Sunday Assembly: a congregation without God

[rug]

Strong atheist Catherine Deveny speaks during the Sunday Assembly. Photo: Paul Jeffers

December 12, 2014
Peter Munro

Chris Ashcroft was 11 when he heard God calling him. The boy with the full head of angelic, golden curls was standing among a crowd of thousands at the Sydney Showground. It was 1959, and American evangelist Billy Graham was beseeching them to follow God or face hellfire. As the choir sang The Lord's Prayer, Ashcroft went forward, along with his parents and two siblings. It was the start of a long and, at times, painful journey.

The family's Sundays were soon consumed with church attendance and choir practice. At home in Coogee, in Sydney's east, they bowed their heads around the kitchen table after meals to pray. As a young man, Ashcroft went on to theological college in Melbourne and, after a period spent teaching, was ordained a Baptist minister in 1980. He served in churches in Melbourne and Warrnambool, in rural Victoria, for a decade. "I just loved it," he says. "People would sit with me and tell me things they were really telling God, things they would never normally tell Chris Ashcroft. That was a very exalted feeling; it was very flattering. And I had a chance to do some real good."

But doubt that had first been sparked at theological college began to churn within him. He saw inconsistencies in religious texts. If God had dictated the Bible, why were there two contradictory creation stories? He began to question whether prayer made any difference, and when giving sermons he steered his discourse towards those aspects of his faith he still believed in. "If there was something I had a problem with, I wouldn't say it," he says. "On the other hand, I firmly believed that Jesus was a great advocate for the poor and oppressed, so I would talk about that a lot."

We're sitting in a pub in Sydney's west, between the buffet and a dark den of poker machines. Out front, a billboard spruiks bikini girls who serve beers on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Inside, a pest control man taps wood panels for termites. Ashcroft is 66 now and looks like a slightly dishevelled grandfather, with a kind face, buzz-cut grey hair and a big belly in a baggy purple T-shirt. We drink tea as he talks about losing his religion. For a time, he says, he found ways to allay his doubts. "You can sort of argue your way around the miracles," he says. "You can talk yourself into believing the feeding of the 5000 by arguing Jesus shamed everybody into getting out their lunch and sharing it."



Inside the Sunday Assembly. Photo: Peter Rae

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/good-weekend/sunday-assembly-a-congregation-without-god-20141212-11w491.html

[cbayer]

1. I would be interested in attending these if in a town where they have it.

There are some things I really liked about being part of a church as a child. These are things that are not impossible to find elsewhere, but not always easy.

My kids grew up without the experiences and they are fine, so I don't think these experiences are in any way critical.

But there were some really positive things about it and I think I came away with important experiences and lessons.

[struggle4progress]

2. There's a website

http://sundayassembly.com/

[cbayer]

3. Looks like the only one in Mexico is in Mexico City.

Unlikely to make that one, lol.