October 2015: Who?

This was the first of the new cafe format services. The service took place as small-group discussion around tables, over food and drink. Each person was asked to fill in a handout of their 'top ten influences' - spiritual, sporting, cultural, etc. They then shared and discussed them. There were also some questions to provoke discussion.

The handout:

Who are your top ten greatest influences? Who are the people who have shaped your inner life most deeply? Not just the ‘spiritual’ ones, but the musical ones, political ones, artistic ones, sporting ones etc*.

Write them down here**. Then share with the other people around your table.

*Parents and God (all persons of the Trinity) excluded. Because they’re on everyone’s list. Satan is allowed, because we need to know.

**Don’t try to put in order of rank, because that’s hard. Just do ten.

[Note: The list asked for the name of the 'influence', what are they (eg politician, artist etc), and what era.]

Some questions:

Do you have influences in common with other people at Grace?

If any of their influences are new to you, do you want to investigate them for yourself?

Have you rejected any of their influences? If so why?

If our influences are our personal context, how do they shape our context as a community?

Are there people missing from the lists, that we ought to be influenced by?