We are living in the midst of a profound storm, one that is shaking the very foundations of our civilisation. The crises we face—political, economic, ecological—are not isolated but interwoven, intensifying day by day. The world is groaning, and in the middle of it all, the Church is called to be something strange, something weird— an alternative community offering a different vision of life. Instead of conforming to the world’s patterns, we are called to offer a new way of being, one that stands in stark contrast to everything the world holds dear.
At the heart of this moment is a spiritual crisis. The old myths that once gave our world meaning have crumbled, and people are adrift, searching for purpose. Christian belief, once central to Western civilisation, is now a marginal force—even within the Church itself, the radical message of the Gospel has been supplanted by a watered-down version of faith that asks little and gives less. We are living in a culture of consumerism, individualism, and power, where these values are upheld at any cost. And yet, the Church is not called to conform to this.
We are called to be weird— to present a strange, new reality, one that doesn’t make sense to the world. Instead of trying to fit in, we are called to be the alternative community, living as though the Kingdom of God is already breaking in, here and now. Our faith is a mysterious orthodoxy, a life shaped not by the world’s values, but by the radical love and grace of Christ. This is not about rejecting culture for the sake of it, but about offering a vision of life so different, so compelling, that it draws others to Christ. We are not here to please or impress the world, but to bear witness to something far more beautiful and true.
In a world with so immense challenges, we must live with a deep sense of mystery—a mystery rooted in the truth of the Gospel. The world wants may or may not look to us, but the Church speaks a sacred way: the cross of Christ. We are a community that is not afraid of mystery, that embraces the paradox of a God who became flesh, who died, and who rose again. We are the strange people who live as though this world is not all there is, who believe that God is at work making all things new. This is what makes us weird.
But the call to be weird is also a call to cruciform resistance and cruciform adaptation. Rather than bowing to the pressure to conform to the systems of power and greed that dominate our world, we are called to resist. The Church must live out the Gospel in creative, faithful ways, rooted in Scripture and tradition, while engaging with the world around us. We must adapt, not by mimicking the world’s desires, but by offering a radically different alternative—one shaped by the love of the cross.
The storms of this age are fierce, but in these troubled times, the Church has a unique opportunity. As the weird, alternative community, we have the chance to offer the world a glimpse of the Kingdom of God—a place of redemption, renewal, and hope. We are not here to conform, but to proclaim that in Christ, all things are being made new.
- Swales, 2024
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