Last night I was at Boer Bart. Around twenty of us sat together in an open circle. Not to persuade one another. Not to prove we were right. Simply to talk about faith. About what God means in your life. Or sometimes about the search for that meaning.
That turned out to be surprisingly simple. As soon as prejudice is left outside the door, space opens up. Space for questions, for doubt, for hope. For stories you do not share with just anyone.
There was laughter, and there were silences. People shared things that were vulnerable and powerful precisely because of that. Emotions did not need to be resolved; they were simply allowed to be there. Nobody had a ready-made answer for anyone else, and perhaps that was exactly the point.
I did not go home with a list of new certainties. I did take home some beautiful insights. And the realisation that faith is sometimes less about knowing and more about daring to share. About listening without already having an answer prepared.
It was one of those evenings when you notice that genuine conversations still exist. That people, when they feel safe, have far more in common than you might think at first glance.
Thank you to Boer Bart and to everyone who dared to share their story. Evenings like this do not only give us something to think about. They also give us confidence that openness still has a place.