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SOCIETIES
CATHEDRAL BUILDERS
PORTAL MAKERS
“...But the third brick layer, the most productive of the three, when asked the question, “What are you doing?” replied with a gleam in his eye, “I’m a cathedral builder. I’m building a great cathedral to The Almighty.””
— Parable
““The visible is not a barrier to the invisible, it’s a portal.””
— James K.A. Smith
What are societies?
Societies are communities of artists, that gather for the purpose of being equipped in a vision of utilizing their gifts for the furthering of God’s kingdom. Societies range in size and contextual expression, however they all gather around a shared vision and values system; creation, conviction, communion, and commission. These values materialize in gathering types ranging from masterclasses to nights of creative conversation, from lectures to galleries. We aim to move collectively in the direction of being formed in the image of Jesus as artisans in our gatherings and through our creativity.
Why societies?
Former Czechoslovakian president Vaclav Havel was once asked in an interview how he managed to lead his country through the fall of communism so well. His response was to the effect that communism had its narrative, and they had theirs. Through play-writes and songwriters we created a parallel society. “The artist is the one who keeps the memory of the nation alive, who reminds it of its dreams, and who helps it to find its way in the darkness. The artist is the one who gives the nation its heart.”
Becoming a society.
We would love to come alongside your church or community and help establish a creative community by providing resources and best practices we have seen work in multi contextual spaces for building long lasting communities. Our framework is built around the Parallel Society Manual, which provides the blueprint for building a community in your context. We do not assume nor do we desire for every society to look the same. We welcome and champion the diversity of each and every community that is within our network. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a society, please reach out to our team at info@theparallelsociety.co
Cohorts.
We incubate our societies through an eight month cohort, where they can move in creative alignment with other creative communities around the world. These cohorts also create community for those that are leading their local bodies by establishing a rhythm of gathering within the leadership teams of the societies themselves. At the end of the cohort we host a gathering of the work created through the varying communities in a gallery setting. We also put the work and stories of each community in our yearly publication.
The manual on building a society is coming soon!
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