New Around the Mission

Faith and Everyday Life Conversations

February 15, 2011

St. John’s Anglican Church in Franklin, Tennessee, a sister congregation of Church of the Redeemer in Nashville, launched its first worship service in September of last year. With a plethora of non-denominational storefront congregations and mega churches dominating the landscape in Franklin, the Rev. Kenny Benge and his team offer a different approach through an ancient…future worship experience on Saturday evenings at a traditional location and a mid-week faith conversation at a local restaurant.

Only 59,000 people live in the small community of Franklin, and yet it rates at the top of the scale as one of the best places to live, retire and start a small business. The town offers a dynamic downtown, cultural diversity, attractive architecture and a strong commitment to historic preservation. As a resident for the past fifteen years, Benge is “helping people know what it means to live out the Gospel in the particular spheres of everyday life” through the ministry of St. John’s.

On Wednesday, February 2, St. John’s filled a popular downtown restaurant to host their first in a series of Faith and Everyday Life Conversations, centered on a discussion about Discerning Technology: Human Flourishing in a Technological Age. Drawing on the insights of Albert Borgmann, a philosopher mentioned in the writings of Eugene Peterson and one of the leading thinkers on the issue, Benge guided a lively, stimulating conversation.

“We were thrilled with the response and interaction among those who attended,” reports Benge. “About forty percent of the people that came were not from our church.”

While the new “conversations” help to carry people through the workweek, over 100 people of all ages gather for worship in the chapel at Christ United Methodist Church and dinner afterward on Saturday at 5pm.

“We are going countercultural, trying to take advantage of ordering the rhythm of our week so people truly experience a Sabbath on Sunday,” Benge remarks. “With so many storefront churches, we think it is important to meet in a traditional church to reclaim the sense of mystery the liturgical tradition provides.”

For Benge, “vocation and calling are central to what it means to follow Christ” and the adult ministry at St. John’s centers around a person’s calling being realized at work and home, not just in the pew of the church.

Learn more about St. John's Anglican Church.

Posted By: Cynthia P. Brust
Categories: Faith in Action