the shire and haran

It's been over a week since our worship gathering. I thought it would be a good idea to throw some thoughts up here from the evening. Turnout was reasonable. A few people that I had hoped and somewhat assumed would be there, were not, but I guess it balanced itself out.

we based the evening on a couple of things (which are all linked). Genesis 12:1-9 was the key passage that we started with. Richard and I felt led to follow this where it took us. The 2 key ideas that came from it were
1 - leaving the familiar
2 - the journey
So, the other elements that came into place that really dominated the theme of the evening were
A . a clip from The Fellowship of the Ring, where Gandalf tells Frodo that he must leave the Shire, and Sam gets roped into it all. The particular piece of this clip that stood out to me was when Sam stopped and reflected that he only needs to take one more step and then he would be the furthest away from home.
B. a suitcase we set up with random things hanging out of it. Everything from a torch, to a bottle of Rid, a street directory, a blanket, a light globe, ear muffs and a football (with stax more things in there too).
We reflected on what items we would need for the journey, and most of us recognised that the items themselves were not as important as the attitude we brought to them.

Other elements of the night included the passage being read several times, a prayer that we read together and a media clip reflecting on the unkown and trusting God as we enter into the unknown. I will post the prayer too.

Anyways, Our next one is going to be July 9 at capnaz. Will throw some thoughts up about it when we get to them.