“How about we make a paper doll,” I said to my grandchildren. “What are paper dolls?” my granddaughter asked and soon, at my instruction, the children were enthusiastically drawing, cutting, gluing and colouring. I demonstrated a few techniques but quickly the children began to develop their own solutions and creative responses to their art. The paper doll needed a friend, then they needed a theatre, a narrative, and an audience. We explored and shared and it brought us closer together as we problem solved. Isn’t it interesting that, given the right conditions, learning becomes thoughtful, compassionate and interdependent; how with positive intent our very interactions can model empathy and deep listening skills and allow children to flourish. As Kass Unger explains in Reflections on Children’s camp, in the guided, thoughtful processing of story, the children were learning to develop faith, meaning, worth and so much more.
In his book The Empathic Civilization, Jeremy Rifkin says that religious exploration has helped us look deep into our own soul and plumb the depths of our own conscious being. He argues that seeking to understand faith has helped us as humans know our feelings, our intentions and our thoughts and develop empathy. When we learn that the individual soul matters in the divine scheme of things; that God is interested in our thoughts, stories and that even the lowliest human is of worth, we learn that we, too, are of worth.
Tony Chvala-Smith in his book A Way of Life, shares that “Many Christians and even some churches are afraid that thinking about faith will at worst destroy it, or at best lead people astray. But many people who worry about theology or fear intellectualism often seem unafraid of the misrepresentations and distortions of Christianity that flourish in the early 21st century." However Tony goes on to say, “I am convinced Community of Christ has glimpsed something breathtaking, restorative, and transforming: a vision of the Christian faith that not only critiques shallow distortions, but offers a luminous way of life shaped by an ongoing encounter with the Living Christ."
This all brings me to say that I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am that we in Australia are able to participate in classes and sessions run by The Centre for Innovation and Mission at times that suit our region. Whether you are a member or friend of Community of Christ, I hope you will investigate these wonderful opportunities led by skilled theologians and educators connected to Community of Christ Seminary.
Consider these words of T.S. Eliot - “We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”
Anne Bonnefin
Communications Co ordinator
Community of Christ Australia