I did some really hurting experience the other day. It was a day of celebration since the spring is emerging in sweden – it is called “Valborgsmässoafton”. Almost everbody is out celebrating. We had a gathering in our church (with an extremely good band www.loneydear.com Train Master movies ) and I started to talk we a guy. He was about 40 years old. I asked him where he was working. He replied that i he was cleaning (you know putting everything at the right place…) at the university of Lund. There our conversation ended. I hade no more questions (he was a really quiet man – but anyway…) – my university education became a block between us. If he had been a engineer, socilogist or that kind – but he wasn´t. We really have a need for a church that is for cleaners. A church which like music that is not high-cultural. (1 Cor. 9:19ff)
Fredrik Wenell
SUNDAY PAPERS – THE SUPPLEMENT
A CO-OPERATIVE LOOK AT LIFE, MISSION, EMERGING CHURCH AND ALL THAT
Hey Fred,
After dropping out of uni I worked as a cleaner for 1.75 years (approx!). If you want, my family and I could move to Sweden so that I can hep communications – but someone might need to translate! 🙂
I found cleaning strangely satisfying!
Cheers,
Mark
Yes I would be really glad!!! It would be fun…maybe the language wouldn´t be that difficult. Perhaps the “cleaners” language is universal – and “tada” finaly we have this universal language!!!! Halleluja!
Hi. I’ve been reading here for a while but kept quiet as not had much to contribute.
I think you ask an important question.
I am passionately committed to church as it could be, the whole emerging church conversation. I’m also committed to working with communities on estates, and making faith relevant to them. But the problem is, post modern church, and emerging church is even more wrapped up in middle class language that the modern church- because everything is based around networks of people who live, think and relate in an abstract accademic way.
How do we get round this? How do we take all the non oppressive values of people thinking and figuring what they believe for themselves, without making it totally inaccessible by wrapping it up in a middle class, accademic abstract construct?
Yeah, I’m really embarrassed by our middle class pseudo intellectual pose! Aargh, and feeling a bit guilty of doing it!
I love 1 Cor chaps 1-3 because of the way it puts man’s wisdom into context! 🙂
Let’s face it – knowing God isn’t an intellectual exercise!
Thanks for your respons. The thing is that I am a academic and sort of like it…but time after time I been reminded about the gap between church and “ordniary” people regarding to this.
I also agree with nikki that this is really a part of the emerging church discussion. I meen the thinking has emerged (!) in circles of academics. I think emerging church could be a church for the “workers”- but its a long way to go…
I need help in this area – because bad thinking is not the answer. But of course it is not the same as the workers way of thinking. It is just another way of explaining the world…or…