jonnybaker

gather for the day in bristol - march 21

we are hosting a day in bristol on march 21. the focus is around pioneering mission with and in places where people are experiencing poverty. that experience has risen dramatically. pioneers love the edges and i know lots of people present in those spaces. 

we used to host what we called conversations days - exploring a theme with a range of presentations and workshops. i have always loved those. this is one of those only we are now using the name 'gather' as it seems to be what we are doing. somehow post lockdown the name has changed! part of the reason i love them is it is a chance to catch up with people pioneering who i have not seen for a while. but also the days have always been inspiring and challenging. this one will be no different. 

ash barker will be presenting on his book tour no wastelands. he is an absolute legend. i can't wait.

rosie hopley is a pioneer in bristol who has worked with people at the edges in a couple of social enterprise and charity projects. 

eunice attwood is a champion of people experiencing poverty - i was very moved and challenged when i heard her present on this

clean for good will be bringing a posse - this is an enterprise model that is good news for the cleaners working for them. they now have reached around the one million pound turnover mark which is exciting.

there will be more conversations too. and of course it's the gaps, lunch and so on that will be good too. we'll doubtless be going out for a drink afterwards so book a late train back so you can join us.

would love love love to see you there.

you can find out more and book here 

no wastelands

no wastelands: how to grow seedbeds of shalom in your neighbourhood by ash barker is a wonderful book. it pulls together so many threads distilling his and anj's experience, practice, wisdom, theology.

i have taken groups of pioneer students to visit ash and anj in winson green over the last 7 years and they always come away challenged and inspired. the reason is simple – they are living out the gospel in their neighbourhood in ways that are bringing visible change, visible good. ash's word for that is shalom - life flourishing in a place. ash has so much experience having done four cycles of living in urban neighbourhoods round the world facing multiple challenges. no wastelands distils the wisdom of that experience, practice, and theology into one accessible volume. it’s a mix of inspiring stories, gritty honesty, practical ideas, advice and frameworks, spiritual practices, theology and missiology, combining into an amazing handbook to guide anyone else wanting to follow in this direction, of which I hope there will be many. it is rich and deep. ash’s passion for enabling innovative leaders and changemakers from inside those neighbourhoods shines through – that’s the thing that has grabbed me personally the most. I will be coming back to this again and again and passing it on to others.

it is available from amazon or ash

we have a day (which will advertised shortly) for the pioneer network on march 21 most likley in bristol. ash will be at that so do pout that in your diary. he is also out and about round the uk as follows:

19 Jan - Nazarene Theological College’s Cafe, Manchester
27 Jan - Seedbeds Centre, East Ham, London
28 Jan - Lodge Road Community Church, Birmingham
<15 Mar - Kelvinside Hillhead Church, Glasgow
16 Mar - Forge Conference, Perth, Scotland
17 Mar - St Augustine Church, Edinburgh
21 Mar - CMS Gather day (location tbc)
12 Apr - The Church on the Corner, London (tbc)
23 Apr - Dublin
26 Apr - Forth Spring, Belfast
25 May - Holy Island, UK
7 Jun - The Message Trust, Manchester

contact seedbeds to find out more and i will add details of the march 21 day as soon as i have them.

a wild time

i have been so busy i have just realised i have not posted yet about gather wild-erness on anglesey. it was an event not to miss. liz dunbar has posted a review here and there are some lovely photos in it from mark kensett. i have a very simple theory that movements need spaces to collide - that's how connections get made, ideas shared, emergence happens, and you get encouraged. all of that and more happened. the content was amazing too. people keep asking me what's next - i have no idea at this point! but i am sure we will gather again. a few of my photos are here but i didnt take that many so go look at mark's.

love it when a plan comes together - gather angelsey june 2-5

gather wilderness on anglesey is from june 2-5. i was in cumbria last week and a couple of people there who know anglesey for holidays said this gathering is cheaper than you could find anything to just stay on angelsey on that peak weekend. i must admit i can't wait. it's a gorgeous location, beaches nearby, a light programme with plenty of space to collide with others and hang out. this latest flyer has a bit more info on it. there are around 100 coming so far which will be perfect but there's plenty of room for some more. it's the double bank holiday weekend. it's open to anyone - i say that because someone i spoke to assumed you need to be in a cms network - not so. if you want to hang out and be with creative pioneering types come along. all we need now is the sun to shine!

gather wilderness june 2-5

after last years gather event online we have decided to gather in person this year making the most of the double bank holiday first weekend in june courtesy of the queen. it's in a beautiful location and that time of year the weather should be great for camping and hanging out. we have worked out we can make it work for about £100 a head which we hope is doable. it's family friendly too.

more details and book here

we have an amazing site organised on anglesey in wales, with breath-taking views and sunsets, where we will gather around conversation, fireside inspirational talks and family activities. it's a chance to recharge, reconnect, be inspired. it's an opportunity for bringing conversations together around pioneering activities, enterprise and community building. it is a space that you can connect with others - friends old and new.

 

as well as the hanging out we'll have a few speakers, hosted conversations, a dj, acoustic musicians, a small local bar, foraging activities, local beach walks and activities for young people.

 

i cannot wait! hope you can make it 

 

we will also be hosting conversations days again this year both in the north and south of england in april with an online option to boot so this is not replacing those in case you were wondering. more info on that in the new year.

 

gather was a blast

gather went really well. it was inevitably chaotic at first with it being new to so many people and navigating the technology and so on. but people seemed to love it and it had a real buzz to it. the site was amazing - james fox robinson had gone the extra mile with the design and effort he put in to create something really special. there's a lovely write up on it by jeremy woodham on the pioneer blog here - 

positive vibes for virtual pioneer festival

thanks everyone who came and who contributed!

preview of gather programme

gather is next week and there is now a full programme available to see here. ticket sales end monday night. it looks incredible and it's been put together by volunteers co-ordinating various venues and spaces. hope to see you there - i am so looking forward to it. it's not very often you get involved in planning something that is so new that you can't quite visualise what it is going to be like!

gather festival - what to expect

i blogged about gather, a virtual festival-in-a-day celebrating and exploring pioneering mission practice. it can be hard to imagine what exactly that looks like. so if you are wondering here is an update which has been added to the booking page but it should help you imagine what to expect. we are really looking forward to it. the image above is one of the venue entrances.

Spaces and Venues

• Goodmakers - a venue hosted by Cathers from Goodmakers Society exploring all things pioneering related to making good in the world. If you have an idea and want to know how to work with it to make it real, this is the venue for you.
• Toolshed - hosted by Richard Passmore and Gavin Mart this workshop space will showcase and explore tools that help with pioneer practice on the ground. A tool helps you do something better, more easily or quickly than you could without it.
• Story - hosted by Sarah Clarke and Luke Larner. A storytelling tent to hear and share stories of pioneer practice.
• Starfish networking space - hosted by Andrea Campanale with the starfish team. Meet others that share your passion for pioneering around a related theme. Just drop in.
• Panels - hosted by Jonny Baker, Shannon Hopkins and Harvey Kwiyani. Four panels creating lively conversation on themes related to pioneer practice.
• Mind The Gap - hosted by Tina Hodgett and Paul Bradbury. A venue for reimagining church and missional community.
• Breathe Prayer Space - a space to get away and slow down and pray. It includes the wonderful St Paul’s millennium labyrinth respun by Grace for gather.town. Close by will be some one to one spiritual direction sessions.
• Wild Wood - hosted by Johnny Sertin, Rachel Summers and Gillian Traverse. There is an outdoor woodland ‘The Glade’ and the funky ‘Treehouse’ where you can dive into pioneer practice, biospirituality and the outdoors. Rewild your soul!
• Research lounge - hosted by Cathy Ross and James Butler. Grab a sofa and hear from students and researchers exploring the contours of pioneer practice.
• The Oratory - a programme of talks and presentations to inspire and reflect on pioneer practice.

As if that wasn’t enough there are some social spaces to explore. As well as the main site which is a greenspace, there is a beach, a garden, and the moon where you can go and hang out.

Programme

We are organising the programme by inviting hosts to create programmes in the ten spaces above. There will be slots running for about 45 minutes at 11, 12, 2, and 3.

Worship

At the start and end of the day there will be a choice of 4 worship slots ranging from maranatha yoga to creative liturgy.

Evening entertainment

After a break where you get away from screen or hang out with friends in gather.town there is an evening programme as follows:

• Quiz designed and led by Harry Baker.
• Performance cafe - a mix of music, spoken word and artistry compered and curated by Katy Partridge and Tim Watson.
• Cocktail lounge with tunes from DJ Steve Leach.
• Campfire in the Wild Wood to hang out and share songs and stories.

We will add details of the programme ahead of time and send to everyone who has booked so you can plan ahead.

book tickets here

gather - a festival in gathertown exploring pioneer practice

we are hosting an online festival for pioneers in gather.town. it's on april 21 and tickets are £9 for students or £19 

gather.town is an online environment in which you have an avatar and can wander round and go into venues and chat with people in close proximity. it’s like zoom meets minecraft or something! it’s fun and dynamic. we have designed a whole festival site which includes a beach, treehouse, wild wood, even the moon and around a dozen venues in which a varied programme of story telling, talks, conversations, workshops and panels will take place. there are loads of spaces you can hang out and chat with people - that’s often one of the best things at gatherings like this. in the evening there will be a range of entertainment - quiz, spoken word, performance and so on.

the overarching theme is pioneer practice - and we are designing the programme so that there will be things suitable if you are interested in particular kinds of pioneer practice, tools to help you, and things if you are just starting out or if you have loads of experience. there will plenty of sharing stories and conversation.

we hope it will be a huge celebration of pioneering, an inspiring and encouraging gathering and a brilliant day.

we’d love you to come if you can. we’ve kept the price as low as possible. do spread the word. because it is online, as long as you can make the timezone work you can come from anywhere in the world. We are not recording the content so you have to come to experience it.

the time sounds long but there are loads of gaps and you can turn your camera and sound off and come and go as you please. so don’t for a moment imagine being online attending things for 12 hours solid! see the booking page for more detail on the timings.

we have also been working on a book called pioneer practice which you will hear about in early march as we are running a kickstarter for that. that is a full colour practice focused book. the first 25 people to buy a full price ticket will get a free copy of the book when it is published in april. this year at cms we are celebrating 10 years of pioneer training - we haven’t been able to meet in person for a party but this event is one of our ways of celebrating. the book and theme have been picked and written to share practical wisdom that has been gleaned over that decade.

i really hope you can make the day.

download a flyer

BOOK TICKETS HERE