Thank you Carl. An inspiring thread. Initially, for me, it was reading as something that was an alternative reality from what's going on in society, but I see that some alternatives could work for groups of Christians (or individuals) within their existing communities. The thing I feel that is important regardless of whether a group chooses to retreat from society of not, is that we should still be engaging with people and sharing the love of Christ and the truth of the Gospel.
One thought that came up was the idea of a community garden - predominantly for growing food.
There's a few different ways this could look:
One could be a collective buyout of a plot of land. Christians coming together with a shared vision of their intention for production on the land, whatever that may be. I would like to think of a community of Christians growing produce that would be donated to those in need. Or perhaps a drop in cafe nearby with food made from the produce.
Another way could be working with local authorities to develop land, in conjunction with providing benefits for the community in terms of learning and health. There could be partnerships with schools, voluntary organisations and health services.
Or it could even be individual 'cells' i.e. people's back yards, as part of a bigger network. Truly integrated into the community, it would require more promotion, networking and advertisement, although perhaps there would be opportunities to develop an app for it!
Just some thoughts from someone who doesn't have any expertise in any of this, but just the desire to help those in need, and a willingness to be part of the community, rather than apart from it.
