddings, and vacations.   The thing about being the Church (as we’re trying to do) is that we don’t need to always be in the same place to be growing in our faith.  Its with this idea in mind that I propose to all of you the Summer Art Devotional Challenge.  

Creating has long been an important part of the faith lives of the church.  Did you know that churches were originally built with stained-glass windows because that was the artwork of the day?  Artwork has been and continues to be a great means of self-expression, self-discovery and a means for better understanding one's relationship with God.

In addition to art, a daily commitment to a faith disciple is a great way to practice seeing God’s presence in our lives.  So, starting on June 13th at the Organic Faith Lockport Dinner I will hand out Journals to anyone interested in the challenge.  

The Challenge works like this, everyday from June 20th until July 20th those interested are challenged to slow down, take some time out of their day, and create something.  Whether it is a simple sketch, an epic poem, or an elaborate watercolor the point is to practice the discipline of slowly down and creating everyday.  On July 20th, we will have a special Soul Cafe gathering where those who participated in the challenge will be invited to share their work with the rest of the Organic Faith community. 

Please let me know if you are interested! The journals will be provided by Organic Faith with the stipulation that some of the artwork created during the experiment is framed and added to the Organic Faith gallery. 

We create because of the gracious gifts that our Creator first gave to us. 

Updates from the Think Tank

Last night, Organic Faith held it’s first ever Think Tank.  This gathering was designed to create a space where a team of people could get together and dream and plan together where Organic Faith might be going.  Thanks to our Soul Cafe gatherings, we had some extra tea and coffee lying around for the Think Tank to share as we envisioned together the future of Organic Faith.

We began the evening by simply praying and listening.  We asked for the Holy Spirit to lead and then waited until one of us was struck with inspiration.  After two and a half hours of Spirit lead inspiration we had some neat ideas and new convictions moving forward with Organic Faith.  

First, we want to become a community that is more committed to prayer.  We want to pray together more often, be people who are not afraid to ask for prayer, and encourage one another by writing and sharing prayers together.  In addition to this new ideas we also hope to implement in the near future a Monday morning and Friday evening prayer gathering as a way to frame our entire work-week around conversation with God. 

Second, we are going to hold another day of generosity at Bidwell Park.  We all agreed that we hope to share the gift of community that we have with others and what better way to do this then by having a party in the middle of Buffalo.  More information on this generosity day will be coming soon. 

Finally, we hope that Organic Faith can become a community that affirms the Arts.  We believe that artwork (be it poetry, music, painting, or something more off the radar such as event planning) in all forms is to be celebrated and affirmed simply because art is a sign of life and a reminder of the Resurrection.  We hope to become a community that is consistently creating and sharing these gifts with the world.  

So, there’s your recap of Think Tank #1, please feel free to join us next month as we continue to pray and vision where God might be leading us.  Our next Organic Faith Think Tank will be June 6th.