Christian Resurgence Circles

EARTHKEEPING NEWS
A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY

Volume Eleven, Number Three
March/April 2002

CHRISTIAN RESURGENCE CIRCLE SUPPORTS CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

A year ago, several members of an adult Sunday School class at the First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs recognized that a once-a-week informal 50-minute class was not a sufficient way to practice serious Christian thinking and group interaction.

One of the members was a participant in the Realistic Living organization directed by Joyce and Gene Marshall of Bonham, Texas. This member recommended utilizing a basic group structure, the Christian Resurgence Circle, that Realistic Living had prepared. Each member personally invited other Sunday School class members as well as friends and co-workers who were not members of the church. The basic intent was to experiment with an intentional way of nurturing each member's Christian spirit in a group setting. A group of 10 gathered in early February 2001 for an initial 2-hour demonstration session at the Methodist church. After the initial group, 8 of the 10 agreed to meet weekly. Though the group meets at the church, it is not an official church activity.

The group's format includes a simple opening ritual, a brief meditation, a few contemporary songs, a conversation about ways they have related to their lives in the previous week, and a study of several verses from Mark's Gospel.

The group then spends 50 minutes discussing a contemporary theological or sociological work. To date the group has studied Thomas Berry's The Great Work; Gene Marshall's Good Christian Religion as a Social Project; and Stephen Batchelor's Buddhism Without Beliefs. The group ends with a sharing of concerns for the future and a brief closing. Group members are now comfortable with the format and share in various leadership roles during each group meeting.

The membership of the group has remained stable and two new persons have recently begun attending. This regular weekly experience has had a profound effect on all the participants. They report that they are more attentive to others, experience more calm in response to the struggles of living, have an attitude of greater awe toward all of life, are more respectful of nature and more supportive of environmental concerns.