A Place Apart News

"Not the Only Voice…"

by Paul Grout

A Place Apart is a small voice in the wilderness, an infinitesimally small voice, tiny, almost completely unnoticeable except for the fact that it is not the only voice. Other small voices have emerged and are increasingly emerging, creating a chorus, a symphony of movements that will be heard.

This is a movement that resists being named. It arises from the bottom up, outside of institution. Most of the problems we face today have been force-fed from the top down, empowered by centralized institutions, political, religious, and corporate that often desperately cling to a self-serving preservation.

This movement with no name is made up of people who see themselves as citizens of the Earth, and of their local neighborhoods. They connect to support common lifestyle concerns, they seek to live with less stuff, they seek to have less negative impact on the environment, they often share tools, automobiles, and workloads. They have concerns about where their food comes from and how it is grown. Sustainable local agriculture is often a primary concern.

This movement respects, values and empowers women. Its spirituality is generally based on connections to creation; nature is not seen as something "out there." People view themselves within the created order of nature. There exists a common concern for physical, spiritual, and emotional well being.

Many with Christian backgrounds wonder how their faith relates to what is so powerfully emerging within their spirits and yet seems so alien to the present agenda of the church. There is an increasing uncertainty of how to or if to continue a relationship to the institution of church.

The church and its systems of belief - liberal, conservative, progressive or fundamental - feel increasingly alien to what is emerging. At the same time the life and core message of Jesus seems increasingly central to all that seeks to emerge.

In our past we looked toward leaders, programs and systems to save us. We sought only our own security, we exploited for our own ends, we distorted knowledge, we abused our power, we forgot who we are, we lost sight of what could be.

Now we begin

To step apart

To become a part

Of all that was

And all that is

And all that is meant to be.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2009 newsletter. To download the entire newsletter in PDF format, click here.