Hallelujah, Brothers and Sisters!
By Twistie
image via Batsto Village
We all believe in something.
Don’t panic. I’m not going to make any attempt whatsoever to tell you what you should or should not believe about the creation and purpose of the universe, or mankind’s place in it. That’s something you need to work out for yourselves in your own time and follow in the way that makes it all make sense to you.
But I think we can all agree on one thing, here on this particular blog: crafting matters to us. Making things is important to us. Creating community is a positive thing.
And that’s what brings me to probably the only church I’ll ever feel a need to join: the Church of Craft.
It’s not about a specific form of spirituality, or a particular faith, beyond that which promotes making stuff. It’s about the peace, joy, and sense of purpose to be found in creating things. It’s not about a particular kind of crafting. There’s room for everyone, whether they knit, crochet, sew, scrapbook, sculpt, or do origami. Teaching is encouraged. Learning is encouraged. Finding common bonds is encouraged.
Their mission statement is simple and profound:
The Church of Craft aims to create an environment where any and all acts of making have value to our humanness. When we find moments of creation in our everyday activities, we also find simple satisfaction. The power of creating gives us the confidence to live our lives with all the love we can. By promoting creativity, we offer access to an interfaith spiritual practice that is self-determined and proactive.
The Church of Craft maintains no dogma or doctrine beyond what every member believes for themselves.
I don’t know about you, but I can certainly believe in that.
There are chapters in place in a variety of cities across the US, Canada, and Great Britain, but there are plenty of places that don’t have chapters, and some of the chapters seem pretty inactive. If, however, you’re in the Los Angeles area, there’s an event this weekend, and the Oakland/San Francisco chapter had an event just last week (Drat! Missed it!).
If you think this might be a church for you, and that you could be a crafty spiritual leader, consider starting a chapter. You can find guidelines and suggestions for that here.
Let there be crafts.
