This summer's Education Hour class explored concepts from the book by Doug Pollard titled God Space: Where Spiritual Conversations Happen Naturally. We'd love to hear from others engaged in that class. Jamie Franklin shared these reflections:
I have been drawn to the concept/admonishment to meet people where they already are - out in the public square. For me this has been a local food venue with available public seating. Instead of doing my email and other computer-based chores by myself at home, I have been more deliberate in spending a few hours at a time in this venue.
I try to sit in a place where I will be visible and situated where others are likely to share a table. I look up after each email/computer activity to observe what is happening around me. Conversations have happened with each outing. Per the encouragement of the God Space book, I look for elements to segue into conversation/story telling. It may be the book the person is reading, the material around them that they are using as writing sources, food they are eating etc. I aim to listen to their stories interactively... because people are already out in public I find that they are open to pause and share.
Opportunities have presented to sit with a church attendee who I otherwise may not have occasion to dialogue, with a young adult studying the bible and in the midst of a career changing spiritual journey, and with a writer of a Spanish - English dictionary who asked me questions about what I like to write about....which led to sharing part of my faith journey...which led to a lengthy conversation about the Christian concept of tithing...
Because this venue is in my neighborhood, I am more prone to seeing people I know and those that have some connection to the immediate area. I am meeting some interesting people with varying faith perspectives while enabling a more rewarding approach to mundane computer-based chores. Looking forward to who sits near me next time.