Emergents Weblog

Old thoughts about

sacred spaces

and a
house of peace

The other night I was waiting to meet with a a friend at a local pub, when in through the door walked a man who one day 10 years ago walked into the church I was pastoring. James Torranzano, a wonderful human, an art teacher at a junior high school and art therapist has touched the lives of so many. I have never forgotten James, and I was overjoyed to have another chance encounter with him. When I visited his website today (www.enchantedway.com), I found a number of nugget that may be appreciated by this group as well. The first was this:

“Temenos: is a Greek word meaning sacred space. It connotes a sheltered space, a place where one can search, quest, journey, examine, and re-examine while protected from the habitual routines of the outside world”.

The early church searched for the house of peace when they entered a town. This was to be the first of many families and homes that would welcome anyone so inclined to join this fellowship day by day. The ‘house of peace’ is a space that is able to foster openness through the sincere embodiment of Jesus’ values that embraces every human and our mutual desire to know and be known by one another and God.

How might we be touched by such an experience? How might such a space better further the work of God among us?