Emerging Africa

My wife recently got the DVD of the film Ostrov (The Island), which I've blogged about at Notes from underground: Reviving the Russian Soul and Ostrov (The Island - film.

If anyone in the Tshwane area would like to come over to see it and discuss it, please let me know (at hayesstw@gmail.com) and we can arrange a time.

I was born into a good, Calvinist, Dutch Reform family. Although I went to dull, dry services and although I kicked the pew in front of me until it was time to go home, I used to pretend that the sunlight falling through the stained glass windows onto the bench was actually God himself coming to sit next to me. I saw green, red and yellow slithers that danced and I believed that that was God.
I don't think that I was wrong.

I've been a little scarce over the last few months or so. It's encouraging to meet people who track my online activity and want to know when I'm next writing something - it's easy to forget that I'm able to contribute helpful things and that I'm part of a larger conversation which more and more people are drawn to.

This weekend has also been really encouraging. Nieu Communities hosted a small conversation about what goes on with us in Pretoria North - how we are a particular expression of a way of following Jesus, and how we can journey together with friends, a number of whom joined us at Pangani.

Yesterday I visited Nieu Communities and Roger Saner suggested a Pretoria Christian bloggers gathering. It struck me as a good idea -- it would be nice to meet face to face as well as reading each other's blogs. Perhaps we could widen it to Tshwane, to include people from places like Akasia, Soshanguve and Centurion.

Does anyone else in the area think it's a good idea? And if so when and where?

We could meet at someone's house, or for coffee at a coffee shop somewhere (Greenfields in Hatfield is a wireless hotspot, in case anyone can't bear the thought of being unplugged for an hour or two).

With regards to both Cori's post on the recent Amahoro Gathering in Rwanda and the comments that the emerging church conversation in SA is too 'Western' (a more accurate description than too white, I think), I want to draw your attention to the work of Amahoro Africa - a movement of African Christian leaders who are dreaming and thinking together about what it means to be the emerging church in post-colonial Africa.

Now that the site is back up (sorry!) and the database is running off the local server (instead of a Media Temple grid server)...it's time to say, "Happy New Year!" (if you noticed a slight logical anomaly in that sentence, give yourself 10 points. If you find yourself annoyed by a full stop in the middle of a sentence already in brackets, subtract 5 points. You too, Linda!).

Two brothers from Taizé, France are visiting South Africa this month. Itinerary here.

It's about time we starting thinking about a national (or regional) weekend get-together. There are some interesting options thrown around, like getting N.T. Wright here in 2009. In Joburg we've vaguely planned a Saturday together in Diepkloof (Tom?), Fuzz Kitto is heading here in December, Stephen Murray is exploring options with Reformission/Total Church (yes, I know it's not offically an emerging thing - I just know a lot of the guys on this site would get something out of it).

There's a synchroblog happening on halloween with a number of people participating. The title is "A Christian Response to Halloween". Seems like most people are looking toward redeeming the event for themselves or making use of the event to connect with others.

Two of us (at least but I'm not sure who esle) are part of emergent, so why not start with our blogs and let us see what you think:

http://timvictor.wordpress.com/
http://soundandsilence.wordpress.com/

Cohort: a band of people with a common interest. Cohorts are groups which meet regularly (ish) to talk about issues those in the emerging conversation would identify with. There are 3 (irrefutable, immutable) doctrines:
- good food
- good wine (and/or coffee!)
- good conversation.
If you're able to subscribe to these doctrines - you're in! 2 cohorts will be getting under way over the next month (or so):
Joburg: http://www.emergentafrica.com/joburg
Pretoria: http://www.emergentafrica.com/pretoria

To join a cohort, visit one of the links above then "Subscribe" on the following page. I'll convene the Joburg one, probably over a meal somewhere, and Arthur will be doing something similar in Pretoria. We'll look to probably meet monthly and look at a book or hear someone's story, or spend a day with a good thinker/theologian.

If you're elsewhere in the country, why not start your own cohort? Let me know you're interested and I'll set up a group on the site for you.