Fresh Expressions
The Diocese of Carlisle, of which the Benefice of Coniston and the Crake Valley is part, actively encourages missional engagement with communities in Cumbria through its God For All initiative. As a consequence of the evangelism or outreach of the God For All initiative, the diocese promotes and supports pioneering ministry across the County of Cumbria, and the establishing of Fresh Expressions of Church.
The definition and pinning-down of what is and what is not a fresh expression of church is very difficult to do, and that is the point. By their formation and very existence, fresh expressions of church defy definition and a pre-ordained formula. Often a Christian community does not realise something is a fresh expression of church until after it has happened or formed. They are organic, forming and growing from the ground or bottom up, not the top down.
In the Benefice of Coniston and the Crake Valley, we are exploring various fresh expressions of church. In effect, we are praying and looking to see what God might be doing in various communities or groups and then joining in. Some of these ventures will take root and bear fruit, some will not; some will be for a season or time period only, some will be ongoing and open-ended. Nevertheless, whatever these fresh expressions of church turn out to be they will not look like church, but they will be church.
Bikers' Breakfast
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The Bikers' Breakfast is an event that is regularly held as part of the Bikers' Church at Torver, and based around St. Luke's, Torver and the Torver Schoolroom, and is a fresh expression of church. The Bikers' Breakfast began in 2013 with the vision of four ladies in Torver, one of whom is a mad, keen biker — here is their story.
The Bikers' Breakfast begins with the early birds getting their pre-orders of breakfast — full English, vegetarian, Canadian-style, even healthy — and then the morning is kicked-off with a short act of worship, that is prayers, Bible passage, 5-min talk and of course, singing. Everyone then sits down as the breakfast orders are brought to the tables, inside and outside under the marquee, to enjoy locally-sourced, good quality food.
While the food is being enjoyed, there is plenty of opportunity for camaraderie, sharing conversations and naturally, looking at and discussing Bikes. The breakfast runs from 9.30am until 12.00 noon and Bikers are welcome to turn up at any point.
The Bikers' Church, Bikers' Breakfast and other Biker events are all supported by, and could not function without the help of the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA). They are the heartbeat of the Bikers' Church and working with local Christians to offer conversation, prayers of support and the opportunity for healing prayer — and naturally the opportunity for ride-outs! |
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Creators Space Hub
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"Space for Creativity in our lives, our churches & our communities" Creators Space Hub is a new venture for Cumbrian Christians who are interested in creativity, whether you are actively involved in creativity or just enjoy seeing other people’s creativity. Through a variety of networking events and workshops, the Creators Space Hub seeks to provide opportunities to meet together, share creativity, develop skills, collaborate on projects, support each other and explore what the Bible says about creativity.
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Torver Junction
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Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may worship me.’ Exodus 9.1
The Torver Junction meeting is not rocket science. There is an extended worship session at the beginning using very contemporary worship songs — on video — followed by a Bible-based talk and finally the opportunity for ministry in the form of prayer, prophecy, and pastoral or all three at once, very trinitarian.
The meetings are very informal and are held in the Torver Schoolroom and aim to achieve the vision that Ezekiel had in Ezekiel 47 where returning to East Gate of the Temple he experiences something different from his first visit to the East Gate. In the Church, we should never be expecting or attempting to preserve the same thing in the same place, all the time.
Torver Junction is about doing "something new in the old place". |
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St. Luke's, Lowick
