Foundation

Steve Tunnicliff announces that the Kids and Parents Group (now called “The Lift”, as a big lift is what happens once foundations have been laid) is hosting a party at Cotham Parish Church on the afternoon of Sunday 14th December, i.e. two weeks’ time.

The party is open to all Foundationers, young and old, past and present - so if you are not coming frequently but fancy a one-off visit, now is your chance!  The Lift will be gathering around 2:30pm as usual, with a view to the party getting in swing by 3pm.

At 5pm there will be a special early littleservice in the church.  This should be over by 6pm, at which point the itinery can be improvised but a trip to Clifton for pizza has been mentioned as a possibility.  There will be no littleservice later on that evening.

Steve will need volunteers (preferably not just parents from The Lift) to help with the party and/or planning the early evening service.  If you would like to join the team, please get in touch with Steve at steve_tunnicliff@hotmail.com or on 07910 554235.

Many of you joined us for Chris Sunderland’s two talks in October and were energised by his ideas about our culture and the environment.  Chris told us about “Earth Abbey”, a sustainable living project and virtual/real community inspired and infused by Christian spirituality.

Earth Abbey is now being formally launched with a further talk (to a wider audience) from Chris.  This will take place at 7:30pm on Monday 24th November at Broadmead Baptist Church, Lower Union Street (next to Tesco Metro).  A number of us are going and we hope you will join us.

Many who attended Chris’ talks will wish to get involved.  If you missed the talks, now is your chance.  This is an opportunity for us as Christians to participate in an urgent form of mission; one in which people of all faiths and no faith can join hands and start, in a small way, to be part of the solution.

Foundationers are able to join the Earth Abbey community at www.earthabbey.com.  You can join as an Abbey “novice”, which is the first step towards becoming a member after six months.  The website is a beginning, a gateway to a network of knowledge, communication and friendship.

At the site you can learn more about Earth Abbey’s goals, which are to foster:

- A rich relational life between human beings

- A compassion toward the earth and its creatures

- A sense of interconnectedness of all life

- Wisdom and justice in relationships

- Human fulfilment and the nurture of the inner life

- A way of living that leaves the earth better than we found it

If these values resonate with you, then pay a visit to the site - and join me, the McColls, the Kissells and hopefully many more from the Foundation community at the launch on Monday 24th November.

Anna McMullen and Anna Kissell are organising an open floor creative performance and cheese/wine evening for Foundationers on Friday 21st November.  

“The Friendly Stage” will take place from 7pm at the Kissells’ place in Montpelier.  For address details, contact Tim at the e-mail address on the sidebar “contact” link.

Anna and Anna write:

“The performer lies in every one of us - be you a storyteller, rap artist, computer-synthesist, musician, poet, or tap dancer.  Come to share your talents, drink wine, eat cheese, and look on with admiration as others bring their art to the floor.  Bring a bottle and some cheese.  If you would like to perform, email anna.mcmullen@yahoo.co.uk.  (Late entries on the night also accepted).”

Needless to say you don’t have to be a performer in order to attend - so get it in the diary regardless of whether you have any act of your own in mind.  However as the name suggests, this will be an unthreatening forum in which to be creative, extravagant or silly and to eat, drink and be merry!

Sunday 9th November sees the third meeting of the Foundation Kids & Parents group, coordinated by Steve Tunnicliff.  The meeting takes place at 2:30pm at Cotham Parish Church.

The two meetings so far have received some rave reviews (and favourable comparisons with the alternatives on offer) from those who went - so if you’re still deliberating, get along and see! 

Please get in touch with Steve on 07910 554235 and let him know if you are planning to attend.  Steve’s e-mail access at the moment is on/off, so mobile phone is best.

Immediately below this message I’ve cut and pasted extracts from the original notice of the first event, as this contains a summary of the group’s tentative aspirations.

[...]

As there are a growing number of Foundationers with children of different ages, Steve Tunnicliff is organising the inaugural meeting of a group of Foundation parents and children.  (Suggested group names on a postcard, please.)

[...]

The nature/format of the meetings and their frequency is still to be decided, and will be discussed on Sunday (and beyond).  However the emphasis will be on fun, and enabling both children and parents to get to know each other better.  Children of all ages, from infants upward, are welcome.

If you are interested in joining in on Sunday, or if you cannot make Sunday but would like to be involved nevertheless, please call Steve on 07910 554235.  He would like an idea of numbers in advance to facilitate planning.

Thanks.

Tim

Our very own Anna McMullen well be a cockney maid, in St Paul’s Players’ next production, See How They Run.  Follow the attached link to the official web site. http://www.stpaulsplayers.org.uk/our_next_production

See How They Run is a farce in three acts, featuring drunk parisioners, vicars hiding in cupboards, escaped German prisoners, mistaken identity, and much more besides.

Not to be missed, this hilarious production will be perfomed at St Paul’s Church, Coronation Road, Southville on Thursday 30th, Friday 31st Oct, and Sat 1st Nov.  Tickets cost £6 and are available on the door.

Saturday 1st Nov is the Foundation bonfire trip / Halloween party…  So how about some of us going along on the opening night?

This is a reminder that Chris Sunderland will be talking to us for a second time next Tuesday 28th October, on the theme “Living more in tune with the earth”. The earlier message giving practical details is included below this one.

This talk follows up Chris’ first talk to Foundation on Tuesday of last week, at which he gave a description of the environmental and economic status quo, and the church’s response to it. Chris believes that we live in a “Prophetic Age”, like the ages of the OT Prophets and of Jesus - in which divinely inspired voices need to call for the radical transformation of our society.

Chris’ diagnosis was simultaneously unsettling and inspiring of action. If the first talk offered a diagnosis, the second will pick up where the first left off, seeking to make some more focused suggestions for a cure - and specifically, how Christians in the 21st century can get involved.

I believe that this is a vital message for any spiritual community seeking to swim against the tide - a community of the kind that Foundation is hopefully becoming. It should be a very exciting and energising session, so I would strongly encourage you to come. For those who missed the first talk, don’t worry - I am sure Chris will be happy to do a short synopsis/recap at the beginning.

The evenings will take place at my house. If you are interested please call me on 07754 501649.
Tim
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Many within Foundation have been asking how we can get involved in pressing contemporary issues such as justice and the environment.

Some of you will know Chris Sunderland, a member of Foundation engaged in a number of environmental projects in Bristol and beyond.  Chris is also an ordained C of E minister, and so combines membership of the Church with activism in a sphere which is often (wrongly) regarded as “secular”.

Chris will be hosting two ”Conversations with Chris Sunderland” on the evenings of (Tuesdays) 21st and 28th October, respectively on the following topics:
 
1. Living in a prophetic age
2. Living more in tune with the earth
 
The evenings will be conversational in style and offer an analysis of our current situation in terms of:

- a society in radical transition, the decline of existing institutions, the rise of environmental concern
- clear signs of the emergence of a new all embracing story for the 21st century
- a fresh understanding of the big story of the Bible based on the dream of a peace that embraces all creation
 
The aim will be to increase our knowledge, challenge us and enable us to consider ways that we might get involved collectively or individually.

Thanks
Tim

Adam Bond’s band DingoDogDay are playing at the prestigious Fleece next Monday 27th October.  The event is free.  Take this opportunity to see a great band (featuring a great bassist) in a great venue!

The show starts at 8pm and DingoDogDay are likely to be on stage around 8:45pm.

The Fleece is at 12 St Thomas Street, Bristol BS1 - just down Victoria Street from Bristol Bridge.
http://www.fleecegigs.co.uk/

Instead of the conventional Foundation Community Meal this month, we’re going to see the fireworks on the Downs for Bonfire Night.  However, if you’re not content with celebrating the burning of Catholics, then afterwards there is an opportunity to celebrate the pagan festival of Halloween!

The evening will come in three parts:

1.  Gather at Lizzie’s flat from 5.30pm for snacks/nibbles (bring snacks to eat or share).  Lizzie’s flat is approx 5 mins walk from the Downs, so the plan is to head down the road at 7pm-ish in order to commence stage 2…
(Contact Lizzie for address - tel 07969 863967)

2.  Fireworks on the Downs - the gates open at 6pm, bonfire is lit at 7pm and the fireworks are at 7.30pm.
Once at the Downs, you can choose to pay the entry fee (£5 for adults) and then check out the bonfire as well as the fireworks, go on the fairground rides and/or buy food if you want.  Alternatively (the money-saving option), you can watch the fireworks from the road near the water tower for free, and get almost as good a view.  We can make the decision on the night, and split up temporarily if need be…
(see http://visitbristol.co.uk/site/bristol-charity-fireworks-fiesta-p57841 for group/childrens prices and other info re what’s on at the fireworks)

The aim will be to arrive at the Downs sometime after 7pm, so if you can’t make it to Lizzie’s and plan on going directly to the fireworks, give Lizzie a call (see phone number above) when you arrive.  However, be warned that it can get very crowded, so if you plan to meet on the Downs, it’s worth arranging a meeting point in advance.  There is a pedestrian crossing on Westbury Road at the entrance to Durdham Park, those coming from Lizzie’s will be crossing the road here, so this is the best place to meet.

3.  After the firework display, you can chose to hang around the Downs for a bit (fairground rides etc) if you’ve paid £5 and want to get your money’s worth.  Alternatively, head straight to Laura Barrow’s house for a fancy dress Hallow een party from 8pm.  Fancy dress will be taken seriously.  If the idea of wandering around the Downs in a Halloween costume doesn’t appeal, then you can get changed once at Laura’s house, or with a good explanation, you may be excused from fancy dress altogether. There will be apple bobbing and other such pagan rituals. Bring something to drink.
(Contact Laura for address - tel 07887 603013)

On a practical note, parking at Laura’s house is not a problem, but at Lizzie’s you may need to drive around a bit to get a space, though it’s not impossible.  Traffic is likely to be busy and part of Westbury Road may be closed for the fireworks, so it’s worth using public transport if possible.  Children will be welcome to the gathering at Lizzie’s flat and to the fireworks, but the party at Laura’s is likely to be less child-friendly, as there will be alcohol flowing and other party-goers from outside Foundation.

We’ll be attending the Greenbelt Festival again this year, and hosting an alt.worship service in New Forms early on Sunday evening. The service is called Babel and starts at 6pm.

If you’re at the festival and would like to make contact with members of Foundation, get along to the service or contact Tim on 07754 501649. Hope to see you there!