LONDON LEARNING LABMarch 2016

IntroductionThe London Learning Lab provides an immersion experience in one of the most diverse and post-modern/post-Christian cities in the west. It attempts to reveal the opportunities for spirituality in the emerging cultural landscape.

The Learning Lab takes participants on a journey of comparison between new and old, US and UK, spiritual and secular, homogeny and diversity. The following three themes: third spaces, spirituality and food are explored during the Learning Lab all underpinned by the concepts of hospitality and community.

Hospitality is foundational to everything we do at Matryoshka Haus. We have a very loose definition of membership because everyone and anyone is welcome. We believe that hospitality is the antidote to isolation. We invite people not only into our homes but into our lives, we invite them to the table for a meal or to work with us to solve a problem. For us, hospitality is rooted in authentic relationships, in valuing the other, wherever they are on their journey.

We have seen that our hospitality creates community and our community extends hospitality. We aimed to model how this works through the Learning Lab. We believe all people are spiritual but not all are Christians and even those that are can share different theological beliefs whilst still belonging. We invited the Learning Lab participants to live alongside us for a week and hopefully experience this authenticity.

This document aims to capture some of what was learnt along the way.

“We leverage our experience, networks and community to create an active learning experience underpinned with our expression of hospitality. All with the aim to empower and inspire participants to proliferate this learning in their own context.” Transformational Index impact statement for the Learning Lab

LikeThe idea that social change can bring people together form different backgrounds for the purpose of the Kingdom of God

LoveThe various expressions of church and the depth behind each community’s composition

LoatheThe non-stop activity which didn’t leave enough time to reflect and relax

Long forDoing spiritual mindfulness exercises with members of our community from different faiths

Group Feedback Key

Quotes From Learning Lab participants

The Learning LabbersThe Learning Lab 2016 had 12 participants from Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University in Waco, Texas

Anastasia Blake

Lucy

Scott

Kim

Liz Nathan

Rachel

David

Stephen

Luke

Theresa

Dr Mike Stroope

Mark SampsonBishop Ric Thorpe

People we met: contributors

Johnny Sertin

Dave Tomlinson

Andy Schofield

Chine Mbubaegbu Gav Mart

Matt Valler Catherine Pearson

Jonny Baker

Shannon Hopkins

David Jones

Matt Sprink Holly Sprink

With additional thanks to: Caz, Andy M, Lindsay, Rachel C, Rachel J, Laurence, Liz, Sveta, Madisson, and Tobias. For additional website and book information see Appendices page 20.

What we did each day

Saturday

Lunch St. Dunstan’s Introduction

Dinner Brick Lane Tour of Brick Lane

Barter for curry

Sunday

Morning Christ Church Highbury

Liz Clutterbuck’s Church

Lunch Shoreditch Pub Lunch

Evening Grace Church Hackney, Christ Church Spitalfields

Dinner St. Dunstan’s David & Cathers

Monday

Morning St. Katherine’s Yurt Cafe

Good Brunch conversation

Afternoon St. Dunstan’s Chine: What is an Evangelical?

Dinner Gav Mart & Jonny Baker

TuesdayMorning St. Dunstan’s Mission Possible

Lunch/Afternoon

The Sprinks The Common Table

Dinner Airbnb houses

ThursdayMorning City of London Labyrinth with Matt Valler

Lunch St. Mary Aldermay

Moot Church/Cafe

Afternoon City of London Labyrinth with Matt Valler

Dinner St. Dunstan’s

Wednesday

Morning Earlsfield Butchery

Lunch Meg’s House Soup

Afternoon Earlsfield Group 1: Table decorations, Group 2: Foccaccia breadGroup 3: Dessert prepParadise CooperativePub: Leather Bottle

Dinner Earlfield The Feast at Mark and Katie’s

Friday

Morning St. Dunstan’s How to be a Bad Christian with Dave Tomlinson

AfternoonEvening

Free time

Morning Likes, loves, loathes & longings

Lunch Borough Market

Afternoon Southbank

Westminister Abbey

Dinner Wapping The Prospect of Whitby: Final Fling

Saturday

Third PlacesMatryoshka Haus is thankful for the provision of St. Dunstan’s wharf. However, we have not always had one place of meeting and working. Aside from each other’s homes we spent a significant amount of time in third spaces.Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term ‘Third Place’. He describes the first place in society as home, the second place as work, and the third places/spaces as those environments where people meet to develop friendship, discuss issues and relax. Oldenburg defends his belief that third spaces are an important way in which a community develops, and retains cohesion and a sense of identity.

We did some of our sessions in coffee shops and pubs, conversed in restaurants and explored markets.

“ ““ ““

“

I was shocked by the difference between the implications of

city life vs. rural life.

I need to think more about how reading a

city can translate into engagement with a

community.

I can't wait to try building community

and actively practicing hospitality

back home.

LikeBeing challenged to engage actively within my community

LoveLearning about how rituals can have deep theological meaning, and how meaning can develop later

LoatheNot having alone time to digest

Long forA community land and garden in Waco (3rd spaces)

There were opportunities to visit more ‘traditional’ church worship experiences as well as less traditional forms of worship. We considered and compared working with our hands, using art and pub conversations as more unconventional ways to engage spiritually (for ourselves and for those around us). At Earlsfield Friary Johnny Sertin introduced the idea of new monastism and a rhythm of life. Chine talked about ‘evangelical’ being a toxic word in a post Christian context and asked us to consider what it really means to be evangelical. She introduced us to Threads and how an online community can be a real community and engage with meaningful but sometimes controversial conversations where no one voice has ‘the answer’. Dave Tomlinson asked us to try and engage spiritually with people, without asking them to come to church nor expecting that they ever will.

Spirituality

I am learning how history and narrative

can be woven together to better

understand the Gospel.

“

“I was shocked by the sheer

presence inside St. Paul’s.

“ “LikeGetting to meet with candid “post-evangelicals” who shared their stories so freely

LoveAll of the new ways Londoners are seeking to be faithful in their post-modern context and seeing how I may do the same

LoatheGetting to meet with candid “post-evangelicals” who

shared their stories so freely

Long for Seeing churches open their spaces throughout the week to interact on any level with the surrounding community

The Earlsfield Friary introduced us to the breadth and depth engaging with the question ‘where our food comes from’ presents us with. We’re pretty comfortable with the idea that eating together can create and solidify community and providing a meal for someone is one expression of hospitality. But what about farming, preparing, cooking and clearing-up together? One of the things that makes us no different to our neighbor is that we both need food. What opportunities does food give us in mission?

Mark used the symbolism of the pigs to make us think about the traditions of the sacred and the profane and how we can find opportunities for spiritual interaction when we attempt to make the profane sacred and vice versa.

I was shocked by how rewarding it

was to all share in a role of preparing a

meal together.

“ “ “

I am learning that it is easy to connect

across culture around a table or in

a kitchen

I can’t wait to try butchering a lamb/

pig + having a Eucharistic feast

back home.

“

“

Food

“

LikeParticipating in and experiencing the pub culture of London and seeing how important it is to the context of the UK

LoveThe discussions regarding the place of food, table and community

Long ForDemonstrate hospitality to my community the way it has been demonstrated to me here

LoatheThat there are so few hours in a day

What’s Next?The aim of the Learning Lab is that all participants are inspired to take learning back to their own context and apply this in some way. Whether it is a new project, new lifestyle or new way of thinking. Learning doesn’t stop here. Whilst some of you felt a little despondent about church back home, we want to remind you of a couple of things as you start reimagining church and mission. One: traditional forms of church still exist and to some extent still thrive in the UK too, they are just addressing and reaching a certain group of people but agreed, they do alienate others. Two: there are also excellent examples and expressions of reimagined church and mission in the US and Texas.

Here is a brief list of some of the things you said were inspiring:

• A thriving community• How to incorporate my art into a broader evangelism

• The temporality of certain endeavors + the future life/death of the church as an institution

• Looking for ways to demonstrate clear, tangible impact within desecrated spaces

• Cooking with refugee communities as a way of building relationships + sharing space

• Partnering with other organizations for communal change regardless of faith statements

These (and much more) have given you some ideas for change and some ideas as to what you could do after graduation.

The Learning Lab experience does not end at Heathrow Airport. Matryoshka Haus are committed to continue to support and help you on this journey as individuals and as a peer group to make the changes and differences you were inspired to do during your time with us.

I long to know how I can come back and tell these stories and continue to process these thoughts into

new methods of community.

“

“

PHOTO

Appendices

Places we visited Likes, loves, loathes, long forsRed squares Blue squares Yellow squares

Websites:The Evangelical Alliance: eauk.org

Threads: threadsuk.com

Moot: moot.uk.net

Fresh Expressions: freshexpressions.co.uk

Jonny Baker: johnnybaker.blogs.com

Proost: proost.us

The Grove: https://grovebooks.co.uk/products/ev-86-transforming-preaching-communicating-gods-word-in-a-postmodern-world

Fresh Expressions (Authentic Faith Report):https://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/resources/authenticfaith

Pioneer Mission Leadership Training Report:https://www.cms-uk.org/DesktopModules/EasyDNNNews/DocumentDownload.ashx?portalid=2&moduleid=4074&articleid=7189&documentid=891

BooksHow to be a Bad Christian, Dave Tomlinson

How to be a Bad Christian Manifesto, Dave Tomlinson

Re-Enchanting Christianity, Dave Tomlinson

The Post-Evangelical, Dave Tomlinson

The Pioneer Gift, Jonny Baker

The Supper of the Lamb, Robert Farrar Capon

Utopian Dreams, Tobias Jones

New Monastic Handbook, Ian Mobsby and Mark Berry

Places we visited

Churches/Spiritual Communities

Christchurch Spitalfields

Moot St Mary Aldermary

The Friary Earlsfield

St Paul’s Cathedral

Christ Church Highbury

Grace Church Hackney

Markets

Columbia Rd flower Market

Spitalfields Market

Borough Market

Restaurants, Pubs & Bars

RestaurantsIndian Curry – Brick Lane

Yurt Cafe – St. Katherine’s Precinct

Giraffe – Embankment

Pubs & BarsThe Carpenter’s Arms – Cheshire St

The Royal Oak – Columbia Rd

The Owl and the Pussycat – Redchurch St

The Prospect of Whitby – Wapping Wall

Other places

Guildhall

Royal Exchange

London Wall

West Smithfield Garden

The Tate Modern – Bankside

Likes, Loves, Loathes & Long fors

Loves Likes

• All of the open honest discussion

• Seeing each expression as people who were accessible. Nobody was detached or removed, but they were willing to invest in each of us as they shared their stories and work

• Getting to meet with candid “post-evangelicals” who shared their stories so freely

• Spending time with the Earlsfield Friary and seeing new monasticism done in such an accessible way

• The City Labyrinth and being mindful of the space we take up

• Learning that there are other people out there that have the same ideas of ministry that I have

• Seeing how present God is, not only in the Matryoshka Haus, but throughout this beautiful city, where God expresses himself in many different ways

• The discussions regarding the place of food, table and community

• Earlsfield Friary and their hospitality

• The idea that social change can bring people together form different backgrounds for the purpose of the Kingdom of God

• Going to the pubs with Shannon and Cathers and connecting more on a personal level

• Being challenged to engage actively within my community

• Engaging with the city and learning to read it with scripture

• The diversity of talents and experiences held by the people who make up this community

• Earlsfield Friary

• The Good Brunch talk about hope

• Participating in and experiencing the pub culture of London and seeing how important it is to the context of the UK

• The Labyrinth through the City of London

• How to butcher a lamb and eat well

• Experiencing different activities that I likely wouldn’t have experienced on my own (butchering a lamb)

• The variety of conversations we had all week

• The various expressions of church and the depth behind each community’s composition

• Seeing the various expressions of bearing witness to God’s work as understood in the particular context and places within London

• Learning about how rituals can have deep theological meaning, and how meaning can develop later

• Discussions regarding the church and its place in society

• All of the new ways Londoners are seeking to be faithful in their post-modern context and seeing how I may do the same

• The diverse stories of those involved with Matryoshka Haus

Long forsLoathes

• A community land and garden in Waco (3rd spaces)

• Doing spiritual mindfulness exercises with members of our community from different faiths

• My wife

• My wife, Kelsey

• To see churches open their spaces throughout the week to interact on any level with the surrounding community

• To see the Christian Church be more inclusive to all people

• Community meals

• To see community that we saw at The Friary and more non-traditional expressions of church

• To see how fresh expressions and the church can co-exist and collaborate to impact people’s lives and embody the Kingdom of God, specifically in the areas of sports, music, and film

• Demonstrate hospitality to my community the way it has been demonstrated to me here

• How I can come back and tell theses stories and continue to process these thoughts into new methods of community

• To see how the “likes” and “loves” play out at home

• My wife, as we attempt to cultivate community focused on seeing the relationships we’ve developed in the context of Waco

• To see increased cooperation and openness between the institutional church and newer expressions

• Butchering the lamb

• Not having alone time to digest

• When people are excluded from deep community and social innovation partnerships because they don’t confess the “right” things. (This was thrown into contrast by the community Matryoshka Haus and friends facilitate)

• Not having enough time to journal, read and pray

• Not being able to have follow-up conversations with people who spoke to us or that we met throughout the week

• The way that the church has hurt so many people that used to call it home

• I didn’t loathe anything! But I would have liked to wander a bit more (which means I need to visit again)

• PACE

• The non-stop activity which didn’t leave enough time to reflect + relax

• Sitting for long periods listening. I like engaging with the speakers more

• That there are so few hours in a day

• Spending a full day at the house in full “lecture” mode

• Being physically tired at the end of the week and not being able to mentally focus as much as I should to some talks

Blue Squares

One thing that London and my city have in common I can’t wait to try back home

• People rushing, mothers with prams

• The church is pesent but in need of change regarding the ways they reach other people

• People that are extremely passionate about their faith

• God is extremely present in this city

• Complexities of power dynamics

• Everyone gives their mother flowers on Mother’s Day

• The same desire to be faithful and answer life’s questions--just by different methods

• How similar our strivings and stories of success and worth as women are

• Problems with student debt

• Panhandlers

• There are a lot of people that once you dig deeper you can find pockets of community

• They both have wasted space

• Coffee culture is alive and well

• People here are pretty friendly! Especially for a big city

• London is a place where the word “evangelical” is bad. Waco/America are having the same issue. Can we redeem the word or do we abandon it?

• Social community projects

• Being more intentional

• Hanging back for coffee at church

• Reading a city--going deeper in layers

• More tea

• Re-connecting with Londoners

• Building community + actively practicing hospitality

• Butchering a lamb/pig + having a Eucharistic feast

• Project planning + design management initiatives

• Mindfulness activities

• Table fellowship

• Walking more

• Third spaces

Describe English pubs in less than 5 words

3 words to describe the neighbourhood where we are staying

• Conversation, crowded, alive, loud

• Loud, welcoming, unique, comfortable

• Home, good food, weird names

• Loud and crowded, center of social life

• Lively, communal, conversational, contemplative

• Loud, warm, friendly!

• Warm, local, boisterous, and social

• Lively, warm, comfortable

• I’m glad they have bitters

• Full of character and energy

• Boisterous, inviting, intimidating, dark, light

• Hub of communal engagement/fellowship

• Vibrant, mesh point, harmonious

• Green, cozy, stairs

• Vibrant, eclectic, communal

• Fun, young, eccentric

• Quiet, familial, beautiful

• Busy, hip, noise

• Young, upbeat, exciting

• Diverse, eclectic, fun

• Quiet, wealthy, pubs

• Quiet, private, small

• Average daily life

• Clean, multi-cultural, exciting

• Quaint, school zone

Red Squares

I need to think more about...

• Barriers

• When is it appropriate to be explicit about my faith vs. implicit

• Do you have to be in the church to be a (successful) Christian?

• How an intentional community begins

• Intentional community

• The implications of a holistic theology

• The theory of a religionless Christianity and what that might look like

• Ways to center myself for writing

• Exclusion in the American church

• What “Christian” art is. What does it mean?

• The ethics of eating

• The earth and how it fits in with my theology

• What I should invest myself in after graduation (and where)

• Ways to offer frequent hospitality

• The ways pioneers and the institutional church can support one another

• Conversion

• Church

• How the church can adapt for the future

• How to come back to London ASAP!

• Where I can see myself fitting into a context where I can be involved in a fresh expression as well as the institutional church

• The measure of success

• How I see myself fitting into the role of living missionally, not just in the US, but also

when I am here in the UK and wherever else I may get called to go

• What church is

• Is church a noun, verb, or an infinitive? “Going to church.” “Go to church.”

• Post-modernisms blessings and curses

• My definition of church

• Where God is leading me not only now but in the future

• What God is leading me towards

• How reading a city can translate into engagement with a community

• What story am I telling?

• Things that Dave Tomlinson talked about

• My own spirituality + place in the church

• The relationship between fresh expressions of faith and the church

• Intentional friaryesque community. Is it for my family?

• The possibility of returning to England

• Redemption

• How I am faithful in my context

• The historical significance of places in relation to the “now”

• Possible community projects for Waco

• Being intentional in my given community

• In what ways I can live as a servant in a church during transition

• Mindfulness

• What is church? Does that question matter?

I am learning

• Rituals can have missional meaning. Saving myself is a crucial factor

• To create space for new focus of worship

• Mindfulness

• How people outside the church view it as an institution and as a movement

• How history and narrative can be weaved together to better understand the Gospel

• What deep committed friendship looks like

• To listen before evaluating

• How my gifts and passions might come together

• The breadth of God’s Kingdom

• More about being “me”

• That the “post-evangelical” doesn’t oppose the church or Jesus

• How amazing curry is!

• The sheer beauty of worshipping with Londoners as others worship simultaneousluy back home

• Extremely thankful for the opportunity to learn from people so passionate about their expressions of faith

• “Evangelical” means something

• To ask good questions

• To be aware of the resources around me and how to use them to actively participate in the mission

• How other people express their faith

• How to begin enacting social change in a concrete way

• Creativity in regard to church fellowship

• How God is creatively at work

• What 20,000 steps in day feels like

• The history of an incredible city

• How churches in London express their understanding of community

• How this view of community shapes them in their daily lives and how that further drives them to be intentional in all they do

• What it means to feast

• To think differently

• Spaces convey meaning

• The art of conversation with anyone from anywhere

• The plurality of history and new growth

• How to butcher an animal

• To always uncover the layers of my self + my city

• To widen my ideas/thoughts on what makes a church “church” + what this means for us

• Different ways to “do church”

• That “a fresh expression” of the church in each community is going to look drastically different

• Participant observation

• That it is easy to connect across culture around a table or in a kitchen

• About the role of food

• More about myself and my role in God’s kingdom

• That mission is far more incarnational than I originally thought. It adapts to the culture

• The possibilities of community

• The importance of story

• God is active when we don’t perceive it

I am feeling

• Inspired

• Excited and nervous about trying to build an intentional community at home. I have no friends

• Overwhelmed

• Challenged, but intruiged

• At home

• Stretched

• Energized

• Inspired and excited about the future

• Contemplative

• Uncomfortable

• Overwhelmed. Broken. Renewed. Stretched

• Like I have a lot of work ahead of me

• Heart being broken + spirit being renewed

• Ready to “city hack” Waco

• A new found freedom to write and express my faith in new ways

• An overall sense of joy + pride in being able to experience the Learning Lab + meeting so many wonderful people who are passionate about their faith + their projects

• Compelled to seriously consider looking for new ways to share my story + my ministry to people here in London

• Like I need coffee

• The cool dirt between my toes

• Unprepared to explain what happened here

• Encouraged

• Comfortable

• Frustrated

• Pensive (but in a good way)

• Enthusiastic

• Like I have been with some like-minded people

• More empathetic than I was before

• Tired

• Challenged

• Swirled around with multiple mindsets, practices, and philosophies

• Pretty tired and overwhelmed by my thoughts

• At home

• Overwhelmed by the massive amounts of information

• Excited to try reading my city

• Open minded, open hearted

• Rested + content due to the slight reprieve in the schedule

• An urge to dream a little further. To rejoice in the imaginative mind God has given us

• Encourage

• Joyful + content after a great day + fellowship in Earlsfield

• Thankful for the opportunity to participate in the Learning Lab

• Exhausted, happy, contemplative

• Happy to be surrounded in the conversations of this week

• Energized

Yellow Squares

I was shocked by

• Nothing

• The sheer presence inside St. Paul’s

• The variations of faithful approaches within Matryoshka Haus members

• How rewarding it was to all share in a role of preparing a meal togeher

• The contrast between the ancient church structure Sunday night and the modern worship happening inside

• How pigs can eat brambles

• How cool it was to butcher then eat a lamb

• The difference between the implications of city life vs. rural life

• Smithfields Gardens

• How much I love butchering lamb

• The fact that butchering a cow was so much fun and it didn’t make me feel queasy

• How crowded the tube can be

• The mulitple viewpoints I have heard this week

• Nothing--I came into this Learning Lab w/o expectations

• How open I have become to more liberal approaches to faith

• The City of London’s history

• The theological depth of many of the practitioners

I am being stretched to consider

• Pushing my church congregation mental image mindset to new people groups

• How to interact with others without using an evangelism script

• As a prophetic tool

• What constitutes “church”

• Opportunities of traditional church ministry

• The lengths I need to go to cultivate community

• The outlook of the future church

• Moving abroad is a real calling I have been avoiding for sometime

• Monastic community as witnessing church

• The openness of community fellowship

• Whether sports ministry has a place in this idea of fresh expressions or pioneering. Mostly it will be outside the structural context of church

• How much to appreciate and how much to question the role of pioneering as a form of Christian expression

• How to incorporate my art into a broader evangelism

• The temporality of certain endeavors + the future life/death of the church as an institution

• Church

• That becoming Anglican might not be a bad idea

• That my future life in ministry might look less traditional

• Food

• The best use of language

• What a life without the instituttional church could look like

• What my role is now

• My constraints

New mission opportunities I am considering

• Having a “theology café” and the yurt broadened my vision

• Urban gardening

• Coming back to London + working w/ new churches

• Partnering with other organizations for communal change regardless of faith statements

• Open prayer for others (public praying on people)

• Trying to reach people that are not yet part of the church community. Seeking those that are marginalized

• Engaging different family units in intentional community

• Re-connecting with the Earlsfield Friary community + continue learning about how to care for + use our natural resources

• Reading as much Wendell Berry as I can and really trying to embody his thinking of the world

• Empowering members of my community to use their gifts actively for the community

• Walking and “mapping” wherever I end up after graduation as a way to get to know my context

• Cooking with refugee communities as a way of building relationships + sharing space

• Moving to the UK

• Repurposing land and finding salvation

• Spending more than time with my Hindu students

• Not sure. Everything is interesting and new

• Looking for ways to demonstrate clear, tangible impact within desecrated spaces

• Hacking Baylor

• Brunches and meals

• Third spaces

• Pioneering

Place Logo

Matryoshka Haus is based in London and designs creative solutions for social change. It does that through creating projects that bring Hope, Justice and Restoration. Through those projects it is building a missional community and inspiring others.

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