Yes that is a strange name but the thing about a broken pencil is that more often than not it might be damaged but it is still usable. This I think is how many of us fell about ourselves. We are able to do things but so often we feel as if we are so damaged that we have to work extra hard to make things happen. The image below says a lot doesn’t it.
The original aims of Everyone CAN Craft CIC included working with people with a variety of challenges. This is how it is worded
two interrelated groups of people. Firstly adults with additional needs. These additional needs are listed as
- cognitive challenges, e.g. profound learning disabilities or dementia
- medical challenges, e.g. recovering from a stroke, a mental health diagnosis
- social challenges, e.g. domestic violence, caring for a relative, bereavement, family breakdown
The second group are those who provide creative activities for adults with additional needs including:
ECC Community Benefit Statement
- relatives and friends of those with additional needs e.g. the child of someone with dementia
- professional carers e.g. someone who works in a residential care setting such as an NHS Project
- anyone who wants to support adults with additional needs by providing access to creative activities in a group setting
Safe Haven serves some of the most vulnerable people in society. They are people who need a safe place and providing them with a safe place to do crafts proved to be well received by the local caring community. But what do you call a group for those who need crafts to help them mend. I first thought about using an image of crossed pencils but then when I was thinking about it I struggled with the equivalent of a slip of the tongue and called it Broken Pencils. Broken pencils grew on me so I gave up correcting myself.
Is Broken Pencils a crafting church?
Me start a church? What I do not want to lead a church as I have had so many bad experiences of church leaders. But Susan you thought that you should be working towards being a church leader many years ago. You have grown as you have tried to deal with those in the church who see things differently from you. You have even felt chewed up and spat out at times. Surely this is not something that you could do. Well at least you have learnt the hard way along the way what not to do. I have got a suspicion that I am not the only one who has wanted to be part of a community where everyone saw the living God as their father and wanted to be a Christ-follower but struggled to fit into a church.
In addition I was in the local community centre and decided to take the opportunity to pray around the building. That was when the idea of a crafting church started to gain ground. and I realised that the next step was to book the community centre for the first Sunday afternoon in June. It is not quite as mad as it sounds as I have had all sorts of ideas for crafting activities and called them prophetic crafts. The aim being to do craft activities that build up your relationship with God.
It depends on what you call a church. If it is a training centre then Everyone CAN Craft has the option of doing online training. If it is a hospital or place where people could get help in times of need then Everyone CAN Craft’s strapline is crafting a healing journey for people and places. If it is a place to celebrate hatching, matching and dispatching well two of them can be done anywhere by anyone and you do not have to be a church to have a venue that can be used for a marriage ceremony.
I am curious to see how this idea develops myself.