1. the global communications revolution is fostering a new global consciousness
2. there is an emerging and global ecological awareness and concern
3. there is a shift towards postmodern social values: a pomo ethic
4. there is a new kind of spirituality emerging that is experiential and firsthand
5. there is a shift towards more sustainable ways of living
these were 5 trends identified by barry taylor as part of the waving not drowning conference in birmingham. pall singh, bev thomas and gordon lynch took part in a day reflecting on spirituality in our changing culture and its implications. one of the helpful comments that stuck with me was that the reason we keep struggling with these conversations is that it is probably a lifetimes work – so we shouldn’t expect to have all the answers – maybe we have to live with the questions.
the conference was hosted by pip piper of osbd. i first met pip at brainstormers youth work conference years ago where he was doing creative video stuff. it was great to catch up and see the osbd offices and see how the work has moved on. seems to be heading towards the realisation of the dream of making a feature film or two – exciting stuff. we got a sneak preview of the next osbd resource kaleidoscope which is a dvd of moving image loops/rushes for you to add in to films/presentations/arkaos etc… i was also impressed by the custard factory set up where their offices are based. a few minutes from the city centre it is a mix of creative and arts based offices with bars and shops in a very tasteful complex – looks like a cool place to work. today i took part in a smaller conversation that was being filmed for a possible future osbd resource – the subject was the future shape of spirituality and culture and its implications for the church… not sure we came up with too much wisdom on the matter but it was good fun!
barry will be down in london next week for blah.
gordon lynch has written some interesting stuff – it would be interesting to hear him at a blah?
Seems to me that there is an interesting 2 tier thing going on @ the moment with the whole emerging – pomo spirituality thing.
There are postings like this which show that there alot of “professionals” getting excited about this stuff and trying to figure out how to package it, present it to the masses (partly I think, having read a couple of Gordon Lynches books and a reasonable amount of blog postings from other “professionals”, because of their own experiences).
Then there are those who are exploring it from the mainly personal end (although I admit part of it also ties into to my role as a Sociology teacher) and are working our way through, almost finding books and websites by accident, like the links you put on today. Apart from Greenbelt not sure how the two ends hook up really,(particularly for those of us who don’t live in large urban centres but todays posting did show that rather than just being the fluid networks there is a clear “professional” / “bloke on the street” issue that needs to be addressed