Ikon:Community Portal
From Ikon
Peregrinus Rian
St Patrick's weekend at Corrymeela. Details here
Looking for a last minute Christmas present?
See other gift ideas here
What Would Jesus Deconstruct
For all who are interested, a book has just been released by one of the worlds leading religious thinkers entitles "What Would Jesus Deconstruct". The book has been written by John Caputo and includes half a chapter on Ikon. The book is beautifully written and is a good primer from all who are interested in understanding a little more about what ikon is all about. Here is an excerpt from the chapter exploring ikon,
If this book is trying to bring the good news of postmodernism to the Church, and if the Church is a real institution, and if institutions, like the poor, we will always have with us, then it behooves me to address its real institutional life and to talk a little bit about its future. That I intend to do by presenting two case studies, two concrete instances of church life, which I propose for special commendation and imitation. In cases like these, I hope to show, a certain Church is alive and well–and, I would wager, always has been–in marginal Christian communities, out of power and out of the limelight, where the task of inscribing the mark of Jesus on the world is carried out quietly and without a lot fanfare. Here are concrete cases where the deconstructive energies that I want to call upon to till the soil of the life of the Church in the twenty-first century hit the ground. I am a philosopher, not a pastor–you may have noticed!–and I have no interest in or competency for writing a manual for pastors. But, in my view from the pews, I want to draw attention to the life and practices of two communities on which I place an exemplary value, two places where I think something important, something paradigmatic, is going on. Here, for my money (so to speak), the Kingdom of God is being proclaimed in uniquely deconstructive tones or, alternately, deconstruction is being deployed under the name of the Kingdom. Here, in either case, the question, “What would Jesus deconstruct” is translated into the concrete...
ikon on tour
Currently Pete, Cary and Jonny are in Tucson Arizona working with our friends Aldea to explore creative ways of enriching their communal space. There will be a new area on the web site soon which will provide some information on what took place. Pictures will hopefully be added soon!
ikon DVD
We are currently in the early stages of planning a series of DVD's which will provide an audio/visual experience of ikon. These DVD's will both provide individuals with a taste of ikon and also provide rescources for other groups around the world. More information to follow!
Heather Wilson at the Island Arts Centre
Guantanamo Jesus
This looks great. Thursday 6th and Friday 7th September (that's this week!) in the Black Box.
Click here for more info.
Silent Retreats
For all you talkaholics our friend Padraig will be leading 4 silent retreats over the coming months based on the three Marys
- Friday 5th - Sunday 7th October - Mary, Sister of Martha
- Friday 14th - Sunday 16th December - A Retreat of Anticipation for Advent (this will be contemplative, but not exclusively silent)
- Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd February - Mary, the Mother of Jesus
- Friday 25th - Sunday 27th April - Mary Magdalene.
They cost £45 (all inclusive), and if you can't afford it we will work something out to make sure you can go!
The retreats are limited to 14 places.
If you would like to attend Contact YWAM Belfast on 028 90 243600
Back from Greenbelt 2007
Hey all, back from a wonderful experience at Greenbelt. Check out The God Delusion for images and a description of what happened
God in the Hands of Angry Sinners
Cecil Andrews of Take Heed Ministries has published a critique of Ikon on his website entitled "God in the Hands of Angry Sinners".
25-27 June 2007: VaginArt and The Vagina Monologues at the Black Box
Are You Coming?
Ikon's Cary is performing with a bunch of diverse and very fabulous Belfast based women in this fundraising production. There is also a VaginArt exhibition from a wide range of professional and amateur artists. A selection of these amazing vagina themed pieces, will be available for purchase by private sale/auction - all monies to raise much needed funds for the Belfast Rape Crisis Centre.
Further details are at Are You Coming?. Please show your Ikonic support!
12 June 2007: Rob Bell in Belfast
Head's up -- Rob Bell is coming to Belfast on 12 June to Spire Conference Center on his Calling All Peacemakers tour. Rob is a well known emergent church US pastor with a congregation in Grand Rapids Michigan. He is author of the books Velvet Elvis and Sex God and can be seen in 16 Noomas. Worth checking out.
20-28 April 2007: Guests visit Ikon
As some of you know, a few weeks ago I visited a community in Arizona who share a similar set of values and ethos that are reflected in the lives of many who contribute to, and participate in, ikon. During the visit those involved in this community, along with myself, thought that it would be productive to explore the possibility of developing some kind of friendship that would support and enhance each project. As such two representatives of the community will be visiting in a couple of weeks to meet with some of us and engage in conversations about whether a relationship would be useful and, if so, what form it would take. Over the course of the week there will be a number of meetings and events taking place designed to introduce our guests, hear their story (which involves transitioning a traditional Baptist Church into a new mode of community) and explore the possibility of some kind of relationship.
Article: Darwin's God
2007 New York Times article by Robin Marantz Henig
I recently found this article on the anthropological nature of belief and how it fits into human evolution on the internet. Towards the end of the article there is an interesting section about a Christian anthropologist called Justin Barrett.
I just read this article and discovered that one of the scientists mentioned is now at QUB - Jesse Bering. Does anyone know him? Maybe he would be interesting as a Last Supper speaker? michael 23:17, 18 September 2007 (BST)
Film: Black Gold
In Cinemas May 2007. Wake up and smell the coffee!
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Oscar Wilde the model Christian
There was an interesting article in today's Belfast Telegraph about a new book written by a leading Vatican writer who quotes Oscar Wilde ("I can resist everything except temptation") and says Wilde is an example to 21st-century Christians. michael 19:29, 5 January 2007 (GMT)
The God Delusion
I just came across Richard Dawkins' talk promoting his new book The God Delusion in Lynchburg, home of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. The talk and question and answer time is on YouTube and Dawkins talks about his experience on his blog. michael 15:04, 17 December 2006 (GMT)
The New Atheism
November's Wired Magazine had an interesting cover feature on The New Atheism. There is also a podcast by the author here which I found even more interesting than the magazine article. michael 20:06, 6 December 2006 (GMT)
