There’s an old Quaker saying, “Let your life speak” and this is also the title of a book by Parker Palmer. This name was chosen for our community’s initiative towards spiritual growth because it embodies our personal and communal aspirations in a rich and profound way.
God’s image within each of us is inherent and irrevocable. As we grow in God’s likeness, we each are a unique expression of that image, and God is inviting our full and conscious participation. Spiritual growth is about discovering and growing into our “True Self”. To do so, we need to first be aware that our lives are not our own. God’s Life is within you. This means we don’t have to figure it out or fix everything by ourselves. All we have to do is participate in this life we have been created for.
We can help each other move towards growth and authentic selfhood. Telling our own and listening to each other’s lifestory is a spiritual practice that we can engage in as a community, as we seek to grow together. This can be a loving and life-giving practice when you are:
This Advent leading up to Christmas, we would like to invite you to share your stories of struggle and gratitude around the Advent themes of:
You can do so with those in your cell groups, ministry groups or if you’d like us to match you with a group, please email us at info@freecomchurch.org.
(Click below Guidelines to view details)
Before meeting your group, do take some time to reflect on and write out your story. Each person will have 5 minutes to share their story and 5 minutes for responses. Some suggestions for life-giving storytelling:
As you hold space for one another, some suggestions for loving and life-giving listening:
As you share and listen to one another, you are also invited to express your story through writing and your art on a tile, and together we will add to and create an FCC Christmas version of our stained glass project. For instructions on creating your stained glass tile, please refer to:
https://freecomchurch.org/stained-glass-how-to/
These are ways we can worship and witness as a faith community. Worship as we express our sense of awe and wonder at who God is in our lives. Witness as we tell of our stories of God and us through our art and writing.
Let our lives speak together of God’s love and shalom!
Submit your completed physical tile by dropping it into the box near the church entrance by 19th December 2021. Then email your story together with a photo of your tile (so we can match the tiles with the correct story) to witnessproject@freecomchurch.org.
If you prefer to use initials, a nickname or stay anonymous for your story on our website gallery, please let us know in your email. Thank you!