Interesting concept

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 13 December 2004 19:37:43

Have picked up one of the few, I've had in on the shelf for ages, but never actually got round to reading it all before books I have, "Politics of Hope" by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

The preface has a wonderful description of congregations, which I think if we were to learn it & take it on board would mean that our view of church would change incredibly, "Congregations are where we join our prayers to those of others, making their hopes our own". It puts others at the centre of why we bother going & takes the focus of our own journies of faith and on to the community of believers (of whatever faith we are).

Personally I find this the a refreshingly different idea to the individualistic idea of congregations which we intentionally or unintentionally tend to buy into, where we tend to go to church looking at what's in it for our relationship with God. In this light I am going to try to start listening harder in church & in wider community to what peoples hopes and dreams are so I can take those on board aswell.