Composting Christianity: a Radical Re-imagining from the Grassroots

In turbulent times, full of uncertainties in our global and national context, the concept of ‘Composting Christianity’ (Al Barrett, Brie Stoner) is being adopted by some as a grounded metaphor to challenge our ways of being Church. The metaphor resonates deeply with nature-based, environmental practices and biblical stories, encouraging us to reflect on those things that may have been good for previous seasons but need to be laid aside and allowed to decompose, thereby providing space and nourishment for new things to flourish.

• What is being composted in local contexts and how can we practically embody ‘composting faith’? 
• What theological themes might help us to discern the times and the seasons of the new landscapes we are working in?

The Christian church in the UK often struggles to connect with people and communities, and that the Church of England itself, at an institutional level, appears pre-occupied by self-protection from scandals of various kinds, the maintenance of buildings, and consumed by internal divisions. Some might describe this as a dangerously potential ‘rotting’ or ‘decomposing’ of both vision and connection, making a metaphorical link with the compost heap.

But at grassroots many people are experimenting, they are trying to understand their local landscapes of faith in new ways. They are intentionally ‘composting’ faith, motivated by an understanding that bringing about a new season requires uprooting the old, renewing the land, and making space for new life to emerge. 

Is it time to dig deeper into this metaphor and bring together a community of learning, creating a reflective space where we can share experiences and grapple with questions and challenges?

Programme

• Composting theologies: decomposing mastery, ensoiled bodies, mycelial wisdom (Al Barrett)
• The creativity of decomposition: enabling processes for the social, ecological, and spiritual (re)imagining and transformation of local places (Gill Reeve)
• Hot Composting: quick processes that enable long term, slow cultivation of the Kingdom in our community (Reuben Aspden)

Speakers

• Revd Dr Al Barrett is Rector of Hodge Hill Church (a CofE-URC local ecumenical partnership) in Birmingham engaged in theological explorations in the fields of gender, class, race and ecology.
• Revd Dr Gill Reeve is Senior Chaplain at the University of Chester, leading a multi-faith Chaplaincy team and overseeing a creative Community Hub & Wellbeing Garden on the main Chester campus.
• Reuben Aspden lives in Possilpark, North Glasgow and is a member of the Glasgow InnerCHANGE team and Clay Community Church, developing community projects including a local nature reserve and a kids' music club.

Join us if you are curious, creative, experimental, and deeply committed to a hope-filled re-imagining of the local church - no gardening skills required!