Gatherings / Projects

a creative approach to building community

The 8th Day Community is purposeful in helping bless the Church as a whole and build people of depth and of service. Included in these purposes are what we have named Gatherings, or corporate get-togethers where those involved with the 8th Day Community come and gather in multiple venues and circumstances to eat, learn, serve, and rejoice together. Simply stated this involves:

• Eating: Through a shared meal the Community affirms life and sustenance, hospitality and welcome.
• Learning: All are invited to join in the reflective rhythms of the year including the two-year monthly reflections Coracles, shared by all participants.
• Serving: From "barn-raising" events, to missional activities both local and beyond and in the local Church, the Community witnesses to God's love and care for creation and people.
• Rejoicing: The Community shares in common praise to our Triune God. We express this through the disciplines of the faith and in music, poetry, and art.

Gatherings then become a place for Eucharist, for thanksgiving and Sabbath - a place and a time to listen to the Holy Spirit in community.

In the words of Henri Nouwen in The Way of the Heart,

Calling people together...means calling them away from the fragmenting and distracting wordiness of the dark world to that silence in which they can discover themselves, each other, and God. Thus organizing can be seen as the creation of a space where communion becomes possible and community can develop.

For more information about 8^th Day Gatherings and Projects contact Dr. Dale Pollard at dale@8thdaycommunity.org, or by cell at 360-201-3957.  

 

gatherings and projects for 2009

 more to come