An Overview of Our Event Types
Regular Gatherings
Kairos Wednesdays
Once a quarter or so, we take the opportunity for everyone who is involved with our Kairos family in any way to come together and meet others. We call these slow down Saturdays. Between times, we aim to meet in smaller geographical groups weekly, largely on a Wednesday evening. Starting with a zoom hook up with other groups we share our news and conversation before focussing on those physically gathered. Activities rotate through through the month and encompss tasters of the monthly events that take place.
Kairos Wednesdays coming Up
Other Gatherings By Category
Discussion Groups
We love the opportunity to share stories, and many of our activities contain the opportunity to both hear and share story. We host several events monthly, that offer the opportunity for conversation, and story sharing.
worship
Our worship takes many forms, and is certainly not limited to specific days of the week, or patterns. We encourage creativity and experimentation in worship, seeking to find ways we can encounter God together in meaningful ways.
Prayer & Meditation
We encourage a personal rhythm of prayer, but also to gather in triplets, small groups or even in a large group to pray with others. We offer zoom prayers each week that are open to everyone, morning and evening and space for meditation once a week.
Collaborations
We choose not to re-invent the wheel when we dont have to at Kairos, and therefore, happily partner with several other groups and organisations to fulfill our sense of calling to bless others in our community.
social action
A response to knowing we are loved, and valued by God, is often to recognise that so many others are not, and hilight for us, places or systemic oppression and injustice. The Methodist church Joint Public Issue Team helps us with this, and we often feel move to act in some way.
Learning & Study
We love opportunities to deepen our knowledge, and draw on the expertise and passions of others. We are fortunate in being a part of the Methodist church, but also links with Pioneers across the world, to have access to great teachers, leaders, visionaries and those whose faith is lived on the front line of life.
Fun & Social
We want to Flourish as human beings, to know joy, laughter and friendship, and to that end, we try and ensure that there are simple opportunities to gather to have fun, form friendships and memories together.
Grass RooTs Groups
For many of us, our faith is growing and shifting, and we find it helpful to be part of a small accountable group, that helps us reflect on our experiences, care for and hold us in prayer, and a place where we can be honest about who we are, our wellbeing and to discern ways forward.
Online & In-Person
The Kairos movement community extends across North and East Yorkshire, and even to Bejing. We have both active and physically limited members. Our gatherings, therefore, are mixed between online and in-person and we invite you to those you feel are most helpful for your well being.
Creative
We recognise that for many of us, the opportunity to express our identity is through creativity. Kairos has strong links with our partners at South Bank Studios, but also seeks to bring together those who share a creative urge. Our monthly craft retreat is one good example.
Personal Support
Alongside tools for group conversation, like Deep Talk, Kairos has a number of individuals trained as Coaches and Spiritual Directors, who are willing to offer some one to one guidance and time for reflection in terms of your spiritual journey. If you are interested in this, speak to Liane or Andy who can arrange an introduction.
Big Weekender
At least once a year, we try and organise an opportunity for as many of us as possible to come together. We often tag on to existing events, and so have met at Greenbelt, will be meeting at Flourish in 2023, but also organise our own weekends away too.
gathering the jesus way
different sized gatherings
Different sized gatherings offer different dynamics. In small gatherings you can build trust, and share intimately. Medium gatherings enable a more diverse range of opinions, yet everyone can still be included and interact. Larger gatherings can opffer more variety, are more diverse and more invitational. For more details on different groups sizes, click on the sections below.
Whether or not he was in a crowd, Jesus retained the ability to spot the individual in need. He was able to focus purely on them, to listen deeply, and help them unlock the things that bound them, or that they needed to unmentally or physically. In these encounters, he would pray, lay healing hands, or simply offer them worth and value that those around did not.
In Kairos we value the opportunity to share intimately and deeply in this way. To that end, we encourage everyone to find a Spiritual director, close friend, coach or mentor, who can offer this same guidance or focus.
Although Jesus had 12 disciples, he also had an inner circle, with whom he could share more deeply, and who witnessed parts of Jesus’ life that the other disciples did not.
Although we encourage personal prayer, there is great value in being able to pray regularly with a tiny group of two or three, with whom you can be very honest and open before God, and who will pray for us and with us and share in our lives more deeply.
Famously, of course, Jesus had 12 disciples. Hundred’s of years later, those who have followed the Jesus’ way still appreciate the value of this still relatively small, but diverse way of meeting. Twelve isnt magic, but around this number, it allows for people to break into smaller discussions, lots of opinions can be shared, but the meeting isnt too large that everyone cannot speak, or feels overwhelmed.
Traditionally a disciple aimed to be like their Rabbi, in the case of the Twelve Disciples, like Jesus. We still do the same, in small groups we read our bibles, pray, reflect on the world, and our lives and help one another discover how Jesus’s life and his words can speak to us and guide us.
Our Grass Roots groups, and our Leaders Huddles both seek to find this sweet spot in numbers, and if a group grows, it should look to divide to maintain this balance of sharing and intimacy.
When it came to spreading the word, social action, healing and helping people, Jesus had a larger group of followers, who he sent out to serve and minister to others in his name. In the bible, famously he sent out 72, in pairs, to go into the villages, share the good news, and accept the hospitality of those they encountered.
Our Kairos groups, similarly seek to bless, serve, engage and transform our communities. They may be relatively small, but equally the scale will be determined by the context, or goals of the group. These groups will naturally be a mix of committed followers of Jesus, and partners who do not share our faith, but share a passion to make a difference in the world and help others.
Wherever Jesus went, crowds gathered to see him, to hear his words and simply to be in his presence. We all remember the story of feeding the 5000, and indeed 4000. We remember him speaking from hills, or taking refuge on a boat off shore so everyone could be heard.
We too, want to share our faith, to bless our local communities, to share our joy and what we’ve discovered in following the Jesus way. Our gatherings might be a little more tehnical, an online webinar, or zoom meeting. A mix of physical and digital, or simply a fun day for our local community. These are days for welcoming all, celebrating, worshipping and partying.
