Moving beyond 'organised religion'

You are invited to join a discussion of 'moving beyond organised religion' on Sunday 21 October, from 12.30pm – 5pm, in the Hall at St John’s Church, Edinburgh, starting with a pot luck lunch (please bring a contribution).

Many people today feel an instant disconnect or disinterest in ‘institutional’ or ‘organised’ religion. There is a sense abroad that faith, not least Christian faith, has been turned into a self-perpetuating bureaucracy which operates out of self-interest, refuses difficult questions, and suppresses alternatives.

This afternoon event, led by Ekklesia co-director Simon Barrow, revolves around the new and experimental shapes Christianity might take in a world where ‘top-down religion’ (along with ‘top-down economics’ and ‘top-down politics’) appears to be in crisis.

1 A new world coming: the shift from Christendom to post-Christendom. What happens next when Christian institutions, beliefs and behaviours become suspect and unapproachable for a growing number of people?

2 Radical traditions: looking at the history and promise of faithful dissent within Christianity, yesterday and today. How can we adapt to the subversive way of Jesus in a conformist church and world?

3 The church as a movement for change: Can we break free of institutionalisation, and redo our structures according to a vision of hope in a broken world? Can we hold inherited and emerging church in creative tension?

This event is being sponsored by the new Centre for Living Christianity (CLiC) in Edinburgh: http://livingchristianityscotland.com/ [1]

Cost: donation of £5 suggested.

Venue: St John's Episcopal Church, corner of Princes Street & Lothian Road, EH2 4BJ

To express interest or confirm attendance, please email: simon.barrowATekklesia.co.uk

[16]This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 England & Wales License [16]. Although the views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Ekklesia, the article may reflect Ekklesia's values. If you use Ekklesia's news briefings please consider making a donation to sponsor Ekklesia's work here [17].