In Alain de Boton’s TED Talk “Atheism 2.0” he considers the need for practicing atheists to adopt elements of religion to “satisfy our human need for connection, ritual and transcendence.” His insists that one of religion’s strengths is our capacity and practices for marking time. This got us thinking at The 787 Collective, wondering if…
In mid-November the 787 Collective gathered for a celebration dinner. Good food and conversations were shared and our congregations began submitting their proposals for the projects they will be starting in 2019! We interviewed two of our attendees who share their thoughts below. Name: Betsy Appleton Age: 35 Relationship to the Collective: Team leader…
One of the best things about working with and for the 787 Collective is holding thoughts, ideas and questions around what it means to be church, and how we might do it better. This sort of reflection has been both inward and outward for me, as I hope it’s been for all of our congregations,…
In late September, the churches of the 787 Collective gathered in retreat at Lutherhill Camp in La Grange, Texas. It was a time for reflection, fellowship, worship, and working on project proposals. We interviewed a few of our participants so you can hear about the event through their own words. Read their responses below: …
This isn’t a comfortable title for a holiday, for many of us. A sense of conditioning in our society exists: to present our best selves, a self that isn’t sad or holding on to grief too tightly. It’s also difficult and weird to talk about our dead. We even hesitate to say someone “died” instead…
This is supposed to be a blog post about a tent, or more specifically our raising of a tent, so I want to be true to that intention and not leave our poor, wonderful tent out in the cold. So here’s the long and short of it: We have a tent, purchased through a grant…
In an effort to keep our project as young adult centered as possible, we’ve been cultivating an advisor program over the past year that is now entering its second iteration. We’re still in the process of building this community, but we got things started with a committed core of folks over dinner in late August.…
At the 787 Collective, we couldn’t help but notice Beyonce entered faith discussions at what seemed a higher rate than usual last month. With the publication of his book I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé, Michael Arceneaux invites the reader on his own journey…
Name: Karen Age: 71 Relationship to the Collective (or the event): Member of St. John’s United Methodist Core Group for the 787 Collective. Describe the event in three sentences or less: The retreat was a marvelous opportunity to experience time away with other members of my church’s core group; to engage with participants from other churches…
Name: Elizabeth Welliver Age: 25 Relationship to the Collective (or the event): Young Adult Volunteer, part-time worker for the Collective, Attended Citizen: An American Lyric – Book Discussion: April 15, 2018 Describe the event in three sentences or less: A spirit-filled discussion of Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric. The group was intergenerational, interracial, and…
