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Matt Stone samples a bit of table fellowship
I write this article having just got back from a great evening of church. Fantastic coffee, delicious cakes, great conversations, powerful worship, thought-provoking discussion, and moving prayers all made it one of the most inspiring church events I have attended.
However, this was not church as we know it. There were no organists, hymn books, immovable rows of pews, lecture-like sermons, or minister-led prayers. It was the first of a series of planned monthly café nights at Sawston Free Church in Cambridgeshire. Led by a team of the church’s younger adult members (and young at heart), it aims to provide a fresh expression of church.
Similar fresh expressions of church have been growing for some time, having been launched as a national initiative by the Church of England and the Methodist Church in 2004. The Fresh Expressions website (www.freshexpressions.org) lists over 620 projects, from café churches to youth congregations, and Goth eucharists to cell churches; all of which aim to reach the “unchurched” in new ways.
Sawston Free Church has a fantastic venue for this new venture too: its very own OWL (opportunities without limits) café, run in the week by adults with learning difficulties. This contemporary, non-threatening venue is a far-cry from some daunting neo-Gothic church buildings, and provides a great meeting place outside of the traditional church. Here’s a brief overview of the evening.
I arrive at 8pm to find a delicious selection of cakes, fruits and drinks. The first 30 minutes are completely free, allowing us to chat, make new friends, and enjoy some table fellowship. At 8:30pm, James Church, an ordinand at Westminster College and member of Sawston Free Church, invites us to gather around the café’s tables and to join in a time of informal contemporary worship. We sing Indescribable, How Great is Our God and In Christ Alone,
as we are challenged to contemplate the God who knows the name of every star and holds them in his hands, and who also knows us intimately and holds us in his hands. Some people stand, others sit; some raise their hands and use their bodies in worship, others rest in God’s presence and goodness.
When the music finishes, we are led to think about our identities. We watch a clip from the BBC News about Guy, a Congolese computer technician who turned up for a job interview at the BBC, but was mistakenly ushered on air to be interviewed live about the rise in music downloads. Have we ever been the victim of a mistaken identity?
In our groups, we are encouraged to discuss the question of where our identity lies. Do we identify ourselves by what we have been, what we are, or what we will be? Or is it a mix of all three? How do our occupations, families and friends influence our identity? Where does God fit in? Still munching on carrot cake and sipping hot chocolate, we are given Bible verses about our identity in Christ. We probe, discuss and learn from these passages and one another’s experiences, before ending with a time of open prayer, as we thank God for what we are; in him, and through him.
So what was my impression of the evening? In many ways, the café night was church. We worshipped, prayed, studied Bible passages and learnt a little more about God, but we did it in a way so much more relevant to 21st century culture. Noticeably, of the 25 or so people who attended Sawston’s first café night, most were in the 20 to 40 age range, which is so often missing in more traditional church services.
As a 22-year-old ordinand who has been brought up in, and is thoroughly used to, traditional church, I found the café night to be powerfully refreshing. If I’m honest, I feel much more at home discussing matters of faith over a hot chocolate and slice of cake, than I feel on a normal Sunday morning listening to (or, dare I say it, even preaching!) a sermon.
And is such table fellowship not closer to Jesus’ ministry and that of the early church than many of our traditional services? This is not to say that traditional Sunday services have no place; but that we desperately need fresh expressions of church if we are to fulfil our God-given mission of reaching all people, of all ages, from all backgrounds for Christ.
Matt Stone is this guest editor of April Reform
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