Fiona kicked off proceedings in our time of celebration and thanksgiving:

Welcome!

I can now confirm that as one gets older – time really does speed up – it definitely was only a couple of months ago that we celebrated 10 years of Third space – but here we are today celebrating that we’ve reached the ripe old age of 15.

We are officially adolescent  – which presumably gives us permission to … (various adolescent rebellions weere shared here!) 

15 years ago we tentatively stepped into a metaphorical coracle and to  ‘being’ Third Space – the name to reflect that it was a space that was shared but ‘other’ to home and work space. The place -outdoors -this park, this bandstand ; a sense that Church could and should not be behind doors  – a place where every week, (whatever the weather, ) the Glory of God would be  demonstrated by the ‘Big Book” of creation.   We would have no walls – no premises – no statements of belief that must be signed up to, no leadership teams and no 5 year plans.  What kind of church do you call that?

Third space is My Church – a church that has blessed, challenged, taught, delighted, comforted and unsettled and  widened my narrow vision – sometimes all at the same time. Saints, pigeons, lamid vavniks (and tattoes that nearly got me a divorce) , shepherds crooks,  bread and wine and the creativity,  insight , prayers and Christ-like examples of everyone here today, have been for me a life-saver and a life changer.  I don’t know where I would be ‘at’ if I had remained in a regular church  – I suspect it wouldn’t have been a good place or a God place –  and although I am naturally risk averse, I am so glad we took that leap of faith (hanging onto the caveat ‘we could be wrong’! to begin Third space so  please join with me in the Litany of thanksgiving that I’ve mucked about with to make it specific to today.

Litany of thanksgiving

For this time, this place, this day, these people


We give thanks to God for he is good

For the changing seasons, light and weather,


For  the trees and birdsong and the river and skies


For needless beauty and endless diversity…


That the sun sings and the earth hums…


If we were silent the very stones would sing his praise


Holy, holy, holy is God Almighty, 
the whole earth is full of his glory

For those we love, for those who love us
For those we struggle with and those who struggle with us


For old friends and new ones, for friendships yet to be made and for reunions
in this world and the next

For all human goodness that speaks of your presence


For our frailty that drives us to acknowledge our dependence on you

It is you who made us and we are yours

For the shalom you promise


For your foundational underpinning, support, comfort, direction and strength


For your constant presence – your very name spoken with each breath we take


For Jesus – for all he has done, all he does, all he will yet do for us


For loving us

Amen! Amen! Amen!

…

Paul took over then, introducing something symbolic for us all to do:

So, from the concept of stones singing that we’ve just read, we’re going move on to  the biblical practice of placing stones as memorials.

Bethel was the place Jacob had his vision of angels on the stairway to heaven and received the promise God made to him about his descendants, so he set up the stone he had used as a pillow into a pillar.

Gilgal was where Joshua commemorated the Israelites’ long-delayed entrance into the Promised Land by taking 12 stones from the bed of the miraculously-parted Jordan river and setting them up at their camp site that night.

 Samuel erected the Ebenezer stone of help, after God thwarted a Philistine attack.

So today we’re going to set some stones, and we are going to do it in the context of those Third Space experiences we asked you to bring which have resonated for you over the years, be it remembrance, gratitude, faithfulness or ongoing support.

Some created glued cairns of stones, others wrapped stones in twine.

Harry read a poem by Godfrey Rust, which he felt spoke hugely of ThirdSpace

‘God is a verb’

Church mice,
church music
and church history
all tried to tell us it’s an adjective.

Others have chiselled
or boxed it into a noun:
a building or a social club,
even an event
that’s set in stones –
but don’t be fooled:
church is a verb.

It’s something that we do.
It won’t work in the singular.
I can’t church,
you can’t church
he, she and it can’t church.
It only takes the plural: even God
can’t church alone.
We church
(and they can do it too,
whatever we may think of what they do).

It works best in the present tense
and not with a prefix like un- or re-.
Don’t say Let’s church again,
like we did last summer.
It happens now, not then.

It’s not a complicated verb.
It comes in simple sentences
like How are you?
and Can I help?
and Let us pray.

It’s often passive, and just sits and listens.

It’s a highly irregular verb
and won’t do what it’s told.
It turns up anywhere
with the most unlikely subjects.

It can be said
in any language
or in none.

We can’t easily go
to look at church.
We only find the evidence
that church has happened somewhere.
Something broken has been mended.
Someone is alive.
Two are at one.
More is here now
than there was before.

In one case only,
this verb is transitive:
God churches us
and also churches through us.
When we ask Christ
to be among us
or make him known to someone
it’s then that we are churching.

There will come a time
for church to get dressed up
ready for its marriage,
ready to settle down and become a noun –
but until then
church is the living Word
spoken in verbs.

…

Steve then read something he had written for the occasion:

15 TODAY!

We are heliocentric creatures it seems

Intent on marking the day when

15 earth circuits ago…

We gathered first to make the Celtic twig cross – not knowing

Launching the coracle – not knowing

Awaiting the divine dove in pigeon attire – not-knowing

Defiantly hoping companions – not knowing

Restlessly searching doubters – not knowing

Looking back to whence we came and looking forward – not knowing

Yet yearning still and weeping and rejoicing and journeying towards…

Perhaps we are, hesitantly, theocentric creatures

Discontent with a silent universe

Seeing the world charged with the grandeur and mercy of God.

And so we commune, in our tradition, with Jesus

…

And we finished sharing bread and wine with the following words:

Far We have Come, Far we Must Go

(with thanks to “Grace-pocket liturgies)

We stand on the threshold of another year of Third Space

We offer you our thanks for the last 15 years – years full of good things.

Gifts of friendship, laughter, creativity and imagination

We give you our memories of times when there has been struggle and sadness

The loss of people dear to us

Times of disappointment and frustration

We recognise that you continue to call us on.

We offer you our hopes, aspirations and plans

God of transformation, we look forward to what you will do with our lives and with Third Space.

And once again, we climb into our coracle and wait for the Spirit.

This is the bread of Christ.

The bread of community,

It is bread for the journey

and it is bread for celebration!

This is the wine of Christ.

The wine of community,

It is wine for the journey

and it is wine for celebration! Cheers!

And then it was off to Cool River for a marvellous celebratory breakfast and much chat and laughter and gratitude. 15 wonderful years. Thanks go to those who joined us over the years – those who are still in touch, those we have lost touch with…. and to Ian Adams and Michael Mitton for wise advice and support in early years (Outdoor church, meals, Sabbaths…. Emulating St Brendan in his coracle…) we are indebted to you!