This year’s Pioneer Conversations day is about how we might make a better world now. It’s a day for imagination and creativity. Everything created was at some point an idea, a dream of someone somewhere. Another world is always possible, always dream-able. Always right in front of us. FuturePresent is a chance to dream, to imagine a different future to inspire how we act now.
The idea for the day was inspired by a book called Radical Imagination which is on social research among activists in Canada. They talk about prefigurative research by which they mean – getting people together to design the present on the basis of an imagined future that is not already here. I blogged about it here. So we will be having conversations about future present planet, future present city, future present society, future present church, future present God and future present whatever else you come up with. Michael Northcott, Nicola Slee, John Drane, Ash and Anj Barker are joining in the conversation. But we have not filled the slots up because we want to open it up for contributions from others…maybe you?
Could you dream of the future present? This could be in relation to any area – mission, the workplace, the economy, education, sexuality, community, you name it. A contribution could be in any format – speakers, poets, artists, photographers, filmmakers, writers, musicians, storytellers, architects, activists, prophets, theologians, builders, social entrepreneurs, community developers, advocates for justice….
To contribute, send your idea(s) to FuturePresent@churchmissionsociety.org
The day will be built around our dreams. And our dreams will build our todays.
Future present is a play on a tense. The future is present. It’s so easy to get stuck in the past continuous tense unable to change or shift out of old ways of doing thinking, being. It’s time to change tense.
We’re excited about the day. If you are a current student no need to book a place. We will book you in.
Event and booking page is here
The Pioneer Conversations Day is a space in which we reflect on a theme or issue related to pioneering mission. In previous years we have reflected on the pioneer gift, pioneering spirituality, and missional entrepreneurship. Two books have been published as a result and we hope there will be more to come.