COMMUNITY MEANS CREATING A SAFE SPACE

Something we've been doing a lot together over the last four months or so is exploring what community means to us, the type of community we sense God is calling us into. And though this is something that we will no doubt have a far greater appreciation of over time, here's the start of some reflections that we feel are central to who we are and what we're about.

COMMUNITY AS A SAFE PLACE

• A place where hostility is confronted and turned into hospitality
• Creating a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy
• Hospitality is not a subtle invitation to adopt the lifestyle of the host, but the gift of a chance for the guest to find their own - offering space where change can take place
• The cost of our friendship is not people’s souls

We suspect that we'll know we're on the right track when there is a real sense of acceptance and forgiveness – freedom to be, freedom to make mistakes, recognition that we are weak at times and incomplete in and of ourselves.

The key we feel is respect, eyes that recognise the image of God in all people. Pray that we'd see ourselves and others through the eyes of God (like in the Rabbi's Gift).