A third place

Here I am at McDonald's on the A1 just south of St Neots. We had eaten at home but wanted a dessert and we also wanted to continue working through 'The Forgotten Ways Handbook' together.

Working in a third place

So Donna and I took our notebooks and pens and our copies of the Handbook and headed a couple of miles down the A1 to McDonald's where Donna had a flake McFlurry and I chose a banana shake.

Then we got stuck into Session 1 of 'The Missional-Incarnational Impulse'.

The book calls places like McDonald's 'third places'. They are not home, they are not the workplace (or in our case church), but they are places where the community gathers. They are therefore good places to go if we want to connect with the community in a real and natural way.

It was interesting to look at it in this way, and I was able to have a friendly chat with a family in the queue just ahead of us. Small children are great conversation starters, and this group's three-year-old was no exception!

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

People networks

Donna and I live in St Neots, a lovely town in Cambridgeshire. The photo shows part of the river front right in the heart of the town.

The River Great Ouse in St Neots

I walked down there this afternoon and took the photo from the town's main bridge before visiting Caffè Nero for a chat with some friends.

We sat outside this afternoon, it was warm but not hot, a grey day with no wind. The conversation covered all kinds of topics as it usually does.

I think many people today lack this kind of socialising. At work there are always people to talk to, but for those out of work or retired it can be a lonely business being at home. We all need people around us, even if we feel comfortable alone.

People create networks quite without thinking about it. The most basic units are family and tribe, but in the modern world there are many others. The workplace, the cafe, the pub, mothers with young children, groups of teenagers, people with hobbies or interests in common. I'm sure you could easily extend the list.

Any one person may belong to several of these groups and in this way they are all interconnected to make a human society. What a rich tapestry we form!

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)