Parables 3 notes from e-mail:
The service will be ‘topped and tailed’ by Mike leading some worship. The
main part of the service will be loosely based on ‘speed-story telling’.
Groups will congregate around 6 tables (more if we have to double some up)
and experience parables told/discussed/explored for 8 – 10 minutes (we’ll
fix the time on the night). After the allotted time the gong will sound and
in a Mike Reid Runaround style groups will move to a different table.
If all goes well we’ll have 6 rotations so everyone gets everything but
we’ll be responsive to mood.
We’ll set up the parable tables in the large polygon room with some chilled
muzak in the backgound. Café set up as usual. Do we have drinks available
during as well as after?
Order of service:
§ Welcome and introductory worship – Mike
§ Explanation of the service – Jen
§ 6 parable tables + facilitators:
q Good Samaritan – fill in the blanks - Mark facilitator, Ben/Mike to prepare
q David and Bathsheba – Rebecca ‘Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury’
q Why did Jesus use parables? Matthew 13 - Jen
q Tales from peoples lives – M & Ms - Adam
q Film + response – Ben ‘Hudsucker Proxy’ + ‘Life is Sweet’
q ‘Nicholas of Cusa’ or Unforgiving servant – Jackie
§ Parable of the sower – prayers Mike
The M&M’s exercise consists of giving each of a small group of people a subject to talk about, depending on which colour sweet they draw from a bag:
Brown: something you fear (it doesn't have to be personal)
Green: something you hope for
Red: a gift you have to offer
Yellow: a show, film or exhibition you have seen
Orange: a place you have visited
Blue: a person who has particularly influenced your life.
I am not going to explain too carefully exactly what I mean by each of these topics, because the precise interpretation is not important -- the purpose of the exercise is just to give people something to talk about, so they will tell stories. But it helps to give an example. This one is for yellow:
"Last night I saw a real live dragon. I am not joking -- it was a Green Water Dragon at Kew Gardens. They had a special late-night opening for "locals", for which I just about qualified, mainly to allow us to see the exhibition of glass installations, most of which can be found among the plants in the greenhouses. My favourite installation was hanging from the ceiling of the Temperate House -- a large cluster of glass leaf shapes in flame colours. I was just in time to see it catch the evening sun.
"But even after that, the best thing I saw on my visit was the dragon. I have never seen anything before that looked so alive."
That is the first part of the exercise. We were not able to do the second part at the Grace service, but we have done it at a Gracelet meeting:
A large drawing of a tree is required, and some leaves cut from green and brown paper and fruit cut from red paper. This is the point at which you discover the reason for the choice of colours. Each participant takes a leaf or fruit to represent each hope, fear or gift they mentioned, and any others they may have thought of, writes something on them if they want to, and puts them on the tree. The leader glues down the green and red shapes, but does not put any glue on the brown leaves.
When the tree is complete, the leader prays, to dedicate everyone's hopes and gifts to God. Then the leader picks up the tree and allows all the brown leaves to fall off.