What is an Alternative Resource Community?

In the case of Nightcliff Uniting Church, an Alternative Resource Community is a community of practice. The practices we've identified as important to our community can present alternatives to some of the ways of being and doing that are prevalent in our culture today. 

The 5 practices of Connectivity, Spaciousness, Discernment, Hospitality, and Sustainability are not new. They are rooted in ancient concerns for love and care and kindness. They are expressed at hundreds of moments across the story of the ancient-faith, from the fragile life-space created in genesis requiring care and nurture for it to be sustained, through the naming of Eve as the mother of all living connecting all humanity together, to the connectivity of the holy 'spirit/breath/air' linking all living things, to the call to welcome the stranger and give hospitality to those seeking shelter, to the spaciousness expressed in parables of banquets and feasts where there is room enough for all, to the call to discern the path of grace in the world today, and to watch for the Spirit so beautifully described in the Nicene Creed simply as 'the giver of life'. 

practices - purposeful actions that sustain us, guide us and remind us of who we are

Here are the practices. We've connected them to the five elements because, like the elements, they are essential and connected and new realities can be created through and with them.

Sustainability
Wood
strength and flexibility, growth and expansion, life and breath
Green
possibility, hope, simplicity and justice

We are a community that lives in abundance and the belief that there is enough for all.

Discernment
Fire
energy and passion, warmth and creativity, change and dynamism
Red
exploring, mystery, inspiration and intuition

We are a community that acknowledges, accepts and shapes change and encounters the sacred.

Hospitality
Earth
Tradition and story, memory and possibility, living and dying
Yellow
welcome, safety, peace and acceptance

We are a community that makes a place at the table for all to seek and to celebrate.

Connectivity
Metal
strength and determination, flexibility and structure, courage and hope
White
love, forgiveness, community and grateful living

We are a community that invites all to explore and to experience the truth as we find it.

Spaciousness
Water
stillness and space, renewal and refreshment, gratitude and generosity
Blue
openness, expansiveness, joy and simplicity

We are a community that works for peace, justice and freedom for all.