Slow Church...

There is something inside of me that is quickly moving to “the slow life”. My verse to memorize for this year is found in Ecclesiastes which says…

Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

This is what I long for and if I have anything to do with it, this is what I will find to me my new normal.

I found a book called Slow Food and it started with a Manifesto that blew me away. Take this in…

“Our century, which began and has developed under the insignia of industrial civilization, first invented the machine and then took it as its life model.

We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes and forces us to eat Fast Foods. To be worthy of the name, Homo Sapiens should rid himself of speed before it reduces him to a species in danger of extinction.

A firm defense of quiet material pleasure is the only way to oppose the universal folly of Fast Life. May suitable doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure and slow, long-lasting enjoyment preserve us from the contagion of the multitude who mistake frenzy for efficiency.

Our defense should begin at the table with Slow Food. Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food. In the name of productivity, Fast Life has changed our way of being and threatens our environment and our landscapes. So Slow Food is now the only truly progressive answer.

That is what real culture is all about: developing taste rather than demeaning it. And what better way to set about this than an international exchange of experiences, knowledge, projects? Slow Food guarantees a better future. Slow Food is an idea that needs plenty of qualified supporters who can help turn this (slow) motion into an international movement, with the little snail as its symbol.”

John Pattison, who is the co-author of "Besides the Bible”, states that “all these Slow Food principles have (or could have) corollaries in the church: the table, hospitality, pleasure, justice, real connections, conversation, local knowledge and identity, shared traditions and shared space, consumers as co-producers, manageable scale, an unhurried pace that is profoundly countercultural, and a focus on the abundance of Time rather than the oppressiveness of Time.

Alice Waters talks about the Slow Food movement as a “re-education of the senses.” Slow Church is about…what?"

Just some food for thought…hehehe. This is where I’m going, you’re welcome to join me if you’ve got it in ya.