Dream – update Nov11

Dream came into being when a group of young adults in the North West began to 'experiment' with worship and discuss what church might look like for their peers. Richard White, pioneer minister of Dream and now Canon for Mission and Evangelism at Liverpool Cathedral, charts its most recent development to go Deeper.

This year we identified a growing need for more specifically adult-oriented teaching and discipleship to encourage those being nurtured in their faith and potential new leaders. This came about through the growth of zone 2 – the informal worship zone which runs alongside the cathedral's traditional Sunday morning choral service.

Zone 2 was planted in March 2011 with a team of nine adults and seven children who were already committed members of the cathedral and/or Dream – as well as a further three adults who were connecting with Dream but were otherwise un-churched or de-churched. This has grown in the first five months to a regular congregation of between 40 and 60 people across the age spectrum.

Roughly half of those were previously either fringe members or not church goers. We are committed to zone 2 being regarded as fully 'church' but this commitment highlights the importance of providing teaching and discipleship to the adults now coming along on a regular basis.

As a result we have reshaped the monthly Sunday evening Dream service at the cathedral to take much more of a teaching and discussion focus. Now known as 'Deeper', the teaching, worship and discussion dovetail with small groups which meet during the alternating weeks for further discussion, support and prayer. This 'pastorate' model has been very effective elsewhere and will, we believe, become an effective base for practical discipleship teaching and leadership development.

Our recent experience of specific pioneer initiatives at the cathedral gives us confidence that there is tremendous potential here to enable new models of church planting that are more achievable and more sustainable than has often been experienced, particularly in parishes with few resources of their own. We believe that the model we are developing – when combined with an online library of effective and high quality resources – gives this an interest and applicability well beyond the Diocese.

Archbishop Rowan has championed a 'mixed economy' where traditional churches and fresh expressions work alongside each other in mission. Our experience is increasingly that there is indeed significant mission potential in this mixed economy approach.

Zone2 – update Nov11

Launched in March 2011, the Zone 2 informal worship zone runs simultaneously with Liverpool Cathedral's traditional Sunday morning choral service. Richard White, the Cathedral's Canon for Mission and Evangelism, tells how Zone 2 now attracts between 40 and 60 people to the cathedral's Concert Room.

We started with a team of nine adults and seven children who were already committed members of the cathedral and/or the Dream network – as well as a further three adults who were connecting with Dream but were otherwise un-churched or de-churched.

Roughly half of those coming along were previously fringe members or not churchgoers at all. We are committed to zone 2 being regarded as fully 'church' but this commitment highlights a growing need for more specifically adult-oriented teaching and discipleship to develop those being nurtured in their faith as well as potential new leaders.

As a result we have reshaped the cathedral's monthly Sunday evening Dream service to take much more of a teaching and discussion focus. Now known as 'Deeper', the teaching, worship and discussion dovetail with small groups which meet during the alternating weeks for further discussion, support and prayer.

Our recent experience of specific pioneer initiatives at the cathedral gives us confidence that there is tremendous potential here to enable new models of church planting that are more achievable and more sustainable than has often been experienced, particularly in parishes with few resources of their own. We believe that the model we are developing – when combined with an online library of effective and high quality resources – gives this an interest and applicability well beyond the Diocese.

Archbishop Rowan has championed a 'mixed economy' where traditional churches and fresh expressions work alongside each other in mission. Our experience is increasingly that there is indeed significant mission potential in this mixed economy approach.

Zone2

Two worship services now run in parallel at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral on Sunday mornings. Alongside the traditional choral service, a new, informal worship zone takes place in the building’s Concert Room. Canon Richard White explains more about Zone2.

The 10.30am Sunday Eucharist takes place in two 'zones' simultaneously. People can choose whether to attend the choral service in the main cathedral space, or Zone2.

This development comes out of considerable prayer, discussion and reflection by the Chapter over the past eight months and is enthusiastically supported by them as central to our cathedral's commitment to mission and evangelism.

Zone2 - kidsWe are committed to creating ways to worship that are culturally accessible for a wide range of people. Many find our existing worship immediately attractive, beautiful and moving. It is 'mission-shaped' worship for those people. It is growing in numbers and we aim to attract many more to it. Others though, especially those without a church background who aren't used to classical music and formality, can find it somewhat intimidating and uncomfortable. For many people today, finding their way into our worship is as foreign and threatening as going into a betting shop to place a bet would be for some traditional churchgoers.

Visitors to the new 'zone' make their way down to the Concert Room where we set out large, round tables in café style. Good filter coffee, soft drinks, croissants, and fresh fruit are served so that everyone feels welcome as soon as they arrive. Many of the components of a more traditional Sunday morning service are found in the new 'zone' with Bible reading, teaching, confession and prayer being expressed in an informal and interactive style with all ages worshipping together.

People at Zone2 have the opportunity to go up to the main cathedral service to celebrate Communion for the last part of our time together but others prefer to stay with us and continue to be part of what's happening in the Concert Room. People can chop and change between the two, as suits them. All are welcome to either.The new format, which has been running for about the last six weeks, takes place every Sunday during school term times.

Zone2 - keyboardParents attending the choral service can leave their children at the new 'zone' where recognised adult hosts supervise and care for them. Others come to Zone2 as a family unit.

I've been impressed that our cathedral statement, 'A safe place to do risky things in Christ's service' is referred to frequently in discussions and decisions. Sometimes our tendency to shorten phrases leads to the last three words being dropped but, of course, they are the reason the cathedral exists. In Christ's service we meet, give, work, plan, spend and make decisions about risky opportunities. By definition, risk sometimes go wrong. If we never fail then we're just pretending – which is why the risks are only worth taking if they are genuinely in Christ's service.

Zone2 is a new and exciting venture and will need a period of experimentation. No doubt there will be teething issues and practicalities we hadn't anticipated as we enter this risky thing in Christ's service but, although it's early days as yet, it has been very encouraging to see an average of 60 people coming along. Some people have already said they see it as their church; others have spoken about being able to relax in this environment rather than feeling quite stressed about how their children are reacting to what's going on around them in a more traditional setting.

We are not trying to abolish traditional choral formal worship because the cathedral does that superbly well but in a cathedral building you have got the space to make a choice. It's wonderful that people here now have that choice.

Dream – update Jul10

Richard White, pioneer minister of Dream and now Canon for Mission and Evangelism at Liverpool Cathedral, has seen many changes since the network first saw the light of day eight years ago.

Dream now has six groups; five in the Liverpool area and one in New Zealand. We have seen networking develop through the groups themselves and increasingly via the website.

Dream logoA close relationship has also developed with the cathedral and that relationship can be seen in a number of ways. During Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture in 2008, we set up a small installation in the cathedral where people had an opportunity to reflect and, if they wanted, leave their email address and contact details. Several hundred people did that during the year. This was a sign that people were connecting with us in some way, and wanted to do so again in that incredible building and in other places too.

The biggest personal shift in emphasis came in September last year when I became Canon for Mission and Evangelism at the Cathedral. This was the next step in quite a journey with Dream. When I came to the end of my curacy I had been appointed half time to oversee Dream, half-time with CMS. The Diocese of Liverpool then offered a full-time opportunity to oversee Dream and as two of the Dream groups were already linked with the cathedral by then, the cathedral played a growing role in Dream's development.

What has become clear is that there is tremendous potential in that relationship and we are now looking at a whole range of possibilities to work together even more closely. To my mind, that's very much trying to live out the whole mixed economy thing. It is different from the inherited but is no way detached from it.

The two biggest challenges for us involve:

Going deeper into discipleship

People are not just responding to Dream as a safe place to come to faith but also see it as a place to deepen that faith. As a result some have taken on the Dream 'Rhythm of Life', committing themselves to a way of life built around practices that have been central to followers of Jesus down the centuries.

Jesus' summary of the most important commandments gives our rhythm its shape: Loving God with all our passion, prayer, intelligence and energy; and devoting ourselves to loving others and ourselves.

Keeping missional

It is very easy to slip back into being comfortable. Yes we want Dream to be a safe place but we also want it to be a dangerous place because we all need to be pushed out of our comfort zone.

Dream - Lady ChapelDream has also instigated guerrilla worship on several occasions. It's about taking simple, creative, genuine acts of worship out of the church box and into the 'marketplace'. These have been great fun; the first held in the Liverpool One shopping centre and another on the beach at Crosby where we had a labyrinth near Antony Gormley's iron men installation. Both have had thousands of hits on YouTube.

The Dream network currently meets at:

  • L19:Dream
  • Dream in Ormskirk
  • Dream in Haydock
  • Dream in New Zealand
  • All Age Dream
  • Dream in the Cathedral

All Age Dream and Dream in the Cathedral both meet in the Lady Chapel. We are trying to develop the reflection zones to engage both children and adults simultaneously.

In a further development this year we launched e-Dream, a weekly email newsletter with Dream To Go reflections, Dream Lectio Bible readings and regular updates from the Dream network.

Dream

Richard White traces the story of dream.

Dream was born in 2002 when a group of young adults began meeting together to experiment with worship and discuss what 'church' might look like for their peers. Since then it has grown to a network of groups in the Northwest of England with a much wider age spread. Of the five current groups, one meets at Liverpool University, another at an artist's studio, two in churches, and the fifth at an NHS primary care trust. While diverse in their styles, the groups all seek to express four 'CORE' values through being:

  • Christ-centred: We seek to develop a spirituality centred on Jesus, and lives that are formed by following him.
  • Open: We welcome and seek to include anyone who is seeking Christ or exploring spirituality.
  • Relational: Building communities rather than putting on worship events.
  • Experimental: Seeking to re-imagine church through creative experimentation and exploration.

Dream spaceThree of the highlights of the past year have been:

Seeing the network grow

Especially among groups who may not have had the confidence to start a fresh expression of this sort without the support and resources that the network brings.

Increasing numbers of formerly unchurched or dechurched people

Who now count one of the Dream groups as their spiritual home.

Opportunities to take 'Dream' into the market place over the past year

Including:

  • A Dream marquee with café and labyrinth at the St Helens show, where we had over 1000 participants.
  • The Faith zone at Merseyfest, with chill out zone and installations for all ages.
  • Essence courses in homes, a health centre and a community centre.
  • Regular 'spiritual spaces' at two of the work places of members of the Dream community.

Perhaps our biggest challenge is now discovering what lasting discipleship looks like in this context.