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In this podcast, Ian Mobsby explores the implications of Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 and John 14: 15-21.  As Moot is part of the emerging and fresh expressions of church movements, it is founded on the vision of building ecclesial communities out of contextual mission.  It is within this vision of being a follower of Christ and seeking to be part of a radical community, that we need to consider the issues of personal identity and issues of taboo.  In the Ecclesiastes text, we are challenged by the need of an identity centred on God, where our lives are often hard and relatively short.  The second text again returns to the idea of building ecclesial communities out of contextual mission, where the mission in question was to a hated people, the Samaritans, and a hated woman who was possibly a prostitute.  Jesus in this text breaks many religious and social taboos by even talking to the woman at the well and to the local people.  So this text allows us to see on the one hand the importance of a faith and our identity to be in God in an I-God relationship, but further, we are called to challenge those who put obsticles in the way of people knowing God, particularly where social taboos are concerned.  So this text has much to say to the modern church, and the importance of God’s love mission to the world.

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In the Alt Eucharist Service on Sunday 14th June, Ian Mobsby explored the theme of the abundance of the Kingdom of God and the scarcity of this world. This followed a very moving service last week where the community supported a couple recovering from a failed pregnancy. This podcast explored how Christians can go deeper in the faith which is a call to powerlessness, pain and struggle alongside the desire for peace and love.

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Clare Catford, broadcaster, writer and member of the moot community, explores the theme of balance in the Moot Alt Eucharist on Sun 15th March 2009 on the third sunday in the season of Lent.  Clare explores the theme in the context of her own life experience, particularly the challenge of facing and living with depression.

The Moot Rhythm of Life Specifices Balance as:

We aspire to live with integrity in the City, striving as a community for balance between work, rest and play.  We wish to develop healthy spiritual disciplines such as daily prayer, meditation and contemplation, drawing on the ancient Christian paths.  We want to live within our means, living sustainable lives. We desire to not be simply consumers, but people committed to giving and receiving in all of life.

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Doerthe Rosenow, a member of the Moot Community explores the importance of Hospitality in new forms of church. She challenges the default position of consumption - a cultural norm, and the call for Christians to be counter cultural in seeking to get beyond individualism and me-isms. She draws on Moot’s Rhythm of Life Section on Hospitality:

hospitality We wish to welcome all who we come across, when we are gathered and when we are dispersed, extending Christ’s gracious invitation to relationship, meaning and life in all its fullness through our deeds, words and thoughts.

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Ian Mobsby explores this months theme of the Moot Community, exploring why the Christian tradition venerates Saints. Rather than these people being towering figures of strength, many were pretty ordinary people striving for faith and spirituality in a somewhat difficult world.  What is it about these ordinary but complex radicals and mystics that makes them saints? And what can they teach us about strength from our weaknesses? How do our wounds become the basis for hope, love and action?

2 Corinthians 4 For it is God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ… But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

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Clare Catford, broadcaster, writer, theologian and member of the the Moot Community in London, explores the title ‘affluenza: how to get beyond consuming to try and fill your empty soul’.  Addiction is a very real issue in our contemporary culture, and one that needs careful thought and consideration from spiritual perspective. Clare draws on her own experience in dialogue with a number of scriptures from the Bible to explore this issue with some depth.  This homily is a re-recording of a homily given by Clare at a Moot alt.eucharist service in June 2008. The Moot Community read together the book ‘Affluenza’ by Oliver James.  Clare Catford has written a book entitled ‘addicted to love’  exploring the issue of addiction from a personal and spiritual perspective.  Clare will be speaking about her book and her experiences with addiction at this year’s Greenbelt Festival in August 2008.

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Ian Mobsby, one of the co-founders of the Moot Community, explores the example of Thomas in the way of discipleship. In a world of increasing fanaticism, the place of faith and doubt as a mechanism that drives mature faith formation of the grey and not the ‘black and white’ is crucial to our journey of faith. Thomas enables us all to have hope that as we go through cycles of construction, deconstruction and reconstruction, that we are growing into out ‘human becomingness’

In fact Jesus even models this process in his own life of incarnation (birth, blessing, construction), testing & crucifixion (deconstruction) and resurrection (reconstruction). It is not an easy journey for us to follow. But it is not a journey where will not be tested and doubt.

Being a ‘back-slider’ is an authentic part of the journey. Those who don’t, are stuck in fundamentalism. The Emerging church, is inspiring us to live with an emerging faith.

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Ian Mobsby gives an address on the place of Good Friday in the passion of Holy Week. He explores how Good Friday can ever be considered good in salvation history. This was part of a traditional Anglican Good Friday Service, which begins with the ministers prostrating themselves on the floor before the altar as a dramatic sign of the cost of the Cross for Christ.

Good Friday. How is it possible, that on this day, when we remember Jesus the man and his painful walk from Jerusalem, carrying his cross to the hill of Golgotha. When we humanity killed the incarnation of God in human flesh. How can this Friday possibly be called Good? Good Friday?

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Phil Medley, one of the Pastoral Assistants at St Matthews, gave this considered and heart-felt address to the Moot Community in an alt.Eucharist service drawing on John’s gospel narrative of the raising of Lazarus. In it, Phil explores the importance of emotional intelligence - or being real, and following Christ as he was fully human and emotional. Phil challenges us follow this Jesus who does not hide from our emotions and the suffering of the world, but who beckons us to follow him to find liberation and love.

And Jesus was disturbed by the crying of Mary & Martha and the Jews that followed them … And Jesus wept … So Jesus stood before the tomb … And said … Lazarus come out … And said … loosen the bands that bind him.

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Ian Mobsby of the Moot Community, reflects on the connection between spiritual hunger and knowing God as part of a Lent Spirituality Course through the Moot ‘Beyond the Wilderness’ event in the SW1 Art Gallery in London.

There is a profound link between a spiritual thirst, prayer and encountering Christ today.

Mother Teresa put it well when after four hours at prayer, she said to a gathering of people:

“Jesus wants me to tell you again … how much is the love He has for each one of you–beyond all what you can imagine. Not only He loves you, even more–He longs for you. He misses you when you don’t come close. He thirsts for you. He loves you always, even when you don’t feel worthy. Why does Jesus say ‘I thirst’? What does it mean? Something so hard to explain in words– … ‘I thirst’ is something much deeper than just Jesus saying ‘I love you.’ Until you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you–you can’t begin to know who He wants to be for you. Or who he wants you to be for him.”

This is the profound mystery about the nature of contemplative forms of prayer. That through the Holy Spirit, and the power of our imagination, we too can encounter Christ - today.

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Nicholas Papadopulos of St Peter’s Eaton Square led the first reflection in the first week in Lent exploring the theme “Who can you trust?”. This is the first week of moot community arts lenten reflection called “beyond the wilderness”. The reflection ends on three questions for spiritual reflection

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