Update on Our First Consultation
Our first MAP consultation on Adult Faith formation was held Thursday, February 17, 2022, by Zoom videoconference, with more than forty people present. The wonderful turn out led to a very helpful discussion, full of imagination for our future.
The team organizing this process looks forward to sharing more details about some of those ideas and suggestions in this space in the near future. Keep and eye out in the Parish News for news of this update.
This document contains the notes collected from our conversation, organized around the various questions that were asked.
About Faith Formation
Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8.31-32)
Faith formation says a great deal about what kind of life we are called to lead as a Christian. Nish Weiseth captures this; “Spiritual formation is the process by which we are shaped by the power of the Holy Spirit into the image of Jesus for the sake of others…Not for us, but for our neighbours, for our communities, for the sake of doing the work of Jesus here on this earth in this time, to see the Kingdom of God break through…so that others might flourish…We are called to be made more into the image of Jesus for their sake, so that they may be blessed.” (A Rhythm of Prayer, edited by Sarah Bessey, 95).
There was a time in the church when we behaved as though disciples were formed in a private relationship between an individual and God at regular Sunday worship. There was a time when there was an unspoken, shared social agreement about what it meant to be a Christian but, in this secular, post-Christian world, that time has passed. We are being called to live counter-cultural lives; lives marked by spiritual practices and a deep connection to God through Jesus – lives that are both the announcement and demonstration of God’s love.
Other Upcoming Consultations
- MAP Consultation on Parish Culture Enabling Ministry, Wednesday, March 16, 7PM
- MAP Consultation on Fullness of Life in the Neighbourhood, Tuesday, April 19, 7PM.
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