GUEST POST - New Wineskin

This week’s guest post is from my friend Jennifer Trently. Jennifer is a Spiritual Director and contemplative artist who has one of the kindest spirits I know. Go check out her website HERE and get connected with her on FACEBOOK.

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This morning with a cup of coffee and bowl of oatmeal mixed with apples and peanut butter, I began pondering how committing ourselves as Love,  Wisdom, and  Breath could be the face of the church.   I considered the structure and thought about how the word, church, did not appear in the Bible however, the Bible stresses gatherings of  families,  friends and through Christ’s ongoing revelation inclusive experiences inviting partaking by all.

What IF now the wineskin consisted of an inclusive space offering solace acknowledging spiritual abuse and the marginalizing structures?

My vision would be to keep it simple. A large gathering every month having rotating leaders and formats.  Through the month, small circles of trust would be meet with a specific focus.  What If these focuses consisted of rescuing a prostitute, or adopting someone with mental illness, assisting them to get assistance, inviting people from the neighborhood or the street, prayer in the here and now, deconstruction support, and offered everyone opportunities to study?  

Ordination would cease to exist.  Power would not exist in one person’s hands.  The rotation of leadership and commitment renewal would occur periodically at love feast gatherings. While I realize that all human designs contain flaws, change begins with dreams.  Emphasis on inclusive, sharing of one Breath, and eliminating abuse summarize the essence of priorities.  The future, the new wineskin, I believe, must consist of these beliefs as non-negotiables. 

The word ENDURE exists as my coffee cup design.  I drink the last drop, inhaling endurance for this day.  I hear the cows mooing as a call of their distress of joining in solidarity with the opening of new wine.