Fabric has been a meaningful community for our family for years. The kids' programming is top…read morenotch, the messages and live music are meaningful, spiritual, intentionally open-minded, yet often also challenging. Fabric is "contemporary", but it isn't meant to mirror a mega-church experience, it's about engaging in multi-week conversations with connections in the community. I'm sometimes surprised the attendance at Field School on Sunday morning doesn't approach a thousand, because it's exactly the right type of spiritual community for this century.
Joining a Fabric group is encouraged but isn't mandated. Groups meet every week or whenever you can make it. Most people choose to become part of one, because it's a way to continue to engage on deeper issues together over a cup of tea or glass of beer. Groups can help us engage with each other's lives at a deeper level but also allow focus to reflect together on the current Fabric conversation.
Some have critiqued Fabric, labeling it as surface level, due to a departure from traditional church doctrine and related sermons. I'd argue on the contrary, that it's far from shallow, and rather the opposite. If it is important to you to have someone tell you what you believe about God or Jesus or Creation or Heaven, down to your last thought, then Fabric isn't for you. But, most of us aren't like that. Life isn't like that. Life is about pursuing hopes and dreams, refining our values, developing family and friend relationships, and asking curious questions, which certainly involves asking questions about God and what they means for us. As such, Fabric is simply about living that life in community. Fabric isn't a Church, but Fabric IS church -- For the Rest of Us.
Fabric's invitation could well be: Come for the music, stay for the conversation. All are welcome here, EVEN those who identify as Christians, and many of us do. Your faith is important to us. But that goes for everyone who gathers with us. Every person who shows up is important to us, and we are excited to meet you. We want to hear what you are excited about, and we want you in the conversation too!