About Morph...

• Our Values
• Who are we?
• A typical Wednesday get-together
• Our Background

Morph - Our Values

Morph seeks to be a community...

• Where people can feel accepted and not judged, where real, deep, open friendships can be developed, where the pain and joy in our journeys can be shared openly in an atmosphere of mutual acceptance and respect.
• Which supports and encourages one another in the situations we face in our daily lives and in the actions we take in response to those, and to world, situations.
• Which is committed to dialogue and active listening, that is open to the possibility that our view of God and ways of seeing the world will be changed through our encounters with God and with one another. (MORPH (morphing images) - we acknowledge that our image of God has and will continue to be changed by God Himself, as we encounter Him through our lives, the world, other people and in worship)
• Which treats one another with gentleness and respect, valuing our differences as part of our amazing God given uniqueness.
• Which seeks to understand the difficulties we have in common, discern problems, discover solutions and work together to bring about personal growth and social change following the example of Jesus Christ.
• Which values ‘being’ and the freedom to respond to the moment.

Morph seeks to engage in mission through:

• Being aware of the ‘backdoor’ of the established church, engaging with people in their questions, doubts and struggles, and journeying with them.
• Formulating and supporting links between those interested in exploring the Christian faith and the established church.
• Being aware of those who are beginning to ask questions about the Christian faith, and giving them space to ask their own questions, as we engage in genuine dialogue with them.
• Sharing our experiences of different ways of meeting with God, both with the established church and with those with little or no church experience.
• Networks of friendship, to listen to and support those struggling with the private pain they carry deep down.
• Relating to all people we meet as neighbours, our work colleagues, neighbours, friends, people at Fridaze (the church-linked 18-30+ social group), and in our attitudes and actions seek to follow the example of Jesus Christ.
• Providing hospitality, welcome, a safe space, a place just to be.
• Our support of fair trade and campaigning against injustice, oppression, poverty and all that is contrary to the Kingdom of God.
• Our support of organisations which are working to bring God’s Kingdom, e.g. those concerned with trade justice, drop the debt, concern for the environment, human rights abuses, etc.

Morph seeks to meet with God together and to share our experiences of that encounter:

• We seek to be open to new ways of worshipping God, we value being free to make mistakes as we experiment, and seek to provide a space where we are safe to explore our spirituality.
• We believe that God is active and present both in the world and in our worship, and expect to encounter Him in both.
• We value the Bible as a unique revelation of God, and seek to engage with God’s word and the issues that affect our world in a deeper way.
• We seek to make prayer a part of our life at every moment, part of what we are passionate about, part of our action.
• We value a wide range of ways of worshipping God using the Bible, music, liturgy, story, silence, culture, images, media, candles, symbols and much more.

Morph - Who are we?

We are based in Ipswich, and meet as a group called "Morph"...

There are currently about 10 core members and we usually meet in a house near the centre of Ipswich just by Suffolk College from 8-ish on a Wednesday night. We tend to start with a short act of worship around 8.30. Not everyone attends every week. These meetings are the heart of Morph.

As individuals we don't all believe the same thing - but we do think those differences enhance rather than detract from our faith. We differ on all sorts of issues from theological issues, to the way we worship and the sort of church we want to be a part to name but a few.

Most people in Morph currently attend or are associated with a large local evangelical anglican church in the town centre: St. Matthew's. The church has its own web site, which can be found here - the site has been revamped lately and even contains a link to our site now! (perhaps that's how you got here!).  The web site also highlights other areas of the church's life that Morph members are personally involved in.

Our strong links with the church also mean we play an active part in it. We regularly take the Sunday evening services, as well as leading special events like a Lent course or discussion forum.

Several of us hold (or have held) leadership positions within the church (including leading worship, preaching, homegroups, PCC, Inspire Counselling). However, as a group we poistion ourselves more on the edge of the church than in the mainstream, in the way we act, our theology and our style worship.

Morph operates as a cooperative - each person in the group shares the responsibility of ensuring that the values of the community are upheld. Where conflicts arise a creative solution is sought to find a consensus which provides a way forward. Anyone who wishes to travel alongside the others in the community, for however long, is welcome.

The community acknowledges the need for oversight from outside of the group. We, therefore, actively seek to engage with the leadership of St. Matthew’s church, Ipswich.

Morph - A typical Wednesday get-together

We have 4-10 people (avg 6) meeting in our group. We usually simply start with drinks and chat as friends. Usually this naturally leads to disscussion about various things, often spiritual (Chritian responses to news that week), sometimes not (how well Ipswich Town football team are doing), but all important to us.

Then someone might say "I've brought this along" and we'll have a specific "worship" time. As this is usually devised/brought by one member for the rest, it therefore changes in style quite radically depending on the person leading. As we currently meet in a living room we have immediate access to tape/CD/video players (these are often used), and we often use candles (or at least indirect lighting). "Worship" (if it happens) usually last no more than 15 mins.

Three examples of what we 'do':

(1) A candle was set up in the middle of the room on a red cloth and some thorns in a ring placed over it. Person had written some simple liturgy in four parts based on Christ suffering with us:
- a Call to worship (responsive reading);
- Reflection and Silence (listened to a poem);
- Affirmation of Faith (read together);
- a Blessing to close.

(2) We were first asked to suggest bible verses about how God knows us (especially ones that meant something to us). We then all got comfortable (mainly lying eyes closed all over the floor and furniture). The main section was listening to 3 tracks on the CD player. At the begining of the first track a short introduction was read to focus our minds on how we were created by God (including a Psalm) leaving time to think/pray during the rest of it. During the middle track, the suggested verses were read slowly, spaced throughout the track. A closing thought to lead us into thinking on ways we can express our knowledge of God out to to others was read at the begining of the final track, again with time for thinking/praying.

(3) Last Easter we also did a 4-week course based on Gerard Hughes "God of Suprises" book, looking at different praying methods, which included Ignation exercises.

Morph - Our Background

For those of you who are interested, you can find out more here about how Morph came into being and how we've grown.

Last updated: 15/02/2007 MR