The Spaceforsoul story
Some ten plus years ago now, a small group of people began meeting regularly together on a Sunday night. For some time, we had been searching unsuccessfully for a safe space where we could explore the questions, doubts and uncertainties we were struggling with in relation to our faith. Most of us felt we no longer fitted within organised Christianity and were either wrestling with the churches we belonged to or had left them altogether. Some of us were beginning to explore progressive Christianity as a new way of thinking about and living out our faith and wanted to connect with others who were on a similar path. Some of us were searching for a place where we could come together to share our spiritual journeys with each other in a deeper way than we had ever been able to do in church.
We could not have imagined at that time where this journey would lead us. We could not have foreseen that our small group of fellow travellers would eventually grow into the much larger and more diverse community that it has now become. It was a venture that was born out of frustration and a longing to find an open-minded, inclusive and forward-looking spiritual community where we would have the freedom to follow our own spiritual path and where, for the first time in a long time, we could feel at home. The solution was a simple one. If we could not find such a community, then we would create one ourselves. We gave our fledgling community a name, found a place to meet together once a month and invited interested friends and colleagues to join us. It was a small but hopeful beginning.
©Copyright Naomi Young
We aim to be adaptable - groups change according to needs and resources available. The CSEA and journey groups are currently closed.
So much has changed over the last years. Our Bristol-based Space for Soul community now meets once a month on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings on Zoom and has a mailing list of over seventy people. We have a lively online community of around 150 people who follow us via our website. We have a monthly newsletter, emailed out to keep our followers in touch with what we were doing and gives links to useful spiritual resources. We appointed our first Patron, the Reverend Dave Tomlinson, whose writings have enlightened and inspired so many of us over the years.
What we have created together is a safe, sacred space where it is ok to be wherever we are on the journey, to believe what we believe, to think the way we think, to experience what we experience and to practice in ways that are meaningful to us. It is a space that encourages and supports us in asking questions, in challenging dogma, doctrines and traditions and in exploring doubts, uncertainties and unknowns without fear of judgement. It is a space that offers us the freedom to discover and be ourselves and to find our own spiritual path. It is a space which invites us to listen to and nurture our deeper spiritual selves and to celebrate their uniqueness and beauty. It is a space for soul.