Yvonne Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 As a result of my studies something has been on my mind lately. I've thinking of so many people who have been deeply wounded or became disillusioned by their former churches. There are just over 1,000 members on this forum. What happens to all the others? Do they give up on religion completely? I imagine some do. I did. Do they give up praying altogether? Do they give up on any sort of organized religion and become “spiritual but not religious”? I definitely think some do. By our own admission, many of us on this forum don't really have a community of like-minded believers, except for this forum. I wonder how many people are searching for a way to connect with a non-judgemental, spiritual, inclusive community but either don't know their searching or don't know where to look? Quite frankly, I wish I had found this community 2 years earlier than I did – I could have saved myself some heartache and frustration. So, my question is, has anyone reached out to the wounded/disillusioned in the broader community (as opposed to church community)? If so, how did you go about it? There are an awful lot of wounded and disillusioned Catholic is my greater community. I would like to reach out to them but don't know how. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyb Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Hi Yvonne, I've recently discovered that a few people close to me have had trouble with their faith. when i talked to them it transpired that they were much the same as me - they had lost their traditional beliefs but were interested in still being spiritual and keeping a connection with christianity. Another person i know has completely lost their faith and doesn't want anything more to do with religion. this happened in quite a public way (he was heavily involved with church) and has been hard for him and his family. I would love to share with him the path I have found, to let him know that you can still be a 'christian' if you have lost our beliefs, just not in the same way that most other people are. My fear is that he would think i'm trying to 'win him back for the lord'. so i have to think about how i'm going to approach it. We have agreed that we would meet sometime and i think i will share about my own loss of belief. I know first hand that it is great to find others who have gone through the same thing as you. I have read Borg's 'heart of christianity' (as i believe you have) and i think it's a great tool to introduce someone to these ideas. I think the problem is that people don't know that a spirituality without traditional beliefs exists. They think - as i did for a long time - that you could either be a 100% bible-believing christian or an atheist. there is a wonderful middle ground, and we somehow just have to make people more aware of it. Jonny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulS Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 there is a wonderful middle ground, and we somehow just have to make people more aware of it. Jonny I do sometimes think that it would have been nice to know, when I rejected fundamental christianity at the age of 19, that there indeed was a 'middle ground', rather than feeling the need to fully reject God due to no longer being able to accept those beliefs. Indeed it wasn't until over 20 years later that I even learned that there was such a thing as PC, and I guess before that it was simply known by others who held onto God and spirituality, whilst leaving behind literalism and fundamentalism. Even if such a thing only served as a temporary place of healing from the trauma of leaving behind all that you believed with your heart, I think it would be a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephM Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Yvonne, Check out the suggestions at our home site HERE for starting a group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yvonne Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 That's a great resource, Joseph, thank you. But I'm not even close to that stage yet. What I'm wanting to know is how to even find those people who may need or want a new spiritual community - especially those who have been hurt and aren't sure what they want. Has anybody on the forum done that? If so, how did you go about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephM Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Yvonne, Be creative. Put an add in the paper. Advertise on the radio. A web site. Mike started a web site with contact and meeting info and people locally emailed him and attended at a restaurant at first. Knock on doors in your neighborhood and pass out a paper with your purpose, time and place for the first meeting. Pray for ideas to put on paper to pass out that will move people to attend and act on your intuition. There is no magic secret. You can do it if you want with a little footwork and a committment to your idea and others.. Start it and they will come. Joseph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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