Coffee, Conversation and Cake
Recently I watched the Bonhoeffer Biopic with a friend and spiritual mentor. We both knew of the rise of Fascism and Hitler, but the specifics we viewed were insidious and confronting. What would we have done if we had lived in such a time where a political leader sought to remodel the Bible, Jesus and the church in their own political image, curtailed Universities and any form opposition while scapegoating a segment of the community to justify persecution? There was little opposition to Hitler at first. To be fair, people were scared and largely ignorant of the most egregious atrocities being committed.
Does this sound familiar? After the movie, my friend and I were, in modern parlance, “shook”. We needed to talk and process what we had seen and thought, including the relevance for today. We went to a Café, sat down and talked.
Talking in Cafes to explore complex issues is not new. The philosophers Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, used a Café on the Left Bank of Paris to refine existentialism. Recent Cafes have probed moral issues in health care, sought ways to build compassion, and talked about death. Richard Rohr argues that theology needs to recapture the conversational aspect of Christianity: “Christ as conversation. Imagine how different life would be right now if Christianity could become a place to explore possibility and express doubts and disagree and encourage voices on the edges.”
This sentiment is perfectly suited to the Café movement where we can discuss recent challenges to our faith; how we feel about them and what we are doing to understand where Christians fit in a geopolitical world where the rise of authoritarianism is supported, in part, by other Christians. How can I love people on the other side of the political spectrum who understand the Christian faith so very differently from me? And how might they learn to love me? We can begin to answer those questions by sitting together in a safe space and listening to each other’s stories, perspectives and wisdom.
Would you like to join us at a Café for honest discussion about faith? The Café method of discussion is relaxed and convivial, while being respectful of others involved. We are holding a Faith Café in the Crypt at St Pauls, Ashgrove. It will be facilitated by me, Dr Sarah Winch, an ethicist with 2 decades of experience in facilitating death, ethics and compassion cafes, and Rev Dr Margaret Wesley, the Priest at St Pauls, a spiritual director and Biblical scholar with training in Restorative Practice and a heart for peace with justice. Importantly, there will be coffee, tea and cake!
What will we discuss? The issues that are on your mind related to how we relate to other Christians who may hold different and difficult theological and political views. There is no pressure to speak, and we ask all present to hold what is shared in respectful confidence.
What does it cost? There is no monetary cost, but you are asked to bring an open, loving and respectful, Christian mind. We have no tolerance for hateful, unsafe or divisive commentary. In these Cafes we come with the understanding that we are all committed to our Christian faith with all its challenges, even when it is awkward and unfashionable.
Is this for me? If you would like to participate in the tradition of conversation, coffee and cake then join us on Sunday July 13th in the Crypt at St Pauls Ashgrove, 10 Jubilee Terrace, from 3-5pm! This Faith Café, while being nourished by other branches of the café movement, will be the first of its kind. By joining us you will help set the course of Faith Cafes into the future. Click here to rsvp or to ask for more information.
Cheers, Dr Sarah Winch