Numinous programme
In this programme, we are aiming to collect stories and provide tools for mapping how people make sense of their experiences and their relationships to the world through their participation within, or connection to, religious belief, sense of spirituality, communities of faith and/or communities of spiritual practice.
Contents
Target participation
Specific to Christianity
Why is this of importance to many Christian Denominations in the West? The numbers of people attending churches is declining in many Western Christian denominations. When faced with this existential crisis they are increasing their focus on their mission and growth. The Church of England has created the Strategic Development Fund which "supports major change projects which lead to a significant difference in dioceses’ mission and financial strength." https://www.churchofengland.org/about/renewal-reform/funding-mission-and-growth/strategic-development-funding However, this is also requiring the different denominations to consider what is fruitful growth and richer ways of evaluating this than counting 'bums on seats'.
Public projects
"A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human characters.[1] A parable is a type of metaphorical analogy.[2]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable
Many parables have become part of common parlance and are still helping people to interpret life many years after they were originally told.
This Numinous project will present a series of parables from different world faiths with a view to revealing how they are even now shaping how we interpret the world around us and how to live alongside each other in society.
Participation projects
These are established projects which you can either join or replicate
The Australian Anglican project (needs a name)
Spiritual and religious leaders
Summary Main article: Spiritual and religious leaders
Climate change
Kickstarter projects
These projects have a minimum number of participants to trigger their initiation and may run as cohorts
Events
Current thinking
- The meaning of parables in the modern world
- Liberation theology revisited
