Allison Bradford

Alias - “Candle Chick”

Date of Birth - January 7, 1960

Super Powers - All things Candles (you’ll see..), Eating, Reading, and Talking, all at once, Killing Feral Pigeons.

Odds/Ends: - Digs records, but don’t you dare call them “Vinyl”! Also enjoys movies, reading, hiking, home improvement, growing vegetables. My biggest regret in life: Smoking pot in high school (no one ever told me I might need those brain cells some day

Gat: When, How, or Why did you start going to the Gathering?

Candle Chick: I first attended a Gathering in July of 2000. I was beginning to feel that it was time to look around at different churches because I was frustrated and disconnected at my [previous] church. After five years at that church, and being very active in several ministries, I had only made a handful of friends (and even calling them “friends” was a bit of a stretch since I very rarely got together with any of them outside the church setting.) At one Wednesday night service Don Aranda sat in the seat behind me, and my son recognized him as his junior high P.E. teacher from many moons ago. We talked after church and discovered that both of us were feeling the same discontent and he told me about the Gathering, which he had just begun attending. I checked it out the next week and haven’t looked elsewhere since.

Gat: What attracted you to the gathering community, and what keeps you here?

CC: Quite franky, Matt’s styl of leaing worship was the irst thing that attracted me Genn’s passionate teaching and the tossaways were close runners up. [ed. Shhh, don’t tell Glenn] But it was the people, the “Gatherers,” who kept me coming back.

Gatherers are not only riendy; thy’re critical thinkers an that is really, really important to me. Gatherers don’t just swallow what the pastor spoon feeds them week after week and you aren’t looked down upon if you happen to say (gasp!), “you know, I’m not sure I really agree with Glenn on that point... " [At some places, what the pastor] teaches is considered Gospel (even when he’s at out wrong) and th congregation nos and smiles, like Christian Stepford wives or mindless sheep whose heads bob up and down on the dashboard.

Gat: How did you first et involved at the Gat?

CC: I found out about MSG the second time I went and started going to that. I loved it and found the people – the Hoffmans, Niegockis, Gardners, Joneses – were so fun and welcoming. And I liked the fact that the group explored uncharted territory in terms of discussion topics. I could voice my opinion honestly. And voicing my opinion is one of my favorite things to do – just ask anyone! [ed. MSG=Medium Small Groups....not the food preservative]

Gat: Tell us one way or area the Gat community has affected your life.

CC: Again, the people I have met and the friendships I have formed. As a single parent, so much of my life up to this point had been filled with working full time, going to school part time, home maintenance and, of course, parenting. Now that my son was in college, and my own college education was finally completed, [ ] I suddenly realized that I was starved for genuine adult relationships, with Christians in particular. About a year before I stumbled upon the Gathering, I had begun praying that God would bring Christian friends – real, true friends, not just pew potatoes - into my life. Through the Gathering He has answered my prayers way beyond expectation!

On Saturday morning I drove up to the retreat and I was one of the last people to arrive since everyone else went up Friday night. I walked into the dining hall and about a half dozen people shouted out my name. Do you know how welcome that made me feel? I felt like Norm on “Cheers.” [Luckily, Allison does not resemble Norm] That’s The Gathering. And it’s why we have to keep working to make sure that “No One Stands Alone” is not just a snappy slogan.

Gat: What attracted you to doing the Monday night group?

CC: I had recently read the Phillip Yancey Book “The Jesus I Never Knew” and absolutely loved it. I ordered the video and the accompanying study guide, but then realized how much more I would get out of it if I did the study in a group. So I started looking for a group to join. That was not easy. I didn’t want to be in a “singles” group or a “women’s” group, but that seemed to be all there was to choose from at that time. So I offered to host a group and then, reluctantly, agreed to lead one if necessary, and slowly but surely it came together. The study was amazing.

Gat: What have you discovered about yourself or God/His character through helping with the Monday night group as well as setting up the candles before the gat.service?

CC: Ahem I do not “set up candles.” I maintain them. I shop for them, arrange them, trim them, store them. It is an art, thank you very much. I am Candle Chick. Hear me roar. [ed. Ouch!]

I have discovered that, while it’s always an honor and a pleasure to serve in the Kingdom, it’s twice the pleasure when doing it alongside people you enjoy so much. I have discovered that Jesus is an emotional, reachable God, much more so than we tend to think. Most importantly, at the retreat I discovered that kickball is not for wimps and that Becky Cleveland watches way too much WWF, but that’s another story . . .

Gat: Describe the group... the direction it’s going in or how the Lord has used it in people's lives.

CC: We are a book/discussion group, rather than a Bible study. We are particular about our authors and topics, and the books are always non-fiction, spiritual growth and application types. Before each meeting we read the current chapter of whatever book we are in and then we discuss that chapter over dinner. There are about twelve of us in the group and at the moment there are only women, but we are hoping that will change and that some guys will start joining us. Aside from gender, the members vary widely. We have single women (moms and career), married women (fulltime homemakers and those who are employed), with ages ranging from early 20s to mid-forties. We have new Christians and lifelong Christians. That’s what makes it so great and the discussions so lively, because we have so many different perspectives. We like to think we are defined by our total lack of a category. Absolutely everyone is welcome to join our group. No one is too young, too old, too married or too single. Or too male.

I began this group as its reluctant leader, but as we have grown I have found that I am able to function more as a facilitator than as a leader, and I’m much more comfortable with that role. In the nearly two years since the group’s inception, friendships have flourished and, with each other’s help, our faith in God’s love for us has become stronger.

Gat: What was the last animal you killed with your car?

CC: A big, stupid pigeon, the size of a cat, on Oracle Road at rush hour. The thud under my truck was disgusting. And I saw a huge cloud of feathers billow up in my rear view mirror. The people in the next lane thought it was very funny.

Gat: What’s your vision for the Gathering as a community?

CC: I want to see the Gathering continue to break from church tradition by reaching out to single adults in ways that encourage them to feel good about themselves and content with their lives instead of feeding the notion that Real Life does not begin until you are married. (oh, you’re single? Here, you go in this group over here until you find that Special Someone and then you can come play with the rest of us.) We need to assimilate them, not ghettoize them. Along the same lines, I would like to see us love single parents in practical, tangible ways. This is all part of what I said early, which is that we really need to work hard at making sure “No one Stands Alone” is not just a snappy slogan!