Welcome to the home for stuff we've created and want to share.
Please feel free to re-cycle and re-imagine our ideas for your own alt.worship/church stuff
the old zine section of our website
smallfire's collection of pictures of Grace services
Sometimes things just have to be written down.
If we've written it down, it's here for you to read
In an old gothic church in South London, images of the city are projected on white sheets that surround a worship space. The images are gritty and urban - towerblocks and street scenes. On the floor is a huge map of the city made out of pages of a London A-Z map. Bread and wine rest on a holy table – in this case a concrete slab on the floor. Encircling the concrete are words of scripture in a circle projected from above. An urban crowd, age range 20-40ish gradually drift in. A DJ is quietly spinning tunes that evoke an atmosphere. There are no pews just a hard floor to sit on. It is a fantastic space. This is part of a series called concrete liturgies by a Christian community Vaux – where they are exploring what it means to express faith and worship in the language of the city. One wonderful unforgettable moment is when everyone is invited to draw on the map a journey they have made in the city that week. The ink is pretty thick and stands up from the paper. The lights are turned out and a UV light is turned on. The effect is magical – the journeys that weave across the city glow in the dark. We listen to scriptures on the incarnation, that God loves the city and the people who live in the city, that Christ is in us and where we have been in the city Christ has been. It is a simply stunning moment. A few minutes later we are invited to interact with some prayer stations for the city that have been set up at various points around the worship space. One involves kneeling at a side chapel and praying intercessions for the city which are recorded onto a cassette tape. When we gather back together the prayers of the people for the city on the tape are taken and embedded in a concrete slab that is made there and then. This will no doubt become the table on which bread and wine are placed in a future worship service. We share a liturgy ,the urban mass, that has been crafted in such a way that it connects with the tradition of the church and yet the language has been remade to connect with the city. We remember Christ and eat drink his body and blood which becomes part of us as we are blessed and disperse to our homes in the city. This is an example of ‘alternative worship’, a creative movement that has quietly grown in the UK amongst young(ish) adults over the last twenty years.
In most of the Western world there are basically two types of worship you’re likely to find in churches. Liturgical worship that follows a set pattern or structure in a prayer book led by professional clergy is the basic diet of mainline denominations. And blocks of singing led by a keyboard player, guitarist or worship band are the staple diet of worship in charismatic/evangelical/pentecostal churches. On the one hand, the liturgy has depth but repeated week in week out can become very dry and formulaic, seems to reflect a bygone era, and makes very little connection with contemporary life. But on the other hand, worship led by a band whilst it can be exciting isn’t without its problems – a cult of the worship leader as a sort of guru has emerged, worship easily gets trapped into performance mode, and the range of theology in the songs is often pretty thin. It seems to suit an adolescent stage of faith which is brilliant if that’s where you are at. But when you have been a Christian for a few years, your faith is equally as real but you probably have a different set of questions and struggles. When a friend is diagnosed with cancer, raising kids is a challenge, God is distant, or life is hard this kind of worship can seem irrelevant and disconnected from everyday life. Themes that are commonplace in the hymnology of the psalms – anger, lament, disorientation, exile – just don’t seem to fit with this modern worship culture.
I meet increasing numbers of adults who are struggling with this dilemma. Alternative worship has ploughed a third way, a way that embraces contemporary (postmodern) culture but whilst re-engaging and reframing tradition at the same time. It’s creative, liturgical, contextual and passionate.
We need a baptism of imagination about worship. It is too often predictable, uncreative and stuck in a rut. Part of what it means to image God is to be creative. We need to develop communities of worship that celebrate and invite creativity. I was amazed when I discovered that the word liturgy actually means at its root ‘the work of the people’. In this sense rediscovering liturgy will mean that we develop worship that comes out of a worshipping community’s life rather than worship that is served up by experts or professionals. Something happens when the worship is ‘our’ worship that we have dreamed and made however raw, gritty and real it is. And the range of possibilities for worship is only limited by our imaginations – let loose the DJs, photographers, digital artists, story tellers, film makers, liturgists, painters and so on.
I recently went to a worship service in Bangalore India. The building was like an English castle, the liturgy was spoken in English, we sat on pews, the hymn tunes were Western and played on an organ, and the priest wore long robes. In fact I could easily have been in a Cathedral in London a hundred years ago but I was in India! This is the opposite of what I mean by contextual. Worship that is contextual is expressed in the language, signs and symbols of that culture so that it feels authentic and doesn’t alienate people by seeming foreign. Too often church feels foreign to those outside it because of the cultural forms of worship. Alternative worship has intentionally made worship out of the stuff of everyday life and popular culture to help bring the real world into church and help people relocate God back in the real world. The heart of the Christian story is the Passion – Christ’s self giving love supremely shown in his death on the cross. Following in the way of Christ calls us to be passionate (self giving) people. True worship according to Romans 12:1-2 is precisely that - our whole selves offered to God as living sacrifices which is why this connection with the real world is so important.
I am involved in an alternative worship community in London, Grace, that has been going for about 13 years. We recently had a service we called simply ‘slow’. The worship space was divided into two halves by back to back projection screens. On one side a VJ mixed slow images and the other fast images. People sat whichever side they related to most. We took about 10 minutes in contemplative prayer to quiet down in God’s presence. All the while ambient tunes were played by a DJ. A glass jar with sand in was shaken and placed to settle down as picture of what stilling our hearts might be like. An image of the jar was projected on the screens while we listened to Radiohead’s The Tourist with the lyric ‘hey man slow down’ projected over the image of the jar. The story of Mary and Martha was used as the basis for thinking about the pace of our lives and whether we are naturally more commuters or contemplatives and what pace God might be calling us to. The service had been inspired by Asian theologian, Kosuke Koyama who suggests in ‘The three Mile an Hour God’ that God’s pace is walking pace. A couple of chants were sung over chilled electronic tracks and we made prayer bracelets and used the Orthodox Jesus prayer as a way of asking for God’s mercy in our lives. In response to the service we were invited to take away a boiled sweet to suck on slowly if we want to ask God to help us slow down or a soft sweet to eat quickly if we felt the need to speed up.
In one short article it’s hard to capture a movement but I hope it gives a bit of a flavour. I am of course completely biased – I love this kind of worship. I find it connects me afresh with God and fires me up to re-engage with the real world. However, it would be a mistake to think that it is a new solution to be copied. The important part is not the sylistic aspects of worship – different music, video loops, and so on, i.e. another consumer choice. The real gift and challenge that alt worship makes is for us all to get creative and contextual and grow worship that is truly the work of the people in our own communities.
Over the last 15 years the movement that has been called 'alternative worship' has ploughed a furrow in worship coming up with inspiring new songs, liturgies, rituals, visuals, installations, artistic creations and worship experiences. I personally have found it incredibly exciting, renewing my faith and sparking my imagination in all sorts of ways.
When the movement began it was shocking. Visual projections, new technologies, DJ music, and so on all seemed out of place in church. The re-theologising that went with it to contextualise the gospel in a postmodern world was also perceived as threatening. However the climate has now changed and many of the discoveries made in alternative worship don't seem so shocking any more - many of the creative practices have crept into the mainstream and actually they hold some clues for how to renew worship in many of our churches. Alternative worship groups were simply early adopters on the front edge of what was to come.
False Dilemma
In worship there seems to be a choice between the liturgical tradition which is served up in a very similar fashion each week. Whilst it holds the potential for depth it can easily dry up for people and seem very samey. On the other hand the more charismatic tradition in worship has created space for free expression in singing intimate songs of praise and worship, along with ministry. But this worship often dries up for different reasons - it lacks depth and has ended up being very predictable in its own way as well. The range of themes and language in the songs and prayers simply doesn't address all the issues of life. After a few years people want something more. Alternative worship looked for a third path that broke that false dilemma. In doing so it turned back to the liturgical traditions of the church but reframed them often in simple but imaginative ways, making connections with everyday life and popular culture. This is why I think many of the groups found a home in Anglican churches, because they were finding ways to make the traditions live again rather than turning away from them. It is common to find groups working with the seasons of the church calendar, using basic structures of services as building blocks for liturgies, finding forgotten treasures in the tradition such as the labyrinth and reinventing them, taking communion back into the context of a meal and so on.
Creativity
At the heart of alternative worship is creativity and imagination. I am a member of Grace, an alternative worship community that is a congregation of St Marys in Ealing. The creative ideas that have come out of a small group of people there is amazing – I so enjoy the creativity in the group. Our best worship services always have revolved around good ideas. Executing them is the easy bit usually. There are several myths around creativity. One of the myths is that it is a gift that some special people have. If we don't think we have the gift we shrug our shoulders and say 'I'm not creative'. According to a survey the difference between someone who is creative and someone who is not is that people who are creative think they are! So one of the challenges in our communities is to encourage an environment where people believe that they are creative because they are made in God's image. This also has to be an environment in which failure is acceptable and we as leaders let go of control – if we can’t fail and haven’t got permission we won’t risk being creative.
Participation
The root meaning of the word liturgy is 'the work of the people'. How can we recover the notion of worship as liturgy in this way? We live in a consumer culture and we easily get trapped in provider/client relationships in churches. We the leaders are the providers who serve up worship for our congregations. Alternative worship communities have shared out the production of worship in radical ways. To be involved means to participate and create. It's hard to just be passive. We recently had a service in lent that was a 'bring your own station' service. We gave people the theme and some suggested passages such as Jesus journey into the desert and people then had to come with something to set up in the worship space. In the end 14 people brought things ranging from an icon and candle, reflections for prayer, original film/animation sequences, readings, and so on. After a brief introduction and opening prayer, the worship service was simply to walk round and interact with the stations while music was quietly played in the background. We then concluded with a final prayer together. It was stunning. It could also have been a disaster if no-one brought anything and we genuinely had no idea what people were going to do in advance. Two people did things at that service who had never contributed before which was especially pleasing. Also in lent we ran a lent blog – a web site where a different member of the community can post a reflection each day to help us reflect on our discipleship through lent. Both these things were highly participative. A key task of leadership is to shape the cultural environment. How can we shape that environment to be one of creativity and participation?
Risk
I have learned that when we have a planning session with free flowing ideas it is often the most crazy ideas that end up being the best things we have done. I can think of a Grace meeting where someone suggested getting a huge block of ice to suspend off some scaffolding, or another where we floated the notion of text message confessions where people would send their confession as a text message and receive an absolution in reply, or the use of a parachute in worship or recording meditations for a narrated labyrinth journey where we gave people individual CD walkmans. All of these notions were absurd at the time but we ended up taking the risk of pursuing them and have done those and many more. Tony Campolo tells of a survey amongst old people where they are asked to reflect on their lives and think what they would do differently. One of the things that came out is that they would risk more. Our next worship service at Grace is walking an outdoor labyrinth - we have got to mow it in the grass at the front of the church. When we came up with this idea we didn't know how to mow a labyrinth and didn't have a mower. Now we have borrowed one and think we can do it with some careful planning with string, some tent pegs, and sticks, and fine weather - it should be fun. This is to celebrate the coming of the Spirit so we will anoint people with oil and pray for the filling of the Spirit in the centre. Then we are having storytelling around a firewok (a portable fire). It's a risk but I am sure we won't regret it.
Engagement
One of the brilliant things about alternative worship has been its engagement with everyday life and popular culture. The music, images and rituals often make connections that engage in this way. A track played in a service may well be heard on the radio in the week. A visual projection (trafiic for example) may remind you of the worship as you drive through the city. This incarnational instinct is really important in mission. Use the stuff of everyday life as the building blocks for worship. This brings the real world into our worship and enables God to be relocated in everyday life. The other aspect of engagement is to take the creative worship and spirituality out into the cultural market place rather than just doing it behind our four walls. Just recently I have taken part with some others in running a stand at the London mind body spirit festival which has all sorts of alternative spiritualities. We set up some prayer stations and offered foot massage and prayer for healing with the laying on of hands and anointing with oil. It was incredible how open people were and wanting prayer. But these people would never have come to one of our worship services. So a question several alternative worship communities are wrestling with is how to take the best of what we create, and engage out there rather than expecting people to come to us.
These four words - creativity, participation, risk and engagement are actually the ethos of Grace, the alternative worship community I am part of. We identified these values as part of a weekend reflection last year on where we were headed as a community.
First Steps
Sometimes if you visit a service of an alternative worship group it can be intimidating so how do you begin to incorporate new ideas into worship in your church? There are two routes I think. The first is to start something parallel to your existing services. In this case I think you should pull together a small group of interested people. If there is anything close by go and visit and evaluate. Greenbelt is also a wonderful place to visit. Then pick a festival in the church calendar, dream some ideas together and plan something not in the main morning service. Invite other people and see where it leads. The second is to change the culture of worship production and consumption in your church one step at a time. Incorporate the gifts of the community in worship so that it truly becomes the work of the people. Again start small - begin with the prayers that often have space for ritual, trying new things and so on and build up until people from the community are leading lots of aspects of the worship and suggesting ideas and creating things in ways you never imagined.
The recent English Church Attendance Survey confirmed with hard evidence that church attendance has declined drastically over the last 20 years. The
decline is particularly bad in the main denominational churches. The Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church have each seen Sunday
attendance drop between 40 and 50% in the last two decades. It is worst amongst the young. The number of young people under 15 leaving the church
each week is 1000; the number under 19 has halved; the number in their twenties has declined by 45% (Brierley 2000).
This confirms what many other writers have been saying - the church seems increasingly outmoded and irrelevant. The tragic irony is that this is at a time
when spirituality is very much on peoples'; agenda and part of their lives. But they are not looking to the institutional churches or the Christian faith
to meet their quest for spiritual meaning and experience.
Paradigm thinking is one way to make sense of what is taking place. This posits that the history of the Western church fits into six discernible paradigms
of time. In each of these periods Christians struggled to incarnate the faith in that particular culture. However ';a style of Christianity successful in
one era changes as another era begins. Those who remain committed to the old style of faith freeze that style in the particular culture in which it
originated'; (Webber, 1999). This process accounts for much of the diversity in the world-wide church today. We can see the different styles of
church from different eras continuing in the present. In the current time of transition from modernity to postmodernity, we see this process taking place
again. Several writers have made the same observation ';A number of the deeper difficulties we face are because the forms of our common life have,
over recent centuries, become wedded to modernism…… Now that the times are changing the form of the church needs to change with
it.'; (Riddell, Pierson and Kirkpatrick, 2000) There is a need for new plausibility structures (Walker, 1996) and a renewal of imagination concerning
the form of the church (Cray, 1998, p24).
One strategy for incarnating the Christian faith in the present postmodern era is what has become known as ';alternative worship';.
Alternative worship has been around for over a decade now. There are several groups around Britain and several others in New Zealand and Australia (for a
list of groups and their stories see the CDrom in Riddell et al, 2000). Alternative worship ';arises from the need for the church to engage with a
culture shift, from the patterns of Christian life which took shape in modernity, to a faith which brings the authentic message of Christ to bear on life in
postmodernity'; (Roberts, 1999).
Alternative worship is much more than a cosmetic change to the style of church. It really has a different plausibility structure with its own authenticity
(Two summaries of what characterises alternative worship or gives it authenticity can be found in Riddell et al, 2000, p79-80 and Roberts, 1999, p5, 14).
One way in which alternative worship is deemed to be authentic is if it resonates with the curators of the worship and with the culture outside the church. I
want to suggest that the use of popular culture in the worship is one of the ways in which this resonance is established. It is this aspect of alternative
worship that I will discuss.
Popular culture features in a myriad ways in alternative worship. The space itself is likely to be marked out by televisions with looped images and screens
with projected still images. These might well include traditional icons but are usually interspersed with images from contemporary culture – for
example, a McDonald';s sign juxtaposed with a slogan ';fast food'; for lent; or a looped image of a sped up tube journey to convey the
busyness of urban life.
Often there is a continual backdrop of music tracks, much of it instrumental but carefully selected from the chill out end of dance music. Vocal tracks that
either have a spiritual message or have words that are made meaningful by the context they are played in are used. For example Holy Joes played
'The Drugs Don't Work' by The Verve in the sharing of bread and wine at their communion service at Greenbelt in 1998 when the
song had just recently been number one in the singles chart. Musical accompaniment to songs is likely to be either sampled loops or dance tracks
– whatever way they are constructed, they closely connect with particular subcultural styles of popular music. One example of this kind of
accompaniment is that Sanctuary sing the hymn ';Amazing Grace'; to a track based on a sample of Massive Attack';s track
';Protection';. When the singing finishes, Tracey Thorn';s voice comes in singing ';you took the force of the blow –
protection';.
The signs and symbols used in rituals may well incorporate popular cultural resources. The labyrinth constructed at St Paul';s cathedral in March
2000 involved the use of a Discman to listen to music as you walked the labyrinth. At one station en route, there was a computer with a screen of
animated candles – as an act of prayer you lit a candle by moving the mouse and clicking on it on the screen which would ';light'; the
candle. The language in liturgy and prayer references popular culture – Grace have a liturgy for communion on the theme of hospitality. One of the
lines in the Eucharistic prayer is ';you ate the bread, drank the wine – everybody having a good time'; which is a quote from
U2';s song ';Until the end of the world';.
The extent to which popular cultural resources are used in alternative worship is fairly widespread. Their use is seemingly effortless – the
resources are readily available at the fingertips of those constructing the worship. The way they are used displays a very high level of ';subcultural
capital';. For example in the version of ';Amazing Grace'; mentioned above, using a sample from Massive Attack is a sign to those in
the know of a good subcultural capital bank account, but what is especially impressive is that the sample is carefully selected from Brian Eno';s
remix of the track! The point isn';t that Sanctuary are trying to impress anyone. It';s that this kind of use of popular cultural resources is
instinctive. It would be very easy to dismiss this usage of popular culture as nothing more than a gimmick, a change of style, a kind of trendy church
syndrome, but I suggest that what is going on is much more significant than that.
In a consumer society people use the cultural resources available to them to make meaning by constructing a sense of their own self and the world in
which that self lives. For large numbers of people, especially those born since the sixties, popular culture has provided the majority of these resources.
This is because it has been so much a part of their lives and language – ';the amniotic fluid that sustains us'; (Beaudoin, 1998).
Stuart Hall defines representation as ';the process by which members of a culture use language to produce meaning'; (Hall, 1997). Popular
culture, as a significant part of peoples language, is thus used to make meaning in representation. Andy Bennett conducted a study looking at how
popular music functions in this way for groups of young people in a range of localities and ';neotribes'; (Bennett, 2000). He says that they
';use popular cultural resources to construct meaning and authenticity';. This is often in ways different to those intended by the cultural
producers. One use young people make of popular music is to mark out space – ';forms of popular music and their accompanying stylistic
innovations are one of the key ways in which local spaces can be appropriated and made habitable';. He also shows that this marking out of space
is very much informed by the local context and in turn helps construct the local.
These insights from Cultural Studies help understand what is taking place in alternative worship. If culture is a site for contested meanings (Storey, 1996)
, alternative worship groups have struggled to establish meaning and authenticity by appropriating and marking out habitable local spaces. Popular music,
stylistic innovations and other popular cultural resources are key ways in which this is done. They are very significant for the identity and authenticity of
alternative worship groups and as discussed above establishing resonance. This struggle for meaning takes place on two fronts – resistance to the
dominant capitalism in the Western world, and also resistance to the dominant forms of church. Space that is habitable is carved out within and in
opposition to both of these dominant cultures. In this sense alternative worship groups are resistant communities.
The fact that what is taking place in the construction of alternative worship has been observed elsewhere by academics in Cultural Studies doesn';t
suggest that it is necessarily a good thing. Lots of strategies for mission have ended up capitulating to the cultures they are trying to reach in an attempt
to be relevant. Alternative worship as a strategy for resistance and contextualisation in postmodernity needs underpinning by theology as well as its
intuitive grasp of the language, signs and symbols of the culture.
Many writers on mission and culture articulate the importance of the incarnation as their basic theological inspiration. ';The incarnation itself gives
us the model of relevance. God shows up on our turf speaking our language so that we might understand'; (Riddell et al., 2000). Webber suggests
that ';The root problem of our confusion over spirituality may be found in the failure to understand the implications of the incarnation';
(Webber, 1999). Whilst every alternative worship group is different I suggest that for most, the incarnation is a theological foundation. It undergirds their
seemingly intuitive approach to using popular culture in worship.
Paul Roberts contrasts alternative worship';s theology of incarnation with one of ecstasy in terms of worship (Roberts, 1999). He writes that
';alternative worship relocates God back within the physical domain, so to experience God means to encounter him in and through the created
things around – symbolically, iconically, sacramentally';. This is not to blur the distinction between Creator and creation but to say that God
is experienced in the everyday. Alternative worship groups are aware that ';revelation never happens in an unmediated encounter with God';
(Dulles, 1983). They therefore tend to know their own part in constructing rituals and an experiential environment and are not surprised when these enable
people to encounter God because ';the sacred is always cloaked in cultural forms'; (Beaudoin, 1998). But because of the awareness of their
own role are slow to make too great claims for it. With this incarnational approach, the use of popular culture in worship powerfully brings ';the real
world'; into the presence of God and enables God';s presence to be discerned back in that ';real world';. Any notion of a split
between sacred and secular is rejected. Groups ';are willing to use ideas, materials and forms from the secular world in worship'; (Riddell et
al, 2000). Implicit in this incarnational approach is a very positive theology of creation and its redemption.
In an ecstatic approach ';God is located outside the physical domain'; (Roberts, 1999). He is experienced outside of cultural forms. Often the
term used is ';supernaturally'; - worship is focused on ecstatic experience in which God is encountered ';supernaturally'; (rather
than naturally). In a culture of ';sensation gatherers'; (Baumann) ecstasy has a wide appeal. The reason alternative worship has resisted this
theological basis for worship is not because it is against ecstatic experiences of God. This is far from the case. In fact one problem of Roberts';
framing of incarnation vs ecstasy is that it could be seen to imply that there is no ecstasy in an incarnational approach which is clearly not so. However
most alternative worship groups would reject experience as the absolute touchstone by which we can be sure we';ve met with God (I suspect that
many charismatic groups would as well). The reasons for opting for an incarnational rather than an ecstatic approach are more to do with where it leads
you. Following the ecstatic line where God is encountered outside of culture can easily lead to a negative view of culture and ';the world'; and
to exaggerated claims of truth about God and what he has said. In worst case scenarios salvation is about escape from the world and getting a ticket to
heaven. In the meantime energy goes into fuelling a subculture in which ecstatic encounters can be maintained but which has very little resonance with
what is going on outside, in the ';real world';. This ends up with a very dualistic view, a negative theology of creation and at best a limited
scope of redemption. The follow through on the truth issue is that an ecstatic approach suggests that an individual can hear objectively from God and have
an objective experience of him. This sounds highly suspect to postmodern ears – put simply lots of peoples truth claims have been shown to be
false. The Church herself, having done all sorts of regrettable things in the name of God, is clearly not exempt. It fails to recognise the embedded nature
of all of our positions, in other words that this supposed objectivity is not really available to us. This is particularly noticeable in a world where lots of
cultures and theological takes live side by side. An incarnational approach doesn';t have the same problem. It doesn';t need to make such
great claims for its take on the story or the experiences people have. It attempts to improvise faithfully to ';enable people to encounter God within
the context of their own subcultural sign/symbol posts'; (Riddell et al, 2000) but recognises the planners part in the construction. It is more akin to
Lindbeck';s ';cultural linguistic'; view that says that ';meaning is constituted by the uses of a specific language rather than
being distinguishable from it'; (Lindbeck, 1984).
The use of icons in worship, particularly the image of Christ, has caused much theological debate and controversy down the centuries. In his book
';God';s Human face'; Schonborn outlines the various threads of debate, especially surrounding the iconoclastic controversy of the 8th
century AD (Schonborn, 1994). Interestingly, he states that the heart of the debate was about the incarnation - ';He who rejects the icon also
rejects the Incarnation: this is the common conviction of all defenders of images.'; Whereas ';contempt for matter is one of the most striking
traits of iconoclasm';. The rules for painting icons are very tightly controlled in the tradition. In large part this is because the icons are primarily
seen as ';theology in colour' in contrast with much Western art which is seen as romantic and an individual';s interpretation.
Popular culture is heavily image oriented and iconographic. ';The icon is the common currency of our popular culture'; (Beaudoin, 1998).
Edward Robinson has written a book entitled ';Icons of the present'; (Robinson, 1993). In this he argues that the arts have always had a
crucial role to play in evoking the presence of the holy, functioning as ';windows on eternity';. This is particularly the case when in a well
established religious tradition the conventional language of the sacred has become over familiar – art opens up perception in new ways, enabling
us to see the world with new eyes. He argues that a spiritual tradition needs to be continually renewing itself if it is to be faithful to its own tradition.
';Every revelation is initially culture bound: it speaks the language, it uses the image of its own time and society. If it did not, communication would
be impossible. Every tradition if it is to live has continually to be breaking that mould, and every succeeding mould.'; So what are needed are icons
of the present, that keep revelation alive by representing that mystery in the language of the here and now. He goes on to suggest that when any
iconographic style ceases to be earthed in the present, whilst its images may still exert a powerful grip on the mind and heart, the dangers both of
nostalgia and otherworldliness become very real.
It seems to me that these insights describe very succinctly much of what is going on in alternative worship. Groups are engaged in a process of
producing icons of the present to represent the holy in the language of the here and now. Popular culture is a significant part of that language. To give a
concrete example, Grace had a series of services that looked at traditional iconography in the Eastern Orthodox Church and then at various
representations of the Image of Christ. The question raised by the series was about how to represent Christ now. Several things were striking in these
services. One was a reading that pointed out how most of our mental images of Christ are either ';oldy worldy'; or ';ethnic';
(nostalgic and otherworldly as Robinson says above) and very rarely anything that would fit in urban city life in London where Grace is located. Another
was a photo montage of the disciples made from images of young adults taken out of contemporary style or dance magazines which powerfully related
the gospel to now – the disciples could have been your mates. At one of the services people were invited to bring things that functioned as icons
for them and to say something about them and put them on the communion table. Popular culture featured highly with images, music tracks and even a
luminous plastic star placed on the table.
The church can easily dismiss icons of the present, especially using popular culture in the kind of way I describe above as bad taste or a gimmick. In part
this is because a high/low view of culture still seems to be prevalent. But I think it';s more that the cultural forms of church have become so
normative that to insiders they have become the most ';natural'; or ';correct'; way of worshipping God – you might say
culture has become an invisible part of the equation. (Taylor and Willis, 1999 describe how this process takes place more generally). In this reification,
popular culture is simply ';out of place'; because it transgresses established symbolic boundaries. Television, say, in church is not
';natural';. (It is interesting that in churches that do use video they tend to show either a video produced by Christians or a film clip to
illustrate a point in a talk, very rarely something integrated into the worship itself). Change takes time in any culture. ';The Story of the Sony
Walkman'; records how the walkman transgressed social boundaries because it brought what was a private act – private listening –
into public spaces. It was similarly ';out of place'; but now it has become accepted. Maybe this will be the case with popular culture and
church. The use of worship bands with electric guitars and microphones has become enculturated where it wasn';t some years ago. Perhaps
alternative worship will be seen to ';offer a way forward for the church'; (Roberts, 1999).
Whilst it is true that several alternative worship groups have managed to find space to exist within denominations (notably the C of E), it is very difficult at
present to see this process of enculturation taking place on a much wider scale. This is for several reasons, including those mentioned above. But the
chief ones are to do with power and control. Time and again the experience of those either in alternative worship or youth ministry taking new and creative
approaches to worship is that they are misunderstood. Rather than contextualising the gospel in a variety of subcultures the expectation from the church
side is that they will socialise people into what already exists as church i.e. put ';bums on pews';. Those who hold the power call the shots
and can control what is or is not permissible. Often this is done by an appeal to uphold the tradition or what is ';biblical';. The problem here
is self evident – those preserving the tradition, the ones with the power, are the very ones who claim that what they are already doing is both
biblical and the way the tradition is preserved! A fresh understanding of tradition is desperately needed if the church is to avoid the slide into ever
increasing irrelevance.
In a postmodern culture tradition and continuity are actually an incredible gift. Without the tradition there would be no Christian faith now. At a time when
culture seems to be changing so fast, to be able to be located in a tradition that has been passed down for 2000 years gives a real sense of
';weight';, a much needed anchor point in the world. Being located within the Christian tradition and seeking to be faithful to it helps to avoid
groups'; and individuals'; beliefs becoming too subjective or personal – it offers a check on spirituality (Beaudoin, 1998). It also turns
out to be a tradition with a vast amount of resources and an incredible global network. The basic and seemingly obvious point about the Christian tradition
is that it is living and not closed or completed. In this respect the kind of use of ';tradition'; to defend the status quo as outlined above is not
faithful to the tradition at all. Jaroslav Pelikan says that in this kind of scenario religious leaders are defending not tradition but traditionalism (Pelikan,
1984). One is living, the other is dead. Part of the process of carrying a tradition forward is struggling with it, and engaging in its debates as to how its
inquiries can be carried forward. A tradition needs diversity at its heart. In this respect whilst tradition does in some respects provide limits, it also gives
the tools to liberate us from the way traditions have been used against us. Wherever the message of Jesus for today is distorted the tradition needs
correction. To keep reforming religious tradition in a prophetic spirit is to be faithful. This reformatory impulse is at the heart of the tradition. To deny it is
';to disallow that subversive and dangerous memory of Jesus in the church'; (Tracy, 1991). But paradoxically it is the resources from within
the tradition itself which will subvert the inadequacies and injustices of a religious tradition (Beaudoin, 1998). To preserve a tradition then is to ';drive
to the heart of it to understand its significance and then do our best to re-present the same field of reference in our own context'; (Riddell in Ward et
al, 1999). Alternative worship groups are in this sense well located within the tradition, regarding the One they follow as the ';Holy
Subversive'; and themselves when they are true to Him as ';sanctified subversives';.
I conclude by summarising the argument thus far and making some final remarks. I have argued that alternative worship is one strategy for
contextualisation and resistance in postmodernity. Popular culture is one aspect of the language of alternative worship that helps establish resonance and
gives it authenticity. (There are lots of other aspects – I have just been interested in discussing this one here). On the surface, the use of popular
culture does not appear that significant – it';s by no means the answer to the church';s problems. But underlying its usage is a
strong incarnational theology and an understanding of tradition that needs continual renewal if it is to be faithful to itself. Whilst it is just a snapshot, the
church';s resistance to popular culture and ';icons of the present'; in alternative worship betrays the depth of the crisis it faces. It has
reified cultural forms that are located in the past, and uses its power and control to preserve those forms. This is true across the denominations.
It';s not my denomination so perhaps I am out of place to comment on it but it is surprising that even in the Orthodox church which has an
iconographic tradition, the rigidity surrounding the usage of icons creates precisely the same problem as elsewhere. Battles raged in this tradition to
uphold the importance of the incarnation. Whilst it might be a bit over dramatic, I conclude by saying that in rejecting popular culture the church is in
danger of rejecting or undermining the importance of the incarnation once again.
Written by Jonny Baker, April 2000
Baumann, Zygmunt (1995) Life In Fragments Blackwell
Beaudoin, Tom (1998) Virtual Faith Jossey Bass
Bennet, Andy (2000) Popular Music and Youth Culture Macmillan Press Ltd
Bosch, David (1991) Transforming Mission Orbis Books
Brierley, Dr Peter (2000) The Tide is Running Out Christian Research
Clapp, Rodney (1996) A Peculiar People IVP
Cray, Graham (1998) Postmodern culture And Youth Discipleship Grove Books Ltd
Du Gay, Hall, Janes, Mackay and Negus (1997) Doing Cultural studies: The Story Of The Sony Walkman Sage Publications
Dulles, Avery (1983) Models of Revelation Doubleday
Frith, Simon (1996) Performing Rites: Evaluating Popular Music Oxford University Press
Gadamer, Hans Georg (1994) Truth and Method Continuum
Hall, Stuart (ed) (1997) Representation: Cultural Representations And Signifying Practices Sage Publications
Kuhn, Thomas (1962) The Structure Of Scientific Revolutions University of Chicago Press
Kung, Hans (1988) Theology For The Third Millenium Doubleday
Lindbeck, George (1984) The Nature of Doctrine: Religion and Theology in a Postliberal Age Philadelphia:Westminster
MacIntyre, Alisdair (1988) Whose Justice? Which Rationality? University of Notre Dame Press
Morgan, David (1998) Visual Piety University of California Press
Pelikan, Jaroslav (1984) The Vindication of Tradition Yale University Press
Riddell Michael (1998) Threshold Of The Future SPCK
Riddell, Pierson, Kirkpatrick (2000) The Prodigal Project SPCK
Roberts, Paul (1999) Alternative Worship in the Church of England Grove Books Ltd
Robinson, Edward (1993) Icons of the Present SCM Press Ltd
Schonborn, Christoph (1994) God';s Human Face Ignatius Press
Storey, John (1996) Cultural Studies And The Study Of Popular Culture: Theories And Methods Edinburgh University Press
Taylor, Lisa and Willis, Andrew (1999) Media Studies: Texts, Institutions and Audiences Blackwell Publishers
Thornton, Sarah (1995) Club Cultures Polity Press
Tracy, David (1991) The Analogical Imagination: Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism Crossroad
Walker, Andrew (1996) Telling The Story SPCK
Ward, Pete (1997) Youthwork And The Mission Of God SPCK
Ward, Pete (ed) (1999) Mass Culture The Bible Reading Fellowship
Webber, Robert (1999) Ancient Future Faith Baker Books
Basics:
'Alternative worship' is about bringing your real self and your real world into church - not just exercising your 'religious' side, and not using church as an escape from the outside world. People usually get involved in 'alternative worship' when they find that their normal form of worship, of whatever denomination, is preventing them from bringing their real needs and concerns honestly and openly before God. This can be as true of modern forms of worship which deny people's real situations as it is true of old forms of worship whose relevance has been exhausted. Acting a part in church is profoundly damaging to your relationship with God and with your fellow Christians! Conversely it can be profoundly healing to come before God and your fellow worshippers in honesty and find acceptance. Church after all is meant to be a place where we face reality in the presence of God and find healing and strength to live as God's people.
For most of us, this process involves making church out of the elements of our everyday lives - the issues, the culture, the language, the media, the music. Church becomes more like home - a place where we belong and which belongs to us. And this can help us to see that home, and the rest of our world, can be church - life lived in the presence of God.
This certainly doesn't rule out the use of historical elements and traditions; they have shaped our spiritual lives, it would be dishonest to deny them. However, the historical elements you use should be those that are meaningful to you, not just hangovers from the past that nobody has really thought about.
It is best to establish a separate service to experiment in rather than trying to do it in the 'normal' services at your church. This minimises the risk of offence or disruption to people's cherished worship habits - if they don't like what you're doing, they don't have to come! This also frees you from any need to conform to pre-existing worship patterns - you have a clean slate. Successful innovations can be introduced into other services later if wanted.
The team:
Reimagining worship involves time and thought, so you need a small group who will meet regularly to plan services a week or two in advance. Get as wide a variety of people and skills as you can on the team. Involve as many as possible in the actual presenting of the services. Try to achieve a balance of male and female voices and perspectives. Some people will have very obvious skills to contribute, but don't let them get stuck in the rut of only doing those things. They may have other talents too, and others may be able to do what they can do. At Grace everybody contributes ideas to the planning of a service, but then the various pieces of it are handed out to whoever is available/willing. So people end up doing things they had never envisaged doing, and sometimes unsuspected talents are revealed. Remember that stumbling but genuine contributions are worth far more in worship than empty fluency. Everybody is creative, being made in the image of God; part of the purpose of alternative worship is to help people rediscover this truth for thmselves. As well as healing people's self-worth, creative expression opens new channels of communication to God and to others.
Leadership:
Try to avoid putting the team up on a stage and reducing the congregation to an audience. Leadership is about helping other people to have their own encounter with God.
Congregational involvement:
Provide activities and discussions that the congregation can do without intervention from the team, and can maybe give feedback on. Much of the worship can be done by providing 'stations' containing things that people can use or not use, in their own ways and time. Not everyone needs to do the same thing at the same time.
In fact, in many ways alternative worship is about providing a set of tools for the congregation to construct their own worship with.
Modernity [post if you like]:
Don't be modern for its own sake.
Don't keep old stuff if it means nothing; rewrite/reinvent or junk it.
Multimedia:
Don't get carried away with multimedia that looks impressive but means nothing. Beware of unintended meanings; be aware of the underlying 'feel' of what you're doing. Beware of images/effects which are so startling that they are all that anyone will remember of the service [unless they make an intended point, of course].
Mistakes:
This is an experiment, so things will sometimes not work out, or the equipment will go wrong, or someone will make a hash of something. Relax - you're only human [church is a good place to acknowledge this]. God doesn't mind, and the congregation don't know what was supposed to happen anyway. If you must do something that requires tight integration of several things at once, rehearse - but if the whole service requires rehearsal and not just a run-through you're trying too hard to impress people. This isn't a worship show.
Risks:
Dare to take risks, with your creativity, with your congregation, with God [who likes it]. Seek honesty not respectability, seek truth not safety. Obviously, gauge your audience, but one of the sins of the Church is that it wimps out, tries to be 'nice'. The real world isn't 'nice', childbirth isn't 'nice', crucifixion isn't 'nice', and worship that touches reality is healing. But don't cause needless offence or hurt if you can help it, and never be shocking just for show.
Of course some people will be shocked or offended by the mere fact of you doing something different in church. Ignore them as nicely as you can. They don't have to come if they don't like it. Tell them you have a right to go to hell in your own way, and so do they.
Numbers:
Numbers in alternative worship services don't have to be large - in fact it is possible to have too many, if people will need to move around the worship space to do things. Too many people and half of them end up as an audience, who watch rather than participate. Intimacy is well worth aiming for, it walks hand in hand with community and communion.
Resources/materials:
Written stuff, eg stories, meditations, readings, poems, liturgies:
Remember this is about finding your own voice in worship, so write your own stuff as much as you can. People who think they can't write may turn out to be very good - the secret is to have something to say that you care about. Grace use Mike Riddell, CS Lewis, Douglas Coupland, Thomas Merton, Celtic liturgy and poetry, traditional Anglican liturgies and writings, Ignatian meditation, whatever means something real to us.
Images eg video, slides:
See the 'Using Images in Worship' notes also on this website for a full treatment of this aspect. I just make a couple of comments here.
Images of ordinary things, of your everyday surroundings, can have enormous meaning used in church, perhaps with a meditation or prayer. They can be a way of bringing your normal environment before God, and of seeing it in new ways, perhaps through God's eyes.
Remember slides and video images are background. Don't change them too often or use distracting video, or people will watch them like TV in case they miss something. It's better to have three well-chosen images that people will find meaning in and will remember [this is different from using specific images or film clips to make a point].
Music:
Use music as background/to create atmosphere. Think in terms of a continuous film soundtrack, rather than individual songs. These can be dropped into the general musical flow. The background music provides emotional colour, fills gaps, papers over the buzz of conversation in group discussions etc. We do our readings/spoken stuff over quiet background music as well.
Be true to yourselves - you probably already know what music you would like to use in worship, but haven't dared or had the chance. So do it. You know what music means most to you, speaks to you of God, or of life, so use your own musical culture in church. Use the soundtrack of your own heart. If it's Christian music, fine, but if it isn't, that's good too. Don't categorise into sacred and secular - there's no obvious divide. We use secular stuff, and people think it's Christian because the church context changes the perceived meaning. This can be revelatory, and in turn can stunningly transform the way that the same music is heard in its usual secular context. Obviously some things aren't helpful or can't be used, use judgement as to whether something will cause needless offence or get misinterpreted; but the general intention is to bring your real self and your real world before God, rather than being 'churchy' or 'holy' [and then going home and listening to something different. God is listening there, too!]. Keep an ear out for where God is in the secular world, where real spiritual issues are being dealt with. There are some surprises to be had.
Remember worship isn't just about happy songs - there's sorrow, anger, bitterness etc to bring before God too [take a look at the psalms]. People who come to church carrying negative emotions or problems can feel alienated or excluded by upbeat joyful worship music, they need music and words that enable them to articulate their pain to God. That pain can't be healed until it has been given room for expression.
Grace music:
The next few paragraphs are about the kind of music we use in Grace services, as an example of an approach to music in worship.
We use the ambient/chilled/meditative end of contemporary dance music as general background in services. We buy this music anyway so we just keep an ear open for anything that might be of use; sometimes we find instrumental tracks that can be used as alternative backing tracks for our own worship songs. It's all secular stuff available from normal record stores. In larger record stores ambient/chill out appears as a separate category, there is a lot of this post-club background music available [for the long motorway drive home at 4am!]. Don't let the dance music categorisation put you off - it's just by an interesting quirk of social/musical development that this stuff has ended up there in the racks. 'Easy listening' might have been a better term for much of it, had it not already come to mean old swing records and schmaltzy crooners. By avoiding obvious dance beats or electronic noise it is possible to put together a worship soundtrack quite acceptable to all ages and types.
I can think of 4 categories that Grace music falls into [all fluid]:
1. Sometimes it's just that the music is good background;
2. Sometimes a track has lyrics that suggest a church use;
3. Sometimes a record has major significance for society/says something important about our world.
4. Our own and other people's worship songs.
Examples [not exhaustive]:
1. Cafe del Mar vols 1-6; the Orb; Orbital; Super Discount; Northern Exposure Expeditions; Sabres of Paradise; Two Lone Swordsmen; Air; Fila Brazilia [despite their name they're from Hull]; Real Ibiza vol. 2; anything by A Man Called Adam; Groove Armada.
2. 'Easter Song' on Cafe del Mar vol. 2; 'Resurrection Song' Cafe del Mar vol. 3; 'God is a DJ' & 'The Long Road Home' by Faithless, 'Sunday 8pm' album; 'Firestarter [Empyrion mix]' the Prodigy; 'Praise You' Fatboy Slim; 'We have all the time in the world' off 'Shaken and Stirred: the David Arnold James Bond Project'; 'Starlovers' Gusgus...etc. Whatever strikes our attention.
3. 'Inner City Life' by Goldie; 'Bittersweet Symphony' and 'The Drugs Don't Work' by the Verve; we're waiting for the next great anthem...we hoped Blur would oblige, but they haven't.
4. 'Grace' album, 'Eucharist' album; but music in this category is usually sung live over a backing track, which might be a secular instrumental track we've found that happens to fit. We often augment the backing track with [one or two] live instruments too. We don't have a worship band as such.
Playing something like 'Praise You' in church while it's at no. 1 carries a tremendous punch. It recontextualises both record and act of worship. Suddenly what we are doing in church becomes part of the real world.
[NB I guess we've all heard chart records used in church settings tokenistically as a sop to the 'young people'; it just reinforces how alien church is...But if the whole context of the service is such that use of these records becomes natural, it changes perceptions of where holy ground is in our culture...I wonder how many times Moses had passed the burning bush on his travels before he heard God speaking to him from it?]
We don't usually use hard dance stuff unless we want to hype up the atmosphere a bit or make people dance. If you wind people up in a service you then usually have to calm them down again to move on, and anyway we're a bit wary of generating hysteria in church. It can be good to make an upbeat ending, a bit of a party vibe to send people home on.
We seldom use rock as such because it doesn't fit the general musical flow of our services [does 'background/ambient rock' exist?], But some tracks are too significant to be ignored, eg 'Bittersweet Symphony' by the Verve - we built an entire ritual around it, but used a slightly funkier remix by James Lavelle that's a B-side on 'The Drugs Don't Work' single.
Basic hardware:
Music:two CD players or twin turntables that you can cross-fade between for musical continuity; we have recently bought a Minidisc player, which allows us to pre-record a lot of stuff but unlike a tape allows instant access in any order, and displays the actual track title so you don't cue the wrong one!
Video: a domestic video player, but buy a splitter so you can send the picture to several TV sets.
Several TVs [remember, for most purposes, to turn the sound off].
Several slide projectors, projecting onto muslin sheets hung [in our case] on washing lines strung up wherever in church. Fireproof the sheets first [you can buy a spray]. Hang the sheets so as to create more intimate spaces within the cavern of the church interior. Muslin is also great for covering nasty furniture and draping around things for effect.
PA system and good speakers
Live instruments if available or to suit tastes.
Lots of candles - all shapes and sizes. They create a fantastic atmosphere, rich and intense. Use plenty of small cheap nightlights, eg to form a pathway down the church for people to enter along; put them around the TVs, and around any stations or things that you have set up. Generally, the more candles the better it looks, unless you have a reason for restricting them for the theme of a particular service. Use them symbolically, eg light a triple candle while saying a trinitarian prayer.
Lighting generally should be low and intimate, so as not to drown out the slides and candles. The slides and TVs will contribute quite a bit of light themselves. Spotlight the microphones and the music desk so that people can read things. Low lighting levels also mean that people don't notice the clothes pegs holding up the drapes, or the dirty marks thereon, or the grubby old TVs. These things fade into the background, and the images and candles and things you have specifically lit dominate. The transformation from grot to grotto when the main lights are turned off can be breathtaking.
Important: this doesn¹t have to cost much. Borrow as much as you can, or buy second-hand. People may have slide projectors or slide collections at home; maybe they can borrow from work or school. Use old TVs and video recorders - when someone you know gets a new TV or video recorder, ask if you can have their old one. It doesn¹t matter what the equipment looks like, in the service people will only notice the picture on the screen. But invest money in achieving good sound quality, both spoken and musical - the ear forgives muffled or tinny sound less easily than the eye forgives faint or strangely coloured visuals!
We've developed a tradition for Advent at Grace, an alternative worship community in Ealing – Nine. It's a very simple idea for a service (feel free to use it). We take the traditional nine lessons and carols framework and give it our own twist. We find nine volunteers willing to take part who are given one of the readings. They then have to choose a piece of music and do something to reflect/relate to the reading - this might be a piece of art, a ritual, a meditation, a thought, an audio-visual piece. At the service the nine readings are read from the bible and after each one the person does their piece and play their chosen piece of music. Followed of course by mulled wine and mince pies. It’s highly participative and creative. People produce amazing things. On reflection I think it might be an example of Worship 2.0 …?
There have been a spate of articles recently on the new revolution in the internet which has become known as Web 2.0. The Guardian Weekend magazine ran a 15 page feature called the Bigger Bang that interviewed several of the entrepreneurs behind these startups. In it John Lancaster said "What all these new kind of sites share is an approach to creating things: "user-created content", in the jargon. The internet is no longer about corporations telling you what to do, think or buy; it's about things people create."
So Wikipedia is an encyclopedia where the information is provided and edited by anyone rather than experts. It is constantly being added to and evolving and is astonishingly rich in information. Flickr, Youtube, and Myspace are online photo, video and music sharing sites respectively. People create and upload and give feedback on media content and then build social networks around that, some of which is virtual and some with people they already know. Technorati, Digg and Del.icio.us all work with the publishing revolution in blogging to help people collate, track, identify and share the content that is good, useful and interesting.
Whilst these sites may or may not be of interest in themselves what is significant about them is the values or ethos that is emerging. Whereas Web 1.0 was characterised by being an information source, some of the values associated with Web 2.0 are that it has an architecture of participation where community is the content, knowledge is open source and it is based around decentralized authority that values the wisdom of the crowds who are self publishing content with an incredible amount of creativity.
Steve Collins definition of alternative worship on the web site www.smallfire.org is "Alternative worship is what happens when people create worship for themselves, in a way that fully reflects who they are as people and the culture that they live their everyday lives in." A generation are growing up for whom the ethos of Web 2.0 is their world. So we should expect and celebrate Worship 2.0 – creative, highly participative, valuing community as the content, open source, low control where the expert worship leader is replaced by teams self publishing creative content.
Let me conclude by reworking John Lancaster’s quote above…
"What all these new kinds of worship share is an approach to creating things: "user-created content", in the jargon. The church is no longer about institutions telling you what to do, think or sing; it's about things people create."
Welcome to a 'Grace' worship service simply entitled slow. The worship space is divided into two halves by back to back projection screens. On one side a VJ (like a DJ but mixing visual images rather than music) mixes slow images and the other fast images. People sit whichever side they relate to most. We take about 10 minutes in contemplative prayer to quiet down in God’s presence to a backdrop of ambient tunes played by a DJ. A glass jar with sand in water is shaken and placed to settle down as picture of what stilling our hearts might be like. An image of the jar is projected on the screens while we listen to Radiohead’s The Tourist with the lyric ‘hey man slow down’ projected over the image of the jar. The story of Mary and Martha is the basis for thinking about the pace of our lives and whether we are naturally more commuters or contemplatives and what pace God might be calling us to. The service has been inspired by Asian theologian, Kosuke Koyama who suggests in ‘The three Mile an Hour God’ that God’s pace is walking pace. A couple of chants are sung over chilled electronic tracks and we make prayer bracelets and use the Orthodox Jesus prayer as a way of asking for God’s mercy in our lives. In response to the service we are invited to take away a boiled sweet to suck on slowly if we want to ask God to help us slow down or a soft sweet to eat quickly if we felt the need to speed up.
It often feels that there is a choice between two basic types of worship in churches: Liturgical worship that follows a set pattern or structure in a prayer book led by professional clergy is the basic diet of mainline denominations. And blocks of singing led by a keyboard player, guitarist or worship band are the staple diet of worship in charismatic/evangelical/pentecostal churches. On the one hand, the liturgy has depth but repeated week in week out can become very dry and formulaic. But on the other hand, worship led by a band whilst it can be exciting isn’t without its problems – worship easily gets trapped into performance mode, and the range of theology in the songs is often pretty thin. It seems to suit an adolescent stage of faith which is brilliant if that’s where you are at. But when you have been a Christian for a few years, your faith is equally as real but you probably have a different set of questions and struggles. When a friend is diagnosed with cancer, raising kids is a challenge, God is distant, or life is hard this kind of worship can seem irrelevant and disconnected from everyday life. Themes that are commonplace in the hymnology of the psalms – anger, lament, disorientation, exile – just don’t seem to fit with this modern worship culture. I meet increasing numbers of adults who are struggling with this dilemma. Alternative worship (the label given to the sort of worship described above) has ploughed a third way, a way that embraces contemporary (postmodern) culture but whilst re-engaging and reframing tradition at the same time.
Grace is an alternative worship community that has been going for about 13 years. It is a congregation of St Mary's Anglican church in Ealing. Probably about half of Grace overlap in some way with other services or parts of St Mary’s and for the other half Grace is church. In an Anglican set up adding a new congregation is easy enough to do – in practice 8am, 10:30am and 6pm often have quite different flavours and attendances anyway. And there is increasing recognition that one size no longer fits all. Whilst unity in the church is important it doesn’t necessarily require us all being in the same worship service on a Sunday morning every week. The key to Grace getting started and its continuing success has been having a creative team with the vision to do something new (the team is all voluntary), and then the church leadership taking the risk of giving space for something new and trusting the Grace team. There is no doubt that Grace appeals to and reaches a very different group of people to the other congregations at St Marys.
We need a baptism of imagination about worship. It is too often predictable, uncreative and stuck in a rut. Part of what it means to image God is to be creative. We need to develop communities of worship that celebrate and invite creativity. The word liturgy actually means at its root ‘the work of the people’. In this sense rediscovering liturgy will mean that we develop worship that comes out of a worshipping community’s life rather than worship that is served up by experts or professionals. Something happens when the worship is ‘our’ worship that we have dreamed and made however raw, gritty and real it is. And the range of possibilities for worship is only limited by our imaginations – let loose the DJs, photographers, digital artists, story tellers, film makers, liturgists, painters and so on. In Grace our model of leading worship is based around the idea of curation so someone will take on the task for a service of pulling together a team of people and then work together to create a worship experience. The leader’s role isn’t to be up front and perform but to ensure that all the components come together, to see it all hangs together and to help curate the worship space. Anyone in Grace is welcome to take on this role. This model would be easily transferable to any worshipping community and a good place to start might be to take on curating a service for a festival in the church year which would easily have material to work with. I am constantly amazed by things that people produce in worship when we encourage them, give space, and let go of control. In Grace we have developed a working ethos around the words creativity, participation, risk and engagement.
I love this kind of worship. I find it connects me afresh with God and fires me up to re-engage with the real world. However it is not a new solution to be copied. The important part is not the sylistic aspects of worship – different music, video loops, and so on, i.e. another consumer choice. The real gift and challenge is for us all to get creative and contextual and grow worship that is truly the work of the people in our own communities.
A few years ago, before I was involved in alternative worship, I went to see a Christian musical performed by the local church drama group. After the interval, the curtains opened upon the figure of Christ on the cross, portrayed by a fortyish friend of mine in nothing more than crown of thorns and the obligatory (and probably unhistorical) loin cloth. As we gazed, slightly shocked, upon his almost naked body, flat stomach, ribs showing, I thought to myself "Good job he's still skinny enough to play Jesus" - and then it struck me. There is no evidence in Scripture to suggest that Jesus was thin at all. He might, for all we know, have been short and fat, or at least had plenty of body hair and a pot belly. After all, few men get to thirty without a little extra round the waist, especially if they are gluttons and wine-bibbers. Thing is, we've inherited a tradition of how Jesus looks, and it affects what kind of person we see him as - and therefore our relationship with him.
In fact, Jesus's earthly appearance is nowhere described in the Bible, except in mystical and symbolic terms in, for example, the Book of Revelation. One effect of what to us is a strange omission is to prevent us tying Jesus down to a particular place and time - the Incarnation becomes about Jesus in the contemporary world here and now, all heres and all nows, utterly committed and involved and refusing to be distanced or irrelevant. The trouble with all our usual images is that they remove Jesus from the contemporary world. They make him a historical figure or a sort of alien not at home in our lives. It's like having the Queen come to tea - meeting him becomes a somewhat constrained and artificial encounter with someone who is clearly not part of the world you and I live in. We don't expect him to know how to work the Playstation, let alone beat our score; or else to be floating serenely in a state of mystical purity untouched by such worldly matters. Even if we believe in him, we either unconsciously limit his relevance, or set the rest of our lives in the modern world at nought as we look forward to leaving it behind for a robes-and-sandals Kingdom - forgetting that these things were once as contemporary as combat trousers and trainers, and that in their time they conveyed the immediacy, the worldliness, of the Kingdom.
From Byzantine times through to the late medieval period, Christ as portrayed in art appeared as a contemporary figure. The robes, the hair, the beard were pretty much what normal men of those centuries wore. The Christ people saw when they looked at the pictures was a real person present in their world here and now - for the first 1400 of the last 2000 years, there was no perceived distance to travel between him and us. If people of those centuries behave as though Christ were a real and immediate presence in their world, that's partly because they had seen nothing that would open up a distance.
But in the fifteenth century the way people in general, but men in particular dressed began to shift. We've all seen a jester's outfit, parti-coloured doublet and tights with a funny hat - but in the fifteenth century this was the height of fashion, a revolutionary and one might say indecent break with with the past. From this point on men had cod-pieces - something which never found its way into the representation of Christ! This is also the first clean-shaven period since early Byzantine times about 1000 years earlier.
So at this point a gap opened up between the way Christ was normally portrayed, and the way men actually looked in the contemporary world. But the issue doesn't seem to have been addressed, and I think the reason is because this is the period of the Renaissance. And the Renaissance rediscovered the culture of the ancient world and aspired to it as superior. We enter a period in which it was normal to portray rulers and aristocrats as Roman emperors, when high culture liked to dress up in the clothes of ancient Rome. And so no-one was interested in portraying Jesus in contemporary fashions - indeed, both his divinity and his perfect humanity were expressed by giving him the muscular, hairless body of a Greek god or hero. Not to mention the scanty draperies, which would have got funny looks in Elizabethan London.
And when the cultural authority of ancient art began to fade in the 19th century, it was replaced by another nostalgic longing, for an idealised medieval world. We get Holman Hunt's 'Light of the World', and the Pre-Raphaelite Jesus of Sunday school fame. And nothing came along to replace that, because when art turned away from the past to embrace the modern world, it didn't want to take Christianity with it. And those artists that did portray Christ tended to use him as a way of engaging with tradition and the past. The image of Jesus was left frozen, timewarped, after 500 years of being constantly turned back away from the contemporary world into an idealised past.
Now, in the year 2000, we find ourselves looking at a Christ who seems alien to us, from another time and place. This makes it easy to believe that he should be left there, with all the other cultural baggage we claim to have outgrown. Our problem is thrown into sharp relief by the way other twentieth-century cultures have reimagined Christ in their own image, to claim his identification with them right here and now. We in the West have hesitated between reimaging Christ as one of us, and clinging on to the historical tradition of representation we have inherited. This leads to those strange cheesy baby-boomer Jesuses, or to Che Guevara - we leap at the chance the return of beards and long hair, and even sandals, have given us to have it both ways - we can say "Look - Jesus is just like us" and have the tradition, too. It's actually dodging the issue. Can we really portray Jesus as 'one of us' again, when that means abandoning the tradition - or are we stuck with the first century Jew or medieval holy man? Is Jesus going to be for us a historical figure we have to keep bringing forward in time, or an eternal figure at home in all times? To go back to where I started, if what we are given in the Bible is the character and nature of Jesus, not his appearance, how do we reimage that character in our own world, in a way that's truthful not nostalgic?
Steve Collins April 2000
LABYRINTHS have made something of a comeback in the past decade. A labyrinth is not a maze: there is one path to follow, not a choice of turns. Labyrinths have been in the Christian tradition for many centuries.
The most famous labyrinths are found in cathedrals in northern France. The one at Chartres is stunning in design and setting, and is now a place of pilgrimage from all round the world; but for many years it lay forgotten under chairs, like a buried treasure. It took someone with imagination to uncover it and to enliven the tradition of labyrinth-walking again.
Walking a labyrinth can be done in many ways, but it is essentially a prayer meditation. There are three stages to the journey: in towards the centre, which is often a time for stilling and shedding; being at the centre — a space to be with God; and the journey out, taking the encounter with God back into the world.
In a busy life, walking a labyrinth really forces you to slow down and pray.
A number of alternative-worship communities have reinvented the labyrinth for post-modern spiritual seekers and tourists. This was done by adding a series of stations to the journey. The walker listens to a set of meditations on headphones at each stopping-point, sometimes having interactive rituals to perform. A labyrinth was installed at St Paul’s Cathedral in 2000, and at Greenbelt later the same year.
The response was overwhelming. It has now been set up and walked in thousands of churches round the world, and published in several countries and languages. There is even a digital version online, which is good fun.
There are several things about laby-rinths that catch the moment: the resurgence of interest in contemplative spirituality; the idea of faith as a journey; the notion of creating a navigable space where worshippers and God meet, rather than performing at the front of a congregation; the rediscovery of an ancient treasure and reframing it in the Christian tradition; linking imaginatively with contemporary culture; and the popularity in using art installations for worship.
Grace, an alternative-worship community, is mowing two labyrinths in grass this month — one to celebrate Pentecost and the coming of the Spirit, in Ealing, and one for A Rocha at the Minet Park festival in Southhall, to introduce labyrinths to spiritual seekers there. The inspiration for these has come from the mown grass labyrinth at Greenbelt last year, and the one at Burford Priory.
Greenbelt has had various takes on the labyrinth in the past decade. This year there will be a labyrinth based on the Chartres pattern, run by a group from Scotland. For newcomers to the idea, it’s a good place to take the first step.
This article was originally submitted as a chapter for a book on preaching. However I am proud to say that it was deemed unworthy of publication! So here it is. Click on the link below to download it as a pdf document.
IN A post-modern culture, tradition and continuity are a gift. At a time when culture seems to be changing fast, to be able to be located in a tradition that has been passed down for 2000 years gives a real sense of "weight" - a much needed anchor point in the world.
Part of the process of carrying a tradition forward is struggling with it, and engaging in its debates as to how its enquiries can be carried forward. This is what Greenbelt is all about. To keep reforming Christian tradition in a prophetic spirit is to be faithful. To deny it is to disallow that subversive and dangerous memory of Jesus.
Grace is an alternative-worship community in Ealing, a congregation of St Mary's Church, and has been going for more than a decade. Alternative worship likes to work with the traditions and liturgies of the Church, often in creative and playful ways. Communion by Numbers re-presents the eucharist in the context of a meal, which is, of course, where it started, at the Last Supper. Tables are set out in a café style, and groups of six to eight people gather round each table. Music is playing, and the service takes place at the tables.
On each table is a series of numbered envelopes. When a bell rings, someone at the table opens the first envelope, and follows the instructions contained in it. This is repeated, so that progress is made through the numbered envelopes in order. The envelopes correspond to the main elements of a communion service: preparation, thanksgiving, confession, the word, prayer, sharing the Peace, preparing the table, eucharistic prayer, sharing bread and wine, thanksgiving, and blessing.
This may mean, for example, that the word is a Bible passage that is read at the table and then discussed; sharing the Peace could be done by a toast with the glasses round the table; the eucharistic prayer could be prayed, and then bread and wine shared at the tables; the blessing could be accompanied by passing round hot towels from a curry house, and so on.
One of the playful elements in the service is a "text confession", where people are invited to text a confession on their mobile phone to a given number. An automated service sends some words of absolution in reply.
When Grace first held this service, the absolutions experienced a delay. Rather than appearing immediately, they arrived during the eucharistic prayer. Phones started to bleep, and displayed the words "You are forgiven." It was perfect timing.
Preserving tradition is done by driving to the heart of it to understand its significance, and then by doing our best to represent it in our own context. In this sense, Communion by Numbers is traditional worship: it takes the tradition seriously, re-examining the sharing of bread and wine among friends gathered around a table, and reframes it in a contemporary context. The next time someone attends communion at their own church, the experience of Communion by Numbers may well reinvest communion with meaning for them in new and different ways.
Every so often a tradition experiences a rupture. I am thinking about the early days of hip hop in relation to music. DJs started playing a break in one track and then mixing it in to a break in another (or even a second copy of the same track) to keep the beat going, over which people would 'break' dance and rap. Shortly after, the advent of sampling then changed everything - you could sample a piece of music, a drum beat, a snatch of vocal and loop it or mix it in with other samples to create new tracks. This was a whole new approach, a creative bricolage, that challenged the traditions of music making at the time. Some people said it wasn't authentic, but rather stealing other peoples’ music. James Brown was one of the most sampled. He is referred to in the tune 'Talkin all that jazz' by Stetsasonic where they have this killer line: 'Tell the truth, James Brown was old ‘til Eric and Rakim came out with "I Got Soul" '. In other words he should be thanking the hip hop culture for giving him a new lease of life rather than complaining. In many ways sampling brought the archives alive to a whole new generation.
Hip hop has a strong association with Jazz, and indeed could be said to be carrying forward its traditions. Jazz was very much the music of the underground dance halls and clubs - its creative improvised format liberated it from the music that had gone before. In the hip hop tune ‘Jazz Thing’ Guru cites a list of the jazz greats and concludes "this music ain't dead, so don't be misled by those who said that jazz was on its deathbed... The nineties will be a decade of a jazz thing. I love jazz music". This track is hip hop - its beats and samples and rapping - and yet it is also jazz and seeks to locate itself in the tradition of jazz. Its jazz retains 'a new format'. The tradition ends up being renewed and carried forward rather than remaining stuck.
What's this got to do with youth ministry? Everything! Most of us involved in youth ministry have to wrestle with how to deal with our traditions. Tradition is an amazing gift. Without the heroes who have gone before, we wouldn’t be doing ministry. But it can also get stuck and need renewing. Just like the traditions of music we need creative visionaries who risk rupture and reclaim our traditions in new ways to carry them forward.
In New Testament and The People of God, Tom Wright introduces the notion of “faithful improvisation” by using the example of discovering one of Shakespeare’s lost plays, but lacking a scene in the fifth and final act. He suggests what would be necessary for that play to come to life would be a trained group of Shakespearean actors to improvise the missing scene. These actors wouldn’t simply wing it, but rather, they would immerse themselves in the first four acts and the other plays of Shakespeare. They would then act out their parts, striving to be faithful to the developing plot and character portrayals. Wright suggests as Christians, we have a script consisting of four parts – creation, the fall, Israel, and Jesus and the church. The fifth and final act is the church’s ongoing improvisation of the developing story. He says that we, as Jesus’ actors, are called to inhabit the world of the Bible and then act out that worldview for a new day.
Faithful improvisation frees us from the tradition, but it does not free us to do whatever we want. In order to improvise we must know the author, our God, the history of the church, the scriptures, and other improvisations of the church. The better we know the tradition, the more knowledge we can draw on to revise it. Jesus was more faithful to the tradition (i.e. the law) by getting to the heart of it rather than getting caught up in the trappings. The Spirit calls us to join in with what God is doing in the world and to improvise.
One of ALOVE’s essentials is Mission – “Going into the world to find Jesus and point him out”. We need to do this, not by simply abandoning all tradition, but investing in loyal radicals in our youth groups to help them, and the church, reinvent itself. With faithful improvisers, Christianity won’t be ‘on its deathbed’ or the preserve of old guys in lounge suits saying ‘nice’.
the spectator had a piece on the last grace which was something of a surprise to us but it's a warm and positive piece in a journalist detached kind of way!
it's online here - in search of disorganised religion
A lot of groups are reimagining worship. Part of the journey for most involves experimenting with a variety of expressions of worship - new music, liturgy, prayers, ritual, and using images and symbols. The culture we inhabit is image-based. The use of images is intuitive, natural and authentic for those that have grown up in this culture. It is also helpful in mission because it's a language and form that many outside the church relate to more readily than a culture dominated by words. Evangelicals have not got much of a history of using images in worship so there's little tradition to draw on (unlike the Orthodox and Catholic traditions). It takes some experimenting to get a feel for the language, to find what works and what doesn't.
Imagination
The key to getting going is imagination. A lot of people don't try anything new or different because they don't think they are creative. We all are. Once you get going the ideas come thick and fast. The first step feels the riskiest and hardest. Others think they haven't got the expertise - you don't need it. Still others think they can't afford it on their budget. You can do a lot for next to nothing with a bit of imagination.
Sparking ideas, not prescriptive
The idea behind these notes is to help you get started. A lot of people need some encouragement taking that first step. It can be very helpful going and meeting with and seeing what other groups are doing as a spark to the imagination. However these notes are not meant to be prescriptive. There isn't one way to do these things. One of the exciting things in worship at the moment is the amount of creativity being rediscovered. Similarly when you see what another group are doing, use some of the ideas but don't just copy. Find your own voice, your own language, your own expression of worship to God.
Choice of images
There is a large element of experimenting with what is appropriate and works in worship. A helpful starting point is remembering it's worship so the images should enhance the worship. This may seem obvious but sometimes people can get so excited about the images they are using that the focus can be all about how wonderful the latest images are rather than them being an inspiration for worship or a pointer to God. It is important to keep some kind of dialogue going within the group about what the images are saying for them and if they are helpful or not. Then the group can learn the language together, what works and what doesn't. It's a way of helping people find out how others are using the images to enhance their own worship, which in turn may help them.
The issue of quality is a difficult one. There is a balance between wanting everyone to get involved and express worship in different ways and wanting to use good quality art etc. You just have to feel your way with this but encourage people not to go in for things that are naff. A good rule of thumb is to think how friends outside the church would react to the images.
The most difficult area to use in terms of appropriateness is video. In part this is because the images are moving rather than still and so can easily become too much of a focus, particularly if they are on a big screen. You don't want to create a cinema! Also video is a very powerful form - it's important not to abuse this power just for effect. We've all experieneced being bombarded with images on the news of refugees for example. It's too easy for this kind of image if overdone or used inappropriately to desensitise people to issues of justice.
One approach to using video is to have the images focused around one idea or theme. For example during a service about Pentecost having flickering flames for 10 minutes, or images of water droplets during a prayer of confession. This way the images enhance the worship rather than become the focus. Another approach is to use more complicated sequences that might be more of a focus for a meditation or prayer.
Sensitivity and appropriateness are important, but you learn them as you go. It is worth looking out for those in the group for whom this is their thing and who seem to have a good grasp of it. overhead projectors
A lot of churches use these for song words and nothing else. Here are some ideas to try:
* Get some coloured lighting gels (coloured acetate) and lay that over the words.
* Design some images on computer, print them out. Get them colour copied onto acetate.
* Get some of the group to write graffiti/paint pictures and colour photocopy them onto acetate.
* Colour photocopy any appropriate image e.g. icons, Celtic cross, creation......
* Rather than use the usual screen, hang a sheet up, or get hold of a roll of muslin and hang a series of strips up and project onto that, or get hold of an old parachute and project onto that.
* Try projecting from behind rather than in front (simply reverse the image).
* Use more than one OHP - borrow them. Hang screens at different points in the room to get away from the front being the only focal point.
Art
Have someone paint a picture during the worship service on the theme. Ideally this is best done by someone who is an experienced artist and can prepare the picture beforehand. Have paints/paper/clay available for people to draw/paint/model during the worship, then take photos of what has been produced and use it another time on slide. Or hang the pictures around the place. It's worth bearing in mind that a lot of people will need encouraging to try this kind of thing. Also the process of expressing something is as important as the end product. Encourage those with artistic gifts to produce stuff in advance either to have as sculpture, paintings, or to photograph and use on slide.
Slides
Borrow projectors - as many as possible! Often members of churches have them and never or rarely use them. They are very happy to loan them. Borrow slides. Lots of people have slides that sit in the cupboard and don't get used. Be sure to mark them clearly and look after them. Take slides. Borrow a camera. Get some people taking slides on a theme. Use shots of creation, elemental stuff (e.g. water, fire), stained glass windows, icons, abstracts, bread and wine, ..... Purchase slides. Cathedrals and art galleries often have collections of slides. With several projectors you can project images at various places in the room. Use sheets, muslin or a parachute.... You can project onto walls or the ceiling. It's a good effect with muslin to not just have a flat surface. Try creating some depth and layers. Try projecting from behind. Your imagination is the limit.
Words projected on slide look great if you can produce them. If you can get white words with a black background you can project them over an image from another slide projector or video projector. There are different ways to do this. Ask around - there may well be someone you know who could do this at work. One way is to print out laser copies on A4 of the words you want, photograph them and use the film negatives (which will be white on black). Chop them up and put them into slide frames. (You can buy a box of 100 for about £5 from a photo shop). Another way is to create a template on a computer of an A4 sheet with say 32 boxes the size of slides. Write the words into the boxes and take either the disc or a printed copy to a printer and ask for the sheet to be printed on negative film. You then get your white on black and chop them up and put them in slide frames.
Video
You obviously need at least a video player and a television. If your church has not got one, use yours or borrow one. A simple but good effect is to use two televisions. To do this you need a splitter. This plugs into the video player and gives you two outputs for the televisions. With long leads work out where to place these - away from the front is helpful so that it doesn't feel as though we are gathered to watch television. For larger scale events you can use a video projector. They are straightforward to use. Several schools, councils, youth agencies have them that you can hire. Project them onto any flat surface e.g. sheet. You can get a special screen which is helpful for back projection, but a sheet is pretty good. There are other bits and pieces e.g.. vision mixers that some people use but these are a luxury.
As with slides and OHPs build up a collection of images. Start small i.e. one image you want to use. You don't have to have video running all the time. Video material can be got from a variety of sources:
Off the shelf videos:
The 'Images for worship' series has been made specifically for use in worship. It is set out in a series of tracks on particular themes - e.g. 'Spirit', 'people' or 'environment'.
HMV have plenty of rave/fractal type videos that are good for creating a certain kind of vibe. There are computer graphic videos - the downside of these is that the images are a bit cold/clinical which isn't brilliant for worship - organic ones are a lot more 'real'.
Creation images (eg National Geographic). Lots of people have used images from the film 'Koyanasqaatsi'. Hunt around and ask around and you can find stuff.
Filmed programmes from the television - wildlife, news, documentaries,....etc
One of the difficulties can be finding a clip but it being too short. With two video players and the appropriate lead it is possible to compile a longer sequence using record and pause buttons.
Make your own:
Most people can get access to a camcorder at least. Try making some of your own images e.g.. candle burning, people, water, traffic.....
With a small bit of investment you can get a text writer to put words onto video. This can be very effective, particularly if it is a slow sequence of one or two words at a time that connect with a theme e.g. at Pentecost, different words for the Spirit - fire, wind, breath, dove, dangerous friend etc. If you can't afford this, write them and use a camcorder, or create the sequence on computer and film the computer.
Computers
It is possible to link a computer up to televisions or projectors and run everything from there. However this is more specialised and requires more software etc. If you are interested in that get some advice from a computer shop or someone who is doing it. (Often at larger events e.g. Spring Harvest, Brainstormers this technology is used).
Copyright
Copyright is a big issue. It would require a whole other set of notes to go into it in detail. If you are producing your own stuff you are fine. Other than that you need to check it out.
Outro
The overall setting for worship is very important. Things like lighting and layout affect the mood a lot so it's worth thinking everything through. The main goal is enabling people to worship in ways and forms that they can relate to. These notes have focused on image use. But ritual, poetry, liturgy, prayers, readings, scripture, meditations, poems, stories, songs, tracks are all other ways of expressing worship. Worship doesn't have to be technologically slick, it's whether it is real or not that counts.
at grace we have many visitors - it's part of having a web site that's half decent, living in london and being around a while i guess? anyway hospitality is something we have embraced and regularly meet and share ideas and our story with other groups. here's the account of a visit last summer - grace
A few years ago in Grace, the alternative worship community I am part of we ran a worship experience reflecting on the theme of wonder. We had a big graffiti wall with the word ‘WOW’ painted on it in pop art style (like Lichtenstein’s famous POW! painting). We then invited people to come and graffiti on the wall things that made them go wow, that gave them that sense of awe. People have those moments in all sorts of situations - watching the sunset, in the warmth of an embrace, witnessing the birth of a child, staring up at the sky on a starry night, visiting an art gallery, being at a gig, realising the enormity of what God has done for us in Christ, walking a labyrinth. We then got people to reflect on things that robbed them of that sense of wonder. For each one they would write a post it note and stick it on a brick that was placed in front of the wow graffiti. After a while the wall gradually blocked out the wow (If you do this make sure you build a wall that is safe and sit people at a reasonable distance from it – we actually used a set of sponge bricks from a theatre set). This became a physical picture of how things like busyness, homework, lack of time, or the struggle of relationships dulled peoples sense of wonder. The service then turned to focus what God has done for us – given us the gift of creation, come that we might have life, sent Christ to restore our broken relationships (and in fact the whole creation) – we read the verse from Ephesians 2 that describes Christ tearing down the wall of hostility and celebrated this under the idea of ‘restoring lost wonder’ by tearing down the wall we had built whilst playing a loud music track to reveal the wow that had been hidden from sight.
Douglas Coupland who so often captures the zeitgeist has a fantastic quote in his book ‘Life After God’ where he says ‘Sometimes the people I feel saddest for are those who once knew what profoundness was but who lost or became numb to the sensation of wonder’. Worship is one fantastic way to help young people rediscover that lost wonder.
Restoring the wow can be about very small things. Involve young people in the creating of worship so that they own it. We had two teenagers recently perform a track they had written along with VJing some visuals they had put together – it was amazing. Creating it definitely gave them a wow. Take worship out of its usual setting. Why not worship outside – looking at a starry sky, or on the beach, or at an art gallery? Involve all the senses – we set up five stations in a service – one for each of the senses – for people to become aware of them and thank God for the gift of life in all its richness. Move worship beyond singing – there are so many diverse ways we can express ourselves. Find something dry in your tradition and dream a way to make it live again. Use the things of everyday life as the building blocks for worship so that young people are enabled to encounter God in the everyday and ordinary things of life.
Youth is a stage of life characterised by passion. Sadly the opposite can sometimes be said of church. Older generations in church are afraid of the passion of youth and sometimes seem to prefer worship to be predictable, safe or routine. Kenda Creasy Dean had just published what I think is the best book on youth ministry for quite some time ‘Practising Passion: Youth and the Quest For A Passionate Church’ where she advocates developing a curriculum of passion which re-engages with the ancient practises of the church as a way of enabling young people to be transformed by experiencing the Passion of God. One of those practises is worship.
Last year one of my favourite contemporary art installations was The Bridge by Michael Cross at Dilston Grove in Bermondsey. The artist had constructed a pool inside the old chapel and designed a series of steps so that visitors could walk on water. The water had been blackened with dye so it looked pretty mysterious. When you stood on the first step the weight of your body as you leaned forward caused the next step to appear from under the water. It was quite a slow process, designed to be meditative and step by step you walked across the water. That experience still lives with me and when I have faced decisions requiring a step of faith I have pictured that moment.
Lots of alternative worship groups have drawn inspiration from art installations and have created interactive experiences as part of worship. These might be stations in a service or something on a grander scale. Greenbelt being an arts festival has hosted some wonderful worship art installations over the years. To much amusement at an ideas session for last year’s festival someone suggested doing ‘shed worship’. As far as I know that’s a new concept! But a few months later and lo and behold a few groups rose to the challenge of creating a worship experience with a shed that would be placed outside on site. My favourite one never took place because of health and safety – “the Scape Shed”. People were to be invited to write things on pieces of paper that they wanted rid of in their lives and post them through holes. Then at the end of the weekend the shed would be ceremoniously burned! At the festival there was a poetry shed, a graffiti shed and a shed obscura (a shed turned into a pin hole camera as a reflection on the upside down kingdom).
A mission challenge is how to take spirituality that resonates with contemporary culture and do it out in public spaces rather than inside church walls. In New Zealand, Opawa Baptist Church did precisely this last month taking the Christmas story to find a home outside the church and in the marketplace of Christchurch. Under the creative leadership of Peter and Joyce Majendie eight 20ft long containers were designed, created, wrapped and delivered to parts of the city to be unwrapped. Steve Taylor, the pastor describes it -
“Each had Scripture written on them by a local artist to provide context for the Christmas story. We had people comment "wow that's the largest I have ever seen the Bible written in the city". We had to call the police when 10 drunk santa's invaded one station. There was quite a contrast between the local cathedral who celebrated Christmas by erecting a giant Christmas tree outside with the names of all their commercial sponsors and our container about 20 feet away with planets in motion and a baby crying and people invited to make a star out of wire. About 15,000 people visited the containers. It was brilliant to watch people walk out of a station and say "that changed me" and to have over 200 church volunteers spending time in the city, engaging with people and it's rhythms.”
It sounds a fabulous way to take worship outside the box (and in to other ones!).
Images and visuals play a big part in Grace worship. We've always made flyers to promote grace that have always included strong images. In our services we try to engage all the senses so include visual images as videos, slides, animation, icons, sculpture and installtions.
Explore some of the images we've used in our galleries and in the pages in this section.
A collection of some the pieces we have written and used as liturgy in Grace services.
A prayer in which the responses are all well-known advertising slogans.
We live after purity
True
In a world of rich and poor, global warming, information overload, cafe direct, nike and gap
You either love it or you hate it
Our life is complex and interlinked not simple and straightforward
It’s as clear as your conscience
Our actions and choices have a knock on effect for others - neighbours near home and far away
Help us in this context to follow you
Always
When our thoughts are filled with dreams of wealth and objects of desire
Think different
When we reach information overload
Have a break
Take some space and time
Everyone needs a place to think
Help us use our withdrawal as a time to learn to love the world more
Stop liking start loving
Make us angry about injustice and determined to make a difference
Just do it
Help us know which concerns to make our own
Because life is complicated enough
When apathy sets in to remember
Every little helps
When individual actions seem too small to count thank you that we are part of your body, the largest global network
Together we are stronger
Give us patience when change is slow
Good things come to those that wait
We long to see your kingdom come
The future’s bright
And your will be done
Whatever it takes
On earth as it is in heaven
A taste of paradise
To the glory of God
Because he’s worth it!
[jonny baker]
“Zechariah, do not be afraid; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son, and you are to call him John. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
“Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you. Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
the grace be do service was led with people wearing either red of blue filtered glasses. when it came to the iiturgy written in red and blue. each person could only see one half. to capture that i have pout the liturgy jhere in read and blue as a jpg (which means you'll have to copy out the words if you want to use them)
Bread of Justice
“Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you that have no money, come, buy and eat!”
Isaiah 55:1-2 The Bible
Each human life has equal worth and value. We live in a very unfair world.
In 1992 Nike paid Michael Jordon more for endorsing its trainers ($20million) than the company paid its entire 30,000 strong Indonesian workforce.
Compare the hourly salary of Michael Eisner, CEO of Disney ($9,783) with that of a Haitian worker who stitches Disney merchandise (28 cents).
In 1998 it was calculated that Bill Gates, Helen Walton and Warren Buffet – the world’s three richest people – had a combined wealth of $132 billion. Between them they are richer than 48 of the world’s countries. Add up every penny you can find from Afghanistan and Angola to Madagascar and Malawi to Uganda and Zimbabwe and you still won’t find as much as this loaded American threesome.
In Canada people can expect to live until they are 79.
In Malawi people can expect to live until they are 41.
In the UK 78 in 100 people have their own television.
In Bangladesh it is 1 in a 100.
84 people in our world have combined fortunes worth more than everyone in China which has 1.2 billion people and a gross domestic product of £700 billion.
A child born in Britain, America or France this year will consume, waste and pollute more in a lifetime than 50 children born in developing nations.
The richest fifth of the world’s population will consume nearly half of the world’s meat and fish, use 58% of the energy and 84% of all paper. This richest fifth has three-quarters of all telephone lines and 87% of the world’s vehicles.
In France everyone has access to sanitation – in Malawi only 6% of people do.
70% of the world’s population has never made a phone call.
Every 8 minutes of every day of every week of every year an Iraqi child dies as a consequence of US and Western sanctions.
= = =
Place a star on the map on a place in the world where you think there is a particular need for justice. Reflect on your life in relation to life in the place where you have placed your star. Pray for all those who hunger for the bread of justice.
We hunger for you in a hungry world.
May we be blessed.
As we look to the year ahead, and the year gone by.
As we return to our schools and workplaces and find New rocks and New brambles.
May you be blessed as you engage with others,
as you find the time to participate and give others the chance to do the same.
May you have the courage to create and take risks,
and may you find your rest in God.
May you be blessed, as you show your weaknesses and accept God's Grace.
May others see that you are fragile that they might join in your fragility.
May our broken edges fit together to become one body.
As Christ kept the holes in his hands and feet having rose from the dead,
may we keep our wounds even after we have healed.
May you be blessed as you are healed by Christ's own wounds.
May you become broken in order to become whole.
May you become whole by knowing you are broken.
May you remember your wounds and embrace your hurt.
May you go into the places that scare you.
May you deal with anger and with sadness
And may God be with you all the way.
May you be blessed, that you are perfect in your imperfections -
as you are forgiven, but never forgotten.
May you be blessed, as you are accepted as you are.
As you are broken.
As you are wounded.
As you are hurt.
As you are loved.
Amen.
[this blessing was improvised - i.e. written down in response to the liturgies and prayers of the evening]
Welcome to worship
Make yourself at home
Relax your tense shoulders; shake out your tired arms; rotate your stiff ankles
Breathe deeply; breathe deeper still
Let your thoughts settle in this place; be fully present here
Look around at your companions; we have come to worship together
And everyone is welcome here with all that you carry
So bring your struggle and your success
your joy and your fear
your faith and your doubt
your culture
your sensuality
your whole self
We are here to soak in the presence of God
We are here to listen to the word of God
We are here to be filled with the Spirit of God
We are here to worship
'confession' was written as a prayer for the grace service at reimagining worship in hackney. The service was about the senses, and this prayer about the misuse of the senses. we had linked images, eg advertisements, up whilst it was read.
white lines
blowing through my mind
and all the while i think of you
you said
hello boys are you pleased to see me?
we said
lord, when did we see you naked
and not rewind the video
you said
some people bleed internally
for lack of anyone to touch them
and pronounce them clean
we said
some people are just asking for it
you said
it's a lovely day
come outside and smell the flowers
we said
there was a drunk on the train tonight
we could hardly breathe
don't these people ever wash?
you said
hey baby
we could make beautiful music together
you said
you could at least phone
we said
we're sorry there's no-one here to receive your call at present
please leave your name and telephone number
and we will get back to you as soon as possible
you said
if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off
If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out
with the remaining hand
because you can't, you won't, and you don't stop
you said
take, eat - this is my body
drink it all of you - this is my blood
we said
this product will only aid weight loss
as part of a calorie-controlled diet
you said
the eye cannot say to the hand "i don't need you"
or how are you going to reach out?
you said
the head cannot say to the feet "i don't need you"
or how are you going to dance?
we said
we are the body of christ
but it's not quite nice to talk about bodies
especially in church
if you wanted us to be holy
why did you invent sex?
you said
i gave up my body
to murder and resurrection
to put all this mess right
i can start changing things right now, if you want
we said
yes please
Grace Participate - Do You Turn To Christ?
Let's all gather in close around the table...
We have been exploring the ethos of grace over the last few weeks -
creativity - we love being creative
participation - grace is not something to consume but to get involved in
and engagement - the spirit gives us an outward impulse to engage in mission life, the world, culture and in our local communities.
If you are involved in grace we hope you won't be able to help being creative, involved and engaged - these things will rub off on us all. Or else thy are just empty words.
We began the first service dramatically smashing a mirror and plates to suggest that as God beckons us into the future there may be things that we need to let go of in order to move on. Well here we are. We have explored our values and this is it. We stand on the threshold of the future. God is beckoning us into the future.
We are changing the way we do things and the future is up for shaping. The basic structure is in place on these postcards. Take some if you haven't had them already. At the heart of the change is the opportunity for more involvement and to create space for things other than creating worship. So if you have ideas, passions, interests, mission ideas then get one or two others with you and make them happen.
I have put a few symbolic items on the table.
Bread is the body of christ - this isn't consecrated. but as we move from here i invite you to eat bread as a symbol of your participation in the life of God and God's kingdom.
The cross is the symbol of christ's passion - his self giving love. to follow in the way of christ is to live a passion-ate life. Christ is re-inviting us to be passion-ate, to follow in the way of self giving love. I'm going to pass the cross around - hold it and in your heart recommit to the way of the cross, the way of passion, the way of self giving love.
The candle is the light of the world - Christ has ignited a spark or a fire in us, i invite you to take a candle and light it as a sign that you recommit to being a godbearer, to carry God's light into the world.
We have this nice inward facing circle. This is part of our grace problem. We seem close to God when we are facing inwards. We have fallen for the trap of thinking God is in here. But God is out there. A Great Reversal needs to take place. When we talked about our ethos, one word kept coming up that never made it in to the three but perhaps undergirds them all - risk. Following God is a risk. So finally I'm going to ask you a simple question from the baptism service 'do you turn to Christ?'. As I do respond 'I do' if you'd like to. And as you do turn and face outwards. Then stay for a minute or two in silence facing outwards asking God to lead you and us into the future
Do you turn to Christ? I do
Doors [3] - New Year 06
We will not allow our gifts and talents to be hidden
WE WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM THROUGH THE DOOR MARKED "CREATE".
We will encourage all to contribute. Our ideas are a gift offered to God
WE WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM THROUGH THE DOOR MARKED "PARTICIPATE".
We will be hospitable and supportive to one another, to visitors and to the wider church. We will engage with everyday life and connect with culture:
WE WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM THROUGH THE DOOR MARKED "ENGAGE".
We will not be afraid to fail but will push at our boundaries and try new things:
WE WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM THROUGH THE DOOR MARKED "RISK".
WE WILL GO THROUGH THESE DOORS IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT, KNOWING THAT JESUS HAS GONE THROUGH THEM ALL FIRST.
When our thoughtless criticism stifles the creativity of others,
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
When we keep a tight hold on power and deny others the chance to participate.
Christ, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
When we prefer the safety of our holy huddle to the wideness of God’s world.
Christ, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
When we decline to take risks for fear that we might fail.
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
But when we praise the gifts of others,
share the power that we are given,
engage with communities beyond the boundaries of our comfort,
and risk everything we have for the sake of others,
then, God rejoices in us.
Almighty God,
who forgives all who truly repent,
Have mercy upon us,
pardon and deliver us from all our sins,
confirm and strengthen us is all goodness,
and keep us in life eternal,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Text from the order of service for the 1999 Greenbelt communion service.
Before the service begins there will be a chance to learn the new songs in the service.
Words in bold are spoken or sung by all. Words in light are spoken or sung by the leaders.
Welcome to our worship, we're celebrating the eucharist.
God the creator is a gracious, abundant and generous host.
You are invited to be guests at his table
Grace and peace to you from him who was and is and is to come
and from the seven spirits before his throne
and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness
the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth
On the Lord's day I was in the Spirit
and there before me was a door standing open in heaven
and a voice like a trumpet said
'Come up here and I will show you what must take place after this'
Eternal God,
fling open the doors of our hearts
to the weather of your Spirit.
Lead us out beneath the dancing sky and wind
across the stumbling ground of our reality
to where the sound of worship never ceases
and the view stretches further than the human eye can see.
Through Christ the faithful witness,
Amen
Relax
God is here
There will be some space and quiet music to prepare our hearts for worship.
Angel
Seven golden lamps are shining ANGEL
Where the Son of Man goes walking ANGEL
Calling out for us to hear him ANGEL
Calling out to seven churches ANGEL
Sing praise to Christ our God
Sing praise to Christ our God
Sing praise to Christ our God
Sing praise to Christ our God
Eyes that burn like fire flying ANGEL
Words that sound like rushing rivers ANGEL
In his hands are seven bright stars ANGEL
In his face the sun is shining ANGEL
I am Alpha and Omega ANGEL
I was crucified and broken ANGEL
Now I am alive forever ANGEL
Death can never stop my living ANGEL
Do you understand the mystery ANGEL
What is now and what will happen ANGEL
Seven stars are seven angels ANGEL
Seven lamps are seven churches ANGEL
Holy holy holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee
Holy holy holy, Merciful and mighty
God in three persons, blessed Trinity
Holy holy holy, all the saints adore thee
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee
Who were and are and evermore shall be
Holy holy holy, though the darkness hide thee
Though the sinful human eye thy glory may not see
Only thou art holy, there is none beside thee
Perfect in power, in love and purity
Holy holy holy, Lord God Almighty
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea
Holy holy holy, merciful and mighty
God in three persons, blessed Trinity
(Reginald Herber 1783-1826, tune John Bacchus Dykes 1823-76)
Please sit or kneel.
After each section the following Kyrie is sung:
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Glory to God in the highest
Glory to God in the highest
God's peace on the earth
God's peace on the earth
Lord God, Heavenly King, Almighty God and Father
We worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory
Lord God, Heavenly King, Almighty God and Father
We worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory
Lord Jesus Christ only Son of God
Lord Jesus Christ only Son of God
Lord God lamb of God
Lord God lamb of God
You take away the sin of the world - have mercy on us all
You sit at God's right hand on high - receive our prayer today
You take away the sin of the world - have mercy on us all
You sit at God's right hand on high - receive our prayer today
For you alone are the holy one
For you alone are the holy one
You are the only Lord
You are the only Lord
You alone are God most high - you are Jesus Christ
You are with the Holy Spirit in the Father's glory
You alone are God most high - you are Jesus Christ
You are with the Holy Spirit in the Father's glory
Glory to God in the highest
Glory to God in the highest
Amen Alleluia
Amen Alleluia
Revelation 21:1-8, Isaiah 25:6-9
We believe in God the Father Almighty
We believe that he made the earth and heavens
We believe in Jesus born of a woman
We believe that he is the Son of God
We believe
We believe We believe We believe We believe We believe
We believe We believe We believe We believe We believe
We believe in Jesus teacher and healer
We believe that his life was poor and simple
We believe he died betrayed and rejected
We believe that he fought the power of evil
We believe the holy life giving Spirit
Is a gift of the Son and Father to us
We believe the three are one and united
We believe in his healing and forgiveness
We believe that Jesus died and was buried
We believe that he rose to life again
We believe that he was taken to heaven
We believe that he reigns at God's right hand
We believe that he will come back in glory
We believe he will judge the dead and living
We believe the resurrection of body
We believe in the life that's everlasting
from 'The Book of God' by Walter Wangerin
The Lord is here
God¹s Spirit is with us
Lift up your hearts
We lift them up to God
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give God thanks and praise
O Lord our God, sustainer of the universe,
at your command all things came to be:
the vast expanse of interstellar space;
galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses,
and this fragile earth, our island home.
By your will they were created and have their being.
Redeemer God, word become flesh,
we remember you in bread and wine;
your body, your blood,
broken so we with all creation may be made perfect.
Through your sacrifice death is nulled.
Through your resurrection we have a future.
Thankyou
Therefore with angels and animals,
microbes and mountains,
and all that lives for you
we proclaim how wonderful you are,
we pour out our thanks to you
in song that never sleeps:
Holy holy holy lord
Holy holy holy lord
God of power and might
God of power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna in the highest
And now we ask that by the power of your Holy Spirit
this bread and wine may be to us Christ's body and his blood;
who, on the night that he was handed over to suffering and death,
took bread, thanked you and broke it
He gave it to his friends saying
'Eat this, it is my body given for you. Do this in memory of me.'
Later after supper he took the cup,
thanked you, and gave it to them saying
'Drink this all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant
which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this whenever you drink it in memory of me.'
Christ has died, Christ is risen
Christ has died, Christ is risen
Christ will come again
Christ will come again
In this place where heaven and earth meet
under the rainbow of God's promise,
in this sharing of bread and wine
future hope becomes reality now
So bring your scorched earth
bring your harvest
bring your open sky
bring your restless guilty waters
bring your swift unbending road
bring your urgent inner city
to the table where your host says
'I make all things new'
Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world
Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world
Have mercy, mercy on us
Have mercy, mercy on us
One person in each group stands to get bread and wine.
Bread and wine is shared in groups.
Come and be here
Steal past my fears
O wounded healer
O humble leader
Show me your hands
Show me your side
O holy victim
O crucified
I will receive you now
I will receive your love
I will believe in you
I will go on with you
Speak to my heart
Bring me your peace
O broken Saviour
O gentle fighter
Breathe on my face
The breath of life
O my Christ let me
Share in your life
Bring to my lips now
Your blood and body
O bread of heaven
O hope of glory
Send me in love
Into the world
O faithful teacher
Wisdom of God
All-saving God,
Thank you for feeding us with the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ
whose death and resurrection have purchased the future healing of all things
We who have tasted the coming Kingdom
offer ourselves as its bearers and signs in the power of your Spirit
and as lovers and guardians of all that you have made
until you come
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
Prayers led by Christian Aid with a particular focus on Jubilee 2000
I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the trinity
By invocation of the same
The three in one and one in three
I bind unto myself today
The great love of the living word
The wisdom of my God to teach
His hand to guide his shield to ward
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven
The glorious sun's life giving ray
The fruits of earth so freely given
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead
His eye to watch his might to stay
His ear to hearken to my need
I bind unto myself today
The way of Christ in life and death
The call of God to jubilee
In broken chains and cancelled debt
I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the trinity
By invocation of the same
The three in one and one in three
(Words attributed to St Patrick, translation Mrs C F Alexander, 1889, except v.5)
Music and words from Grace, Host, Late Late Service, Third Sunday Service and Sanctuary.
'Eucharist' has been specifically written for Greenbelt 1999.
It is available on CD, from Proost
Thanks to everyone who has specifically written or contributed material to make 'Eucharist' happen.
Where our choice of words has concealed the riches of your character,
has distorted our understanding of your nature
and has kept you hidden from those who seek you
Nurturing God, forgive us
Where we have created you in our own image,
have thought of you in purely human terms,
have used words to tie you down and box you in
Renewing God, forgive us
Where the language we use for each has upheld sinful power structures instead of subverting them,
where our words have excluded women and privileged men,
have silenced the poor and ignored the disadvantaged,
have dishonoured ethnicity and rejected diversity
Energising God, forgive us
Hear now the words of Jesus for all who are truly sorry and who seek to renew their lives and their language:
your sins are forgiven;
go in peace;
come and follow me.
Holy God
open our eyes
expand our vocabulary
broaden our understanding
enrich our worship
so that we can praise you and know you in ways less idolatrous and more liberating
Amen
Generous host, Feast maker,
Help me to accept your hospitality
To realise when my cup is full
and to enjoy drinking it?
Homekeeper,
You welcome me in.
You remove my damp, uncomfortable coat
and draw me in beside the fire.
You invite me to the table
and make me part of your family.
Though i am odd and awkward
you make me feel i am a treasured guest
and there will always be a place for me here.
Jesus is not lord
There, I've said it.
It's been bugging me for years.
Lords are pompous rich people who usually inherit a lot of wealth,
talk funny and think they are better than anyone else.
They even get a say in how to run the country and think it's their right.
They live up to their name and 'lord' it over people.
So thank you that today, at last,
Jesus is not lord.
Creator God
swirling, formless one,
hovering over creation and bringing new things to life
you speak new worlds into being with language that creates and liberates
Eternal God
living, limitless one
inhabiting the vast universe with the rich complexity of your being
you reveal yourself to your creatures and invite us to know you
Friendly God.
nurturing, welcoming one
opening yourself wide to the joy and pain of loving your people
you place us in communities and families that echo your true nature
(pause to think about the language we instinctively use for God)
Holy God
We thank you for the ways in which we have known and understood you;
We thank you for the metaphors that have opened our eyes to more of who you are;
We thank you for the language that has brought the transcendent, timeless, mysterious God within our grasp.
Holy God
We are hungry for more of you
We ask you to reveal more of yourself to us
to take us beyond the confines of familiar habits
to free us from the restrictions and distortions of our language
to expand our understanding of you
so that we can love you whole heartedly
we can communicate you faithfully
and we can reflect your full image to a world that needs you
Amen.
you are not lord - you are lord
you are not father - you are father
you are not friend - you are friend
you are not lover - you are lover
you are not mother - you are mother
you are not god - you are god
you are not saviour - you are saviour
you are not judge - you are judge
you are not king - you are king
you are quantum
the wave and the particle
the fuzzy edge
the paradox
the 'both and' god.
God the rock
solid, enduring, strong and safe
existing through turmoil and peace
awe-inspiring as a mountain range
beautiful as a marble floor
protective like a cathedral wall
a cave in which to shelter
a cool refuge in the heat of the day.
But are you cold and hard?
unmoved and impervious?
impersonal and frightening?
Do you get eroded by wind and weather and the passing of time?
Can you be a rock in some ways and not others?
I need to think some more about this.
Words people ‘parked’
Lord
Father
Father God
Fullness/energy
Loving
God
Love
Spirit
Majesty
Sustaining
Faith
King
Abba
Creator
He
Three persons - trinity
Peacemaker
Judge
Mother
Provider
Forgiveness
Tender
Words people explored
Midwife
Parent Eagle
You sculpted me, inside and out
Watchful Shepherd
Shaper and moulder
I see you
Unconsuming Fire
The one who comes looking for us
Seeker of my heart
Hostess
The undefinable
Rock
Generous Host
Shepherd
Light of the Dawn
Omnipotent
Nothing
Thirst quencher
Your lost sheep needs you
Ocean
Mechanic
Bread of Life
Energy
Cook
Living water
The energy in all things
originally part of 'homecoming', based on a set of slides illustrating rembrandt's painting 'the return of the prodigal'. it had a second life as station 5 of the st. paul's cathedral labyrinth.
on the wall above this station is projected a part of the painting: the prodigal son being embraced by his father.
on a table in front of it is an OS map.
on the map is a map-reading compass, and four or five small magnets.
beside the map is the book 'walking in circles' by richard long, open at the double-page spread 'kicking stones: a 203 mile northward walk in six days'
instructions:
the compass points north
but the coloured magnets, like false norths,
can pull it astray.
play a little with the magnets
bring them close to the compass and see the effect.
the still small voice of true north is there all the time
but the false norths drown it out
if they get too close.
how then will we find our way home
across strange terrain?
what are the false norths in your life?
in addition there is this text:
focus on the figures of the father and the son.
remain in silence for a while.
try to imagine the scene of the encounter between father and son....
the younger son took all his father could give him and left.
he wanted to rule his own life, but stronger forces were pulling the strings. he wanted to be his own new creation, but stronger forces remade him in their own image.
both feast and famine took all he had - even his humanity. he found himself in a world where pigs were worth more than people, because pigs have economic value.
so he returned to his father to sell himself as a commodity.
but his father received him as a son.
notice his shaved head - symbol of loss of humanity. he has become an object to be used and discarded.
he wants to be a hired hand - a partial, conditional humanity that has to be continually earned and can be revoked.
the father receives him in the sonship of full humanity. being someone’s child does not have to be earned or deserved. the father will not allow him to be anything less than a son.
do you feel you have to earn god’s love?
if so, look at the painting and put yourself in the position of the younger son.
feel the embrace of god’s accepting love.
Go back the way you came
After going through the desert, through discouragement and fear, after receiving refreshment Elijah is told to go back the way he came to finish the task of anointing the next king and prophet. It's a long way back!
(We used this over the movie sequence from Plant Earth of deserts where the desert is suddenly filled with gushing water and where the desert blooms)
Go back the way you came...
The desert and the parched land will be glad
Go back the way you came...
Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert
Go back the way you came...
The burning sand will become a pool and thirsty ground bubbling springs.
Go back the way you came...
You're not the only one
Go back the way you came...
Build in time for rest, food and drink
Go back the way you came...
What are you doing here?
Go back the way you came...
The wilderness will rejoice and blossom, like the crocus it will burst into bloom
Go back the way you came...
Be strong. Do not fear. Your God will come.
Go back the way you came...
May gladness and joy overtake you and sorrow and sighing flee away
Go back the way you came...
God of broken people and broken places
We confess to you our love of comfort,
of the known and predictable,
of the safe and secure.
We recognise that you call us into liminal space
To leave what we know and venture with you into desert and wilderness, into blindness and discomfort
We want to follow you, but it’s hard to leave what we know
Help us to trust you, and to set out.
On the journey of faith,
Far I have come, far I must go
God of broken people and broken places
We thank you for all that Grace has been to us and to many others
We thank you for the space to listen, to grow, to create, to be challenged
We recognise that you are calling us on
To leave what we know and venture with you into new things, into engagement and participation, into creativity and risk, into new structures and opportunities
We want to follow you, but it’s hard to leave what we know and we’re not sure where we’re going
Help us to trust you, and to set out.
On the journey of faith,
Far we have come, far we must go.
God of rebuilt people and rebuilt places
You have plans for deserts and wilderness
‘Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
The thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
Grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.’
God of transformation we look forward to what you will do
With our lives and with Grace
On the journey of faith,
Far we have come, far we must go.
God of many names, my name is known to you.
I am held in the hand of your life, and I do not know what you will make of me.
All I know is that I cannot make myself any more than I could in my mother's womb.
But this I can do, this I choose.
To give myself into the hand of your continuing creativity;
my past, with its joys and triumphs, its failures and regrets;
my present, with its struggles and accomplishments, its hopes and setbacks;
my future, with its fears and freedom, its pain and promise.
To loose and to bind, to stretch and to shape, to become what I will,
trusting the hand that made the world
trusting the spirit that breathes life
trusting the love that will not let me go
trusting the promise of the Word made flesh.
Amen
(naming and presentation: a dedication by kathy galloway from the book 'talking to the bones' spck 1996)
[in spite of being a foreigner and a nobody, in spite of being both the agent and the victim of a moral mess, in spite of not being the mother of the chosen one, hagar is one of the few people in the bible to be able to say, "i have seen god!"]
when we are enslaved in a foreign country
you are the god who sees
when we are the victims of domestic strife
you are the god who sees
when we give birth to disputed children
you are the god who sees
when we are thrown out of our homes
you are the god who sees
when we mock other people's sorrows
you are the god who sees
when our familes reject us
you are the god who sees
when we cannot provide for ourselves
you are the god who sees
when we despair of life itself
you are the god who sees
so may the god who sees hagar and ishmael
the god who sees outsiders and mistakes
the god who sees the ones who are not chosen
watch over us and provide for us
through our wanderings, exiles and errors
this lent and always
amen
I am listening to you, honestly,
But I’m also thinking about what I’m going to say next
I hate embarrassed gaps in conversation when no one knows what to say
I want you to think that I’m interesting, funny, witty
So I’m lining up my response, getting it ready
I am listening to you, honestly,
But I hope you don’t go on too long
I want to catch the final scores, to find out how my team has done
And I need to ring my friend before he goes out for the evening
Then ‘I’m a celebrity’ is on TV and I don’t want to miss that
So make it quick and you don’t need to repeat yourself
I am listening to you, honestly,
But I’m also thinking about what happened at work this week
And what I’ve got to do next week
I’m going to be in trouble if I don’t get that report written
And I need to work out why my colleague isn’t talking to me
So it’s quite hard to hear what you’re saying
over all this internal noise
I am listening to you, honestly,
But that group over there looks like they’re having a much better conversation
They’re laughing and joking
I’d really like to get to know some of them
Not that you’re not important – of course you are
I just wish I had the chance to speak to them too
I am listening to you, honestly,
But to be honest, I wish you’d really listen to me
Just for once, to pay attention to what I have to say
without jumping in with your experience and your solutions
I don’t want you to solve my problems
I just want you to hear me
To hear the me behind the words
To really listen
we have had a DIY iconic candle as part of the communion by numbers services (see 2006 | 2007).
in the envelope is...
a night light candle
box of matches
an acetate strip with iconic images printed on it
a paper clip
make the candle by looping the strip and clipping with the paper clip and place over the night light and light the candle. you can get acetates to print on with an ink jet printer from any stationers such as rymans.
you can download a pdf file of the acetate strip we used for the emmaus road communion by numbers (5mb). cut round the strip of images but leave the overlap one end so that you have some blank acetate to fold over when you clip the loop.
Who are you when your job and place in society are taken away - what's left
that can't be taken away? What is the irreducible hardcore you? What is the
you of you?
Is all we have the identities that society has given us - our style tribes,
our clothing labels, our jobs, our cars, our political choices? Are these
like clothes that we pull around our naked selves? Will we shiver and catch
cold without them, or be arrested for indecent exposure of the soul?
So who are you going to be today? We're lost in a world full of choices. In
the past, who you were was given to you by birth and occupation, and few
escaped their place. Now 'who am I?' is a decision we have to make for
ourselves every day, and a lot of the time we don't know where to begin...so
we drift through identities, always acting, reinventing ourselves on the
outside but never able to change ourselves on the inside; or we live and die
by who other people say we are. We don't know how to define ourselves except
by the categories that our society offers us, so we shoehorn ourselves in,
grateful for the security of a label, grateful to belong, even if we have to
cut off bits of our inner selves to fit in the box...
A lot of us are told we're worthless, and that becomes our identity,
tainting everything we do with the stench of failure, making even our
virtues or successes seem provisional and temporary in the face of our
fundamental loserdom.
Those that have success find that it isn't enough to fill a heart, unless
you shrink it...
and when the rest of us find that we don't have the talent for the premier
division, or the head office, or the A-levels, we know that we are failures,
because success is the only success, and we live out our lives knowing that
we were not good enough...
At the beginning of his public ministry, after he had been baptised by John
the Baptist, Jesus went into the desert to find out who he was if he wasn't
going to be a carpenter anymore. Interestingly Luke, in his gospel, puts in
Jesus' genealogy, his family tree, at this point - this is how Jesus' fellow
Jews defined who he was - later, when Jesus starts preaching in the
synagogue in Nazareth, his fellow Nazarenes are outraged at his presumption
- who does he think he is, they say, isn't he just Joseph's son? In their
society, where family defines who you are, they think they know all about
him by knowing his family.
So Jesus goes out into the desert, away from the pigeonholes of job and
family, to ask God who he really is. And by the end of the 40 days, Satan's
repeated question 'if you are the son of God...' tells us that Jesus had
found out.
So who does God think you are?
In the desert all the things that we use to define our identities are
missing, and we are left with nothing except what we have inside. A lot of
us fear that we would find we had nothing inside, or only fear and pain, and
so we never venture into the desert. In the desert there is nowhere to hide,
if God comes to us, as he came to Jesus, as he came to Moses, as he came to
Jacob, to show us who we really are to him. And we clutch our thin rags of
identity to us like armour, and shrink back from his touch - better the
little we have, we say, than risk even that being taken away as well.
But those who try to save their life will lose it all, and God needs to
strip us naked, in spite of our fear and embarrassment - and if we let him
remove these filthy rags, and wash the festering wounds, he will reclothe us
as something we never imagined, or only caught glimpses of in dreams and ran
after down the High Street, but found that the things we bought could never
quite get us there, because we were still wearing the same old stinking
underwear underneath - and when we put on the identity God offers us - the
one he sewed himself, until his hands bled - we will know that we have
become our real selves at last, we have found out who we really are, that we
are free, and need never search, lost, through the world again...
and maybe the desert turns out to be a beach, after all, so we make a
bonfire of those old rags and watch the sun rise over the ocean...
originally part of the slow service a reflection by steve:
reality is a static image, rolling past at 24 frames per second
if we slow the movie down, what will we see?
slow the projector in your head and lose the fluidity
embrace the flicker, the jerkiness
allow the frames of your life to disconnect and stop
now your life lies still in front of your eyes, what do you see?
play 'spot the difference' with each frozen moment
now you have time to examine carefully each corner and shadow
what details are revealed, that you always move too fast to see?
fleeting expressions and imperceptible gestures
betraying a truth not discerned
a turning you didn't take
another universe of futures, vanishing from sight
to us the stars stand still
but ancient eyes could not navigate by our skies
the north point of the sky moves in a circle 28000 years around
the north star we know is not the north star of our ancestors or descendants
they will see other constellations
does god see our lives the way we see the stars?
innumerable slow movements plotted and understood on charts long before the event
constellations drawn that serve for a while and break up
how slow is reality for god?
what do fast and slow mean in eternity
where every tiny moment and endless age are available for detailed inspection
a day like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day
if we slow down do we see more like god sees?
see all the details
creation's crazy minutiae
who would have time to see all that stuff except god?
is that why there's so much of it?
how quickly does salvation come?
if we slowed our lives down would we see every step and progression?
or would its detail still evade us
a blur of motion in the shadows of a static frame
a frozen block in the centre of the movie?
if we slow down will we see what god sees?
will we see what god is doing?
have you ever tried?
Julie Dunstan led grace through an Examen for the January 2005 service.
This is the text of her explantion and mediation.
It is the beginning of a new year and, perhaps, following the tragedy of the Tsunami we might approach it with a sense of gratitude and humility for the privilege of life still before us. How, then, can we be more open to God's invitation to live a wholesome holiness....
Finding God in all things is the catch phrase of Ignatian spirituality... It is a key concept in the return to a more grounded, more experiential faith. And it characterises Ignatian spirituality - from which we get the Examen.
Many of us are no longer satisfied with a God who sits above us, aloof - requiring a radical departure or denial of our everyday realities - inner and outer. Though we must certainly accept that God cannot be reduced to our realities ( he is always also utterly other!) we are it seems, reclaiming the incarnational God - the God revealed in human form - vulnerable, ordinary, desiring, suffering, transformed.
The Examen is a prayer practice, articulated and made popular by a man who came to be known as Ignatius of Loyola - born in the late 15th C in Northern Spain. It is, in short, a way of listening to our selves and to God. It is a practice of listening contemplatively to our own lives. It is a tool for discerning the presence and absence of God in our lives.
God is constantly revealing himself to us in our experience. It is because God is present and available to human experience that we have a divinely inspired story to tell. Someone has called it - reading the scripture of our life...
St Ignatius, in his teaching of the Examen expected that God would speak through our deepest feelings and yearning, what he called consolation and desolation. Consolation is whatever helps us to connect in love to ourselves, others, God and the universe. In his language - whatever leads to an increase in faith, hope and love. Desolation is whatever blocks that connection...
So what follows is this - if we can reflect upon what in our life connects us to Life, love, faith, hope, peace... the qualities of the spirit... we can track where it is God is most available to us - or, more precisely, where we are most available to God. And the opposite - if we can see where it is we are being drained of life - and then think about how we block God in those areas... This is not the same as feeling merely good or bad.
The point is - to discern God's presence and will is no longer a case of looking 'out there' - but inside...
The Examen is traditionally done on a daily basis - but can usefully be applied to all sorts of other times -
I'd like to lead you in an Examen of the last year as a way of entering this New year with more awareness of where God is speaking to you in your life...and where you find yourself being drawn away from God's love.
I invite you, then, to read the scripture of your life...
Examen of the Year
Stillness
Take a moment to find a comfortable position (the great masters of prayer never neglected the body!) Find a position which is relaxed but alert... A simple and longstanding technique at the beginning of meditation is to use the noticing of our breath to gently bring our awareness and focus inwards.
Isaiah 48
(slightly paraphrased)
Come near and listen to this:
from the beginning I have never spoken to you obscurely,
and all the time these things have been happening, I have been present
Thus says Yaweh, your redeemer, the Holy One:
I, your God, teach you what is good for you,
I lead you in the way that you must go.
If only you had been alert...
Become more fully aware now of being in the presence of God: in the presence of love...
You are precious in my eyes and honoured and I love you...
How are you in your body? Let your body be before God
How are you in your mind? Let your mind be before God
How are you in your feelings? Let your feelings be before God
In God we live, and move and have our being...
Thankfulness
Give thanks for the presence of God in our humanity. In our physical, intellectual, emotional realities.
The word became flesh and dwelt among us...
Give thanks for the reality of God loving and living in us and through us...
Light-Seeking
Ask God now to help you to see and to understand how her love has been working within you over the last year. Ask God's spirit to enlighten and guide your thoughts.
Cleanse the thoughts of our heart by the inspiration of your holy spirit...
Reflection
Begin to let yourself remember the last year... don't try too hard... At first, just scan the year and get a sense of it... Christmas and the time leading up to it... Autumn...... Summer...... Spring..... the year beginning 2004.....
Now let come what comes at first when you ask the questions:
When did I feel best able to give and receive love?
What caused in me an increase in faith, hope and love?
Where was I drawn to God?
In fears, in joy, in pain, in creativity?
In prayer, in liturgy, scripture, creation?
In work or leisure?
In family, friend, colleague, church community, neighbour?
Did I feel myself being nudged or prompted in any particular way?
Out of all the year's experiences, is there one experience, that I feel most grateful for?
Relish these moments of consolation - of revelation...
Give thanks.
Sorrow and Regret
Look again back over the year. When was I aware of God's absence?
When did I feel least able to give or receive love?
What caused in me a decrease in faith, hope and love?
When did I fail to respond to His love at work in me?
Without harsh judgement, just let yourself look at that experience.
In the light of God's love - what would you like to say to God about that time, event, experience? What does God want to say to you?
Hope for the Future
And now, coming back into the present:
What insight, revelation, grace do I receive from the experiences of the last year?
Having reviewed the last year - what gift do I hold for the new year?
What would I like to bring into the new year.
Find a word or a phrase or an image to represent what you'd like to bring into the New Year...
Keep that word or phrase or image in your heart over the next year. You might like to adapt this examen for use everyday or weekly.
This is what I shall tell my heart and so recover hope:
The favours of the Lord are not all past,
his kindnesses are not exhausted
his mercies are new every morning
Great is his faithfulness...
Yaweh is good to those who trust him
To the soul that searches for him...
Let's pray for the grace to move into this new year with love, faith and hope... for the grace to bring more of what gives us life... for the grace to continue to recognise God in our daily life...
TS Eliot
The Four Quartets
But to apprehend
The point of intersection of the timeless
With time, is an occupation for the saint -
No occupation either, but something given
And taken, in a lifetime's death in love,
Ardour and selflessness and self-surrender.
For most of us, there is only the unattended
Moment, the moment in and out of time,
The distraction fit, lost is a shaft of sunlight,
The wild thyme unseen, or the winter lightning
Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply
That it is not heard at all, but you are the music
While the music lasts...
Adapted from a prayer by Doug Gay from Alternative Worship
Jesus of Bethlehem and Nazareth and Calvary
We celebrate your birth
Come and be born in us
Jesus of the manger and the inn
Jesus of the workshop and the temple
Jesus of the lakeside and the city
Jesus of the fireside and the roadside
We celebrate your life
Come and be born in us
Jesus of Mary and Joseph
Jesus of shepherds and angels
Jesus of children and animals
Jesus of fishermen and priests
Jesus of women and men
Jesus of tax collectors and prostitutes
Jesus of all who will receive you
We celebrate your resurrection
Come and be born in us
Luke 24 28-29
Read out the following passage:
As they approached the airport to which they were flying, Jesus acted as if he were going further.
But they urged him strongly, "stay with us, it's half past 11
and your connecting flight's not until 6.45am." So he had to fill in a landing card to stay with them.
Now read out these instructions:
Each person take a landing card.
Get into pairs, preferably with someone you don't know.
Each of you fills in the card for the other person by asking them the questions on it.
There is a spare landing card. if you have time, fill it in for Jesus.
How do you feel when the dark goes out?
Are you afraid of the light?
Does it make your lies water?
Do you screw up your heart and hide under the covers?
The light is a flood that will level your landmarks to a plain,
leaving you no shelter or familiar territory.
It will carry away the house of your comfortable darkness
and give you only holy ground to stand on.
It will fall like stone upon you.
You will be the only thing that casts a shadow,
but your shadow will flee behind you where you cannot see it.
You will grope for definition like a climber in the fog,
your hands will search for edges that tell you what is and what is not,
and you will not find them.
You will cling to frozen certainty for fear of falling.
Your map will be too small.
The light will burn your skin.
The light will bleach your bones.
The light will leave you snowblind.
And you will not be the same.
You will look into the sun, and know the names of clouds.
You will learn 17 words for snow, and discern them all.
You will see the horizon, and not know how to come in.
You will forget how to talk, except too much and ecstatically.
Your speech will be oblique and without explanations.
And you will return to the darkness as a messenger
bearing an endless blazing sky within.
[Steve Collins]
to be read with the 'luxuries and necessities' cards - these were real decks of cards in the service.
What controls us?
How quickly do we allow nonessentials to take precedence in our lives?
Look at the pictures.
Quickly sort them into two piles: essentials and nonessentials.
Consider how many of the things you called ‘essentials’ are really essential. Remember that 70% of the world’s population has never made a phone call, and that electricity has only been available for the last 150 years. But toilets with water flushing were around at least 5000 years ago, and even the most technologically primitive peoples have jewellery. What does this say about human needs?
What is necessary for you to survive? For you to take part in your society? For you to live a life of wholeness as a human? How different are these?
What are you praying for when you say, “Give us this day our daily bread”?
Do we cover up what is inside us with food, drink, friends, computers and other good things? What are ‘good things’? Cigarettes and alcohol? [1 Cor 6:12]
The ‘desert’ of Lent allows us solitude and meditation time to consider our utter dependence on God, but Lent is often also associated with fasting.
Man shall not live [feminist proverb]
Man shall not live by bread alone [the Bible]
Man shall not live by bread alone, but it’ll do for an entrée [contemplative eater]
Some have exalted religious fasting beyond all Scripture and reason; and others have utterly disregarded it [John Wesley]
Is giving up chocolate for Lent a modern day joke or is it a serious attempt at following a Biblical commandment? In the Sermon on the Mount [Matt 6:16-18] is Jesus saying [assuming] that fasting should be a Christian devotion in the same way as giving or praying are?
In a different incident Jesus was asked why the Pharisees fasted but his followers did not. His answer is perhaps the most important statement in the New Testament as to whether Christians should fast today [Matt 9:15]. It seems clear from this passage that Jesus upheld the discipline of fasting and that he anticipated that his followers would do it. Jesus’ apostles understood him for there is reference to them fasting after his ascension [Acts 13:2-3].
Have we become so accustomed to ‘cheap grace’ that we shy away from more demanding calls to obedience? Grace without the cross? Why has the giving of money been unquestionably recognised as an element in Christian devotion and fasting so disputed?
Does fasting or denial of anything we ‘need’ involve a far larger sacrifice than the giving of money?
mike rose & steve collins
Listening to God – what does this mean to me, what does it mean to you?
In Christian circles taking time to listen to God often seems like ‘motherhood and apple pie’ – sign of our obedience and even humility. Something passive and accepting.
Going to take some time now to look at a moment when listening to Christ changed a world – it’s the account of Martha and Mary inviting Jesus into their home – going to spend some time thinking about and imagining that day when Mary listened to Jesus. I am going to run through the passage – let’s try and think what it might have been like to be there as a man or a woman. As we go along I’ll give some questions to think about and also at the end leave some time to think a bit more.
It’s Bethany and you are in the house of a woman called Martha – it’s a bit unusual that – women don’t often own houses and certainly don’t invite men in to be their guests. But Martha seems a pretty generous woman opening up her home to friends and strangers and certainly seems to want to feed us all well as she is busy in the kitchen.
Think for a moment – are you in the living area with Jesus – or are you in the kitchen?
There is something else which is not quite the usual thing – Martha’s sister Mary isn’t giving a hand in the kitchen – instead she is out in the main living area with the men. She isn’t really doing anything - just sitting beside him - listening to him – you can’t hear what he is saying.
What do you think about that?
Although there are some rabbis who think that women should learn the law – there are others who fiercely oppose it. And even those who believe that everyone should know something of the law probably wouldn’t have a woman as a pupil, a disciple … after all that might mean they meant to teach someone else in their turn.
Martha is coming out of the kitchen and she doesn’t look very happy – she is saying something
‘Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.’
Why do you think she is she so concerned? Is she overloaded with work? Is she resentful of Mary? Is she frightened that Mary is too unconventional? Is she jealous?
Jesus is saying something: ‘Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential and Mary has chosen it – it’s the main course and won’t be taken from her.’
What does he mean?
What does it mean to you?
Just think for a moment – what does listening to God mean to you?
Is it a duty?
Is it something that has changed your life?
Is it something that has changed your whole way of thinking?
Could it change the world?
I love this part of the gospels –for me it isn’t a tale of quiet contemplative Mary – but of bold Mary wanting desperately to learn all she can by listening to Jesus so that she can play her part in the kingdom. We don’t even know what Jesus was talking about – all we do know is the listening was important and that everyone is welcome.
this liturgy concluded a series of two services looking at miracles. written by jen:
Lord God,
You spoke into darkness and chaos and then there was light;
You imagined this earth in its complexity and beauty and called it into being
You created humanity in your own image and gave us a home to live in
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You walked with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego through the fiery furnace
You shut the mouths of hungry lions and kept Daniel safe until morning
You gave Hannah a family when she despaired of ever having a child
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You changed water into wine so the wedding party could continue
You calmed a storm and your disciples with words of quiet authority
You transformed a boy's picnic into a meal for a multitude with plenty left over
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You healed a woman from 12 years of bleeding and rejection
You asked Bartimaeus what he wanted and then restored his sight
You watched a paralysed man being lowered through the roof and helped him to his feet
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You called Lazarus from the tomb and restored him to life
You walked past the mourners at Jairus' house and gave his daughter back to him
You suffered a horrendous crucifixion in order to defeat sin and death and give us life
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord God,
You told your disciples that they would do greater things than you had done
We hear and read stories of miracles in our world - of you healing the sick,
setting prisoners free, releasing drug addicts from their addiction,
providing the right amount of money at just the right time
We believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
And yet, Lord, we don't see many miracles happening around us
We have friends with cancer, and we pray, and they are not healed
We have friends who long for children, and we pray, and they do not conceive
Our doubt is mixed with faith
Our trust is accompanied by questions
We acknowledge the mystery of faith and prayer, and the ways in which they are connected
We acknowledge that you often do things differently to the way we would do them
We long to know you better, to understand more of your ways
And we believe you can do miracles
But even if you don't, you are still God
Lord we believe.
Help our unbelief
And then for three years, an abundance of words from God,
spoken by the Word, Jesus.
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
"Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Come and follow me
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Your sins are forgiven
Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.
Mary do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
noise is unwanted sound
which is whyyour parents call the music you like noise
but noise isn't just about sound
it's about information
noise is whatever drowns out or interferes with or conceals meaningful information
sound engineers, radio engineers speak of two things, signal and noise.
the signal is the message, the meaningful part of the transmission
the noise is all the unwanted stuff that interferes with your ability to hear
or decipher the signal.
our lives are full of noisetoo much information
too many messages that don't add up to any coherent whole
all competing for our attentionwe can't find the signal
or make anysense of ourlives
and so we gointo the desert to escape the noise
but then we can hear our internal noise
some of which is very grossespecially during silent prayer
and some of which is subtle but more deeply disturbing
like tinnitus
which is nerve damage to the inner ear resulting in a permanent whistling or
hissing noise inside your head that you can neverescape
for someone like me who suffers from it there is no longer any such thingas silence
if i am in a silent place what i hear is the high-pitched whistle inside my own head
and that's just the physical noise inside us
but our heads are full of mental noise.
the thoughts that won'tstop chattering that stupidsong that you can't get
out of your headthat nagging worry about somethingyou said or didn't say
that hurt and anger thatyou can't let go of, churninginside you when
you're supposed to be concentratingon work that dumb
joke that keeps making you giggleon the bus so that people lookat you strangely...
andwhen you're alone you can't pretend any more that any of these were necessary
so you try and put them aside topray
and now you become aware of spiritual noise
all those things that compete with god
distracting your attentiontowards selfish or worldly concerns
drowning out your attempts to hear god's voicedistorting the message
or making youlose bitsli e a mobile ph ne pasng under a bridg
sin is a kind of spiritual tinnitus
thecloser we get togod's silence
themoreweareawareoftheunceasingwhineinsideourselves
ofwantandneedandhurtandself
trouble iswe've lost the volume knoband anyway we're scared of silence
because without all the activity and distractions
we'll have to face ourselves and godand we are frightenedof what we might find
but god longs to heal us
to still the oscilloscopes of our souls
turn the noise off
and give us peace
because only then
will we be able to hear
the music of heaven
Throughout the story of God’s interactions with people in the Old Testament are glimpses of a different future, a redeemed creation, and a messiah who will make it happen.
In Genesis, comes the first hint:
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
Isaiah talked about the birth of a baby:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.
Micah saw where that child would be born:
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times."
And Malachi foretold someone who would prepare the way for this messiah:
For you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. 3 Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act," says the LORD Almighty.
"See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction."
Middle English : from Old French compaignon, literally ‘one who breaks bread with another,’ based on Latin com- ‘together with’ + panis ‘bread.’
On the night of his betrayal
Jesus our companion
Took bread
Broke it
Gave it to his followers
Eat
My body is broken for you
We break this bread with those who:
hunger for justice,
dream of a land free from occupation,
long to live life free from fear,
search for food and water each day,
long for companionship.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.(in the sense [deliver, rescue] ): from Latin vindicat- ‘claimed, avenged,’ from the verb vindicare, from vindex, vindic- ‘claimant, avenger.’
On the night of his betrayal
Jesus our vindicator
Took wine
Gave it to his followers
Remember
My blood is poured out for you
Drink
This is a new promise
All who come to me will have life
We drink this wine with those who:
see too much blood flow,
watch loved ones die,
are judged by their race or skin colour,
carry in their blood the stigma of HIV/AIDS,
long for someone to dry their tears.
Come, eat, drink, you who hunger and thirst,
For a deeper faith, for a better life, for a fairer world,
For healing and wholeness – Come.
thanks to Chris Rose
Genesis 18
While Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day, near the great trees of Mamre, he looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, "If I have found favour in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so that you can be refreshed and then go on your way - now that you have come to your servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say."
Middle Eastern hospitality, offered to passing strangers. When Abraham says "my lord", "your servant", he hasn't guessed their identity - it's just the polite way to address strangers that one is offering hospitality to. They just appear to be three men - no wonder Sarah laughs when they tell her that she will bear a child within the year - what can they know, she thinks.
But Abraham, who had met God before, had guessed the identity of at least one of them. Sometimes it has been thought that these three men are the three persons of the Trinity; but the text doesn't bear that out - verse 22 states that the men went away to Sodom, while the LORD stayed behind and bargained with Abraham for the fate of the city; and when the men arrive at Sodom they are described as two angels. Neither Lot nor the people of Sodom realise at any point that the visitors are angels - the angels have great difficulty convincing Lot and his family that they are in danger, and end up having to grab them by the hands and drag them out of the doomed city by force.
In Judges 13 another childless couple have a mysterious visitor. In the words of the woman, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. But he said to me, 'You will conceive and give birth to a son.'" Manoah, her husband, prays for the man to return, and he does so; Manoah treats him with the hospitality and reverence due to a prophet or holy man, but, the Bible comments, Manoah did not realise that it was the angel of the LORD. He asked the stranger his name, but the man replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding." The stranger politely refuses to eat their food, but suggests they offer it to the LORD. It is only when they set fire to the offering and the angel flies up to heaven in the flames that they realise that their visitor was not, perhaps, human! The child, incidentally, was Samson.
In several places in the Old Testament it is not clear whether 'the angel of the LORD' is an angel or the LORD himself. In Genesis 16:7 onwards, Hagar, Sarah's maidservant, is running away from her mistress, who has ill-treated her; and she is met by 'the angel of the LORD', who comforts and looks after her. Although the mysterious person is called throughout 'the angel of the LORD' and not simply 'the LORD', Hagar reacts as if she had actually seen and spoken to God. In Judges 6, the stranger who visits Gideon is sometimes referred to as 'the angel of the LORD' and sometimes as simply 'the LORD'; neither the writer of this passage, nor Gideon, seem to be able to make up their minds. A traditional Christian interpretation of this ambiguity is that this particular angel was a manifestation of Christ before the Incarnation, as God's Messenger Servant. It may be, however, that as the LORD's personal representative the angel could speak as if he were God. The angel is, so to speak, transparent; you look at the angel, but all you can see is God shining through him. The angel speaks, but you hear God's voice.
The inability of Lot and the people of Sodom to perceive the angelic nature of their visitors suggests that the ability to see through an angel's disguise is related to spiritual sensitivity. It almost seems like a rule in the Bible, that the closer a person is to God, the more immediately they recognise His messengers. Manoah and especially his wife immediately sense something special about their visitor; Gideon is a bit suspicious and takes about five minutes; and if you want a contrast to Lot, consider the Virgin Mary, who spotted that her visitor was an angel straight away!
On the other hand - on the morning of the Resurrection, Mary Magdalene, standing outside Jesus' empty tomb, doesn't appear to notice that the two men sitting in the tomb dressed in white are angels; she is, I suppose, too busy crying over her loss to take much notice of them, except perhaps to turn away embarrassed that someone has caught her crying. Her mind is on other things.
Which inevitably leads to the question: How often have we failed to perceive angels? The Bible narratives suggest that they don't always look extraordinary, especially when meeting people in public places.
Disturb us, Lord, when We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
sometimes
maybe you choose not to know
what we are about to do
because you want us to surprise you
with our imagination and creativity
you made us in your image
with the power to create something new
unlike anything done before
and, just as the angels were astonished and delighted
when you created this universe
seeing something they could begin to experience, but not explain beforehand,
because it was itself the words of its own explanation
which could only be spoken by living them
so you want us to bring you the same delight and astonishment
as our gift back to you
and so we offer ourselves and our works
our worship and our anger
our best moments and our worst moments
our songs and our silences
our tears and our laughter
in surprise and delight at finding ourselves loved
as you hesitate at the door in anticipation
wondering
whatever next?
This is a small ritual to help us think together about what we can do towards the establishment of God’s Promised Land.
Ingredients:
Numerous cakes, minimum 8in/200mm diameter or birthday size, with undecorated icing - such as the kind you can buy to decorate yourself. The cake itself can be any sort. Buy or make your own.
Writing icing - it comes in tubes with special nozzles, get several different colours.
Recipe:
Discuss in small groups around each cake what you intend to do to bring about the ‘promised land’ for others. Then write words or draw symbols on the cake with the writing icing to symbolise your intentions. Since there isn’t a lot of room on the cake, and the writing icing isn’t easy to use delicately, your words or symbols will have to be simple - so choose carefully.
Then bring the cakes together so everyone can see. Someone from each group should explain how their symbols and words came about.
Then slice and eat the cakes together as a pledge to do the things symbolised.
[in the preceding section we have written our dreams for the future on pieces of paper]
the bold text is what we all say together
[each person take the 'dream' of the person on your left]
our dreams of the promised land are in one another's hands
i have a dream tonight
i have a dream of a faster car
i have a dream of a bigger house
i have a dream of a beautiful lover
you may not get there with me - but i want you to know tonight that i as an individual will get to the promised land
i have a dream of profitable investments
i have a dream of celebrity
i have a dream of another beautiful lover
you may not get there with me - but i want you to know tonight that i as an individual will get to the promised land
i have a dream of political influence
i have a dream of new markets
i have a dream of a level playing field
you may not get there with me - but i want you to know tonight that i as an individual will get to the promised land
one more won't make any difference
why should my standard of living suffer
i can do what i like with my own money
you may not get there with me - but i want you to know tonight that i as an individual will get to the promised land
this land belonged to my ancestors
they come here and take our jobs
this development will bring benefits to everyone
you may not get there with me - but i want you to know tonight that i as an individual will get to the promised land
[tear the dream that you hold in half]
our dreams of the promised land are in one another's hands
pause, then confession:
we have trampled one another's dreams
in the race to seize our own
we have built our promised lands
on the ruins of other people's homes
we have pursued short-term paradises
at the cost of an ancient beauty
jesus said,
"you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. you do not enter yourselves, nor will you let those enter who are trying to."
in the pursuit of our own promised lands
we deny others the greatest promised land of all
that of your kingdom
we shut the door of your kingdom in other people's faces when we construct our own empires
we rob them of the knowledge of its existence when we fail to embody it in our lives
we condemn others to promised lands that can't deliver and don't endure
we conceal or forget the promised land that gives wholeness for ever
have pity on us, for we have torn one another
and in tearing one another we tore you
but your tearing is our mending
we give up our self-centered visions
and ask you to bind us into your mysterious dream
the promised land whose pattern we have barely caught
amen
Grace listen...
I have no complaint about your sacrifices -
you certainly put the creative effort in to your worship.
But I do not need your art installations, stations, movie loops, ambient tunes, apple macs, ipods
gas masks, photography, font selection, stories, good taste, creative liturgies and new technologies.
All the silicon in the valley is mine
I know all the art in the whole world
The creation is my gallery
I made imagination!
Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God
out of friendship and not obligation
That's what it's about...
The elements of psalms are shown on the Twister board. Can you find which one is not present in real psalms? Can you say why?
Psalms of Lament
(3, 22, 31, 39, 42, 57, 71, 120, 139, 142, 12, 44, 80, 94, 137...)
Most common type. Both individual and corporate laments expressing fear, distress, anger at circumstances and adversaries
Hymns of Praise
(8, 19, 33, 103, 104, 111, 114, 117, 145-149...)
According to God his worth for who he is: Creator, protector and benefactor, Lord of history
Salvation History
(78, 105, 106, 135, 136)
These psalms review God's work historically, and often include biting commentary on Israel's spiritual state and God's faithfulness
Wisdom Psalms
(1, 36, 37, 49, 73, 112, 127, 128, 133 (cf. Prov. 8 is a psalm)
Much like the proverbs, these psalms address practical life issues from the perspective of trust in God. Themes center on the righteous/wicked, wise/fool in terms of aphorisms.
Celebration and Affirmation
Liturgy for corporate celebrations relating to:
Enthronement Psalms, celebrating the new king and God as King (24, 29, 47, 93, 95-99);
Reaffirmation of the Davidic Covenant (eg 132);
Royal Psalms addressing both David and messiah (2, 18, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89, 101, 110, 144);
Songs of Zion, Psalms celebrating the place where God is present and where his kings reign (46, 48, 76, 84, 87, 122)
Grace's sevice on Exile (Febuary 2001) invited the people there to write a psalm of exile, with Psalm 137 as an example. Ranging from personal experience to trying to understand the exile of others, some of the authors were kind enough to leave their psalms to be published on the website.
A Psalm of David - Selah!
from the arranger of music on the anniversary of the death of his niece.
Lord I am so angry!
You let us down so badly
How could you?
I am so hurt
I thought you wanted to heal
Why didn't you?
I am so disappointed in you
You could have answered my prayer
are my prayers so worthless?
Lord why did you cast us adrift
and have us lost in the blackness?
Even now after all this time I am still sad.
Will I live with sadness forever?
Did you allow this to happen so I would grow as a person?
was life not important
Does my sister just get on with life
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away - Ha!
Is that the best you can do?
But Lord - there is no-one else who can comfort.
In the end I guess there is only you.
So - Here I am again - Selah!
Christ's piece is you,
Christ's piece is me,
It is those that do,
And it is those that be,
Without one another we can't cover 360 degrees,
Because we don't need 'I's to see, we need We.
As every image that we see of ourselves is reflected,
Every image that we see of the world is subjective,
We need two points of view to gain some perspective,
And the ability and humility to accept this.
Because in our vision lies division,
A polarised view of action and pacifism,
But contradiction doesn't mean fact and fiction,
more like discordant harmonies in the melody of wisdom.
I need you, like red needs blue,
You need me, like do needs be,
And life shouldn't be binary,
Our eyes shouldn't be primary,
We need to trade in reds and blues for indigos and violets see:
We need to try and be purple.
Not just protest march bruises as we go out and do,
Or blood filled cheeks as we hold our breath and be,
I mean purple.
Full circle.
The hares and the rabbits,
the tortoises and turtles,
Purple.
So let us be moved to be mauve,
Maroon and mulberry,
Lilac, plum and lavender,
May the red and blue poles of our souls and our minds combine to be magnets of magenta,
Purple.
May we take the opposites and make the composite,
As every image has its limits
And every picture could be richer,
If we have someone else to see that we are in it,
We need to be purple.
[by Harry Baker aka Dubb]
Music: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (Nabucco)
The Kingdoms of Judah and Israel were tiny compared with the Empires that surounded them; Egypt to the SW, and Assyria to the East.
In 586BC the Assyrian ruler Nebuchadnezzar conquered the people of Judah, and exiled them to Babylon.
However, big empires can be conquered too – Cyrus the Great, the Persian ruler, conquered the Assyrians, and in 535BC he pemitted 50,000 of the people of Judah to return home to Jerusalem. Eighty years later, in 456BC, another 5000 returned, led by Ezra and Nehemiah, and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.
Temple worship was restored, and there were prophets in the land. The last canonical prophet was Malachi, around 400BC, who chided Israel for cheating on their tithes, and not serving God in their hearts; he foretold both wrath to come, and another prophet.
But the Kingdom of Judah sat on some important trade-routes, and it wasn’t long before another conquerer came by to try his luck.
Map of the Conquests of Alexander the Great
In 333BC Alexander the Great conquered the Persians. He attacked first Tyre, then Gaza: after capturing the cities he killed all men of military age and sold all the women and children into slavery. Jerusalem was wiser: it opened its gates and welcomed him.
But there was no word of prophecy in this time.
Alexander conquers territory as far as present-day Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. He only turns back when his soldiers threaten to desert him. He gets a reputation for ruthless slaughter – even today, in Afghanistan, mothers will threaten their children with: “If you don’t behave, Sikandar will get you”. He establishes Greek Cities all the way through Asia Minor, linked by good roads; promotes Greek language and culture… and then dies.
Map of the Seleucid Empire
When Alexander died, his four generals divvid the lands up between themselves.
Map of the Seleucid Empire with: Tutankhamen “Up Pompeii”, and Armless Apollo
Ptolemy got Egypt, someone else got Greece, another the area we now call Turkey, and the commander-in-chief, Seleucus, got the lion’s share – and established a dynasty to run what became the Seleucid Empire.
So there are now three Power blocs – Egypt, Seleucid Greeks, and a small upstart Empire in Italy – Rome – but they’re busy fighting Carthage – we don’t have to worry about them for a bit.
There was civil war for 40 years between the Greek generals, and between 319 and 302 BC, Jerusalem changed hands seven times.
But there was no word of prophecy in this time.
Picture of Greek wrestlers
The Seleucid Empire attempted to “Hellenize” the Near East – by encouraging Greeks to settle in the area, establishing Greek Cities as focal points for trade and transport. Many of the existing cities began — or were compelled by force — to adopt Hellenized philosophic thought, religious sentiments, and politics.
Picture of Greek Discus thrower
At this time Jewish society started to divide into the “hellenised” Jews – speaking Greek – and those who tried to resist Hellenisation. In 175 BC The high priest Jason converted Jerusalem into a Greek polis replete with gymnasium. Some Jews are known to have engaged in non-surgical foreskin restoration in order to join the dominant cultural practice of socializing naked in the gymnasium, where their circumcision would have been a social stigma.
The Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV killed 40,000 Jews after a failed revolt, then sold another 40,000 into slavery. Then he tried to outlaw the Jewish religion; banning the Sabbath, killing people who circumcised their children, banning temple or synagogue worship; when people met to worship secretly in caves, he burnt them alive. People were even afraid to admit to being a Jew.
But there was no word of prophecy in this time.
However, there was a freedom movement. A rural priest, Mattathias, and his sons, the Maccabees, rebelled.
Picture of Che Guevara
Judah Maccabee freed Jerusalem in 164 BC, and cleansed the Temple. Only enough sacred oil could be found to fuel the Temple lamps for one day – but miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days – giving rise to the festival of Hannukah. Judah sought an alliance with the Republic of Rome, but was then defeated and killed by the Seleucid Greeks.
Picture of Greeks running
Judah’s brothers, Jonathon and Simon, continued the guerilla warfare against the Seleucids and the Hellenised Jews, and after several years of living in swamps and caves and launching raids on cities they won.
But there was no word of prophecy in this time.
Picture of Che Guevara (again)
They established the Hasmodian Kingdom of Judea, and after Jonathon’s assassination, Simon reached an accomodation with the Seleucids: you leave us alone, and we sit as a semi-autonomous part of your empire.
Now we start to get the division of Jewish religious thinkers into Pharisees and Saducees… the pharisees thought no-one should be king unless they were of the line of David (the Maccabees weren’t) and wanted to get rid of Greek (Hellenistic) influence. The Saduccees were more Hellenised, more worldy. The Maccabees were mostly Saduccees, even though they’d been fighting against Greek political control. The Maccabean leaders tended to take both the roles of King and High Priest.
Picture of oil slick bird
But after Simon was assassinated, it all began to go wrong again.
When the Seleucids started having civil wars between themselves, they forgot all about Judea. John Hyrcanus, son of Simon the Maccabee, was able to hire mercenaries and start conquering the surrounding territory – Samaria, Edom – places that had substantial Jewish populations who needed liberating – but then, when he ‘liberated’ them… he forced conversion and circumsicion on the Edomites, destroyed the Samaritan places of worship and enslaved the Greek settlers.
But there was no word of prophecy in this time.
John’s son Jannaeus continued using mercenaries to expand Judean territory. He was a Saduccee, and when High Priest, he deliberately got one of the laws of Succot wrong – the crowd pelted him with lemons – which was what he wanted them to do – it gave him an excuse to set the troops on them. 6000 were killed.
This led to a six-year civil war between the Pharisees and Saducees. The Pharisees did so badly that they were reduced to asking for help from the Seleucid Greeks – but still lost. Jannaeus crucified 800 of the rebel leaders, having their wives and children’s throats cut in front of them while they died – whilst he dined with his concubines.
But there was no word of prophecy in this time.
Picture of tug of war
After Jannaeus… his sons Hyrcanus II (pro-Pharissee) and Aristobulus II (pro-saduccee) battled over the Hasmodean crown.
Hyrcanus beseiged Aristobulus in Jerusalem; at passover the inhabitants paid 1000 dinar for a sacrifical lamb, but he gave them a pig instead. He stoned to death a holy man for refusing to pray for the destrauction of Jerusalem . The civil war between the two brothers was stirred by Hyrcanus’ advisor, Antipater the Idumean (Edomite), a sort of Peter Mandleson figure who quietly got his own sons, Phasael and Herod, made governors of Jerusalem and Galilee.
But there was no word of prophecy in this time.
Picture of Frankie Howerd going “Oooo!”
Rome saw a chance to expand, and backed Hyrcanus – as the stupider of the two, he would be more malleable by Rome.
But in the end it was Herod – the Edomite – not even a “proper” Jew – whom Rome established as a client-King. Herod married the last maccabean princess… then had her brother drowned at a party. Then he killed her, then her mother, then three of his own sons.
But there was no word of prophecy in this time.
By 4bc, knowing he was dying, and fearing that no-one would mourn him, Herod ordered that when he died, a group of prominent Israelites would be murdered, so that at least there would be some crying for someone.
Picture either of “burning building” or “fire”
So it all went horribly wrong. Judea got her freedom from the Greeks – the son of the freedom-fighters then oppressed her neighbours, then the grandson of the freedom-fighters oppressed the pharisees, then the great-grandsons of the freedom-fighters fought between themselves, and Rome took the opportunity to seize power.
But there was no word of prophecy in this time.
So – for the pillaged and beleaguered populace – who’ve seen all their hopes betrayed, and their leaders become more interested in their own power than in their people – the question is
How do you wait when heaven is silent?
How do you believe when hope has died?
Fade out of slide
SILENCE
blesing used as part of the slow service written by anna:
God the creator, who rested on the seventh day after the work was done, show you how to balance the slow and the fast, the work and the rest.
God the redeemer, who lived his life at walking pace,
strengthen you to go slow when the world is going fast.
God the sustainer, who came at Pentecost like a rushing wind, give you hope in the day when there will be freedom from the limitations of time.
Go into a world of speed and live at God’s pace.
Amen.
confession prayer as part of slow service - written by anna:
O God, you are slow to anger and swift to have mercy;
Forgive us when we treat time as a commodity or an enemy,
when we abuse your gift of time.
In our fastness and our slowness,
help us to keep pace with you.
Free us to live in your time, a new time,
in which there is a time for everything under heaven,
and slow is not too slow, and fast is not too fast.
Transform us into people who see time as a gift and a friend,
who live as if we have time,
because we know that your time will never cease.
Through Jesus we pray, Amen.
may the god who is community
be with us as we seek to be a community
may god bless our dreams
and may god shatter our dreams
may god help us to be real
and to find depth in weakness and brokenness
may god help us to face and grow through conflict
rather than pretend by being nice
may we look at each other through soft eyes
and truly respect each other as human beings
may god help us let go of control
and the need to fix one another
may god help us discover we are needy in our own souls
and give attention to our own hearts
may god grant us the gift of an extraordinary love that flows from the heart of god
that covers a multitude of wrongs
spirit of life
your breath of life fills the whole world and holds all things together.
if you withdraw your breath everything turns to dust
breathe on me breath of god
you are the source of life that brings life to the world, whole life, full life, unhindered, indestructible everlasting life
fill me with life anew
the life of your spirit which christ sends into the world is the power of the resurrection which brings us new life
breathe on me breath of god
the sending of your spirit is the revelation of god's indestructible affirmation of life and marvelous joy in life
fill me with life anew
jesus where you are there is life. where you are sick people are healed, sad people are comforted, marginalised people are accepted and the demons of death are driven out
breathe on me breath of god
where your holy spirit is present there is life.
the powers and energies of eternal life are experienced.
fill me with life anew
the mission of your spirit is a movement for life and a movement for healing which spreads consolation and the courage to live and raises up what wants to die.
breathe on me breath of god
we affirm and love life so much that we protest against death and all the powers that disseminate death.
fill me with life anew
help us to join with your comforting of the sad, healing of the sick, welcoming of strangers, and forgiving of sins.
breathe on me breath of god
send your spirit so that this world should not perish but live
fill me with life anew
spirit of the new creation break into the here and now bringing foretastes of the age to come when all things are made new, and creation is set free from the powers of death
breathe on me breath of god
spirit of god renew the face of the earth
fill me with life anew
give us hearts of flesh for hearts of stone
that we may love as you would love
and do what you would do
amen
Shall I abandon, O King of mysteries, the soft comforts of home? Shall I turn my back on my native land, and turn my face towards the sea?
Shall I put myself wholly at your mercy, without silver, without a horse, without fame, without honour? Shall I throw myself wholly upon You, without sword and shield, without food and drink, without a bed to lie on? Shall I say farewell to my beautiful land, placing myself under Your yoke?
Shall I pour out my heart to You, confessing my manifold sins and begging forgiveness, tears streaming down my cheeks? Shall I leave the prints of my knees on the sandy beach, a record of my final prayer in my native land?
Shall I then suffer every kind of wound that the sea can inflict? Shall I take my tiny boat across the wide sparkling ocean? O King of the Glorious Heaven, shall I go of my own choice upon the sea?
O Christ, will You help me on the wild waves?
The Starlit Darkness
[Jonny Baker]
(Give people time to follow this meditation, time to settle and then time to visualise – the pace should be gentle and unhurried, with plenty of pauses in which people can imagine.)
• St John of the Cross spoke of the dark night of the soul
• Karl Rahner said ‘All clear understanding is grounded in the darkness of God’
• Helen Waddell describes Christianity as ‘the starlit darkness’
• Annie Dillard says:
‘You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If however you want to look at the stars you will find that darkness is required. The stars neither require it nor demand it.’
We are going to take time to think about darkness in relation to God
Take a few deep breaths to relax ...... and settle into a rhythm of steady breathing… Ask God to lead your imagination….
When you hear the word darkness what does it conjure up in your mind?
What images do you recall?
What places do you remember?
What feelings does it evoke in you?
What might it mean to speak of the darkness of God?
Just for a moment:
Imagine you are in a house in the country
all the lights are on, artificial light, electric light.
It’s time to leave;
You collect your coat and say your farewells and step outside.
It’s not like the city - there are no streetlights.
As you step into the darkness everything goes pitch black.
You are dizzy with darkness,
You can’t focus on anything.
You walk hesitantly down the path, feel for the gate and get through it.
Now you stand and wait and look around.
Gradually what seemed pitch black becomes less so.
Slowly, your eyes adjust - now you can make out the shapes of trees and houses, and hills on the horizon.
You feel the ground beneath your feet, solid and firm.
You look up.
Above you is the vast expanse of the heavens.
What at first seemed to be only darkness you now see is starlit
and incredibly beautiful.
Galaxies, stars, planets, a crescent moon...this is the starlit darkness.
The breathtaking darkness of God
The mystery of God
God is a starlit darkness - breath-taking...
God is a starlit darkness.
summer is over - new year 06
summer is over
an end to sitting on the fence
a voice beneath your certainties
shakes the settled patterns
like a colder breeze that heralds distant winter
strange lands lie waiting
beyond your southern horizon
summer is over,
and you must go or perish
here in a world no longer yours
or on the way, but in hope
your star and compass often dark
glimpsed briefly between clouds
at journey's end,
another summer not like the first one
new seeds,
new fruit to refresh the migrant
burnt by life between summers
warmed for a season
until the north calls again
like the inner call of the migrating bird, where does god call you?
where is your bird migrating to?
what do you want to do for god?
what do you need along the way?
take one of the sheets of paper and write your hopes and prayers for
the journey ahead on the reverse side, the side without the
instructions. then we're going to fold them to make origami birds...
May the blessings released through your hands
cause windows to open in darkened minds
May the suffering your calling brings
be but winter before the spring
May the companionship of your doubt
Restore what your beliefs leave out
May the secret hungers of your heart
harvest from emptiness its secret fruit
May your solitude be a voyage
into the wilderness and wonder of God
May your words have the prophetic edge
to enable the heart to hear itself
May the silence where your calling dwells
foster your freedom in all you do and feel
May you find words full of divine warmth
to clothe others in the language of dawn
May your potentiality be released
to explore new horizons of what’s possible
May your becoming bring gentle surprises
as you remember you’ve not arrived
Adapted from Benedictus by John O'Donohue
Jesus said – Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Matt 6:13
What are your plans for next year or next week? Or even tomorrow? Do you struggle to know what the right direction is or how to choose between different paths? Have you tried praying about your future plans or choices? Or even asked God what his direction for your life would be? Jesus showed that trust in God is crucial but along with that trust comes a freedom from worry and a deep peace. To keep in touch with God’s voice directing his steps Jesus regularly prayed and listened for direction.
Then he went up on a mountain where he could be alone and pray. Later that evening, he was still there. Matt 14:23
Stay awake and pray that you won’t be tested. You want to do what is right, but you are weak. Matt 26:41
Again Jesus went to pray and said, “My Father, if there is no other way, and I must suffer, I will still do what you want.” Matt 26:42
But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.
Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today. Matt 6:33
Breathe out empty yourself: of hate, of fear, of anxiety
Breathe in fill yourself with love, with life, with mercy
Breathe out empty yourself of busyness, of selfishness of greed
Breathe in fill yourself with peace, with joy, with hope
Breathe out empty yourself of idolatry, of self worship, of false gods
Breathe in fill yourself with God, with Christ, with the Holy Spirit
Consider praying this powerful prayer called
The Methodist Covenant Prayer.
I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing, put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,
exalted for you or brought low for you;
let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing;
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it.
And the covenant made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen
Welcome to the table. This table is open and accepting, we invite you to share who you are as part of that continuing exploration of who we are as Grace. The only rule; MODESTY is banned.
----------------
entree
This course includes ANGER, with a large amount of PASSION on a bed of TALENT!
Share with the others on your table what ANGERS you, what your PASSIONS are and where your TALENTS lie... Think about 5-8 words or phrases that describe these for you:
ANGER: What gets you thumping the table or shouting at the TV?
PASSION: What do you love to experience, that you would miss if you were unable to?
TALENT: What are you talented at, what are your gifts?
(jot your thoughts down on the tablecloth)
-----------------
main
The main course brings together the best bits of your starter - distilled, reduced, concentrated, purified...
Summarise the lists under each heading into a word or phrase - perhaps try to find a common factor in those things you are ANGRY about. Then do it for PASSION and TALENT.
-----------------
dessert
The word comes originally from the old French language desservir, meaning "to clear the table" and "to serve." So clear your table, grab a pudding and serve up a sentence that draws together how your anger and passion, combined with your talent describes who you are... that’s the cherry on the cake!
(write it on this menu or a piece of the tablecloth and rip it off and bring it with you for the last part of grace tonight)
inspired by Anger Passion Talent
created by vaux for their service 'the great reversal' october 2000 - this explanation from my ship of fools column:
'we line up across the church facing the rear, to be asked a series of questions. If our answer is yes, we are to take a step forward; if our answer is no, we are to take a step back; if we are unsure or unwilling to make a statement, we are to remain where we are. The questions begin. "Have you had a holiday this year? Do you have a loving family? Do you have a rewarding love life? [most people step back] Do you feel you have a special gift?" And so on.
By the end, some twelve questions, the line has become a spread pattern of spiritual states, the fortunate out in front, the less fortunate left behind. And now the coup. Everybody turn around to face the altar. For God has decreed the great reversal - and suddenly, the fortunate first are at the back, and the last are out in front.
these are the questions used at grace:
Have you had a holiday this year?
Do you have a loving family?
Do you feel you have a special gift?
Do you feel close to God?
Have you plenty of food in your kitchen?
Do you know your neighbours?
Is your car less than five years old?
Do you have someone to share your secrets with?
Do you feel valued at work?
Do you get enough rest?
Do you own your home?
Are you at peace with all your friends?
Do you have a rewarding love life?
Do you give something up for lent?
Are you at peace with yourself?
Have you seen something beautiful recently?
Are you financially secure?
Do you have good memories of childhood?
Do you have good health?
Has anyone ever bought you flowers?
Welcome to the table!
The table,
eating and drinking,
sharing stories,
laughter and tears,
honest conversation,
being real,
finding a place of acceptance
amongst friends and family
has been at the heart of community and the Christian faith for as long as we know.
Jesus kick started the whole thing when he broke bread and drank wine with his friends.
Thank you for coming to share in this meal, this table today.
September is the start of a new season for Grace.
It's a time when we pause as a community -
pause to consider and commit ourselves afresh to God
pause to consider and commit ourselves afresh to one another
pause to consider and commit ourselves afresh to the ethos which is at the heart of our life together.
What better way to do that than in the context of a community meal?
So close your eyes
take a deep breath and pause...
God we invite you to be present at the table with us
Our companion
Companion means friend but the root of the word 'com panis' means one who breaks bread with another.
You are our companion and bread breaker.
And we gather as friends, companions to break bread with one another.
Thank you for your friendship,
thank you for one another
thank you for Grace
thank you for this food and drink
Be in our midst
In the name of Christ
Amen
Eat, drink, you who hunger and thirst,
For a deeper faith, for a better life, for a fairer world,
For healing and wholeness
The table is ready!
At this station take some time out to think about waiting and death.
The Colour of Death
In Asian culture the colour of death is white, people wear white to funerals and not black. What is the colour you associate with death?
Cut a piece of fabric from the station and use it to help you focus your thoughts, then read the below meditation slowly.
Take the piece of fabric home as a reminder.
Waiting to die
Have you ever sat and waited for someone to die?
Waited longing for the moment to come quickly?
Or waited hoping that it would never arrive?
We are all waiting to die.
Some wait knowing that they have cancer, or HIV or another terminal disease,
living in the face of death with every day that passes.
Others wait as if death will never come to them, as if tomorrow never dies,
but they too are simply waiting to die.
Some wait not wanting to die.
Perhaps out of fear of what lies beyond,
fear of leaving so much behind,
with dreams unfulfilled, so little achieved.
Some die, not wanting to wait.
They cannot wait, they cannot bear the pain any longer,
they cannot wait to die.
One thing is certain,
we are all going to die.
So the question is,
how are we going to wait?
In faith or in fear?
Hopeful or hopeless?
Feeling grateful or feeling cheated?
Aware of being loved or feeling rejected?
Seeing beauty or seeing despair?
The question is,
how are we going to wait?
_____
The Waiting
2/10/84 by Linda Contento Schmidt
Prune-like
only
resembling something sweeter.
Years
eroded into deep crevices
indicating where smiles have danced.
A road map of wisdom.
Knowing much
Saying little.
Reduced to a spectator.
All given
Not enough returned.
Tired now and sad.
Remembering much
of youthful years,
only wisps of this morning.
Caring still
Too old to make a difference.
Alive
but not living...
Nothing left
only
the waiting.
We are creatures of comfort.
We like to be safe and secure
to be surrounded by what we know
to be in control
to order our lives in the way that suits us.
We want our journeys mapped out for us
itinerary decided, tickets booked
time of arrival guaranteed
refreshment breaks at regular intervals
and a credit card for unforeseen circumstances.
But Jesus said ‘follow me’ without saying where he was going
just promising transformation along the way.
The Israelites in the desert, rescued from slavery and oppression,
were tired and homeless, hungry and thirsty, insecure and unsettled.
And their minds went back to what they had known.
They yearned for the structure of predictable slavery rather than the broken walls of unknown freedom.
Liminal space is the place of inbetweenness, of insecurity.
It is the Israelites in the wilderness,
it is Paul blind in Damascus waiting for Ananias.
Liminal space is emptiness and nowhere,
it is uncertainty and chaos,
it is a place of discomfort and unrest.
Liminality is a place of dying and rebirth, of metamorphosis, the place where the caterpillar spins its cocoon and disappears from view.
Nothing good or creative emerges from business as usual. Much of the work of God is to get people into liminal space and to keep them there long enough so they can learn something essential.
This is the invitation of God, to move
- from comfort to insecurity
- from what we know to what we have yet to discover
- from what we are good at to what we might fail at
- from safety to a place of risk
We hang our lives upon your mercy
measured out in miles
your boundaries and pathways,
coordinates and charts
that guide our steps
along roads you travelled before us
We will make time for you and your word
We will practice your ways until they are part of us
We will rest and play in you
We will be your people
We are not complete without one another
We cannot run the race alone
We will support one another
encourage one another
wait for the weak
pick up the fallen
through your strength and love
When we are together we will remember what it is like to travel alone
When we are alone we will remember what it is like to travel together
Wherever we are we will remember God who always goes with us
Go with us now, Lord, this night and always
Amen
What are we waiting for now?
So where are we now – the end of 2009 –Jesus said
‘‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’
But in 2009 do we believe or feel or act as if the kingdom of heaven is truly near.
Between the headlines and daily life – where is the kingdom of heaven?
Baghdad security chief sacked over bombs that killed 127 people
‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” 28He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” 29But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’
Copenhagen climate change summit in deadlock over rival texts
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’
Big fall in Christmas spending predicted
‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Christmas recipes – how to make perfect canapes
The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with* three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’
So now we’re going to have another 15 minutes of silence –and there are two questions you might like to think about during that time
What is it I am really waiting for?
How do I need to live now for hope of the kingdom of heaven to come near?
At some point in the 15 minutes you might like to come to the middle and light a candle to hold as a sign of your desire to live in light rather than darkness.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. Revelation 2:17
These small, worn pebbles apparently had several uses.
They were used in elections. Voters were given white stones and black stones. A white stone was a vote of acceptance, and a black stone was a vote of rejection.
In courts of justice, a black stone meant a vote for condemnation, for death. A white stone meant a vote for acquittal, for life.
A white stone might have served as a ticket for admission to some event, like a special banquet.
The winner of an athletic event might receive a white stone – perhaps even with the name of the event or the victor inscribed on it.
Collect a white stone
As I play with the stone, I ponder this name, the name that only I will know.
What will it be? Perhaps a pet name, an endearing name, an intimate name that He calls nobody else? Something that signifies our special relationship?
I think it might be the name of the person I could have been.
lift up your hearts
we lift them up to god
lift up your heads
we lift them up to god
lift up your voices
we lift them up to god
lift up your hearts
we lift them up to god
we praise you for your unswerving love for us
though we are fragile
though we are wounded
though we are broken
you have never stopped loving us
and you have never forsaken us
greater love has no one than this that they lay down their life for their friends
you take what is broken and transform it through your death and love
what once was hurt
what once was friction
what left a mark
no longer stings
because grace makes beauty
out of ugly things
so we join with the angels singing
holy holy holy
holy holy holy
lord god almighty
lord god almighty
heaven and earth are full of your glory
heaven and earth are full of your glory
hosanna in the highest
hosanna in the highest
in your last meal with your friends
before your betrayal
you took the bread and gave thanks
you broket is and shared it saying 'take and eat. this is my body broken for you'
christ's body is broken
we are christ's body, we are broken
may christ's broken body nourish you in all the right places
you took the cup of wine, gave thanks and shared it saying
'drink this, my blood shed for you'
christ's body is wounded
we are christ's body, we are wounded
may the blood that flowed from christ's wounds heal you in all the right places
send your holy spirit on us
heal our brokenness
by showing us our place in your community of faith
great is the mystery of faith
christ has died
christ is risen
christ will come again
this is the table of christ
today it is literally made of our brokenness
a sign that christ welcomes us all as we are
there is no need to pretend and no need to hide
so gather at this table
not because you are whole
but because you recognise your need for healing
not because you are good enough
but because you recognise these gifts of god
may the extravagant love of god the father
fill your hearts and minds and his embrace hold you
when you feel unworthy to be called his son or daughter
may the friendship of jesus christ your brother
rid you of any notion that you are only a slave
and you find your home in and with him in his kingdom
may the spirit of god release you
from a world of duty
so that a new joy and freedom wells up in your life
go and reconfigure the world as on order of embrace
in your friendships
in your work place
in your families
in your street
and in your churches
and the blessing of god the father, the son and the holy spirit be among you and remain with you always
amen
lift up your hearts
we lift them up to god
lift up your heads
we lift them up to god
lift up your voices
we lift them up to god
lift up your hearts
we lift them up to god
god of watching thank you
You gave us life, love and freedom
your watchfulness is steady
your love is unfair
thank you that when we reject your friendship
leave home
spend our inheritance
find ourselves in exile
are weak and broken, with lives full of regret
your watchfulness is steady
your love is unfair
thank you that when we reject your generosity
resent your welcome of sinners,
find that home is not the place we thought it was
ask you when you have ever thrown a party for us.
your watchfulness is steady
your love is unfair
thank you that you reconfigure the world as an order of embrace
where mercy triumphs over judgement,
so we join with the angels singing
holy holy holy
lord god almighty
heaven and earth are full of your glory
hosanna in the highest
the answer is in a story
and the story is unfolding…
on the night he was betrayed christ took bread, broke is and gave it to his friends saying take eat this is my body which is broken for you.
after supper he took the cup saying drink this all of you. this is my blood which is shed for the forgiveness of sins. do this to remember me. send down your spirit on these gifts of bread and wine that they may be to us christ’s body and blood.
the answer is in a story and the story is being told...
christ has died
christ is risen
christ will come again
through his rising again the world is reconfigured
tucked between the atoms of the places where we walk
the kingdom of god is at hand
the kingdom of god is here
the kingdom of god is home.
so come to the table of christ.
you who see the younger son in you,
who feel confined by home
you who are in exile
you who have fucked it up
you who yearn for home
come to this table, where home is welcoming and home is freedom.
come to the one whose watchfulness is steady and whose arms are open wide
you who see the elder son in you,
who have stayed at home
you who find it all very unfair
you who resent god’s justice,
you who have done your duty, and feel undervalued,
you who wish you’d run away, and somehow never managed it
come to this table, where home is generosity and home keeps no record of wrongs
come to the one who is always near, who would always kill the fatted calf for you.
Welcome to the growing archive of Grace services and events.
As we slowly trawl through our brains, email accounts and hard drives we aim to try and collect together the plans for services, some of the liturgy, rituals and images we created and maybe a record of how it went, or just some good memories.
Organised by date, you'll find it's grouped by September to September years. Why? it's just always the way we've done things - maybe the whole school year thing is too embedded in our brains, maybe it's because we've always taken August off, maybe it's because we go to Greenbelt in August and that feels like the end of one year and the start of the next.
Enjoy exploring.
Grace took part in the Channel 4 series 'God in the house'
This aired at 12:30pm on 30th Dec.
With Guest speaker Mike Starkey(?)
The Grace Album and Video were released in Aug 1997
Order of service:
1. Intro - 'invitation to the feast'
2. Thoughts from Mike Riddell 'alt.spirit@metro.m3' pp51-56
3. Songs - 'Heal me', 'Calm Me O Lord' [from the Grace album]
4. A time of confession - including Isaiah 55:1-2
'everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and you that have no meny, come, buy and eat!
come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
why do you spend your money for that which is not bread?
and labour for that which does not satisfy?
listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.'
a prayer of confession:
we have been taught that possessions and prosperity go hand in hand.
for the times when we have believed it, forgive us lord. [all: forgive us lord]
while we know that we cannot earn your blessings, we have been taught that we are shameful and do not deserve to be blessed. for the times when we have believed it, forgive us lord. [all: forgive us lord]
we have been taught that your hand is an empty, angry fist. for the times when we have believed it, forgive us lord. [all: forgive us lord]
we have failed to recognise that our worth comes from the fact that you find us worth loving, you find us worth dying for. yet we have been taught to expect little or nothing from you. for the times when we have believed it, forgive us lord. [all: forgive us lord]
we have, at times, been sold a model of ourselves as perfectly self-reliant, and we have built upon it, shutting out others, and in doing so, we have shut you out as well. forgive us lord. [all: forgive us lord]
be with us tonight lord and reassure us that you are both giver and forgiver. please bless us with a richness that money cannot buy, in jesus' name. amen
5. Ritual of reflection:
set up around the church are five areas, each with different foods or objects. these symbolise the richness of the feast of life in god. each area symbolises a different issue in life, for meditation while sitting at these areas. you may go to all the areas or just stay in one place.
at the first three areas please taste the foods as you would partake of god's gifts.
the stations:
wine - the wine symbolises the joy that god pours into our lives. not an occasional emotional experience, it is a basic part of a relationship with god. 'the chief end of man is to glorify god and to enjoy him for ever.' [scottish shorter catechism]
bread - the bread is symbolic of justice, the justice needed in this world. everything that we have belongs to god, and is there so that we may share it with others. are we a begrudging people? do we share easily?
milk and honey - to represent the things in our lives that god gives to us which we cannot buy. what are these things in your life?
god, what are we like? - at this place we reflect on how me-centred we can become. we live in a coutnry so rich that we can afford leisure time, within a world so overflowing with people that, for most, harvest is never enough. and yet our god made an earth with more seeds than can possibly be fertilised.
a place of invitation - here you might think of another person who you would like to experience god's feast in a greater. this is a place of invitation for people in need of society, inclusion, love or any of the many blessings of heaven. you might light a candle for this person. [the congregation assembled dinner place settings on the altar, with candelabra etc. the results were so beautiful that we were reluctant to take it down after the service. "does anybody have a camera to record it?" we said, but nobody did. as a result of this, steve collins bought a camera and started to photograph alt worship services to create smallfire.org]
this section of the service will take about 20 minutes.
6. Songs - 'Wild Hope', 'My Heart is Restless', 'Patrick's Breastplate'
7. Reading - the parable of the banquet
8. Intercession - prayers to include the positive and negative, possibly some 'harvest of skills' put together during the time of intercession. intersperse prayers with the taize chant 'o lord hear my prayer'
9. Songs - 'Healing thing', 'All things made new'
10. Blessing/final thoughts
LOPE (Live on Planet Earth) joined us to run a labyrinth. This was a service which they had developed at their home church in Kent. It was the basis for the St. Paul's Cathedral labyrinth of 2000 and after.
There were four 'stations' focussing on our relationship with God, Others, Ourselves and the Planet, of which the labyrinth is the 'God' one. The idea was for people to visit each of the stations, in between they can just chill out, sitting outside the labyrinth. The labyrinth itself took between 10 - 20 minutes for each person to go round but there were loads of people on at the same time.
The main themes for the labyrinth itself were:
'centering ourselves on God'
'letting go' / 'shedding'
'journey'
These were explained along with a general chat about what is going on right at the beginning, this was to explain what will be happening, what people can do and to set their minds at rest. There was also a short meditation at this stage to get people relaxed.
The only other things happening were an overarching meditation and two or three set piece songs that the band did - they went on in the background, people could either use it, if they were just chilling out, or ignore it. They drew the themes together and the meditation incorporated various appropriate Bible readings.
Before entering the labyrinth, people had their feet washed. They then walked the labyrinth barefoot, and there were soft and rough textures to walk on to symbolise aspects of our life journey.
The inward journey:
As you move towards the centre of the labyrinth begin by confessing and letting go of things that hinder your relationship with God. This stage is also about shedding images or projections of yourself so that you can be real with God. Let go of what other people think you should be, their expectations of you, their projections. As you journey, empty yourself, peel away the layers - grow by subtraction. Prepare your inner self - the you of you - to meet with God.
Think of hurtful things people have done or said to you. Draw a symbol or write a word to describe this....
Jesus said, if you let go of the hurtful things people do to you - so God will also let go of the hurtful things you do. Carry the symbol with you for a while as you journey...
Think carefully. Are you willing to 'let go' of the things people have done or said to you? If you are, place the symbol in the bin and let go of it as god lets go of the hurtful things you do.
Think of things you do - patterns of behaving that you know are harmful to your relationship with God, others, yourself or planet Earth. Draw a symbol or write something that symbolises those things.
If you are honest with yourself and God, if you really want to let go of these things... "If we confess our sins God is faithful and just and will purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 Jn 1v9) God will help you to move on. Carry your symbol for a while and think about it.
Look at your symbol. Do you want to take it with you? Or do you want to let it go? If you want to let it go - throw it in the bin. Let it go and move on.
Read the passage from Douglas Coupland's book and think about what you would do if the power failed. (Pg 100ish in 'Polaroids')
The centre of the labyrinth:
At the centre of the labyrinth is that point where we symbolically meet with God. Please spend some time here. Relax. Enjoy God's presence. Meditate on God. Commune with God.
The outward journey:
As you journey back out of the labyrinth take your encounter with God with you. Reflect on how this encounter might affect or change you. John said that God became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood - think about how you might allow God to be made flesh in your life and in your neighbourhood.
Walk through the stones. Feel the sandpaper. Stand on the cotton wool. Feel the texture. In what ways does this remind you of your journey?
What boundaries do you need to pass through?
Which of your abilities are you neglecting?
Look around and notice. Even though they may be at different stages, others are on this journey too.
As you approach the end of the labyrinth think about God who has been the host for this part of your journey. If God asked you to fill in a guest book - what would your comments be? Please fill in the book with your response to God, your host.
'you're not alone' plays. the space is fairly dark and sparse.
everyone is given some mulled wine and an unlit candle as they arrive. encourage a time of chatting etc. one candle in the middle of the space.
song: 'author of creation' [bring in some lights]
an advent adventure - readings and thoughts [waiting/prophetic readings from isaiah and others] [dave]
song: 'o come emanuel'
facts - thoughts around luke 1:1-4 [mike]
birth - based on reading from 'the book of god' by walter wangerin, and a meditation about mary [bevan]
lighting of candles [william orbit track 'the story of light'] - light from big candle passed from candle to candle
flesh - readings and thoughts about jesus as a boy/youth ['you are the source' plays over the readings] [steve]
song: 'he became poor' [from the grace album]
response/intercession including 'motherhood' poem. personal response by putting candle onto map:
god's messenger poem - thankyou for entering into our world (moving into the neighbourhood)
which neighbourhoods do we ask god to move into this christmas?
put candles on maps
song: 'patrick's breastplate'
blessing/final thoughts - from late late service - love received & love given poem
Grace 11 January 1998
ANGELS
Running order :
1. Introduction
A happy new year from Grace and a brief intro to the theme. Start by using a few examples of angels from the Christmas story.
[Mike]
2. Song(s)
3. Meditation
[Ana/Kevin]
MEDITATION
Close your eyes and take a deep breath
Hold your breath - maybe count to five and release it
Listen to the rythmns of your body
Hear your heart beat
hear your breathing
Relax and enjoy just being
Imagine yourself at home
Picture where you are and who is with you
Imagine other people in your home with you
Look around - what is it like?
Imagine that relaxed feeling when you dont feel you 'have' to talk
Enjoy the atmosphere
How do you feel?
Now imagine the doorbell rings
You answer it and outside are some people you have never met before
But they seem to know you
What are you going to do?
Do you want to invite them in?
How are you going to react to them?
The story unfolds
You invite them in and the atmosphere becomes tense
They obviously know things about you but you still dont know who they are
Your mind is racing and you feel a sense of panic
Now you find out that they are angels?
And they tell you something amazing and seemingly impossible was going to
happen to you
What might that amazing and impossible thing be?
Would you believe them?
How do your friends react?
Now let the story unfold.
__________________
4. ‘Ambiguity’- bring together some biblical texts and explore different interpretations which have been suggested. text here
[Steve]
5. Opportunity for group discussion, with the chance to report back and to create some artifact. Discussion points :
What are angels like ?
What’s their job ?
Do we have a guardian angel ? If so - why ?
Have you ever encountered an angel (opportunity for stories to be shared, some to be planted to be used if necessary inc. Pete Freeman)
[Jonny/Jenny]
6. Art installation. A collage of photographs etc. Groups will have the opportunity to contribute a physical artifact to the installation. Text available to include Matthew 18:10 - a key text yet one which is overlooked/tactically ignored.
[Dave]
7. Song(s)
8. Story - ‘Horse and his boy (Unwelcome fellow traveller)’ , an upbeat and joyful end to the service.
[Mike]
9. A catholic blessing
[Dave]
as people arrive, film answers to 'who are you?' and 'what are you addicted to?' [mark]
t.v.s - have two ideas running for the whole service - one t.v./projector with images of the busyness/ noise we live with (shopping channel, traffic, sped up people etc.) - the other with still images or a word sequence slowly changing (quiet, still, calm, repose.....).
also have an oscilloscope (mike to get hold of one) running all service to monitor the noise - have a camera on it to project it [mark]
1. intro/welcome... thoughts about usual approach to lent.... brief/light... [jonny]
2. read/retell story of jesus in the wilderness and his temptations [jen]
3. desert reading/meditation - simple idea that many characters in the bible spent time in the wilderness, so for us when either we choose to go into the wilderness or find ourselves feeling like we're in a desert we're in good company.. 'you're not alone' [mike]
consider the process jesus went through, the kind of steps and the importance/inspiration/challenge they might be for us
4. stepping back/getting away from the usual noise. [mark]
perhaps surprising for life in a peasant culture, but if needed then what about in london?
story about internal and external noise (from 'alt.spirit@metro.m3' by mike riddell)
5. discussion in groups - what is the noise we live with? external and internal? do we know how to stop? are we afraid to stop? thomas merton reading on noise..... [dave]
6. songs: 'calm me o lord', 'i will wait'
7. fasting/emptying - one of things about fasting is that you begin to realise what your addictions are and what you are driven by ('reach for creature comforts for the filling of our holes' as peter gabriel put it) .... perhaps some comments from 'celebration of discipline'?...
playback voxpops recorded at start of service
what are we addicted to? [kev and ana]
8. song: 'my heart is restless'
9. identity - what is the you of you? [steve]
10. refer back to vox pops - how many descriptions of who we are relate to what we do?.... can you hear god's affirmation?
have some affirmations/texts written on paper (jen to write them out) buried in a tray of sand.
everyone takes one (finding identity in desert?!) - time to take it in [steve and dave]
11. focussing on calling - where are you going.... easy to just carry on without reflecting on the way we live individually, corporately, nationally, globally... jesus came back into life focussed for next three years.... what does it mean to follow christ then?... story about whether to keep car from 'fearfully and wonderfully weird' - what would you do?/should a christian drive a porsche?... mention shaker pledge and slides that have been up and will be up as one response [jonny]
12. song: 'counter to the culture'
13. blessing - give everyone copies of shaker pledge and adbusters credo as two focussed responses to take away and use (and discuss at pub next time?...). thomas merton quotes from late late service of only reason for stepping back from life being to live more fully etc.... [dave]
The wise monk, Thomas Merton, said that we must only leave the world to learn to love it more. We must only leave behind needy people in order to become more committed to serving them. We must only embrace celibacy in order to deepen our love for men and women and ourselves. We must only vow poverty as a way of learning to see the true value in the world. We must only “waste time” with God as a way of discovering what the time of our lives is for.
The Shakertown Pledge
Recognising that the Earth and the fullness thereof is a gift from our gracious God, and that we are called to cherish, nurture, and provide loving stewardship for the Earth’s resources,
and recognising that life itself is a gift, and a call to responsibility, joy and celebration,
I make the following declarations:
I declare myself to be a world citizen.
I commit myself to an ecologically sound life.
I commit myself to lead a life of creative simplicity and to share my personal wealth with the world’s poor.
I commit myself to join with others in reshaping institutions in order to bring about a more just global society in which each person has full access to the needed resources for their physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual growth.
I commit myself to occupational accountability, and in so doing I will seek to avoid the creation of products which cause harm to others.
I affirm the gift of my body, and commit myself to its proper nourishment and physical well-being.
I commit myself to examine continually my relations with others, and to attempt to relate honestly, morally, and lovingly to those around me.
I commit myself to personal renewal through prayer, meditation and study.
I commit myself to responsible participation in a community of faith.
Media Manifesto (by Adbusters)
We will take on the archetypal mind polluters--- Marlboro, Budweiser, Benetton, Coke, McDonald's, Calvin Klein -- and beat them at their own game.
We will uncool their billion dollar images with uncommercials on TV, subvertisements in magazines and anti-ads right next to theirs in the urban landscape.
We will take control of the role that the tobacco, alcohol, fashion, cosmetics, food and automobile corporations play in our lives. We will hold their marketing strategies up to public scrutiny and set new agendas in their industries.
We will culture jam the pop culture marketeers -- MTV, Time Warner, Sony -- and bring their image factories to a sudden, shuddering halt.
On the rubble of the old media culture, we will build a new one with a non-commercial heart and soul.
Rationale :
The service sits between, and is linked to, the service about lent and the Easter communion service. It’s focus is about personal choice; whether to go with the crowd or to take the more difficult course of action - the narrow gate. In our preparation for Easter, we look at two occasions in which crowds were very important. Firstly the crowd in Jerusalem as Barrabas is freed, the same crowd who had welcomed Jesus so recently. Secondly we see Jesus alone in a crowd as his disciples sleep.
The service includes a section in which people make a short meditative journey. This section will be quite lengthy and similar in nature to the labyrinth in as much as people can lead themselves through at their own pace.
Running order (songs to be added later):
1. As people arrive there is a signpost near the door. At the front, at the end of the central aisle there is a ‘wide gate’ erected through which people will pass. Matthew 7 : 13&14 is displayed on the screen.
2. Images of loneliness (use slide and video) - an introduction to the theme which explores (briefly) the difference between solitude and loneliness and relates the service to both lent and Easter. Mark will refer back to the Shakertown pledge etc from the last service and explore the whole notion of making decisions and having decisions made for us.
3. Group identity - a psalm (to be decided)
4. In the crowd. Reading from Mark 11 followed by a meditation focussing on the crowd in Jerusalem.
5. Jesus alone in the crowd - reading from Jesus’ perspective at the Mount of Olives on the night of His betrayal. He was tempted to take the easy route, even more so perhaps than we discussed at the last service.
6. Guided meditation. There is the opportunity for everyone at the service to focus on the wide and narrow gates. The wide gate can be ‘adorned’ with words/pictures from magazines etc which are people’s views as to what is keeping them from entering through the narrow gate. Along the side aisle there will be lots of card footprints and displays of biblical text leading to the narrow gate through which is a chalice and some bread to symbolise the gifts of heaven.
This section of the service will need careful introduction to relate it to the rest of the service. This is not about people making life-changing decisions but about accepting that wherever we are in our relationship with God we often take the easy route when faced with decisions.
Key texts :
Mark 10:25 Romans 8:17&18 Matthew 16:24-26 Matthew 6:19-23 Matthew 10:21 Matthew 5:48 Matthew 5:8&9 Matthew 7:13&14 Matthew 5:3-6 Matthew 5:10&11 Matthew 6:25 Matthew 6:33 Matthew 6:24 Matthew 5 43&44
you are in a hot dusty land, nearly two thousand years ago. for many years you have been told to wait in expectation for the messiah, the christ. over the past couple of years friends have taken you to hear this man called jesus. something about him, som of the words he has spoken, some of the things you have seen him do, have left you strangely moved. recently he has been less popular, derided by those around you. late into the evening he has remained the topic of conversation, a madman from galilee no-one seems able to forget. some say he is the long-awaited christ. you look back to a week ago. you were out in the marketplace when everyone converged on the road leading into jerusalem. "jesus is coming", came the cry. swept along with the crowd, hoping this was the promised saviour, you remember pushing forward to catch a glimpse, not quite sure why you are there. it seemed this man had become the hope of a nation. was he a king or a fool?
suddenly a man pushes against you, bringing you back to the present moment. you push against the sweaty, pushing bodies around you, jostling to keep a sense of space. you are in the same crowd. friends, zealots, religious leaders, fishermen, tax collectors, lawyers, it seems as if the whole of jerusalem is here. you hear mutterings. some are confused like you, not sure why they are here, but sensing a momentous event is about to happen. others are huddled together conspiratorially to one side. you see friends and wonder why they are here. but doesn't everyone follow the crowd, aren't the crowd always right.
you are standing outside a resplendent building. looking upwards you see a man you hate and fear. like most jews you resent the oppression of the roman occupying forces, long for the promised messiah to set your nation free. with him is the same man the crowd worshipped a week ago. your heart sinks. this man is not going to set your nation free, he's now a roman prisoner. the crowd surges forward. as they do you notice those who had been huddled to one side, disperse themselves among the rest of the crowd. the man called jesus is beaten and scarred. as you strain your eyes to see jesus more clearly you can see someone has forced what looks like a crown of thorns on his head. you sense the disappointment and frustration of a nation is directed at jesus. the roman governor asks the crowd what he should do with a man he can find guilty of no crime.
a babble of noise erupts around you. some are confused, what else cn you do with an innocent man, other than letting him go. others say he has broken religious laws which the romans cannot understand. you try to examine your own feelings. suddenly the crowd is no longer a homogenous place to be. you feel hemmed in, unable to think for yourself.
the cry "crucify, crucify" begins jsut behind you. it becomes louder and louder as others take up the cry. confused, you look around you as more join in the cry. the roman governor motions and silence falls over the crowd. you wait in anticipation. he offers to free one prisoner. should it be jesus?
you feel the shock move from your gut to the rest of your body as some begin to call for barrabas, a local terrorist and murderer who had shocked jerusalem, to be freed. surely we can't release him instead of this innocent man. unsure as you are of jesus, he couldn't be any worse that such a lowlife. could he?
the shout of crucify begins again. it seems as if hysteria has taken over, this crowd is baying for blood. your head is spinning, confusion reigns. maybe he has done something to incite this hatred. caught up in the frenzy you too begin to call "crucify, crucify". it feels good to be in the majority, you begin to feel an identity with the crowd. zealots, lawyers, friends, the crowd has become one. anger and frustration well up inside you. your voice becomes stronger until you feel completely at one with those around you.
the man is grabbed to be taken away. as he turns away he looks out on the crowd. you are drawn to his eyes and they seem to bore straight into you. in them you see understanding, compassion and purpose. in that moment all the things you have seen and heard about this man make sense, except it's too late, he's going to be crucified. as a chill runs down your spine you feel... alone in the crowd.
[mike rose]
SONG
MEDITATION
'Jesus without nails' - includes explanations of the pieces of art, slides showing images of life with and without nails etc
LAMENTATION / CONFESSION :
(Leader)
As we draw near to the place of at-one-ment:
Give us tears to see the wonder of Your presence;
Give us tears to see the wasting of Your people,
Give us tears to see the wounding of Your Son.
(All -)
We are the race that helped make the wood on which You were crucified, and still we misuse Your creation;
We are the race that helped make the nails that pierced Your body, yet still we use work for gain at others' expense;
We are the race that did nothing to stop Your betrayers, yet still we are ruled by comfort or cowardice.
Nails are hammered into pieces of wood
SONG: 'Wash me clean'
THE PEACE :
The opportunity for absolution and sharing of the peace. People cross each others foreheads with water and the phrase 'Through the cross we are forgiven'
SONG: 'I Believe'
INTERCESSION :
THE OFFERING : (Bread and wine brought to the table - a carpenter's bench)
(Leader)
We bless You, High King of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread and wine to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become our spiritual food and drink.
As we bring this bread to You, we offer also: our energies and creating; our relationships and achieving; the sap of life rising; the seeds of life flowering; the resources of life acquiring; the fun of life enjoying; the raw materials of life building; the intelligence of life organising; the feelings of life communicating. You who put ear in corn, take these ordinary things and transform them into the glory of Your presence.
We pour out this wine and offer to You the woes of life outpouring; the waning powers of life, the diseases and disappointments; the hurts and the handicaps; failures caused by our stupidity or by circumstances beyond our control. As grapes are crushed to make the wine, so we offer all who are crushed by hunger or loneliness, violence or abuse. You who put beam into sun and moon, take all this and transform it into the deep, rich wine of everlasting life.
SONG : Lift up your hearts
THE EUCHARIST :
(Leader)
High King of the universe, who sustains the worlds, who brought forth the earth; You breathe wisdom into all your creatures, till we reflect Your three-fold friendship. In our pain and sorrow we cry out to You, Tender Lamb, slain before the world began, perfect sacrifice for our sins. Grant that by the power of the Holy Spirit these gifts of bread and wine may be for us His body and blood who, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, gave You thanks, broke it and gave it to His disciples saying : Take, eat, this is My body which is given for you. After supper He took the cup, gave You thanks, and said to them : this is My blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of Me.
SONG :(All - words on slide)
Christ has died !
Christ is risen !
Christ will come again !
THE INVITATION :
This is the table not of the church, but of the Lord.
It is to be made ready for those who love Him and who want to love Him more.
So come, you who have much faith and you who have little.
You who have been here often and you who have not been for a long time.
You who have tried to follow and you who have failed.
Come. Not because I invite you; it is our Lord.
It is His will that those who want Him should meet Him here.
Use your eyes and your heart.
Here is your Lord coming to you in bread and wine.
These are the gifts of God for the people of God.
Draw near with faith.
Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ which He gave for you, and His blood which He shed for you.
Eat and drink in remembrance that he died for you, and feed on Him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.
SHARING THE BREAD AND WINE :
'Easter Song [by A Man Called Adam]' and 'I lift my cup' played over suitable video images with the words on the screens.
MEDITATION:
'Walk On By' - a journey which explores what might have been without the resurrection of our Lord
SONG: 'And Death Has No Dominion' [from the Grace CD] and 'Thine Be The Glory'
A BLESSING :
includes an invitation for people to collect a nail and take it away as a symbol of the truth
(All - words on slide)
May the power and the mystery go before us,
to show us the way,
shine above us to lighten our world,
lie beneath us to bear us up,
walk with us and give us companionship,
and glow and flow within us to bring us joy. Amen.
This service was a follow-up to the 'Reimagining Worship' conference of that weekend in Hackney.
1. welcome
2. songs:
'adoramus te domine'
'bless the lord my soul'
steve's psalm read over music
3. reflection on god from psalm 34 - taste and see that the lord is good; god hears/listens to our frustrations and desires; god delivers and changes
(jenny)
4. prayer with incense (o lord hear my prayer loop)
(dave)
5. report back on weekend and story of grace to now
(mike)
6. what is the way forward? questionnaires and groups - refreshments during this bit
(dave)
7. core group feeling need for more. what about you - groups and feedback
(jonny)
8. prayer
(steve)
9. song: 'i bind unto myself today'
grace questionnaires 10/5/98
some analysis
34 questionnaires filled in as follows:
1 vicar
4 grace team
5 from lbc
3 from gillingham who heard about grace at spring harvest
7 a youth group from sunbury-on-thames who heard about grace at brainstormers creative worship day
4 from st. mary's
4 others who live in ealing but worship elsewhere
1 ruislip
1 heathrow
1 west twyford
1 croydon
2 sussex
ages:
0-13 1 (baby)
14-18 8
19-25 9
26-35 7
36-45 6
46-55 4
56+ 0
29 out of 34 said grace was a supplement to other church activities
note - everyone not on the team was involved in regular church activity elsewhere
familiar faces:
paul wainwright
pete clouston
pete freeman
neil hopkins
6 want to get more involved:
neil hopkins [ideas, help set up, open house for those in nw london (?)]
3 other lbc attendees [one-off services, youth camps etc] [keyboards] [art, words, singing]
paul wainwright [ideas, songwriting]
one of the sunbury youth group [lighting]
things people want us to do more of:
wider/more publicity
small groups/social functions
On the questionnaire we asked, 'Is there anything you'd like to ask us?' Here are some of those questions, with our replies.
If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?
If you did a morning service would it take a different format?
The visuals would be a problem due to the daylight, but the general format and methods would work. The atmosphere would be different - would meditation work well without low light conditions?
Do you write/invent the stories/ideas etc - if not where do you get them?
Much of the stuff we do write or invent ourselves, but we also quote directly from a wide variety of sources including Mike Riddell, Douglas Coupland, Thomas Merton, Celtic liturgy and poetry both ancient and modern, CS Lewis, and traditional Anglican practice and writing. Of course what we do is also informed by all the Christian activities we have been involved in, services we have been to, theology we have read, music, magazines, television, film etc...and our experiences in life.
Is alternative worship actually becoming the new mainstream?
Not yet it isn't. We should be so lucky.
How do you become more inclusive and less led from up front?
If we had a bigger proportion of the congregation involved as part of the team there would be less of the same faces and voices. We are also considering forms of service which could run themselves to a greater degree - at the moment it is necessary to guide people through what is going on. We always try to include activities and discussions that the congregation can do without intervention from the front, and can give feedback on, but inevitably there has to be some leadership to give direction and shape, and to provide the stuff that has to be prepared earlier.
Is there room here for people who want to celebrate life and worship God, but who don't necessarily believe that Jesus is more important than any other 'enlightened mystic'?
Yes, but we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and God the Son, so you won't agree with everything we say or do.
Is the girl with long blonde hair single and what is her phone number?
I'm sorry I can't tell you that.
Why are there so many things in St. Mary's for me to knock over?
There aren't - you're just clumsy.
Is it usual to have these feelings about the other members of the group?
Yes, entirely. Come and see me about it later.
This was handed out to the congregation at 'Whose alternative?' We were trying to get a feel for where we were and where we should aim to go.
your age?
your sex?
alone or in a group?
where do you come to grace from?
why do you come?
how did you hear about us?
is grace your only church experience or is it a supplement to other church activities?
what is your main source of spiritual input?
where do you find god in the world?
what would you like to see grace doing?
would you like to get more involved in grace? [for example: ideas, music, helping set up and take down, slides, video, lighting etc]
is there anything you'd like to ask us?
'culture is not a means to an end for christians to use to get people into heaven. it is the purpose of their creation and re-creation'
graham cray
'the gospel must be constantly forwarded to a new address because the recipient is repeatedly changing his/her place of residence'
helmut thieliche
'the life experience of young people in modern industrialsed societies has changed quite significantly over the last two decades'
finlay and cartmel
'how we consume is an integral part of the kind of person we are and the kind of person we present to the wider world'
wyn and white
'the spirituality of our culture has a motor of addiction - so if we don't disciple well we produce christian consumers not culture transformers'
graham cray
'choice is at the centre of consumerism, both as emblem and core value'
gabriel and lang
'it is the characteristic of our age that there is little sense of community, of any real sense of history, as the present is all that matters'
jon savage (the face)
'if the savings book was the epitomy of modern life, then the credit card is the paradigm of the postmodern one'
zygmunt bauman
''i'm a non religious person looking for a religious experience'
chris carter (x files writer)
'the church is bottom of the confidence ratings for those under 35 but ranks third (out of thirteen institutions) for those over 50.'
european values survey
'the word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood'
john (gospel writer)
'artists express the soul of a culture'
dean borgman
'music is the breath of god breezing out into the universe'
mike riddell
'the drugs don't work'
the verve
'it's a bittersweet symphony this life
trying to make ends meet you're a slave to money then you die.....
i'm a million different people from one day to the next...
i never pray but tonight i'm on my knees
i need to hear some sounds that recognise the pain in me'
the verve
'they ask where the hell i'm going at 1000 ft per second
hey man slow down! idiot slow down!'
radiohead
'there ain't no real truth
there ain't no real light
keep on pushing because i know it's there.....
i just can't make it alone'
the verve
'life is instantly repackaged as advertising or cartoon, as tabloid drama or household brand'
the face (essay on nineties)
'perhaps one of the things the nineties has been about is the search for authenticity as opposed to all these disneylands'
the face (essay on nineties)
'if it's the real thing we're wanting just where do we find it? the nineties quest for life and some sort of authenticity coupled with a gradual loss of faith in the capacity of big and beliefs to save our souls has led us to make up our own truths, build our own small worlds as best we can'
the face (essay on nineties)
'what is there left to believe in? only yourself, your friends, your humour, your obsessions, your idea of a good time, your idea of what matters. and the great thing about the nineties is that your idea can matter'
the face
'if there's a key to the nineties i think it's that perpetual insecurity. never have peple thought so hard about their lives and come to such indecision or felt further apart..... if there's going to be an epitaph for the nineties it will be 'by the ned we all felt like victims''
damon albarn (blur)
'we inhabit a civilisation of crumbling confidence, in which it is hard to be sure of anything'
felipe fernandez-armesto
'an evangelist must respect the culture of a people not destroy it. the incarnation of the gospel, the flesh and blood which must grow on the gospel is up to the people of a culture'
vincent donavon
'perhaps it is unsurprising that many christians perceive the emerging culture as the enemy and look for ways to protect themselves against it. but faith requires risk'
mike riddell
'in recent decades we have passed like alice slipping through the looking glass into a new world'
walter anderson
'post modern simply says that the previous culture 'modernism' is at an end and something else is emerging to take its place'
mike riddell
'the greatest barrier to the gospel in contemporary western culture is the church'
mike riddell
'culture is a living thing which can only be developed from within. it can not be imposed from above'
pete ward
'the world looks suspiciously like a 20 channel satellite t.v. with a madman holding the remote control: before you have time to make sense of the story, the screen beams other images, to be replaced with yet other images, before you begin to know what they are images of; and all comes from nowhere and melts back into nowhere again'
zygmunt bauman
'remember at the start of the decade it being pronounced that these would be the caring nineties in direct reaction to the materialistic eighties? well, excuse us while we bathe in frothy irony and knock back our 'testosterone and black', but it hasn't happened yet'
miranda sawyer (the face)
'the postmodern refers above all to the exhaustion of the modern'
david lyon
'we emerge from our mother's womb an unformatted diskette: our culture formats us'
douglas coupland (polaroids from the dead)
'you're born; you live; you run around a bit; you die; so you might as well look foxy while you're doing it'
frontier clothes shop
the service will be in two parts. the first will be a mix of readings about the spirit from the bible and songs. the readings will not be huge chunks, rather a few verses with plenty of space for people to reflect and contemplate these scriptures. the second will be a response that involves visiting three stations/areas.
section 1
1. introduction/welcome.... explain outline of evening, introductory thoughts, and prayer [jen]
2. readings from the old testament [dave]
3. song - 'mighty wind' [from the grace album]
4. readings from the new testament [steve]
5. song - 'come holy spirit' [from the grace album]
6. video scroll of words to do with pentecost [mark]
section 2
1. wind station
in the side chapel we will enclose the space with muslin/drapes with images projected on them. inside will be a couple of fans blowing. this is a space for personal prayer. people go in and ask to be filled with the spirit and stay in as long as they like
2. fire station (nee naa nee naa)
in the room used by cyfa we will have three televisons with the flames flickering. a tape will play a retelling of the story of pentecost in acts 2. people sit in the middle of the flames and imagine the story and give thanks for the gift of the spirit.
3. trinity station
we didn't decide where this would be (main area?/between choir stalls?). we will set up a whirly bird clothes line (one of those triangular rotary lines). the three sides symbolise the trinity. we will also have a television with a video of washing in a machine. this station is a place to reflect on the relationship of the father, son and spirit to the world. there will be some things made and hung on the trinitarian whirlybird before the service and at the station people create things/write prayers etc to hang on the line.
4. we will also make available a list of the scriptures that were read in section 1 and a pile of bibles for anyone wanting to sit and read them during this time.
5. final blessing - when everyone is back together we will close with a final blessing/prayer e.g. 'send us out in the power of your spirit........'
tasks for the stations:
mark will redo the pentecost scroll, do the washing video, work out how to get some more televisions and video players for the service, and borrow some fans from work
dave will try and get a whirlybird and base, contact kev and ana and come up between them with what will happen at this station
jonny and mike will record a tape of the pentecost story with appropriate music....
jen will get a couple of mini kites
mike will make a couple of triangular frames with muslin in to hang to project on
1. intro - words about bringing senses & culture into worship [mike] - light candles
2. three personal stories of people's experience of God in their lives - one through bad times [steve], one through good times, one in the everyday.
3. exploration of jesus' humanity - blank postcards with things people do in life written on them - laugh/cry/get angry/road rage/have favorites/get drunk etc. get people into small groups, hand random bunches of these cards out and ask people to discuss whether they think jesus ever did any of them. some cards will have a bible reference on the back if it exists, others will simply ask the question 'do you think jesus did/felt this?'
4. meditation [one recently written by dave] on the pleasures & pains of human life & the presence of God in all these leading into a time of reflection on our own lives
5. more blank postcards handed out - people asked to imagine the course/pattern of their lives so far as colours, drawn with paints/crayons etc on the postcards. when people have drawn the colours of their lives they are invited to pin them up on a board at the front so we can see the communal pattern of colours. [steve will donate his huge collection of coloured pencils to help this]
6. then people invited to come up and take & eat two elements, one bitter, one sweet, to symbolise their acceptance of the presence of the two in our lives and of all that God sends [dave][music - 'bittersweet symphony' the verve]
7. leading into closing prayers from team re God is always with us in the good times [when we forget him] and in the bad times to share the suffering and sustain us [not sending the bad times but using them for good if he can]
we feel that there should be people available to talk/pray afterwards with anybody for whom this service might summon up difficult feelings [the pattern of my life is all bad/God has sent bad things/where is God in all this etc] - if needs be we might try and get the presence of one or two trained counsellors just in case.
Grace ran 2 events: life-bittersweet and the last supper
saturday 'life - bittersweet'
this combined elements of our february 98 lent service, about noise and journeying into the desert, with elements of our july 98 'life' service - postcards, the bittersweet ritual.
1. intro/welcome
2. song
3. track 'inner city life' by goldie + oscilloscope - noise internal and external meditation + traffic
4. meditation - journey into the desert
5. song: 'calm me o lord' [from the grace CD]
6. introductory thoughts on life - when we get away, chance to step back and reflect on life
7. postcards - did jesus experience these? (anger/road rage/sexual desire etc etc)
8. story - pleasure and pain
9. bittersweet ritual - lemon and honey + tracks 'bittersweet symphony' by the verve + 'easter song' by a man called adam
10. song
11. blessing
monday - the last supper
so-called because it was the last communion service at greenbelt 98 and, if the festival had not continued, would have been the last greenbelt service ever!
1. intro/welcome
2. song
3. the table - thoughts on leonardo image of last supper and our contemporary interpretations (people at GB having meals/mcdonalds/etc)
4. invitation - all are welcome - isaiah 55.....
5. song
6. small groups
7. food - eat in groups and share memories - about christ (remember me) and greenbelt (it's the last one in its current format) - the storytelling could be facilitated by a couple of stories from the front
8. confession - handwashing after meal, confession and absolution + track forgiven
9. cup and bread (after supper he took the cup......) - words of institution and sharing bread and wine in groups
10. songs
11. prayer for future of gb and everyone going back to home situations
12. song
13. blessing and incense (burn some incense and give everyone a few grains to take away to offer up on fires around GB or at home as ongoing prayer)
later that night steve did a meditation 1am-2am tuesday in the arts cafe based on john 21.
make yourselves comfortable
find a position in which you can relax and be still
and when you have found that position
close your eyes
now take a deep breath - long, deep, fill your lungs
hold it for a few seconds then breathe out - all the way out
and again a deep breath in - hold - then out again
now become aware of the space around you
let the walls of the tent fade away
leaving you exposed to the night sky and the cold...
several weeks ago, your world fell apart.
when the big test came, you just couldn't cope
you blew it for yourself
and you blew it for someone else when they needed you more than ever.
and so you left the city and came back to a place where they wouldn't know what you'd done
and took up the job you'd left in the days of hope
and now it is after midnight
and you are alone
in a boat on a lake
the net is over the side, submerged in the water
and you are waiting.
draw up the net.
how do you feel when the net comes up empty?
let the net down again
watch it slip away silently into the water
and wait. watch the water. watch the sky. and listen.
then draw up the net again.
it is still empty.
how do you feel?
let it down again into the water, maybe in a different place.
and wait. watch and listen.
are you sleepy or alert?
draw up the net
how do you feel when it comes up empty the third time?
row the boat to a different place
let the net down again
are you hopeful? are you resigned? frustrated?
wait
draw up the net.
it is empty
how do you react?
you have come back to something you know well how to do, and now even that skill has deserted you.
how does it feel to be a failure?
it is beginning to get lighter.
the sky is turning from black to blue
it is cold
there is a mist drifting in patches on the lake
above it you see the hills silhouetted against the slowly brightening sky.
far off on the shore, you hear a bird start to sing
what kind of song is it?
is it melodious or harsh?
few notes or many?
at first it is alone
then another starts to sing, a different song
then two more, then many at once and you cannot count them any more.
listen to the dawn chorus.
there is no other sound except the gentle waves against the boat.
something moves on the shore.
you cannot make it out clearly through the drifting mist.
there it is again.
what is it?
an animal? or a person?
it is a person
how do you feel?
are you glad to see them or not?
do you want to meet them?
suddenly the person on the shore is calling to you
asking you if you have caught anything.
will you lie to them or admit your failure?
now they are telling you where to let down your nets.
how do you feel? you are the fisherman. who are they?
are you going to take their advice?
row the boat to a different place
let the net down again
are you hopeful? are you resigned? frustrated?
wait
draw up the net.
it is full
how do you react?
the net is too full to drag into the boat, so you start to row towards the shore, hoping it won't break.
suddenly the first light of the rising sun breaks over the hills and across the shore, full onto the stranger.
and you see who it is.
it is Jesus.
the friend you have hurt.
how do you feel?
are you glad to see him or not?
do you want to meet him?
as you approach the shore you see that Jesus has already lit a fire
there is a smell of cooking fish
but you don't understand where he got them
as you step out of the boat he comes to meet you
your eyes meet
what do you see there?
how do you feel?
what are you going to say?
he seems not to notice your feelings
he offers you breakfast
you eat in silence
after breakfast, you and Jesus walk along the shore.
he asks you if you are really his friend.
how do you feel? what is your reply?
he asks you if you are really his friend again.
how do you feel at being asked twice? what is your reply?
he asks you if you even like him.
how do you feel now? how do you reply?
he has something he wants you to do for him.
how do you feel?
how do you feel when he tells you this is something only you can do?
when he tells you that this time you won't fail?
what is it that he is inviting you to do?
that only you can do?
ask him about it
be open about your fears and questions
what are his answers?
are you going to accept?
when you have decided
say goodbye for now to Jesus
and get back into the boat
put out into the lake
in the blazing sunshine of a new day
the sun is warm
and your eyes are closed
slowly become aware of the tent again
as you do so
bring with you
any insights you have had
into the world after Greenbelt
now open your eyes
here we are in the midst of greenbelt on a saturday night
and it's noisy
we thought we were coming to the countryside
but all around us is the noise of a city here for a weekend
noise is unwanted sound
what's music in the dance tent is noise over here
but noise isn't just about sound
it's about information
noise is whatever drowns out or conceals meaningful information
our lives are full of noise
too much information
too many messages that don't add up to any coherent whole
all competing for our attention
and the noise on the outside
makes its way inside us
seeping into our minds and hearts
until we don't know any more
which voice inside us is our own
society and the media have moved in
and each of us is lost in our own inner city.
god is pushing through the crowd
searching the amusement arcades
department stores and burger bars inside us
for a face that only he will recognise
the face of our true selves
he knows we need to get away
to leave the city and be alone with him
so that he can teach us how to recognise ourselves
next time we're lost in the crowds of unknowing
Mike Riddell was guest speaker and had given us the title, so we ran with the concept. At what point does our pursuit of [what we think is] 'holiness' become a sin - because it tramples other values such as love and compassion?
to summarise some of our preliminary thoughts:
holiness comes from closeness to God rather than closeness to God coming from holiness
holiness is about removing barriers between ourselves and God - commandments etc are just guides as to where those barriers and obstacles might be.
holiness as safety - when securing one's own personal standing with God becomes more important than giving his love to others - abstinence from engagement
holy = churchy - 'holiness' as a badge of belonging, defining who's in and who's out
one thing we are trying to home in on is the distinction between things that are conventionally considered unholy, but aren't; and things that are conventionally not considered unholy, but are. for example, farting in church is not unholy, although it may be bad manners; playing wombles records is not unholy, although it may be bad manners; doing the National Lottery may not be bad manners but is unholy.
GRACE ORDER OF SERVICE
THE SIN OF HOLINESS
MIKE to prepare spoof orders of service [see list of words]
MARK to search out Father Ted videos for swearing etc, and the National Lottery
welcome/intro - MIKE
caricatures of holiness - JEN & MIKE
figures of holy and unholy person:
small groups have A3 sheet with holy & unholy figure on -
write on it what each person would do/be/think/wear etc
pin results up on two large versions of figures at front - STEVE
the congregation's list of holy and unholy things
song
interview Mike Riddell - JONNY
Mike Riddell's address
opportunity for questions
song
ritual
getting our hands dirty planting hyacinth or similar bulbs - DAVE
prayer here
some people don't do anything very bad and yet feel unholy/unworthy
- PAUL
song
concluding words
holy:
recognising god for who he is
living in the light of god
prayer
letting god in
repentant heart
things done with a godly attitude
everyone and all creation especially cats even snakes
guitars
wholeness
mother theresa
spirit filled
seeking god
honesty
openness
identifying with christ
daring to be different
selfless
pure
joy
peace
loves god
loving
kind
god in us
wash'n'go spirituality
delirious? t-shirt
the guardian
someone who lives by the biblical law [spirit]
humble
christlikeness
wears a halo
tries to build commitment to the truth
seeking intimacy with god
no dress sense
superspiritual
overpious
middle class
conformity
challenging injustice
being right with god
little spare cash
sandals
inclusive
challenging by lifestyle
makes you feel uncomfortable
punk
gospel
breakbeat
self-sacrifice
bruce cockburn t-shirt
rachel's mum
integrity
unholy:
deceitful
going against god
greed
rock music
satanism
prodigy t-shirt
apathy
legalism
selfish
arrogant
blasphemous
bigot
into self-gain
american
exclusive
sex
rebellion
miniskirt
bow tie
grunge look
metal jacket
open to immorality
chooses own paths for life
finds submission to god difficult
uncaring
disregard for others
nirvana t-shirt
violence
the sun
porn video
hate god
expletives
abuse
pride
sexy
anger
swears
taking the lord's name in vain
disrespect for god
wilfully against god
media baron
brokenness
pot noodles
the pope who bled nine choirboys to death so that he could drink their blood [the first transfusion - he died!]
curly guitar leads
shutting god out
'me' culture
envy
ceremonial killing of chickens
hypocrisy
Father we come to you, as we are, in unholiness, in holiness, as sinners, as children of God.
We are sorry for the times we fail you. For times when we are not holy, that is when we have put barriers between ourselves and you, preventing us from being close to you. Forgive us Lord. Forgive us also when we set a measure or a standard of holiness to aspire to which is not what you require of us. Help us to become closer to you and to remove the obstacles that distance us from you.
Thank you that Jesus shattered the illusions of holiness performed by the Pharisees. You re-interpreted the meaning of holiness and you are our example that we aspire to follow:
Despite being accused of being a glutton and a drunkard, this did not deter you from being engaged with the poor, needy, Roman officials, the sick, tax collectors, children, prostitutes, the rich, rulers, widows. We could think of many types of people that you would be engaged with this day.
Let us not commit the sin of holiness, when we have put barriers between ourselves and the world, that is, abstinence from engagement with the world in which we live. Lord you have called us all to the great commission. Show us by your example how we may be holy and pleasing in your sight, being both close to God and being salt and light to the world.
Amen
by paul wainwright
for spoof order of service - 'dis-grace'
things forbidden in church:
playing cards
drinking alcohol
prawn/pork
fart
belch
spit
wearing a hat
cross-dress
smoke
take drugs
talk
eat
snog
feel someone up
snore
swear
listen to walkman
gamble
smile/laugh
clap
dance
argue
lapdancing
put hands up
heckle/interrupt the preacher
dress provocatively or scantily [not always the same thing!]
take all your clothes off
not wear your Sunday best
read porn mags
if you have nothing to confess, we can provide you with something
you may choose any or all of the following:
rubber goose
fags & booze
lottery ticket
Grace's first experiment with Holy Communion, and first cafe-format service. The actual eucharist was the third course of a meal.
The aim of the service was to explore communion a bit, get people to share their experiences and understanding round the meal table, and to set the scene for future 'eucharist@grace.london' services. We set the service up cafe stylee with tables and chairs at the front of the church.
Order of service:
invitation/welcome [jen]
songs x 2
intro to evening and theme [mike]
potted history of how we got from last supper to church communion now [jonny]
testimonies of peoples understanding and experiences of communion - this will be done interview style with mike interviewing [jen, dave, bill and steve paynter - the new vicar]
set scene for the meal - get people in groups and facilitate story telling around the table w.r.t. communion experiences and understandings [dave]
prayers esp. for future communion services we do - to include burning of incense [steve]
song - thankyou for hearing me
following our october 98 service exploring ideas of communion, we began a regular fourth-sunday communion service, with deliberately limited setup and repeated liturgy. this continued until we decided that the church was too cold and uncomfortable in spite of our best efforts - we then moved it into people's homes as the final course of a meal.
communion liturgy used for this series [though i'm not sure if the hammering of nails was always done]:
LAMENTATION / CONFESSION :
(Leader)
As we draw near to the place of at-one-ment:
Give us tears to see the wonder of Your presence;
Give us tears to see the wasting of Your people,
Give us tears to see the wounding of Your Son.
(All -)
We are the race that helped make the wood on which You were crucified, and still we misuse Your creation;
We are the race that helped make the nails that pierced Your body, yet still we use work for gain at others’ expense;
We are the race that did nothing to stop Your betrayers, yet still we are ruled by comfort or cowardice.
Nails are hammered into pieces of wood
THE PEACE :
The opportunity for absolution and sharing of the peace. People cross each others foreheads with water and the phrase “Through the cross we are forgiven”
INTERCESSION :
THE OFFERING : (Bread and wine brought to the table )
(Leader)
We bless You, High King of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread and wine to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become our spiritual food and drink.
As we bring this bread to You, we offer also: our energies and creating; our relationships and achieving; the sap of life rising; the seeds of life flowering; the resources of life acquiring; the fun of life enjoying; the raw materials of life building; the intelligence of life organising; the feelings of life communicating. You who put ear in corn, take these ordinary things and transform them into the glory of Your presence.
We pour out this wine and offer to You the woes of life outpouring; the waning powers of life, the diseases and disappointments; the hurts and the handicaps; failures caused by our stupidity or by circumstances beyond our control. As grapes are crushed to make the wine, so we offer all who are crushed by hunger or loneliness, violence or abuse. You who put beam into sun and moon, take all this and transform it into the deep, rich wine of everlasting life.
SONG : “Lift up your hearts”
THE EUCHARIST :
(Leader)
High King of the universe, who sustains the worlds, who brought forth the earth; You breathe wisdom into all your creatures, till we reflect Your three-fold friendship. In our pain and sorrow we cry out to You, Tender Lamb, slain before the world began, perfect sacrifice for our sins. Grant that by the power of the Holy Spirit these gifts of bread and wine may be for us His body and blood who, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, gave You thanks, broke it and gave it to His disciples saying : Take, eat, this is My body which is given for you. After supper He took the cup, gave You thanks, and said to them : this is My blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of Me.
SONG :(All - words on slide)
Christ has died !
Christ is risen !
Christ will come again !
THE INVITATION :
This is the table not of the church, but of the Lord.
It is to be made ready for those who love Him and who want to love Him more.
So come, you who have much faith and you who have little.
You who have been here often and you who have not been for a long time.
You who have tried to follow and you who have failed.
Come. Not because I invite you; it is our Lord.
Is is His will that those who want Him should meet Him here.
Use your eyes and your heart.
Here is your Lord coming to you in bread and wine.
These are the gifts of God for the people of God.
Draw near with faith.
Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ which He gave for you, and His blood which He shed for you.
Eat and drink in remembrance that he died for you, and feed on Him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.
SHARING THE BREAD AND WINE :
“Forgiven” and “I lift my cup” played over suitable video images with the words on the screens.
A BLESSING :
#(All - words on slide)
May the power and the mystery go before us,
to show us the way,
shine above us to lighten our world,
lie beneath us to bear us up,
walk with us and give us companionship,
and glow and flow within us to bring us joy. Amen.
1. songs
2. intro to theme - reflections on the blue peter time capsule being buried and dug up (JEN)
3. thoughts about the future and what lies after 2000.... (STEVE)
video - as part of the above we would want some clips from the films mentioned and any others if possible (MARK / ADAM)
4. stations - taking stock
each of these will have a resaonable introduction from the front to set the scene for what people are expected to do. how to live is the pressing concern for the future. once we pass 2000 rather than feeling like things are drawing to an end, it will feel like there is this huge open space in front of us. we will have three stations representing the planet, ourselves, and the church. visiting each will be a chance to reflect on where each is headed and what our part to play is in each.
personal - acorns.... readings from douglas coupland 'girlfriend in a coma' about taking responsibility for life (JONNY)
excerpts from chapter 35 of 'girlfriend in a coma'
how do you feel about the future?
what will you be doing in 2010? 2020?
in a survey of old people asked what they would do differently if the lived their lives over again, one common response was that they would RISK more.
what are your dreams for the future?
what risks do you need to take to realise them?
jesus told a story of how the kingdom of god is like a small seed that grows to become a large tree.
hold the seed/acorn - what does it represent in your life?
take some time to offer it and your future to god.
global - pile of rubbish - some stats on slide and piece to whom does the earth belong? to read - can we have a sustainable future w.r.t. the planet? (MIKE)
church - autumn leaves... it feels like winter is upon the church in britain but when things seem dead, it can pave the way for new life. what is the future of the church? what is the future of our part in it? (DAVE)
5. songs
6. readings + music - visions of the future from scripture + on god's faithful covenant (JEN)
7. final thoughts on spirituality - triumphalistic/revivalistic religion has led to disillusion e.g. 'i want to build the kingdom of god in my generation' when the promises aren't delivered. we need a more realistic but hopeful vision of god with us as we head into the future that connects with faithful hopeful living along the lines of jeremiah to thos in exile Jer 29:5-9 (DAVE)
8. song/blessing
[dave holme]
Reflect on Psalm 24:1, Psalm 50:10-11, Psalm 115:16.
In what ways have human beings failed to exercise a cooperative and responsible dominion over the Earth that God has given them?
Read Genesis 1:9-12, 20-30.
Do verses 26 and 28 provide a declaration of war on nature?
Are developing tools and technology, farming the land, digging for minerals, extracting fuels, damming rivers for hydroelectric power, harnessing atomic energy all fulfilments of God's primeval command?
Are we the 'lords' of the Earth?
Has Christianity actually caused irresponsible use of natural resources?
So what distinctive contribution to the ecological debate should Christians make?
We believe that God created the Earth and that one day he will recreate it. Read Romans 8:18-25.
In Ronald Higgins' book 'The Seventh Enemy', the first six enemies are the population explosion, the food crisis, the scarcity of resources, environmental degradation, nuclear abuse and scientific technology. The seventh enemy is humanity itself, our personal blindness and political inertia in the face of today's ecological challenge.
Do we find it easier to subdue the Earth than we do to subdue ourselves?
At the root of the ecological crisis is human greed. How does this challenge us?
In what one way could I help to conserve our human environment for the next century?
[mike rose]
In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, the 19th century saw a rate of technological progress unprecedented in human history. One of the side effects of this was the invention of science fiction, as the rate of change in the real world encouraged imaginative speculation about the unbelievable wonders, or nightmares, that lay ahead.
And it's at about this time, the late 19th century, that the year 2000 starts to take on a special significance in people's imaginations; not in a religious sense, but as a date symbolising the idea of the Future not just as a time not yet come, but as a radically different place from the past. Clearly, during the endless ages of, say, Egypt of the pharaohs, the idea of the future as radically different from the present wasn't going to happen; and for most of human history, whenever people have dreamed of a radically different future it was going to come about as a result of divine intervention from outside human history, rather than as a result of human development itself. But someone in 1890 will have been aware that they were living in a world that had been utterly transformed in the space of a human lifetime, and the magic date with all the zeros, the millennial date, draws the eye and people start to ask the question, "If technology carries on changing human society like this - what will life be like in the year 2000?"
Now clearly, over the past century there have been two answers given to that question - the optimistic answer, where technology brings about a utopia of peace, plenty, and usually human idleness; or the pessimistic answer, where technology either destroys humanity or enslaves it.
And we're going to take a look at some of those visions now.
Firstly, the optimistic view, which I think is best symbolised by 2001: a Space Odyssey - in particular the Blue Danube sequence with the space station and the trip to the moon.
When I was a child in the late 60s, this was the vision of the future we were brought up on - a future of technological optimism and freedom. When I saw 2001 again a couple of years ago, after not having seen it since the 70s, I was heartbroken - this was the future I was promised, my childhood dream - and it will never happen. I feel robbed, in a way.
By the 1980s it was obvious that the shiny space-age vision of the future wasn't going to happen, and the worsening of the Cold War brought about by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the election of Reagan, the deployment of cruise missiles etc, brought about a series of visions of the future as nuclear nightmare such as hadn't been seen since the 50s, all encouraged by the increasing apocalypticism of the religious right in America who almost seemed to enjoy what was going on. Let's take a look at the opening sequence of Terminator 2:
Note the irony of the date - those visions now look a little dated, since the end of the Cold War. We at Grace know that machines can't take over the world, because they can't even work the slide projector. My, they're going to have to evolve fast!
So where does this leave us now that we're almost at the year 2000? What's been creeping up on us in the years since the 60s, is that the Future isn't futuristic after all - it's pretty much like the past but with different gadgets.
Sometimes the future arrives, but more slowly than expected. I remember seeing designs for people-carriers in the 1960s, but it took the car industry 30 years to get around to it. And virtual reality - remember that? - very 1992 - looks like it's going to be another future that takes forever to arrive.
Human history as normal, in short, rather than a radical break from it. And although we're having a little burst of excitement now, once we get past the year 2000 there isn't another date to replace it, that can stand as a symbol of the future, for a very long time. 2100 doesn't have the same ring. And I'd suggest that the idea of the Future [capital F] as a place radically different from the past, as we have known it for the last hundred years or so, will fade away and we will be back in a situation similar to that of, say, the 18th century, where the future was just whatever happened next, without the capital F or the apocalyptic vision. A future in which the human race muddles on through wars and rumours of wars, in which the battle is never won, but never lost either, until the Lord returns. The tube will still be dirty and we will get stuck in the tunnel, but the voice of a female android [excuse the contradiction] will tell us what the next station will be, if we ever get to it. In short, Blade Runner. Let's take a look:
Now this, too, is probably too pessimistic [I hope]; but it is I think far closer to a real future than anything else we've seen. It's a non-futuristic future, in which clothes and buildings have retro styling. It's a future in which electronics, and genetics, are simply business. And it's an environmentally degraded future. Blade Runner is based on the book 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' by Philip K. Dick, and what isn't made explicit in the film, but is in the book, is that most animal life is extinct. It starts with owls - one day all the owls are dead, and no-one knows why. Then another sort of animal just dies, and another, until hardly any real ones are left - and artificial animals are manufactured to fill the human need for nature. Uncomfortably possible.
now with that vision of the future standing as a warning, we're going to move on to reflect more personally on where we ourselves, the Church, and the planet are heading.
[steve collins]
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
the labyrinth itself is based around the annunciation & advent.
the journey inward [preparation to meet god] will take the themes of the OT prophecies about the coming of the messiah; the
central light will represent as ever the meeting with god, but in this case specifically the annunciation, as the point where mary
said yes to god. the journey outward will be themed on the magnificat, about the effect of us bearing the god we have said yes to
out into the world.
[KEV/ANA to email existing labo stations to STEVE who will re-map themes as above]
'self' station - this is about gifts. god to us, us to god. christmas presents. [DAVE]
'each other' station - incarnation - how are we being christ to others? how are others being christ to us? [KEVIN]
people is where we meet god, not a building. 'the messiah is among you' story from riddell.
'planet' station - theme of 'journey' [MARK]
[BRIAN to do overarching meditation, ROSIE to sing]
[spoken at intervals, and slowly, while people are walking the labyrinth. written by ana draper]
Tonight we are on a journey, a journey towards the light who is God. We look towards our Trinitarian God walking with expectancy. Just as at the beginning of time the earth was in darkness, so we are in darkness, moving towards the warms and nourishment that is God, our life source.
God - the word, said let there be light and there was light.
God created and continues creating - God see's all that he has created and continues creating.
God loves giving life and wants to give it in abundance.
John 1 v 1-14.
Jesus told Nicodemus that unless we are willing to be continually created into the image of God we will never see God's kingdom. We can be like a seed, buried deep into the ground, we can choose to germinate, grow and develop towards the light. As you journey around the labyrinth, take your time, each step is a step of discovery. Just as the wise men journeyed towards God by following a star, so we ask you to journey. Be prepared to face what you discover about yourself, as you walk towards the light - let God the light draw you towards wholeness (holyness). God is faithful, she will not desert you. God is the pulse of the cosmos, they will not let you die.
Isaiah 52 v 7-10.
God's good news - Mary was asked to carry The Word, the pulse of the cosmos within her.
God is asking you if you will do the same?
Will you be the good news, the incarnate God.
Mary choose to say yes and she changed the course of history - what is your response?
God the Trinity loved Mary and made love to her, impregnating her with himself. Inside of her grew God, she and God became one.
Jesus said
"The spirit of the lord is upon me because he has anointed me;
he has sent me to announce good news to the poor,
to proclaim release for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind;
to let the broken victims go free,
to proclaim the year of the lords favour."
" The spirit of the Lord is upon you because he has anointed you;
he has sent you to announce good news to the poor,
to proclain release for prisoners and recovery for the blind;
to let the broken victims go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lords favour."
Isaiah 9 v 2-6-7
John 1 from 'The Message'.
The inward journey:
To become ready to receive God as messiah into their midst, Israel had to let go of:
injustice - they learned what it felt like to be an underclass
materialism - they learned how to live with just enough
false self-images - they learned that they were no better, wiser or greater than any other people
false security - they learned that their own strength was not enough
idolatry - they learned that other Gods corrupted their values but couldn't help them
The inward journey is about facing up to and letting go of things which hurt your relationship with God.
It is also about facing up to and letting go of false images of yourself - your own self-images, and other people's images of you - so that you can be real with God.
What are the barriers between you and God?
What needs to change for you and God to draw closer?
Think about it for a while as you travel.
Who are you?
Let go of who other people think you should be, their expectations of you, their projections.
Let go of who you think you should be, your own expectations and projections.
Accept yourself.
God accepts you.
God loves you.
It is safe to be your real self with God.
Think about the ways in which you have been unjust to others
think about the ways in which others have been unjust to you
draw a symbol or write a word to describe each of these things
Jesus said, if you let go of the unjust things people do to you, God will also let go of the unjust things you do. Carry the symbol with you for a while as you journey...
Think carefully. Are you willing to 'let go' of the things people have done or said to you? If you are, place the symbol in the bin and let go of it as God lets go of the unjust things you do.
Think of the things in your life which are more than you really need [remember that your needs are not just material]
if you take more than you need, are you denying others the things that they need?
What are your real needs?
Draw symbols or write words to describe your real needs
carry them with you for a while.
Jesus said, God loves you and knows what you need; so put God's ways and values first in your life and all that you need will be given to you as well.
Are you willing to put your needs into the hands of God?
If you are, leave your drawing or writing here to symbolise your leaving it with God.
The centre of the labyrinth:
Here in the centre of the labyrinth is where we symbolically meet with God. Please spend some time here. Relax. Enjoy God's presence. Meditate on God. Commune with God.
You can be real with someone who loves you. Be real with God
Say yes to God, like Mary
Receive more of God - how might this be?
When you are ready to journey outwards, light one of the small candles from the central flame and take it with you as a symbol that you are bearing your encounter with God out into the world.
The outward journey:
As you journey back out of the labyrinth take your encounter with God with you. Reflect on how this encounter might affect or change you. Reflect on what it means to bear God within you, like Mary, out into the world.
Mary foresaw many consequences of bearing God into the world.
She foresaw justice:
the mighty put down from their thrones and the humble lifted up
how can you be part of this process - God's work of justice?
If you need to, write or draw something to take with you as a reminder.
She foresaw fair sharing:
the hungry fed, and the grabbing by the rich stopped.
How can you be part of this process - God's work of sharing?
If you need to, write or draw something to take with you as a reminder.
Mary was told, "a sword will pierce your own soul too."
Walk through the stones. Feel the sandpaper. Stand on the cotton wool. Feel the texture. In what ways does this remind you of your journey.
Are you willing to face the consequences of bearing God into a world that rejects and fights against God?
Look around and notice. Even though they may be at different stages, others are on this journey too.
As you approach the end of the labyrinth think about God who has been the host for this part of your journey. If God asked you to fill in a guest book - what would your comments be? Please fill in the book with your response to God, your host.
What would you give ?
The journey DAVE
Include reflections on the journey from Xmas labyrinth. Video extract >from 2001.
Meditation ‘The Journey’
Songs of pilgrimage
Introduction
The story of the journey : The reading ?
Reading : Matthew 2 : 1 - 13 read from the Message
What draws you to the Christ child ? MIKE
Songs of commitment
What gifts will the Christ child accept ? MIKE
Hand out paper & pencils
Gold : the best of what we are and the best of what we have
Yellow light
Intro : Our gifts, our time, our hearts and minds. The things we consider valuable.
Reflection : the things of greatest value to us - 1st section.
Frankincense : our worship
Blue light
Intro : what worship is acceptable - noisy or silent
Reflection : how would you worship a baby ?
Worship songs
Myrrh : our suffering, the world’s suffering and His
Red light
Intro : Do we bring the world’s suffering ? Have we the right ? Are we close enough to it? Do we bring our pain to Jesus ? However insignificant ?
Reflection : what suffering will you bring to Jesus ?
Prayer time STEVE
Confession
“ So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country “ MARK
Intro : Invite people to make a commitment bringing up paper to burn.
Commitment : Offer option of foreheads painted with three coloured stripes.
Final song and blessing
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
bible intro ritual - bring bible in in procession with acolytes in robes, cense and kiss, then reading eg john 1, psalm 119 [DAVE]
inner city life - a moment to focus
songs: come holy spirit/dancing 2 a nu xpression
talk re pocket canons
who is the bible for? do we need to protect it? who has the right to comment? [MIKE]
tables set up in church, with coffee and donuts
on each table several versions of bible [EVERYONE to bring as many different kinds as they can]
including some pocket canons [DAVE to buy 30 of these, especially Mark, John, Song of Solomon, Genesis, 1 Corinthians]
to facilitate discussion:
on tables suggested readings - 1 Cor 13/Genesis 1/Mark 14:12-31/John 9:1-12 [re disabled]/Song of Solomon something smutty [STEVE]
also written questions re do people read the bible, if so how, why, which version, what bugs them about it eg science/OT
genocide/patriarchy & sexism etc. [STEVE]
genesis 1 reading by several voices [STEVE]
[any other ideas for readings etc? eg KEV/ANA]
how the canon was fixed - piece by [STEVE/DAVE]
song
lord's prayer[DAVE]
final reading [revelation 22:18-19?]
then process out with bible [DAVE]
in background videos of animated bible [available in church]/jesus of nazareth/the ten commandments etc [MARK]
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 notes for communion liturgy.
the theme of this service is the need for space in our lives, to recover ourselves, take stock of who we are, where we are, and
what we need to be more whole, and how lent might be a season for doing this before god.
intro [STEVE C]
prayer [SOMEONE ELSE, on theme of service]
songs [JONNY/MIKE]
[lamentation/confession from printed liturgy] [SOMEONE ELSE]
short talk leading into time of meditation [STEVE C]
ANOTHER VOICE NEEDED FOR THESE TWO SHORT READINGS:
love is patient, love is kind. it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is
not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. it always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. love never fails.
god is patient, god is kind. god does not envy, does not boast, is not proud. god is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not easily
angered, keeps no record of wrongs. god does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. god always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres. god never fails.
AFTER MEDITATION:
lift up your hearts [JONNY]
then the printed liturgy from:
we bless you high king of all creation. through your goodness we have this bread and wine to offer...
through the eucharist] [STEVE P]
prayer/thanksgiving [STEVE C]
songs [JONNY/MIKE]
[blessing from printed liturgy] [SOMEONE ELSE]
dismissal
video: either the moving skies, or something else that gives a sense of space and peace. what's that water/waves stuff i've seen?
we could start the service with the busy streets images under the intro, and then move into the calmer/more spacious images.
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
'Time of our Lives' was the Archbishop of Canterbury's Millennium youth event, held across London. Grace provided one of three cathedral services on Pentecost Sunday, in Southwark cathedral.
Service outline - Time of our lives - 2 May 1999 - Grace @ Southwark
The church will be lowlit, with images projected onto sheets between the pillars and onto video screens and TVs in various positions. Music will be played as people come in. During most parts of the liturgy and prayers ambient music will be played in the background.
1. Welcome/introduction
Spoken over music track 'God is a DJ' [by Faithless]
2. Preparing for worship
Play track 'Inner City Life' [by Goldie] and project words - give space for people to quiet themselves down in God's presenece
3. Candle lighting prayers
Initially one candle is lit and subsequently all 15 candle holders (with 12 candles on each). While this is taking place the following words are used
In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God and the Word was God
In him was life and the life was the light of all.
The light and peace of Jesus Christ be with you all
And also with you
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
Who is worthy of all thanksgiving and praise
4. Songs
While candles continue to be lit songs/chants will be sung:
The Lord is my light my light and salvation
In him I trust In him I trust
Come Holy Spirit
Fill the hearts of your people
Kindle in us the fire of your love
5. Meditation/reflection
A reading/reflection on the theme of the incarnation as God journeying to be with us in our world. This will be accompanied by background music and video images from the film 2001 of a fast journey through space to the earth.
6. Readings and response
A series of short readings over quiet music. After each reading there will be a sung response.
Verses from John chapter 1 in The Message
[sung response] Thankyou for entering into our world
Reading from the introduction to Mark's Gospel by Nick Cave in the Pocket Canons series
[sung response] Thankyou for entering into our world
Verses from Phil 2
[sung response] Thankyou for entering into our world
7. The Creed (sung)
I believe in God the Father Almighty
I believe that he made the earth and heavens
I believe in Jesus born of a woman
I believe that he is the Son of God I believe.
I believe in Jesus teacher and healer
I believe that his life was poor and simple
I believe he died betrayed and rejected
I believe that he fought the power of evil
I believe the holy life giving Spirit
Is a gift of the Son and Father to us
I believe the three are one and united
I believe in his healing and forgiveness
I believe that Jesus died and was buried
I believe that he rose to life again
I believe that he was taken to heaven
I believe that he reigns at God's right hand
I believe that he will come back in glory
I believe he will judge the dead and living
I believe the resurrection of body
I believe in the life that's everlasting
8. Talk - given by Rev Rose Hudson Wilkins
9. Ritual/Response
There will be an opportunity to respond to the message by taking part in a ritual. There will be stations by all the pillars in the church and in the transepts with a table with pieces of lemon and a bowl of honey with breadsticks. Those that want to can go forward to taste a piece of lemon and acknowledge the reality of pain/bitterness in their lives but God's presence with them in the midst of that. Then they can taste the honey by dipping the breadstick in the bowl to acknowledge and give thanks for thesweet/good things in life and God's presence in those. During this the track 'Bittersweet symphony' [by the Verve] will be played.
10. Prayers of intercession
During the prayers incense will be burned. There will be a said response after each prayer.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense
The lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice
11. Blessing
Everyone will stand and there will be an exhortation to follow the example of Christ who came as a light into our world by taking the light into the world with us. During this the track 'Firestarter' [by the Prodigy] will be played.
12. Final Song
God is our strength and salvation
Bringer of true liberation
God is the power in our weakness
Promise of life in completeness
Freedom to move to a bigger rhythm
Freedom to live in the love of heaven
Freedom to dream of a new creation
Freedom to walk as a holy nation
God is the love that enfolds us
God is the father who holds us
God is the mother who feeds us
God is the servant who leads us
God is the son of a woman
Measure of how to be human
God is the Christ who is risen
Giver of courage and vision
God is the joy of creation
Source of our life celebration
God is the author of meaning
God is our reason for dreaming
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
With guest speaker Mike Starkey [one of the co-founders of Grace]
1) WOW
Have some large pieces of paper, felt pens, paper etc. and introduce the
idea of 'wonder' by asking what things make you go 'wow'. in the centre of
the paper will be a 'WOW' along the lines of lichtenstein's 'wham' pop art
painting. people can then write/paint etc things that make them go wow.
MIKE to lead this bit
DAVE to co-ordinate paints, paper etc
MARK and ADAM produce a video sequence of things to make you go WOW
(mark can you bring paintbrushes and paint from the service you did?)
2)What squashes the WOW?
In groups facilitate discussion of what things seem to squeeze the sense of
wonder out of life. Give people a sheet of questions to guide the
discussion. Then get people to write on postcards the blocks they identify.
then pin these onto sponge bricks and build them into a wall to cover up
the WOW montage created above.
DAVE to lead this bit and prepare the discussion sheets
JONNY to provide the bricks
3) Meditation
Lead people through a meditation on being crushed and then released
LUCY and IAN
4) Talk
Talk on restoring lost wonder
Before talk Mike Rose will introduce Mike Starkey
After talk we will give opportunity for comment and questions
MIKE STARKEY to talk
MIKE ROSE to introduce and field questions
5) Songs x2
'I lived in the shadows' + a.n.other
JONNY to lead
6) Story/parable
Retelling of 'Jean de Florette' and 'Manon des sources' focussing on the
blocked underground spring and when it gets unblocked. Show a video
sequence of the unblocking on a loop. This is obviously meant to be a
parallel with removing things that block the wonder/WOW.
JENNY/JONNY to retell
MARK and ADAM to put video sequence together
7) Space to respond/pray
Some time will be given for people to reflect on wonder and give thanks
and to reflect on what blocks it and pray for God to remove it. There will
be a range of things people can do during this time:
look at photography books
read childrens story books
eat fruit
remove bricks from the wall to gradually uncover the WOW montage behind it
do sums/calculus with Mike (!!!!!!!!! strange what gives some people the
WOW eh?)
While this is going on, music will play and scriptures will be read out -
for example verses on creatures in Job.
It will finish with a final prayer.
MARK to introduce response
DAVE to bring photography books
ALL to bring childrens story books e.g. 'wonderful earth', 'narnia stories'
JONNY to get fruit
MIKE to bring sums
ANA/KEV to unearth some WOW ish scriptures/quotes
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
We ran a labyrinth with LOPE and the Sunday morning communion.
Also released the eucharist CD to go with the service
The entire service was based on Henri Nouwen's book about Rembrandt's painting 'The Return of the Prodigal'. We had obtained a set of slides showing details of the painting - hands, feet, faces - and created a station for each one, examining different aspects of the story.
the station for the slide of the prodigal son being welcomed by his father is here
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
the central feature was a dome tent set up without its outer sheet. inside the top of the tent hung a lightbulb.
welcome
2 examples of misconceptions of therapy (Antz clip and problem prayer) -
jen
introducing theme; what is therapy?; why suggest God as a therapist? - Ana
songs x 2
? +
heal me
group discussion - exploring the metaphor of God the therapist - Mike
interview a therapist (Jona) - Jonny
Sinead O Connor track 'this is to mother you'
meditation - Christ and his relationship with God the therapist - Ana
response time - Steve
the lightbulb in the tent symbolises the light of god's presence. there are squares of various materials available - black plastic, coloured plastic, fabrics, paper etc. the congregation each choose a piece and stick it on the tent, to represent their current relationship with god: eg an opaque piece placed close to the bulb means 'close to god but not seeing', a transparent pice far from the bulb means 'a long way from god but seeing god' etc.
closing prayer - Dave
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
Scene setting: carpet at front covered in leaves pictures of saints half-hidden in leaves DAVE a timeline marked out along the centre aisle of the church, with dates from Christ to the present day [two millennia]; at the appropriate dates saints/heroes of the faith marked with their names and a small biography of why they are of note, and a candle. STEVE
ORDER OF SERVICE: INTRO: Celtic history of why All Saints/All Souls is celebrated at this time of year tradition of awareness of mortality at onset of winter, and remembering those who have died [explanation of leaves/picutres?] DAVE
ACT OF REMEMBRANCE: one minute's silence First world war poem DAVE
PRAYER MIKE
SONGS
TIMELINE: introduction/explanation give congregation 5-10 minutes to look at it STEVE
GROUP DISCUSSION: people come back to front and settle in small groups to discuss/share people of the faith who have inspired them, whether historical or present-day, well-known or not.
IAN will speak about making connections between the heroes of the past and our lives in christ today, and how we pass those connections on in our turn.
postcards are handed out. each person writes the name of someone who has been their example on one side - who/why; then on the other side they write their own pledge to be that example for other people, and stick their photo on that side. IAN
TIME CAPSULE: short intro, the video of the Blue Peter time capsule burial c. 1970 is shown [if found - MARK] the cards are then gathered up and placed in the time capsule, along with grace memorabilia, to pass the memory of this group of saints gathered here tonight on into the future.
the time capsule is taken outside and buried. sparklers may be lit. JONNY [IAN is getting a time capsule]
everyone then comes back into the church CONCLUDING PRAYER OR MEDITATION to be decided
SONG
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
it is on a Christmas theme. there will be the usual atmosphere with music playing and voice over bits and bobs. action: dave to write bits and bobs connecting kev and ana's notes and christmas readings/snippets
the set up will be the labyrinth in the hall at the back. the entrance and exit to the labyrinth will be in the entrance to that hall. there will be a cafe set up at the back near the hatch all evening with tea/coffee/squash, mince pies and clementines. action: steve to rework the st paul's labyrinth design to fit in the space incorporating 4 stations + the central area action: dave to buy items for cafe - tea, coffee, sugar, milk, squash, mince pies, clementines
the labyrinth will run from 5-6pm for parents and younger children to do together. then it will run from 6-9:30pm with people able to come and go as they please. when people arrive they will be given a card to take round with them to be stamped at the various stations en route. instructions for what to do will be on boards in the corridor into the labyrinth. action: mike to notify database via e-mail of times action: dave to do instructions for boards action: steve to get labyrinth fliers printed action: jen to make the fliers into cards to be stamped action: ian to make the stamps for each station
the labyrinth will consist of 5 stations as follows. there will also be some of the usual things to do on the way round in between the stations but given more of a christmas flavour. action: dave to produce inbetween bits
station 1: contemporary christmas reflecting on what christmas is about. this will be set up like a home with a sofa, tv loop of james bond, queens speech etc,. one thing christmas is about for a lot of people is friends and family - there will be the opportunity to reflect on this and make a friendship bracelet. action: ian and lucy to plan station, get stuff for friendship bracelets etc action: mark and adam to produce video
station 2: angel station, with readings and images reflecting on angels. people will make an angel at this station that they then take on with them to the next one. action: dave and alwyn to plan station and work out how to make angels
station 3: nativity grotto, with nativity scene and readings on christmas story. people will add their angel to the angelic host in the scene. there will be a mobile with bicycle wheel with images of jesus from various cultures around the world. this will connect with the incarnation and people will be encouraged to write or draw something to consider how christ connects with their culture/world. the children will be encouraged to draw a picture of the first christmas as they imagine it. they will then collect a luminous star to take with them. action: jonny to plan this station, get stars, etc. action: alwyn and mike to get nativity figures
station 4: epiphany station based on gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. at this people will reflect on what they bring/give to god and to others. they will write these things on a template for a box. this will then be made into a gift to be taken to the next station. there will also be face paints and people get a stripe of three colours to represent the gold, frankincense and myrrh. action: mike to plan this station, get face paints, pens etc action: jen to design templates and instructions for making gifts
station 5: this will be the central station/holy space. there will be a christmas tree here. people place their gifts under the tree. there will also be paper chains to write prayers on to hang on the tree. and people can spend some time in quiet. before they leave they will plant a bulb as a way of thinking about the future and what they would like to plant for the new millenium to take out with them. people then make their way out of the labyrinth. action: steve to plan this station, get tree, paper chains, bulbs etc.
[note from adam - I have no record as to what this service was - any ideas?]
Simon Jenkins was the guest speaker explaining the tradition of icons.
1. icons carried in in procession and set in their places on the 'stations'
appropriate music eg the beatitudes
2. opening prayer
3. general introductory talk with slides [simon jenkins]
what icons are and how they are used, history and tradition, images as
windows into other realities or presences, representation theologically
driven etc
4. pens and paper given out, people discuss in small groups and write down
things that function as icons for them
5. congregation invited to walk around, look at the icons, take time to
contemplate them and pray [standing] before them.
four icons, each with an explanation of subject/symbolism/story/how to read
the picture
possibility of people lighting candles in front of the icons
music from taverner/orthodox liturgy as background
6. congregation recalled to front
read out some of the things that people have written that function as icons
for them
7. final prayer
congregation invited to bring to next service things that are icons to them
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
a combined event with people from epicentre and live on planet earth. the labyrinth ran 6th-10th march 2000 in the south transept of st. paul's cathedral.
the st. paul's cathedral labyrinth was a development of the live on planet earth labyrinth, but specifically as altered to be the christmas 1998 labyrinth at grace. in order to be manageable in a tourist environment, the outer stations [self, others, planet] were incorporated into the labyrinth itself. a unique pattern was developed to fit the allocated space in the cathedral and incorporate the extra stations. everything in the cathedral had to be produced in six languages, and it was not possible to play background music or speak an overarching meditation; so we put the material from the overarching meditation and the written instructions into spoken tracks with background music on a CD. people walked the labyrinth carrying a CD player and listening on headphones.
for all about the labyrinth see labyrinth.org.uk
theme: lent
report on st. paul's cathedral labyrinth - steve
intro - jonny
section 1 - repentance/clearing the decks
Confession from imaging the word vol 1 pg 181 with kyrie sung between each section - Dave you have the book so please bring it with you
Song - father hear our prayer
Dropping stones in water to symbolise letting go of sin - play Moby track 'why does my heart feel so bad?' - Mark to introduce?
reading - Matthew 6:1-21 - jen?
section 2 - imposition of ashes
follow liturgy - mike/dave to concoct liturgy between them and lead it; dave to make ash
meditation 'what will be left of us' from labo CD to listen to
section 3 - focus on Christ
use picture 'give me jesus' on slide (dave to make slide)
space for reflection/meditation on our need for jesus - steve to lead/introduce
song - god above
song - amazing grace/ be thou my vision
closing prayer
IMAGES OF CHRIST
welcome/intro [cushion call]
1. making assumptions:
everybody is given a sheet of paper with a list of adjectives that could be used to describe someone. a slide image of a person is put up and the congregation are asked to pick three adjectives from the list to describe them [with only their appearance to go on]. they write '1' by each adjective they've picked for image 1, then image 2 is put up and people write '2' next to the adjectives for that person, and so on, for about five images - then the last two are images of Christ!
this is to be done fairly quickly, it's about instant impressions of character from appearance.
we'll need to ask for feedback on what people have put. [JEN ADJECTIVES DAVE PICTURES]
2. group discussion using the 'christ we share' images - hand them out and ask people to discuss which images of Christ they like and why. [JONNY]
3. talk on how the image of christ has become disconnected from contemporary life, and what reconnection might involve [STEVE]
4. two stories of jesus from the bible - how do you picture jesus in each of these?
stories to contrast, eg 'suffer little children' versus the cleansing of the temple - do we imagine the same person in each scene? [MIKE]
5. walkabout section:
congregation given time to wander about, look at stations, reflect, pray, whatever.
stations:
outline of human figure on sheets of paper, notionally Christ - write on it about *your* image of Christ. [DAVE]
photo display of the 'ecce homo' statue in trafalgar square [STEVE]
an icon - pantocrator or man of sorrows [perhaps simon jenkins asked for one of his large images]
'seeing salvation' catalogue + steve's 'contemporary jesus' collage
7. sing 'image of the invisible god'
8. carol henderson spoken word samples over some images [JONNY]
9. to end with - martin wroe poem from 'time of our lives' 'jesus' postcard. [JULIA]
'the fast game' was a board game developed for christian youthwork. the players asked one another questions determined by moves on the board.
this was the legendary service to which only one person [apart from the team] came! perhaps it was just as well, as we found that the fast game didn't work in our context. grace's one complete failure.
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
Service originated by Mark Pierson/Mike Riddell at Parallel Universe, Cityside Baptist Church, Auckland NZ. Revised by Café Church, Sydney as described in chapter 4 of 'The Prodigal Project' [Mike Riddell/Mark Pierson/Cathy Kirkpatrick SPCK].
setup - a burning brazier surrounded by a ring of tvs showing fire imagery [see photos]
1. The Fire of God's Presence
(Exodus 3/2)
"take off your shoes... we stand before the fire of god's presence"
congregation take off their shoes
"The word of the Lord is a fire in my heart and a hammer in my bones. May the fire embrace us. May the fire deliver us. May the fire purify us. May the fire enliven us. May the fire roar. May the fire spread.
Fire of God, we welcome you."
each person lights a match and we say together, "the fire of god here with us"
The Fire of God's Acceptance
(Isaiah 6/7)
a burning coal is passed from person to person using tongs, with the words "the fire of god's acceptance"
The Fire of Revealing
(1 Corinthians 3/11)
ads torn out of magazines and burnt in the brazier
The Fire of Suffering
(1 Peter 1/7)
prayers
The Fire of Passion
(Jeremiah 20/9)
it is likely that we played 'firestarter' by the prodigy in this section.
text of an email from steve collins to cathy kirkpatrick:
at grace last night, being stuck for ideas for a pentecost service, we used your 'fire' service as featured in the prodigal project. the tvs were set up in a horseshoe around a flaming barbecue in the centre of the church. around the tvs, an outer necklace of candles. our new vision mixer, on 'permanent loan' from the bbc, makes whole new realms of video effects possible, which look pretty good on five screens. we think we'll use the arrangement again for events - i'll send you pictures when i get them out the camera [a couple of months]. for the service itself we stuck to the original script.
we had our share of technical hitches. as i read 'the fire of god's presence' ["there is nothing but the fire and the darkness"] the tvs switched to benign blue sea creatures while the video guys scrabbled at the controls. the flaming coal for the tongs wouldn't glow, and as it was passed round each person blew on it to try to get some orange; it became a sort of ritual action, but meaning what? one child was only just dissuaded from taking the coal in his hand. we tried to burn adverts symbolically, but the pieces of paper were too large and went up in sheets of flame, threatening to fly off the barbecue and stressing the vicar. but it was a good service, and the beautiful setting was a sacrament.
afterwards, my hour's drive home on the motorway became a kind of harmonious extension of the service. the road was uncrowded; the orange floodlights curved overhead in the deep blue summer night sky, the red taillights and white headlights in motion, the blue glowing rectangles of signs; people would travel to see such displays. the engine of my vw bus makes its coffee-percolator burbling somewhere in the back.
when i got home i ate strawberries, for the first time this summer. it felt like a moment to make food up, to eat three of something that comes in twos, to eat things that are not like the meals your mother taught you. unless you had a strange hippy mother who had thrown out order in cooking as a product of the system and was teaching her children that you could eat anything, anytime, however you liked.
Afternoon picnic followed by eucharist
Ran at the Guildford Youth Diocesan event
this service is based around the ideas of the 'via positiva' [an explosion of metaphorical language in trying to speak adequately of god - "god is.... and is.... and is...."] and the 'via negativa' [the collapse of language into silence faced with the impossibility of speaking adequately about god - "god is not....and is not....and is not....]
basic installation:
1. rectangular panel [door, board, ply] raised slightly off floor, and covered with thin layer of black potting compost/peat - to form light-absorbing floating black rectangle
2. luminous stars - to be kept in dark to ensure they don't glow, and scattered on the black rectangle
3. very bright floodlighting to be arranged - Mark can you get TV studio lights? need to dazzle congregation, and simultaneously charge luminous stars so that when lights are cut they glow!
service starts in normal Grace lowlight. maybe just dim candlelight.
1. welcome [MIKE]
2. 'noise' track from st pauls labo [with the oscilloscope video loop]
3. two songs - calm me o lord + one other
4. focus on the dark rectangle - in the low light it will simply appear as a 'black hole'
meditation on 'starlit darkness' [JONNY]
5. suddenly switch on very bright lights
meditation on dazzling light [STEVE]
6. switch lights off - as people's eyes adjust back to darkness they see the now-glowing luminous stars on the dark rectangle.
[if this works it will be a truly magical moment]
then while this sinks in, appropriate readings with music [DAVE to find readings, or anyone else]
7. song 'i lived in the shadows'
8. congregational response - two stations
'silence' - prayer space in small room
'god is...' - station for people to explore their own metaphors for god
[DAVE]
9. burning incense - thanks for what we know about god in whatever way
[MIKE]
10. song 'god is our strength and salvation'
Grace ran the St Paul's labyrinth at Greenbelt
first in a series based on the "i am..." sayings of jesus.
What type of bread is Jesus? A witty and original spoof.
Reading: The feeding of the 5000.
Song: Bread of Heaven Feed Me
Introduction to the theme and the ‘stations’
1) ‘Eat God’ personal reflection around the reading from John
2) ‘Dough’
3) ‘Our Daily Bread’ a rewriting of the Lords Prayer
4) ‘Bread of justice’ thoughts about global injustice, lighting candles etc
Back together for final thoughts. Listen to song ‘I will receive you now’. Verse(s) from Proverbs.
Needs:
1) Bread – lots of it
2) Bread video
3) Bread slides
4) Dough
5) ‘Blind Date’ theme tune (Mike has video)
an advent labyrinth. photographs here
If Christ is the Way, then the way is also the destination; therefore this labyrinth had no centre except a blood-red cross of tape, and could be walked in either direction. The items and texts about Christ's life were placed on it at random. these included a sleeping bag with a poem; a wooden cross with nails to hammer in; an illuminated globe; a cup of wine vinegar [unmarked, to surprise those who drank it!].
the handout read:
The Way
'I am the Way, also the truth, also the life. No one gets to the Father apart from me'
Labyrinths were a feature of many medieval cathedrals - one of the best remaining examples is found in Chartres Cathedral in northern France. They are marked out on the floor, but unlike a maze have only one path - there are no dead ends. People walked the labyrinth slowly as an aid to contemplative prayer and reflection, as a spiritual exercise, or as a form of pilgrimage.
The inspiration for tonight's labyrinth is Jesus' words “I am the Way”. It's a unique design for tonight that just has a path. There's no centre you're headed to. The point is simply to be on the Way.
There are various prompts on the labyrinth loosely connected to the theme to help you reflect and pray. But the main focus is the path itself, the Way, the road. Take your time, walk slowly, there's no rush, savour the journey. Sometimes we can get overly focused on doing. Tonight focus on being, being yourself, being with God, being on the Way, following the Way. You don't have to do anything - just be.
There's a cafe at the back where you are welcome to sit before or after walking the labyrinth.
'The key to finding your way is to trust the road. Don't leave it when it goes through hard places. Return to it when the wonders of some sight have drawn you aside. When it winds back on itself, there is a reason. There are no shortcuts to be taken, no helicopter rides to lift you out of trouble. The road has its own wisdom and the followers of it eventually arrive at their next destination with many new stories to share.' (from Godzone)
intro/welcome
groups - look up bible passages with doors in and discuss (jonny to do handout sheet)
songs x 2
stations/walkabout
1. door + gate (mike)
2. thin places - use the section on the embody web site and link jonny's laptop up to it so people can post their thin places on line (jonny bring computer + steve bring phone extension to plug in to vestry socket)
3. CS Lewsis 'The Last Battle' reading with door from stable into Aslan's kingdom - anyone who has a copy bring the book (mike to prepare)
4. confession on how doors sometime imprison us (e.g. self hatred) - (mark and anna poulson)
5. matrix - video loop running in side chapel of clip where morpheus offers neo red and blue pill (mark to do video and anna to get pills)
6. keys - jonny to bring keys and meditation/reflection
back together for concluding liturgy (reworked LLS doors thing) + prayer (steve)
1. intro - recap 'home' - mike
2. desert island discs + identity - mike (steve to pass on his ideas to mike
to incorporate)
3. exile is losing even those things dear to us....
show video of contemporary images of exile from news footage etc. - earthquake, kosovo, schindler's list (where they leave their suitcases behind) - mark and adam to produce sequence of images
4. storytelling of exile in the bible - a combination of passages and reflections to include garden of eden, babylon, powerlessness, denial, what gets you through (story and community) etc.. - steve and jonny
5. rewrite a psalm for a contemporary psalm of exile - jonny to intro
6. video of homeless from osbd video from time of our lives - jonny to bring, mike to find appropriate tune
7. wailing wall + intercessions - anna
8. play garbage track 'milk' and lead into 'i will wait'. share bitter herbs a la passover during track.
as people arrive film them responding to questions along the lines of 'what is a contemporary desert? have you ever had a desert experience - what was it?'..... (mark and julia)
after being filmed, people are given a postcard asking them what it feels like to be in the desert. these cards are collected to be used later (steve)
songs and prayer (jonny)
playback video responses (mark)
reading from brian keenan and john mccarthy's book on travelling in desert - positive and negative experience depending on you and your perception (julia)
get people into groups to discuss whether their own image of desert is closer to brian or john's (julia)
darkness, and desert feelings from postcards read out (steve)
desert stations -
1. contemporary desert - car seat and headphones (jen) - this derives from an article by mike riddell in which he suggests that the closest contemporary experience to that of the desert is sitting alone in ones car in a traffic jam listening to music.
2. recognising and letting go of addictions, and learning to depend on God in the desert (mike)
3. passages from scripture of desert (anna)
4. writing prayers in desert sand (justin)
confession (jonny)
concluding ritual - choice to take some desert or water depending on whether you've been inthe desert and want to get out or need to go there (jen)
'easter song'
in the centre of the church, a 'bouncy castle' is set up to symbolise the promised land, obtained through a friend who works at the nearby ymca!
1. think about our dreams for the future. discuss in small groups. write your dream on a piece of paper.
3. cakes ritual
4. bouncing on the bouncy castle. it's meant for under-10s, so only a couple of adults can go on at once.
Greetings all
Part of the service this Sunday will simply be a series of thoughts/images/stories/reflections/poems on the resurrection. we don't see them in advance. people just come having prepared something. Its our homage to the glory days of 'swapshop' or perhaps an alternative 'show and tell'. Be creative, bring along some stuff to share. Please contact anyone you know who could be persuaded.
Order of service:
[
God is Dead + questions about death (a cheerful start) [Mike]
Write your obituary + card sort activity [Steve]
Smash a plate + brokenness [Anna]
Swapshop
Hope [Julia]
John 21 meditation [Steve]
We'll fit in some songs e.g. Wild Hope, Where O Death.., Young men see visions, etc. Any ideas?
Mark/Adam Some pretty specific requests:
Video of old Boris Karloff 'Frankenstein' & B&W 'Metropolis'.
Any video of growth esp. a baby and a plant time lapse stuff - you got the idea!
We'll probably set up cafe style??? Any thoughts? Volunteers to buy coffee and doughnuts?
Meet at Church 6pm prompt. Be there or be somewhere else.
Looking forward
Julia
here's the plan of action for Trinity Sunday:
white light can be made by combining red, green and blue light, so we will set up four spaces; the central one white [the combined godhead], and three others red [jesus], green [father] and blue [spirit].
central space: white light/rubilev 'trinity' icon on computer screen for contemplation/white beads [see below].
three rooms:
spirit room: jonny's pentecost tape [jonny]/large electric fan [mark?]/fire or spirit video [mark]/blue lighting
jesus room: the driftwood cross hung using red washing line/'jesus' blood never failed me yet' soundtrack [mike]/tv+laptop with jesus face images [jonny]/red lighting
father room: bring photos of yourself as a child, or your children. no parents please [everybody]/green lighting/the rest we'd like justin to do around the theme of god as parent and creator [justin]
also in each room:
single colour print of the rubilev icon: one of the red component of the image only in the red room, one of the green component only in the green
room, the blue component in the blue room. [jonny to scan and do the image manipulation/printing]
pices of paper saying 'how do you relate to the spirit/jesus/father?' and 'when you leave this room take a thread with you' [steve collins]
each room has a different coloured thread - people take these back to the central space and plait them together as a friendship bracelet symbolising
the trinity. in the central space are white beads which symbolise ourselves included in the life of the trinity. [anna to buy threads and beads, cut into lengths before service]
order of service:
begin with song: holy holy holy
explain setup
congregation have half hour or so to look at everything
all come back gradually to the central space
explanation of rubilev icon [anna]
three coloured lights turned around if possible to demonstrate combination into white
congregation plait their threads with white beads and contemplate icon
while they do this various readings eg from David Adam [steve c]
song to end: st patrick's breastplate
trinitarian blessing [anna]
three kinds of donuts [mike] and coffee
this was based on the march 01 service 'desert'.
1. vox pops [grace pops] around GB site during day [possibly ice pops given to interviewees as reward and advertisement for service?]
2. give out 'what does being in a desert feel like?' postcards to the queue for service [collect inside]
3. hexstatic 'deadly media' video intro
4. play back vox pops
5. positive and negative deserts - mccarthy/keenan reading
6. group discussion
7. darkness, responses on the feelings cards read out as a meditation [luminous stars ceiling]
8. stations time:
a] central station - sand on tarpaulin, ice block suspended above - write prayers in sand [incl. justin's explanatory postcards]. the melting block of ice was originally part of a ritual for a combined jubilee 2000 service at vaux. we had no photos of it, so looked for an excuse to do it again!
b] solitude - people listen on headphones to cd players [a disc labelled 'traffic island discs' cf radio programme 'desert island discs'] in front of a big screen with back projection of driving a car - in a traffic jam on the north circular in london on the way to ikea!
c] write your own psalm
d] addictions, as revealed by experience of withdrawal - mike's text, steve's luxuries/necessities cards
9. final ritual - take sand for your pocket [from the central station]/take an ice cube
this was based on 'i am the bread' october 2000. photos here.
'what type of bread are you?' cards handed out to queue [steve c]
intro & share results of cards, 'blind date' music/video [mike]
bible readings re bread [jackie to find, others to read out.]
stations:
dough [jen and anna] - Kneading dough to think about patience and suffering.
'give us this day our daily bread' - luxury/necessity cards - several sets plus ancillary writing [steve c]
bread of justice [mike]
eat god - The central station is all kinds of bread. There are quotations from the Bible on little flags stuck into the bread, for people to think about as they eat.
Proverbs 30 8-9 reading, lord's prayer, end blessing [justin]
songs [jonny]
order of service:
setting: everybody to bring things
make 'ungrace' installation out of newspapers, 'celebrity bodies' magazine, cvs, ft, daily bible study notes[!] - all things that are signs of ungrace, us trying to earn approval, judgement etc
1. Introduction to theme of grace: [steve c]
what is your default setting? what do you think god's default setting is?
hand out paper with windows dialogue box on - fill in your default setting, god's default - what you feel rather than 'head knowledge' [what you know you ought to feel]
'uncle george' passage from 'god of surprises'
adam - can you project the windows screensaver from your vaio onto the big screen? the one where a phrase moves slowly across the screen? am thinking we start with things like 'god is judgement' etc or type in some things that people have written as god's default, and at the end of this section change to god is love
[will chew this over and talk to you]
2. Badges [brownie points]: Anna
intro talk about badges are how we collect approval from god and one another; example badges like quiet time/go to mass/work long hours/have good body; exhausting contradiction between god's approval and human approval eg work long hours v. quiet time, make money v. give it away, be successful v. be humble.
3.The Great Reversal [grace version]: steve c
4. White stones: Mike
this is about new identity from god replacing identities acheived by brownie points. [from revelation 2:17] while people are still standing in position after 'great reversal', someone walks round and gives each person a white stone, saying - what?
5. Songs eg U2/grace - while they are playing people write thanksgivings for god's grace - read out some
is jonny doing this part?
6. How do we behave 'gracefully' to others? jenny
fallen women, blind eye
7. Concluding prayers: julia
put cross into 'ungrace' installation
project the word grace over it
julia to write and read out some prayers, space for silent prayer
everybody: bring wine and cheese [hard cheese not runny]
a service for advent. photos here
on arrival :
doorperson to hand out tickets and tell people to go and wait in the waiting area until their number is called [jackie]
waiting room:
the church hall set up as a doctor's waiting room - rows of seats, harsh lighting, old magazines etc
people do questionnaire about the experience of waiting [jackie]
eg what are you waiting for?
do you like waiting?
do you expect god to wait for you? etc
people called in by their number at intervals
main room:
small stations to be done in any order
bible - times when people have waited in bible
eg abraham, exiles, 400 yrs between testaments, jesus "my time has not yet come", resurrection, pentecost etc [jonny]
creation - waiting for the children of god - hopeful waiting - plant bulbs [steve]
prayer vigil - for those left behind by society. hopeless waiting - going back to wait with them [mark]
death - waiting to die. looked forward to as well as feared [anna]
swords into ploughshares - taking action instead of waiting for god to act for us [justin]
what would you wait for? - star wars/healthcare/prison/death row/macdonalds/sex [justin]
how long are you prepared to wait? - cards of items, place on timeline [steve]
call waiting - bruce stanley's animation - if we can get it - everyone bring long phone leads
instant gratification station - everyone bring 'instant' things eg foods/drinks [everyone]
advent - waiting for god - deferred gratification [mike]
good things come to those who wait - guiness ad - to be tested for workability [steve]
when people have finished - direct them to cafe space
everyone bring beer/wine and something to eat.
service led by Simon Jenkins, editor of ship of fools. photos here.
four icons, brought by simon, were set up on tall stands around the room. we stood for the whole service, orthodox-style. simon explained the meaning of the icons and how they were used. the congregation then stood to contemplate and pray before each icon, writing prayer requests on paper at the foot of the icon. at the end of the service, the lists were prayed before their icon.
This was the first Grace in cafe format, ie everyone seated a tables with food and drink. The congregation included people from Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the US and the Czech Republic!
order of service:
1. cafe setup [steve, julia, anna to liaise about food/drink]
first section - what is a brand?
2. service begins with brand knowledge quiz - match logo and advertising strapline [justin with input from mark]
3. what is a brand, how does it work?
- an emotional relationship
- about 'who are you?' rather than product
- deconstructing examples of commercial advertisements [mark]
4. discussion on mark's examples
second section - brands and identity
5. what would jesus wear? if jesus were living in our society he would have to wear brands. so what brands would he wear? what messages or identity would his clothes signal? give out 'paper dolls' with generic clothes - the congregation colour in what they think jesus would wear.
then pin up so we can all see each other's 'images of christ'.
ask people to justify what they have drawn [steve]
third section - the church and branding
6. church ads - show examples [mark]
then ask the congregation to write out and share church ads they have seen [big marker pen on paper to hold up for others to see - will look like real church posters. why not get dayglo poster paper for this?]
7. so what *should* church ads say? what should the message be?
to get a handle on this, congregation asked to write new straplines for Grace logo as if it were part of item 2. [who to look after this bit?]
8. 'you are what you consume' [mike]
9. 'consuming' bread and wine [who's doing this bit?????]
morning service at st. mary's ealing, 3rd march 2002.
on arrival everyone gets a service pack:
self-seal bags [like freezer bags] contain:
a small stone
a 'roses' chocolate
an order of service
a grace flyer
this is the order of service:
Intro: [Mike Rose]
God is here. His spirit is with us. We invite each other to use the environment, the visuals, the music and the words, to stimulate our thoughts and draw our hearts to wonder at the goodness of God. Invite God to meet us as we seek to meet God. This is our worship. God is here. His spirit is with us.
Today as we celebrate the baptism of Nat, we will consider Jesus' baptism and our own. We will also think about how Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness after he had been baptised.
But first a moment of quiet and we will start the service with a short prayer:
Awesome God,
Before there was even light in creation your spirit moved upon the waters.
Now, we ask again that your Spirit be here.
Amen
A reading from the Bible: [Jenny]
Matthew 3:13 - 4:1
Preparation: [Mike Rose]
Consider these words from Isaiah:
But now, this is what the Lord says -
he who created you, O Jacob
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you."
We thank God therefore for our baptism to life in Christ, and we pray for this child and say together:
Heavenly Father, in your love you have called us to know you, led us to trust you, and bound our life with yours. Surround Nat with your love, protect him from evil; fill him with your Holy Spirit and receive him into the family of Your Church that he may walk with us in the way of Christ and grow in the knowledge of your love.
Amen.
Song: [Jonny]
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Ritual of confession [Steve Collins]
[the Labyrinth station 3 stone-dropping ritual - there will be buckets at both ends of the church]
The responsibilities of baptism: [Steve P]
The baptism group is invited to stand around the font.
The minister speaks first to the congregation:
Faith is the gift of God to his people.
In baptism the Lord is adding to our number those whom he is calling.
People of God, will you welcome Nat and uphold him in his new life in Christ?
With the help of God, we will.
The minister then says to the parents and godparents:
Parents and godparents, the Church receives Nat with joy. Today we are trusting God for his growth in faith. Will you pray for him, draw him by your example into the community of faith and walk with him in the way of Christ?
With the help of God, we will.
In baptism Nat begins his journey in faith. You speak for him today. Will you care for him, and help him to take his place within the life and worship of Christ’s Church?
With the help of God, we will.
The decision to follow Christ: [Steve P]
The minister addresses Nat through his parents and godparents.
In baptism, God calls us out of darkness into his marvellous light.
To follow Christ means dying to sin and rising to new life with him.
Therefore I ask:
Do you reject the devil and all rebellion against God?
I reject them.
Do you renounce the deceit and corruption of evil?
I renounce them.
Do you repent of the sins that separate us from God and neighbour?
I repent of them.
Do you turn to Christ as Saviour?
I turn to Christ.
Do you submit to Christ as Lord?
I submit to Christ.
Do you come to Christ, the way, the truth and the life?
I come to Christ.
Signing with the cross: [Steve P]
The minister makes the sign of the cross on Nat’s forehead, saying
Christ claims you for his own.
Receive the sign of his cross.
Do not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified.
Fight valiantly as a disciple of Christ
against sin, the world and the devil,
and remain faithful to Christ to the end of your life.
The prayer over the water: [everyone]
God of grace,
thankyou for the gift of water
which quenches our thirst and washes us clean.
Thankyou for how you led your people through the waters of the Red Sea,
and freed them from slavery.
Thankyou for your Son Jesus,
who was baptised in the river Jordan
and who you raised to new life.
As the Spirit hovered over the waters at creation,
come upon this water now.
May Nat, who is washed in it, become one with Christ.
Bring him through the waters of death
into a life full of your amazing grace,
and bring him, one day, to feast at your heavenly banquet.
Amen.
Song: [Jonny]
I believe
The baptism: [Steve P]
The minister pours water on Nat, saying
Nat, I baptize you
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
The welcome: [Steve P]
There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism:
Nat, by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body.
We welcome you into the fellowship of faith;
we are children of the same heavenly Father;
we welcome you.
The commission: [Steve P]
We have brought Nat to baptism knowing that Jesus died and rose again for him and trusting in the promise that God hears and answers prayer. We have prayed that in Jesus Christ he will know the forgiveness of his sins and the new life of the Spirit.
As he grows up, he will need the help and encouragement of the Christian community, so that he may learn to know God in public worship and private prayer, follow Jesus Christ in the life of faith, serve his neighbour after the example of Christ, and in due course come to confirmation.
As part of the Church of Christ, we all have a duty to support him by prayer, example and teaching. As his parents and godparents, you have the prime responsibility for guiding and helping him in his early years. This is a demanding task for which you will need the help and grace of God. Therefore let us now pray for grace in guiding Nat in the way of faith.
Faithful and loving God,
bless those who care for Nat
and grant them your gifts of love, wisdom and faith.
Pour upon them your healing and reconciling love,
and protect their home from all evil.
Fill them with the light of your presence
and establish them in the joy of your kingdom,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Ritual of commitment [Steve Collins]
[Renew your commitment to Christ as you sign yourself with the water in the old font. Take time to look at the words and decorations around it - use them as food for thought and prayer. ]
Prayers [Anna]
[adults pray for roses [involves eating 'roses' chocs]
kids write in sand and do sand pictures on card]
Song: [Jonny]
O Jesus I have promised
Final prayer & blessing [Mark Waddington]
do cafe
use polygon as worship space
brand stuff on tvs
start with action symbolising incarnation - place icon of christ [use ibook showing icon on screen] in midst of products[jonny]
song: 'thankyou for entering into our world'
introduce reading wrt last service [brands] and grace team arguments about whether a 'simple' life ie non-consuming, is practical or desirable.
read steve tomkins' rant on being caught up in corporate wrongdoing by means of shopping [steve]
stations:
the stations are designed to present both sides of an argument. they give no clear answers or preferences.
think and pray - which side of the argument [if any] does god call you to? [steve]
1. withdrawal [eg monastic] v involvement [julia]
2. prayer v activism [include david v goliath book on activism side] [anna]
3. consumer power [eg fairtrade products, organic, vegetarian] v not buying [eg buy nothing day] [justin's story about clothes in lithuania] [mike]
4. personal change [steve] v corporate change [jackie] [eg shareholder activism]
5. destruction/getting rid of possessions [video of artist michael landy performing 'break down'] v creative use of possessions/recycling [jonny + jen]
then back together for:
i have a dream speech - about a different kind of dream than consumerism
david v goliath - small people can make a difference
then liturgy around ad slogans [jonny][adam for slogans]
set up: a cafe in one room, and then a trail following the emmaus road in the church space. people sit and socialise in the cafe, and can visit the stations in the worship space when they want to.
begin with an intro and a reading of the emmaus road with everybody in the cafe.
then these are the stages of the journey to be done as stations:
1. Hiddenness of God
Lk 24:13-16
dark night of soul - legitimate experience of god's absence
idea of how we see (god may be present but we don't see) - magic eye, dwarfs in narnia story
2. Downcast
Lk 24: 17-18
experience of being down, depression
psalms of being down
bitter herbs and salt water
3. Story telling
Lk 24: 19-27
2 parts
a) listening to one another's stories
b) the power of hearing god's story
4. Welcoming the stranger
Lk 24: 28-29 - tim
who is the stranger for you today?
have you ever encountered Christ in or through a stranger?
hospitality
5. Breaking bread
Lk 24: 30-31
have table laid with bread and wine (much like sanctuary's dining room in their home installation)
6. Burning hearts + telling others
Read Luke 24: 32-35
after everyone has followed the road... we will have a concluding piece of liturgy back in the cafe.
A service about identity, in three sections: the identity we give ourselves, the identities we give other people, and the identities we receive from God. photos here
setup:
1. camouflage netting for ceiling [from army surplus][steve]
2. netting round four corner columns of venue - fairy lights in netting - four sets
four mirrors or 16 mirror tiles
at different heights round columns [eg positioned to suit children]
write the label category [see 6 below] for each column on the mirrors
3. central logs and kindling [moya]
____________________________________________
before service:
1. hand out provocative labels round site as publicity beforehand
2. vox pop videos beforehand - asking people to 'describe yourself with one word'
play back in service [adam]
3. give out identity card at entry to service [steve]
fill in areas
how do you describe yourself
service:
1. welcome to grace
'lazy' video [x-press 2 feat. david byrne] at beginning
2. get in small groups
play the uniqueness game [justin] - if you can't find something unique to say about yourself, the rest of your group sit on you!
3. play back vox pops
introduce theme of service
4. songs
5. prayer to all say together [jackie]
6. introduce label game []
labelling yourself and other people
From the camouflage net hang 350 luggage labels. On each is a word you might have been called, or called someone else. Around the room are four columns labelled 'something good you thought about someone else', 'something good you thought about you', 'something bad you thought about someone else', 'something bad you thought about you'.
find labels you feel appropriate - some we've written, plus pens and blank labels to write your own
move labels from camouflage net to the four columns as appropriate and tie to netting on the columns
in the background - 'label' words spoken by computer
or
replay vox pops
bible readings eg adulteress
labels jesus was called, king of the jews label on cross
isaiah [jackie can look up]
7. confession of our labelling of others - forgive and be forgiven
switch on fairy lights at column being prayed at
read a few from each corner
a silence while people think of the labels they put in that corner
then say a prayer [steve & anna]
8. song
9. identity being shaped by god:
intro [mike]
sanding sticks - In the centre of the room are logs, kindling sticks and sandpaper. Get a stick and some sandpaper. As you sand, think about what God removes from your life to shape you into the person he wants you to be.
meditation [mike]
'timber' [coldcut] video during sanding
10. promises: [jen to write promises][jen to introduce]
Open up a small suitcase containing labels like the ones on the net. The luggage labels on the net had words we use to label one another. The luggage labels in the suitcase have quotations from the Bible that are God's loving labels for us to take away.
play suitable track while people take labels
[on other side put grace dates as flyer for people at service][steve]
[note: print out sticky labels to put on blank luggage labels]
11. end prayer that everyone says together [jen]
at certain point in prayer everyone has to read out what is on their label from god [gabble of different words at once]
'Arable Parable' began as an installation based on the parable of the sower [Luke 8:5-15], created by Sanctuary for Greenbelt 2002. Grace borrowed the idea for a child-friendly 'harvest festival' service. There are four stations: the path, the stones, the thorns and the good soil. The service ran from 6pm to 10pm, with a cafe for socialising, and people could come and go in their own time. Children were given a card with the parable on, and at each station there was something to glue to it - a feather at the path, sand at the stones, a dead leaf, petals at the good soil. There were child versions of the instructions/meditations at each station. The intention was to change from child to adult versions at 8pm, but the children didn't go home and the adults liked the children's version so we ended up with both!
for children's service:
introductory card with whole parable [steve]
with 4 things to collect and stick on - add feather, sand, thorn, flower and take card home
does 'miracle maker' show this parable? if so could have as loop. [jen to
check]
make entrance 'grotto' with tv with miracle maker [if can be found] and
story cards
adult-friendly instruction cards too for each part [steve]
arable parable:
1. path
[Write about the places in your heart that are hard towards God. Tuck the folded paper into a crack in the path.]
paving slabs [mike][check re tarpaulin - poss adam]
paper + pens [in church]
feathers [mike]
2. rocky ground
[What tests your faith: teasing, partners who mock or friends who poke fun at your scruples? With charcoal write a word, or words on a stone, about those things that test you. Then place the stone on the ground and walk away. In doing so you bring these things to God and leave them with Him.]
pebbles [in church]
white stones [mike]
sand [in church? or check who to get - focus]
charcoal sticks [moya]
3. thorns
[Were you seduced by the bright lights and money? Has consumerism taken over your life, have you sold out to marketing hype? Do worries or guilt choke your relationship with God? Why not give your concerns to Him by washing your hands and saying this prayer... ]
dead garden material [adam] - as thicket/brambles rather than standing stems
fairy lights [in church]
water bowl [jen]
towel [jonny]
missing prayer - get off sonia [steve]
4. good soil
[The good soil. On a nearby table, take a pot and plant a seed, then take it away to nurture and grow.]
flowers/plants [mark/deborah]
seeds [check in church - if not go to focus]
pots [anna to get plus materials to decorate - put decorating materials in
cafe area]
soil [jackie to buy a bag][check in church for spare materials]
______________________________________________
cafe [jackie to do food][everybody bring a bottle]
for adult 8pm service:
opening - read the story [jen]
opening prayer [jen]
ending prayer - intercessory - one person goes round to pray [steve] and put nightlights on the path
joss sticks on the stones [anna to bring joss sticks]
cut the thorns with secaturs
take a flower? action will depend on what's there - ask mark/deborah - to do with thanks - fecundity - spread good soil
This follows up the previous service on psalms -- participants were invited to bring their own psalm.
Some examples:
My Psalm of Complacency by Jonathan Hassell
Oh Lord,
It's too easy to forget you
Your call on me often doesn't get through
Muffled by the bustle of my life
My multi-tasking mind
To you I call
Break through any barriers I have erected
Whether knowingly or by accident
Through trying to be contemporary
Break through
My complacency
My arrogance
My intellect
Help me to be more than observer
Finding new neuroses
To keep life full
And yet empty
Guide me
Make me unable to contain your gifts
Move me
Help me to hold on until it hurts
Because although I crave your peace
I need your justice
Agitate
Do not leave me in my self-sufficiency
Help me to need you more
Take me places where I must turn to you
To get me through and find you're all I need
And when I need it
As you often do
Send your irrepressible joy
Blowing through
Leave me startled
Grinning uncontrollably
Almost giddy
Embarrassingly happy
A gift bestowed by a spendthrift
The Inspirer of all
Oh Lord,
It's too easy to forget you
Break through
______________________________________________
I am frustrated by the mundanity of life
the superficiality of what I am offered each day
or my own lack of energy.
My life threatens to stagnate
when what I really want to do is fly away, to run for the horizon.
But what will happen to the people I leave behind?
I remember moments when things were different.
The most intense times
when someone kissed me unexpectedly or cried on my shoulder
when God spoke to me or took hold of my hand.
I thank God for those times.
And I thank God for stability day-to-day -- for I can't stay on the mountain top.
______________________________________________
I can no longer praise God like I once did.
Once I could follow formulas
sing songs ("Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee...")
say the standard prayers ("Almighty and most merciful Father...")
spend certain specified times in a church building.
Now I see that praise must be earned.
Now I see that it is not tied to words or times.
My soul longs for something -- but what?
6pm start for setup
problem of seating - everone bring rugs, picnic blankets etc.
mark - please can you sort some videos of match of the day, sporting events?
[we haven't got stations, but what about people bringing sports clothing/equipment to make some kind of display/scene-setting - even if we can't get a rowing machine. eg a pair of nike trainers for the altar ;)
possibles:
bicycle
wetsuit
shoes
sports bra
football shirt
skateboard
snowboard
tennis racket
hockey stick
shin pads
cycling jersey
cricket bat/whites
that's just me thinking of what people here have got]
intro:
not sport as evangelism but the spirituality of sport [jen]
word association game -
think of the positive & negative aspects of sport - write on cards
mark a line from positive to negative on display boards
stick cards up on display boards with velcro [velcro roll from greenbelt] at positions of plus/minus along line
group feedback - all gather round to contest card positions and move them
[who's doing this bit?]
prayer [jen?]
discuss: [mike]
make a question sheet for small group discussion
selection of questions covering things we've discussed in the planning group
eg
what makes an activity sport? can any activity become a sport eg ballroom dancing? if not why not?
is sport spiritual?
is sport a substitute for god in contemporary life?
does god intervene in sport to determine outcomes? is it right to pray to win?
is the extreme focus on self and sport needed to succeed at the highest level compatible with christian life/values?
are women's sports given a lower value?
is competition right? what about non-competitive sport?
centre of service:
three people present stuff - their personal view of spirituality and sport
steve on the spirituality of snowboarding
jen on triathlon
mike - spirituality of extreme exercise - state like fasting - focus on person, cutting out of distractions
meditation on body - vigorous [mike?]
still meditation - [anna]
'this is my body' track to listen to [words on screen?]
end: [steve]
how can anything human *not* be spiritual
our problem is that we think some parts of being human are spiritual and not others
in the kingdom there is no distinction etc
football match showing afterwards
cafe - everyone bring drinks - jackie will do vaguely turkish food plus pizza
'Ten' was Grace's tenth anniversary celebration. It was our first service in the newly restored church, so we were able to clear the seating from the whole nave. The installations from 'Moments of Grace' [Greenbelt 2003] had been set up around the church for people to play with. photos here. There was also a corner with Grace memorabilia.
The first part of the event ran from 4.30pm to 6pm, for parents and children. There was no formal service as such in this part, just some words of dedication and a cake with candles for the children [the adults would get theirs later]. photos here
At 8pm there was a short informal service. photos here. For the first 20 minutes people were invited to play with the installations. Steve Lawson played his distinctive ambient bass guitar with loops and sound effects as background for this part. Then a number of people associated with the beginning of Grace spoke - Mike Rose and Mike Starkey who started it, Jo Valpy [above] who was in the original team, and Dave Tomlinson who was guest speaker at the first service. The there was Holy Communion, using an adapted version of our Greenbelt 1999 Eucharist liturgy. After this the Bishop of Willesden led prayers and a blessing. We then had birthday cakes and champagne, and went outside for some fireworks.
this is the text from the service booklet:
welcome!
We’re delighted you could join us at our tenth anniversary event. Whether you’re a regular, an old friend or here for the first time, we hope you have an enjoyable and relaxed evening in the presence of God.
on arrival
Please spend some time with the ‘Moments of grace’ installations. You will have about 20 minutes to do this before the ‘formal’ part of the service begins, and you are welcome to return to them afterwards.
Music by Steve Lawson
moments of grace
In thinking about how to mark the occasion of our tenth anniversary, we found ourselves examining the concept which gave us our name. What is grace? How does it operate? How do we receive it?
These installations, first shown at Greenbelt Festival in August, don't present a complete theology of grace, but they try to capture some aspects of it. We hope they help you to be more aware of God's grace in your own life and the world around you.
In no particular order the installations are:
Hidden grace: you can’t see grace through the wrong glasses
Junk mail: is God trying to get a message to you?
Brownie points: are we trying to earn God’s love?
Peep show: which of these things is grace for you?
Grace on the edge: where the space and possibilities lie
Generous grace: you get back what you didn’t put in
Mirror mirror: nothing can make you unacceptable to God
Grace to be seen: you don’t need eyes to see, you need vision
Grace in the making: creativity and imagination are divine gifts
The mystery of grace: now you see it, now you don’t
Pursued by grace: God as a persistent cat
Visitors’ book: tell us what grace is for you
remembering grace
Founder members Mike Rose, Mike Starkey and Jo Valpy look back.
the grace of god
Dave Tomlinson, speaker at the first Grace service, has some words on the subject.
song
come holy spirit
eucharistic prayer
The Lord is here
God’s Spirit is with us
Lift up your hearts
We lift them up to God
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give God thanks and praise
You are the God who does new things,
and we thank you for a decade of discovery.
You brought us together
as friends and fellow travellers in Christ,
each one revealing a different facet of your beauty to the rest,
each bringing news of you from unexpected places.
You helped us to discover and grow our gifts.
You asked to be surprised,
gave us freedom to experiment,
space to create new toys and tools that express our lives to you.
You led us to treasures of the past in the storehouses of the Church.
When few could help or few could come, you sustained us.
When opposition and obstacles arose you strengthened and taught us.
You made it all worth while.
You brought us far-flung friendships,
visitors from around the world.
You sent opportunities to help others in their journeys with you
beyond anything we ever hoped for.
You opened unexpected doors
and showed us undeserved favour.
Therefore with angels and animals,
microbes and mountains,
and all that lives for you
we proclaim how wonderful you are,
we pour out our thanks to you
in song that never sleeps:
Holy holy holy lord
Holy holy holy lord
God of power and might
God of power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna in the highest
And now we ask that by the power of your Holy Spirit
this bread and wine may be to us Christ's body and his blood;
who, on the night that he was handed over to suffering and death,
took bread, thanked you and broke it
He gave it to his friends saying
“Eat this, it is my body given for you. Do this in memory of me.”
Later after supper he took the cup,
thanked you, and gave it to them saying
“Drink this all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant
which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this whenever you drink it in memory of me.”
Christ has died, Christ is risen
Christ has died, Christ is risen
Christ will come again
Christ will come again
In this place where heaven and earth meet
under the rainbow of God's promise,
in this sharing of bread and wine
future hope becomes reality now
So bring your scorched earth
bring your harvest
bring your open sky
bring your restless guilty waters
bring your swift unbending road
bring your urgent inner city
to the table where your host says
“I make all things new”
Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world
Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world
Have mercy, mercy on us
Have mercy, mercy on us
sharing of bread and wine
song during communion:
I will receive you now
after-communion prayer
All-saving God,
Thank you for feeding us with the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ
whose death and resurrection have purchased the future healing of all things
We who have tasted the coming Kingdom
offer ourselves as its bearers and signs in the power of your Spirit
and as lovers and guardians of all that you have made
until you come
Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
blessing
Prayer and blessing by Rev. Pete Broadbent, Bishop of Willesden.
song
dancing to a new expression
afterwards
Join us in the Polygon for birthday cakes and bubbly!
We hope you’ll stay for a while to celebrate with us. The installations are still available, and later there will be fireworks in the churchyard.
Music in the Polygon by Yrekcirtcele, visuals by Timmy Holme
[We regret that no food and drink can be taken into the church itself to prevent staining of the stone floor]
See December 2004 for explanation.
These are the nine readings and music we used this year:
1. Genesis 3:8-15, 17-19; Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones
2. Genesis 22:15-18
3. Isaiah 9:2, 6-7; All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
4. Isaiah 11:1-3a, 4a, 6-9; Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles
5. Luke 1:26-35, 38; Angels by Robbie Williams
6. Luke 2:1, 3-7; Cat’s in the Cradle by Harry Chapin
7. Luke 2:8-16
8. Matthew 2:1-12
9. John 1:1-14; Mad World by The Darkness
Lesson 1: the Fall
So this is freedom...
Something later generations will curse us for.
They will say it all started here.
Conflict, starvation … stress at work …
concentration of power in the hands of a few,
separation from one another,
lives driven by fear.
They will retreat into the trivial -- you know, celebrity watching, tabloid television, the National Lottery...
or build fortresses to keep everyone away. Especially the asylum seekers.
They will say it all started here.
This is what it means to be fully human, to be fully alive -- to face bleakness and death.
But could I go back to the way I was before? Before, all was light, I was dazzled, I saw nothing.
Now I see that the world has texture.
Now I see that we need darkness as much as light if we are to see anything.
Now I am no longer an infant who expects to see God walking in the garden in the evening.
Now it is possible for me to relate to God as an adult.
And I believe that is what God wants.
But first I must face my freedom. And I must face death.
service led by guest philip roderick.
start:
psalm of ascent, process from polygon into church [mike to sort out]
introduction to subject of service
songs:
look for songs that are akin to psalms rather than just versions of them
stations:
one for each theme:
anger/vengeance psalm 109 [questions][jackie]
desolation psalm 88 [dark room]
lament psalm 137 [pictures of burnt house etc][adam]
thirst for God psalm 42 [jonny] [radiohead video?]
praise/thanksgiving psalm 104 [post-its - speech bubble ones][jen]
protection psalm 91 [duvets on fatboy][bakers/jackie]
confession/forgiveness psalm 51[random prophet][jonny's laptop]
grace psalm 130 [sweets][mike]
history/storytelling psalm 136 [stones - put stone on cairn][steve]
cry for help psalm 40 [list - people for prayer][mike]
each station has full text of psalm [mike to download from biblegateway.com and print at A3]
then
call people back together, present responses from the stations as appropriate
prayers
[from ps40 list, thanksgiving, etc]
end - structures:
give out jason's stuff - written or diagram [steve]
ask people to write psalm or do picture or stuff for next time
ask people to arrive early for ps2, if possible to email stuff to us before service so we know how to plan and how much extra material to have
Set up in the polygon with a café - food and drink served from the start not just the end.
Start with Steve recapping the Psalms 1 service and the homework sheet, introducing the psalm structure twister idea - the twister positions were performed by anna and joshua. And explaining that this service is our own presentation/creation of psalms.
Mark will then lead us in a psalm (maybe read by two halves of the room alternately) - Ps 40 I thnk? We’ll then play 40 by U2 and which is about waiting and there will be a prayer lighting three candles on each table.
It’s then over to the Psalms – somehow we need to MC this? Maybe we need to get a list of who has psalms and get an order so they can run one after the other.
Jonny will end the service with a psalm – city type theme with the video of traffic in tokyo (arrive) and a prayer to close
[this service was inspired in part by the idea of the three mile an hour god from theologian kosuke koyama]
Set up:
Set the room up with two screens in the middle back to back – project speed on one side and slow on the other.
do visual stuff from arkaos for speed side
do visual stuff through mixer for slow side
have two mac classics, one for each side of the screen with slow and speed on
Before the service:
Give out tickets for the fast track that lets people in early/quickly – make it slow for others.
Have a rev counter type thing that runs from flat out to flat out – invite people to answer one or two questions - how do you live your life? how do you want to live your life? – and place a post it note or sticker on according to their answer
Service:
1 Preparation:
Welcome/intro
invite people to take watches off and turn phones off
Opening prayer/sentences/call and response liturgy (could involve slow and fast ends of room)
Play track from logical progression with sample from ferris bueller’s day off (life moves pretty fast....)
Slow down
adbusters reading of guy who stands still
prayer of st hilda community
video of jar being shaken and settling with words to encourage people to slow down (taken from cd rom accompanying tune in chill out)
play 'hey man slow down' radiohead
Group discussion
on contemplative vs commuter:
Questions along lines of
Is slow good? Is fast bad? If you're in an accident, you want the ambulance
to come as quickly as possible. When else is speed good?
We work quicker so we can work fewer hours - but do we?"
are you naturally more a commuter or a contemplative? martha or a mary?
slow confession with Reflective piece on time
visual of hand written clock
Praise
My heart is restless
The Lord is compassionate and gracious
2. The Word
Readings
Bible passages/readings on either side of the room re slow and fast
Reflective piece if we slow down... accompanying a video slow moment that no longer seems to be online - it was a brilliant combination.
3. Response
Prayer
Make Jesus prayer cords – use to pray – use animated iconostasis and jesus prayer tack from tune in chill out
Concluding ritual
Take boiled or soft sweets depending on whether you are feeling the call/need to go slow or fast
the first of a series of two services looking at miracles inspired by jeffrey john's talks at greenbelt 04
order of service
'Call to worship'
couple of songs
Simpson's clip/Life of Brian clip
Discussion of miracles and feedback
(people to write miracles they remember on a big sheet so we have a record
of them.)
Inspiration for service and summary of Jeffrey John book with clips from GB tape (see below for summaries)
Ignatian reading - pool of Bethesda (taken from de mello book)
Stations:
a)Water into wine
b)Hem to touch
c)Inclusion/exclusion - stories and post-it notes
d)faith
Need for belief and concluding ritual
A summary of Jeffrey John's book "The Meaning in the Miracles".
The Guardian Editor section used to include summaries of books "condensed in the style of the original", and that is what I have tried to do here.
Introduction
The author starts by referring to two Scripture teachers from his school.
One of them believed the Bible in the most literal possible sense, and
considered the meaning of each miracle story was to prove the supernatural
nature of Jesus. The other teacher, in the interests of being relevant,
dismissed anything that sounded supernatural. Her explanation of the
miracles was therefore naturalistic (e.g. the calming of the storm was a
convenient coincidence) or moralistic (e.g. the feeding of the five thousand
was achieved by inspiring everyone to share the food they had). Both
teachers assumed that the only interesting thing about the miracles was the
question of what did or did not happen, and both therefore missed the point.
What we need to do is look for the meaning.
"Let us ask the miracles themselves what they tell us about Christ, for they
have a tongue of their own, if it can only be understood. Because Christ is
the Word of God, all the acts of the Words become words to us. The miracle
which we admire on the outside also has something inside which must be
understood. If we see a piece of beautiful handwriting, we are not
satisfied simply to note the letters are formed evenly, equally and
elegantly: we also want to know the meaning the letters convey. In the same
way a miracle is not like a picture, something merely to look out and
admire, and to be left at that. It is much more like a piece of writing
which we must learn to read and understand." -- St Augustine
a) Each miracle story is a literary creation with a theological purpose.
The gospel writers were steeped in Old Testament Scripture, and constantly
use threads of prophecy-fulfilment, symbolism, or allegory to create a new
story which reapplies the truths, hopes, patterns and meanings of the
scriptural past to the present.
Therefore the key to unlocking the theological meaning of a miracle story
requires knowledge of the Old Testament. The author therefore recommends
following up the cross-references in the Bible, and using a good commentary.
b) The stories must be understood in their own religious, historical, social
and political context. A story such as the healing of a woman with a
haemorrhage shows Jesus overturning a taboo which subjugated and oppressed
women, and was nothing less than revolutionary. Read properly, it
challenges the Church to assess its own treatment of women today as
powerfully as Jesus challenged the gynophobic conventions of his own time.
A similar point can be made about most, if not all, of the healing miracles.
They seem to have been deliberately selected by the evangelist to show
Jesus healing at least one of every category of persons who, according to
the purity laws of Jesus' society, were specifically excluded and labeled
unclean, or who was set at varying degrees of distance from worshipping in a
temple. They are demonstrations of Jesus' healing power and compassion for
the individual, but that is not the main point. Far more relevant to us is
the miracles' universal significance: the overturning of social and
religious barriers, the abolition of taboos, and Jesus' declaration of God's
love and compassion for everyone, expressed in a systematic inclusion of
each class of the previous excluded and marginalised. How often has the
Church failed to follow this inclusiveness and, and preferred instead to
create and cling to its own taboos?
c) Principalities and powers. The gospels continually refer to demonic
powers,, and we must avoid the pitfalls of literalism and reductionism. We
are not required to believe in the existence of demons with forked tails,
nor even, necessarily, in the powers as being entirely distinct, self
existent entities, but nor should we simply dismiss them as if they were
merely outdated dramatic trappings which no longer mean anything in a
"scientific" age. The New Testament uses the same terms to mean both
supernatural forces and the very real powers which represent them on earth.
(They are not inherently bad.)
Just as the healing miracles often imply reinclusion of a whole class of
excluded persons, the power of sin and rebellion against God, and the
healing that they require, must be understood as operating corporately as
well as individually.
d) Faith. One of the many paradoxes in the gospels is that at first sight
the miracles seem to be intended as straightforward demonstrations of Jesus'
divine power, but at the same time the gospels contain strong warnings about
the dangers of being impressed by signs and miracles, and Jesus himself
appears to be extremely wary of being known simply as a wonder-worker, and
is scathing about those who seek signs for their own sake. A personal
belief in Jesus that goes deeper than self-interest and the mere worship of
power is at least part of what the gospels mean by "faith".
e) Eyes to see (and ears to hear). When the disciples fail to understand
the significance of the miracles, they seem to incarnate both the particular
spiritual blindness of Israel and the general spiritual blindness of all
humanity. Mark in particular appears to believe that God had willed a
temporary spiritual blindness to come upon the people which actually
prevented them from understanding. The hope, prophesied by Isaiah, remains
that one day all the blind eyes will be opened. All the gospel miracles of
Jesus healing the blind are to be interpreted in terms of this theology of
revelation: their point is not medical but spiritual and theological.
Summary: the background knowledge of a miracle is indispensable if we are to
get the spiritual meaning. All the miracle stories contain profound
teaching which is of indispensable relevance today, teaching that all too
often gets passed over because we do not get past the "miraculous" packaging
and the endless issue of "did it happen?" We should aim to share the same
perception of the truth that impelled the evangelists to write the miracle
stories in the first place.
That covers the introduction -- the rest of the book consists of analysis,
from the above perspectives, of almost all the miracles. Each chapter also
has some devotional materials.
... the one who was lowered through a hole in the roof. (Mark 2 v 1-12,
Luke 5 v 18-26, and there is a similar story in Matthew 9 v2-8)
The main point of the story is Jesus' claim to forgive sins. It is a
fundamental assumption in Judaism that God alone can forgive sins on God's
behalf or with God's authority. The reality of Jesus' claim to forgive
authoritatively could not be proved on its own, since it is an inward,
spiritual matter. Hence the importance of the miracle. Jesus' question,
"Is it easier to forgive or to say to the paralytic, get up?" is not meant
to imply that forgiving sin is literally "easier" than physical healing. It
is more a question of visibility. The physical healing proves the truth of
the claim to exercise forgiveness.
The fact that Jesus heals and forgives simultaneously might suggest that the
sickness was the result of a specific sin on the paralysed man's part, or
that he was an especially sinful person. But as is referred to elsewhere in
the Gospels, as well as the book of Job, human sickness is to be linked not
so much with the personal sin of the sufferer as with human sinfulness in
general. From the Gospel point of view all disorder, even natural
phenomena, derive from the separation between God and the world. Conversely
the various demonstrations in the Gospel of the power of Jesus over
sickness, sin, disorder and death are all equivalent signs that he bears the
authority of God to drive back the darkness, and reclaim the world and human
beings for their creator.
Many Christians are suspicious of sacramental confession, but it does carry
a special healing power for those who still need to hear the kind of
objective and authoritative declaration of God's forgiveness that Jesus
makes in the story. A desperately needed ministry (which the Church is not
particularly effective at) is the opportunity to open oneself up in faith,
and to be reassured of God's acceptance of our whole person, despite the sin
and mess.
There is a barely concealed implication that Jeffrey John considers this
story to be allegorical rather than factual. Many Jewish writing symbolise
the messianic days as a wedding feast, and many of the stories in the
Gospels are about weddings as well.
There are two particularly important points from the story, and the first is
the production of the wine itself. There are reminders of Jesus saying "can
the wedding guests fast while the groom is still with them?" and "no one
puts new wine into old skins".
The production of a huge abundance of wine, and a production of a similar
abundance of bread at the feeding of the five thousand, suggests an allusion
to the Eucharist, the sacramental means by which the believer is united with
Jesus. [I am reminded of the communion liturgy which says "let us make a
huge loaf of bread, and let us bring abundant wine."] The story of the
wedding, like communion, is also about celebrating a corporate as well as an
individual relationship -- and the story does not hesitate to compare the
joy of the celebration with drunkenness. In the Western Church we are not
good at joy, though the joy does not necessarily have to be expressed in
loud and visible joyfulness.
The second point concerns Jesus' words to his mother -- a verbal slap in the
face which suggests hostility between them. Jesus' view of the family was,
to say the least, ambiguous, and he himself clearly had problems with his
own family. His teaching that all human relationships and all human
institutions need redeeming -- including motherhood and apple pie -- is
important to keep in mind, especially when our relationships prove
difficult. God comes first, and everything else needs ordering in the light
of our relationship with him.
second service on miracles
this included communion where people were invited to take a thorn as well as bread and wine and concluded with
order of service:
PowerPoint presentation of optical illusions at the start
welcome/focus on God
song - this is the house of God
Intro to service - miracles today
Simpsons clip
Introduce stories - of miracles and unanswered prayer, faith and doubt.
People to tell stories - Steve, Moya - leg, ? - St Marys
Mystery in miracles, place of faith, refer to coins from last time
Heavenly man story
Invite people to take a thorn - what do you want God to do for you?
Time of quiet for prayer
Song - O Lord hear my prayer
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Liturgy - we believe you can do miracles, but even if you don’t you are still God.
Communion, leave thorn with God, prayer for healing/miracle - needs explanation at the start.
these are the nine readings we used this year:
1. Genesis 3:8-15, 17-19
2. Genesis 22:15-18
3. Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
4. Isaiah 11:1-3a, 4a, 6-9
5. Luke 1:26-35, 38
6. Luke 2:1, 3-7
7. Luke 2:8-16
8. Matthew 2:1-12
9. John 1:1-14
And these are the tracks people chose:
Adam Lay I-Bounden Anon 15th c
No title - Welk
At the Centre’ - Lies Damned Lies
It Hurts So Good - Millie Jackson
Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
Personal Jesus - Johnny Cash
Untitled – Joel Baker and Simon Burrell (aka twotone)
Sound effects of a journey – Mark Waddington
As I Went Down - Lies Damned Lies
To Be Alone With You - Sufjan Stevens
Lesson 4: Isaiah's vision of the kingdom
Here we have Isaiah's vision of an ideal future world -- call it "heaven" if you like. And this picture, the Plains of Heaven by the Victorian artist John Martin, is another vision of heaven.
What is your vision of heaven? And what do you think will need to happen for that vision to be realised?
Isaiah's vision is of a world without conflict.
What would it take to stop humans fighting with each other (never mind animals)?
Here are a couple of possibilities:
Give people all the resources they could possibly want -- be it living space, time, oil, carbon credits... and they won't have anything to fight over. I call this the George Bush model.
Or change people so that they are incapable of fighting -- the Brave New World model.
I'm sure you can think of other possibilities.
Now let's get back to Isaiah. He makes it clear that this is the Jesus model. Jesus will lead the world to the vision of heaven. This is Jesus who healed people -- and who promised to bring fire to the world.
I really don't know how he will bring heaven about. But we can be sure that it will be alive.
a guest from the london meditation centre (julie) led grace in an ignatian type examen for the new year
12 people had taken a minor prophet and had a space under their head (which are sculpted in stone around the church) to offer their interpretation, reflection, ritual or whatever.
there is a smallfire photo album here
the second photo album above has a summary of each station though we may dig out some other bits and pieces for here...
amos
habakkuk
haggai
hosea
joel
jonah
malachi
micah
nahum
obadiah
zachariah
zephaniah
a guided/narrated journey through the days of creation with original soundscape and meditations. it is all age friendly. this is a new project created with Group which will be published in the US in june05 under the title worshipping the creator (uk) | US version here. we called it 'out of nothing'...
there is a photo album here and another one here
Grace continued in a pattern of two worship services a month. The main creative service is on the second Saturday of the month. We tend to loosely follow the pattern of the church calendar as a basic structure for our services. Themes this last year included miracles, slow, minor prophets and prophecy, nine (our untraditional take on nine lessons and carols), the ignatian examen and stations of the resurrection. We have a couple of visiting speakers each year. This year we welcomed Julie Dunstan from the London meditation centre who led us in the Ignatian examen. And Bishop Pete joined us for a BBQ in the vicarage garden where we 'grilled the bishop'.
Gracelet is the second service each month which is smaller and one or two people from Grace put it together each time rather than a creative group effort. We have moved this back to the church rather than meeting in peoples homes. It is a reflective service usually structured round a basic liturgy.
At Easter we ran the installation 'Out Of Nothing' for three days of holy week. This was a new worship experience meets art installation on the theme of creation.180 people passed through and the feedback was great.
We took part in Greenbelt arts festival again where we have become something of a regular fixture. This was the first outing of 'Slow' the service that we subsequently led at St Marys in February.
The lent blog was a big success again (a web site with people posting a reflection each day through lent).
Numbers at Grace vary between about 30 and 60. Gracelet is more like a dozen. We have the usual mix of regulars and tourists. Partly by being in London and partly through having a strong web presence we are always hosting visitors from round the world looking for creative ideas for worship and church. The strangest this year was when two mini bus loads of Danish youth pastors arrived.
The planning group has been pretty strong this year. Communication with St Marys is definitely helped by Anna being a member of Grace and on staff at St Marys. We also took part in a training day for the diocese of Willesden in response to the report Mission Shaped Church. We are in the middle of a process of re-evaluating what Grace is about and how we structure our life together. In part this is in response to a challenge bishop Pete gave us to reflect on what mission means for Grace. The first phase of the process has led us to develop a set of values that we hold and/or aspire to. We'll let you know the outcome once we've finished the process.
You can generally check what we are up to on the grace web site, by looking at the grace notice board in the polygon and of course you are always welcome at any grace services.
the grace team xxx
opening words
opening prayer
songs:
come holy spirit
this is the house of god
confession
intro notion of parables
three different takes on hospitality
brick testament – unhospitality [slideshow on screens]
mike riddell parable [read out]
babette's feast [on dvd]
creed
song - this is the table of christ
eucharistic prayer [andy sillis guest priest]
invitation
[bread and wine]
prayer
blessing
Friends from l8r in northwood led by Kev Draper led us in an experience of godly play
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.
we ran the installation Out Of Nothing - see Mar 05 holy week installation
1. Dramatic start
Unexplained smashing of mirror with sledge hammer
see fab pics here including steve doing a ymca impression
(No link or explanation into...)
2. Radiohead video (the one with buildings collapsing)
Verses on death, letting go etc...
3. Plate smashing ritual
Invite people to consider comfort that they want to move on from, or something dear that needs to be let go of. This could be personal or about Grace. Write it on plate and drop onto concrete slab.
Play shouty track video by Lemon Jelly
4. Grace in transition
Introduce reshaping Grace process. Recap weekend. Explain letting go of some of the ways we have done things. Invite/challenge to consider part in reshaping. Living with discomfort.
Lead godly play style ‘I wonder what could be made of the fragments/broken pieces’
(Play track ‘So Beautiful’ by Urban Myth Club)
5. Reflection/Prayer
Reflection/meditation on broken pieces connecting with personal and Grace stuff.
Prayer for Grace and personal things.
Conclude with liturgy with response ‘far I have come far I must go’ based on song on Idjut Boys album Press Play.
We are creatures of comfort
God of broken people and places (far I have come far I must go)
6. Scriptures on rebuilding/desert blossoming etc..
7. Take away bags
Invite people to come and take a bag with a broken piece, and a sheet inviting them to think about where they might engage.
Play track ‘get up get involved’ by James Brown
This is the service plan that got sent out before the event.
Setup: Main body of chruch cleared of pews. Camo netting hung flat
across the space just above head height. Video screens on left and right
sides. Creative Stations set up around edges. [EVERYBODY from 6pm]
(clips/hooks etc for hanging things on netting - Adam and Steve to bring)
- Welcome/Introduction
- Reading Genesis 1
- Playback of 'Day 7' from Worshiping the creator
- Explanation that we are all creative
- Blank sheet of paper/first idea/shredder ritual - encourage people to
think outside their box and suspend judgement.
(Requires shredder, paper, pens - adam to bring)
- Play time! Creative stations
-- Consequneces Prayers - an outline (possibly based on lords prayer)
for groups of people to write prayers bit by bit
(requires paper, pens, explanation)
-- Drawing with restrictions - eg wrong handed, with crayons, limited
colours
(requires paper, pens, etc etc - adam to bring)
-- Potato printing - potatoes, knives, paint, tarpaulin to protect
floor! make shapes or print with whats made.
(richard bringing tarpaulin, can volunteer bring potatoes etc)
-- Pipe cleaner modelling - small modelling things, pipe cleaners, foil
etc - just make something
(modelling stuff?)
-- Typewriter - for writers that can face the blank sheet!
(typewriter, explanation - Mark)
-- 'Punk' litrugy - ie created by cutting words out of newspapers
(newspapers, glue, paper - can everyone bring newspapers)
-- Live camera direct onto screen - with props to create visuals
(techie stuff Adam, can everyone bring some random props! anything to create 'creative' still lives from! the more random the better)
-- Lego - making things just because!
(lego and explanation)
People encouraged to have a go, work alone or in groups, leave things
unfinished or only do part of a creation.
All creations hung on camo netting to create the service that people can
wander in and sit under.
- Finish with 'We bring gifts' Communion (with or without communion
depending on priest availability!) Leave bread and
wine for people to take and time to look around the creations hanging
from the netting (play Vision On/Tony hart gallery music)
Cafe afterwards
Introduction/prayer
DVD we have decided not to die - connection between it and Grace – mention stuff from last service
Song(s)
Blob tree where are you participating in the Kingdom of God
Jelly babies
Participition in Grace – ‘making space’
Participation in the wider world -- see below
Time of contemplative prayer inc explanation of the new monthly gig
Concluding liturgy/ritual
This was the final liturgy/ritual:
As well as considering participation in our churches and communities to be important, we are also very interested in participation in the wider world, such as the addressing of injustice in the world.
If you think that the injustice in the world is too large to handle, we need to find an action on a scale which we can handle. And we need to start from a position of knowing something about injustice, so here is a story. About sugar.
Sugar is very important -- where would we be without jelly babies? More seriously, it is a major global commodity, which millions of people rely on for their livelihoods. And if it is traded fairly, it helps to release people from poverty. This is what is happening in Mozambique, in southern Africa. The government has introduced a policy to help its sugar industry. It has set a minimum price above which imported sugar must be sold, helping locally produced sugar compete with imports. Sugar factories and plantations now employ 25,000 people, and foreign sugar companies are investing in Mozambique. Workers now earn enough to send their children to school and to afford medical help when they are sick -- both important indicators of development and hope for the future.
But Mozambique is an exception. International trade rules are preventing the governments of poor countries from helping their farmers and industries. In exchange for loans from international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which many poor countries rely on, many countries are forced to accept detrimental economic policies.
Mozambique was put under great pressure to stop supporting its sugar industry. If it had stopped, this would have opened the economy to sugar imports which may well have been cheaper than local production, often because rich countries who don't have to worry about being able to get loans subsidise their farmers or because of dumping of oversupply. In which case, the farmers in Mozambique would not have been able to sell their products and they would lose their livelihood. Imagine it -- you have been working hard for years to lift your family out of poverty, and then you are sent back to square one by farmers who are supported by their government, while your government is not allowed to support you. This is exactly what is happening in many situations around the world.
I am sure you think that this is unfair, and hopefully you would like to do something about it. So I have brought in some postcards to Alan Johnson, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The World Trade Organisation is having a critical meeting in Hong Kong next month, and so we want to ask Mr Johnson to stand up for what we want -- to allow developing countries to shape trade policies that are in the interests of their people and the environment. The more people ask him, the more likely he is to do it.
The postcards are over there at the back. Please sign one before you leave, and please also think about whether you would like to do more. There is a sign-up list for further information. If you need a further incentive, I have brought some chocolate.
[Everyone who signed up to receive further information received the following message: "To sign up to receive Take Action (in which case you will be sent postcard appeals, similar to the one to Alan Johnson, about five times a year), or e-mail appeals, or (preferably) both, go to Christian Aid's Take Action web site and tick the first two boxes."]
See the archive for December 2006 for explanation.
The Nativity (accompanied by Lord of the Starfields by Bruce Cockburn, and the trailer for the film The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe)
In the story of Narnia, Jesus is depicted as a lion
A strong, majestic, victorious king
Who sends his subjects into war
Who defeats death through his sacrifice
Who keeps his distance
A wild lion, to be feared and respected
To loved and obeyed.
But Christmas is not a time for lions
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus
The creator of the universe, left the security of his father’s side and entered our world as one of us
The lord of the starfields became flesh and grew inside his mother’s womb, was born and cried and slept and fed.
The Ancient of Days became tiny, vulnerable, dependent child.
And in the still darkness of that first Christmas night
As the silent earth draws breath
We creep inside the stable,
And sit with Mary and Joseph
To wonder and to worship.
The Shepherd’s Prayer
by Andrew Sillis
Oh God this is boring - sitting in the damp
staring at these lousy sheep
I think I’m getting cramp.
Oh could there be another way?
Could life be full and fun?
Could there be riches beyond the heavens
When all is said and done?
Oh God this is boring - the sheep are going “baa” again
like when preachers make you want to snore
until their last “amen”.
Oh could there be another way,
where truth is light and airy?
and get away from all those folks
whose truth is simply lairy?
Oh God this is boring - like riding on the tube
all those sheepy faces staring
kinda blank, but in a mood.
Oh could there be another way,
for us to share this journey,
with loving smiles and open hearts
life would be much less scary.
Oh God this is boring - yet more daily grind
satisfying the pedantry of others
won’t they ever open their minds.
Oh could there be another way
much more natural and simple
without crossing every “t”
and spotting every pimple.
Oh God this is boring - why don’t you just come down
with a flight of heavenly angels
just come, and take your crown!
Oh!
Inspired by The Monastery – best reality TV of 2005 – intrigued by way in which this ancient tradition impacted on the 5 men who entered the monastery. Fits in with a desire of Grace to look at existing and past traditions and think about how they might become refresh our own lives. Good from time to time to ask other people to come and talk to us about the things they are passionate about to widen our horizons. This service is lead by John Chapman of St Hughes Northolt.
Readings
Kathleen Norris, US poet lives in South Dakota – raised a ‘thorough Protestant’ as she described herself but
Cloister Walk reading – from first chapter ‘The Rule and Me’.
Video Tape Clip from “The Monastery”
The Benedictine Way: a way of true listening, humility and order:
We are a school of the Lord's service, in which we hope to introduce nothing harsh or burdensome. …. But as we advance in the religious life and faith, we shall run the way of God's commandments with expanded hearts and unspeakable sweetness of love; so that never departing from His guidance and persevering in … His doctrine till death, we may by patience share in the sufferings of Christ, and be found worthy to be coheirs with Him of His kingdom.
Some Benedictine key words: (power point “Key Words” - overlay on background images)
Humility, Listening, Obedience, Order, Patience, Rhythm, Rule, Scripture
The Ladder of Humility (Power Point “Ladder of Humility” overlay on background images)
1. Fear the God who sees all
2. Desire only the Father's will
3. Submit as unto the Lord
4. Embrace difficulties as for Christ
5. Confess all sin, conceal none
6. Be content with the lowest task
7. Choose humble attitudes not just words
8. Follow the common rule;
9. Control the tongue, learn silence
10. Beware of careless laughter
11. Speak gently at all times, be meek
12. Show humility in one's bearing
We considered the Benedictine vows of:
Obedience, Openness to God & others, Humility, Hospitality, Limitless Listening
Stability, Fidelity, Chastity, Celibacy, Reckless Love
Conversion of Life, Continual Conversion, Poverty, Simplicity, Generous Justice
We considered Lectio Divina in the monastic Tradition
Lectio (Read)
Rumination (Chew)
Meditatio (Christ)
contemplatio (myself)
oratio (pray)
action (action)
We closed the service with Eucharist
Additional reading material suggested by John Chapman.
taking the theme of discipline we explored four areas -
discipline of time (organising the rhythm of life)
discipline of idleness (ensuring we create time for being lazy, rest, play)
discipline of practice (lots of areas of life require practice - e.g. sport - in what ways can we develop practice to mature our faith)
discipline of community (what do we do together as grace to support faith)
once we had expored these four areas and collected a different coloured clothes peg at each we collected a piece of washing line and put them on and joined them together in a circle with the following piece of liturgy written by steve...
We hang our lives upon your mercy
here's how the whole service works:
General setup:
video - usual two screens
jonny's laptop for words with one projector
steve has adam's projectors and cables
music - jonny
4 tables, on floor with folded legs - tablecloths probably required
fatboys around each table
cafe [email round for volunteers]
steve's list:
bell or sounder
psalm
bcp prayer/confession
coloured pegs and lines - mark as time/practice/idleness/community
concluding prayer
how the service works:
people come in and sit round the tables
each table has a theme as below, with a facilitator. there will be objects, questionnaires etc for discussion.
at intervals a bell will ring [or some other sound] and everyone has to move on, taking a coloured clothes peg from the table [different colour for each table]
intro [steve]
psalm 1
blessed is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stood in the way of sinners:
and hath not sat in the seat of the scornful.
but his delight is in the law of the Lord:
and in his law will he exercise himself day and night.
and he shall be like a tree planted by the water-side:
that will bring forth his fruit in due season.
his leaf also shall not wither:
and look, whatsoever he doeth, it shall prosper.
as for the ungodly, it is not so with them:
but they are like the chaff, which the wind scattereth away from the face of the earth.
therefore the ungodly shall not be able to stand in the judgement:
neither the sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
but the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous:
and the way of the ungodly shall perish.
glory be to the father, and to the son, and to the holy spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be:
world without end,
amen
dearly beloved brethren,
the scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; and that we should not dissemble nor cloak them before the face of almighty god our heavenly father; but confess then with a humble, lowly, penitent and obedient heart; to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same, by his infinite goodness and mercy.
and although we ought at all times humbly to acknowledge our sins before god; yet ought we we most chiefly so to do, when we assemble and meet together to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at his hands, to set forth his his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy word, and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul.
wherefore i pray and beseech you, as many as are here present, to accompany me with a pure heart and humble voice unto the throne of the heavenly grace, saying after me:
almighty and most merciful father,
we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep,
we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts,
we have offended against thy holy laws,
we have left undone those things which we ought to have done,
and we have done those things which we ought not to have done,
and there is no health in us:
but thou, o Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offenders;
spare thou them, o god, which confess their faults,
restore thou them that are penitent,
according to thy promises declared unto mankind in christ jesu our Lord:
and grant, o most merciful father, for his sake,
that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous and sober life,
to the glory of thy holy name.
amen
the tables:
1. discipline of time: [sue]
questions:
what do you make time for?
what does this tell us about values/what we put first?
fill in timetable daily/weekly/yearly
objects eg alarm clock, organiser
2. discipline of practice [richard]
practice makes perfect - doing things to achieve skill, fluency, or in readiness for use
eg martial arts, music, ballet, sports
hebrews 12 1-11 as bible reading
body/mind/spirit connections - the physical as spiritual activity, and vice versa
are we obsessed by results? how do we measure?
another view of spiritual disciplines is as following in the way of christ's passion - rehearsing the ancient ways so that they become part of us
rather than doing spiritual routines to 'make us better'
objects: things that need practice eg games
3. discipline of idleness [mark]
knowing how to rest
the idea of sabbath
renewal, play
stillness, attentiveness leading to awareness - of god?
objects: lazy area? things invoking play, contemplation [zen garden!] or relaxation
4. discipline of community: [jonny]
what helps us to live together?
what is grace's rule?
questions:
what does grace do that helps you in your journey with christ?
what's missing from what grace does?
grace has identified an ethos - what is the framework that supports us in living it?
objects: ??
then ask facilitators to report back
concluding ritual for all together: [steve]
prayer about taking responsibility for our lives
this is a process not finished
hand out lengths of washing line for people to put their pegs on, hang any bits of paper they have kept
[we say together]
We hang our lives upon your mercy
measured out in miles
your boundaries and pathways,
coordinates and charts
that guide our steps
along roads you travelled before us
We will make time for you and your word
We will practice your ways until they are part of us
We will rest and play in you
We will be your people
[hold the end of the line of the person next to you]
We are not complete without one another
We cannot run the race alone
We will support one another
encourage one another
wait for the weak
pick up the fallen
through your strength and love
When we are together we will remember what it is like to travel alone
When we are alone we will remember what it is like to travel together
Wherever we are we will remember God who always goes with us
Go with us now, Lord, this night and always
Amen
[end of service]
discipline of community group discussion:
what does grace do that helps you in your journey with christ?
what's missing from what grace does?
grace has identified an ethos - what is the framework that supports us in living it?
what would a grace rule/rhythm of life look like?
1. rule vs grid:
as metaphors:
a rule [linear] implies a specific sequence of events that you have to follow
a grid is a frame of reference, like on a map, within which one can move in any direction but which gives orientation
2. rule emerging out of ethos of community:
what is our particular gift/charism/unique selling point as the community of grace?
what rhythm/rule sustains that?
what sustains the grace ethos/values as a community?
how is the gift guarded?
if a community develops its own rule, there is a danger of missing out things that are hard
the purpose of disciplines are to get us in touch with the Passion of Christ
discipline helps us participate in the life of christ
so what does it mean to follow in the way of christ, for us?
what helps us to be disciples?
how do we disciple someone? do we do it as a community?
do we disciple by sharing our life with people?
how do we communicate the life of christ in that?
following a corporate rule gives you support
rule embodied in a pattern of 'shared consumption' - traditionally, everyone in the community using the same book/prayers/daily office, but what is our pattern of shared consumption?
3. testing your rule:
are we the best people to curate/review the structure we generate from ourselves?
who do we look to for the outside view?
tests to apply:
how does your new rule compare to previous rules and the life of christ itself [church tradition /the bible]
how does your rule bring someone from no faith to faith?
4. digging up disciplines from history:
there is a life progression of a discipline:
one person's ideal - many other people want it too - fashionable - convention - obligatory - oppressive - abandoned as meaningless
cf Mike Riddell's story of the teacher's cat
a discipline continues as an ideal after it has ceased to be helpful
are old disciplines helpful or just the accepted conventions of how to be spiritually disciplined?
how to reexamine them?
how appropriate are disciplines created for different societies [eg benedict] to our own circumstances?
5. discipline in postmodernity:
there is a suspicion of authority ingrained in us
rule-changing/deconstruction is our natural response faced with a rule
so what is a postmodern rule?
in a postmodern society what stock should we set by the failure to follow somebody else's rule?
how do you find the 'rule' that is authentic for you?
the first rule of grace is that there is no rule
always contradict yourself
to be able to break something down you have to know it from inside well [in alt w it's knowledge of church espec charis evo]
[it's typical of grace to pick up something on a quick reading [eg benedict] and run with it]
6. what are the seasons or rhythms of our lives/community?:
quartering the year - seasons of christian life
[the christian calendar is supposed to work like this]
if we reevaluate during summer holidays is that our new lent?
an alternative church year?
[interesting that grace has always produced strong stuff in lent - as opposed to say advent]
is a rule always the same or does it have seasons?
7. discipline as training for achievements [is it it's own reward?]
discipline turns you into something.
what do you want to turn into?
how far will you go?
discipline takes us from one place to another
is discipline like gardening - different natures, all need shaping within their own nature/environment
discipline to be appropriate - wrong one will damage
what is sustainable as a rule/discipline?
8. discipline of prayer as practising awareness of god, rather than repetition of words or lists
9. discipline of idleness
over-organised lives need times to not be 'disciplined'
we need a discipline of taking time out - the danger of a rule is it becomes another form of workload
is this why we fail to have disciplined spiritual lives? another form of busyness in a too-busy society?
balance in life - as individuals/community
10. for the service:
we need things in service that produce data:
eg questions:
what helps you to follow jesus?
what does grace do that helps
what's missing from what grace does?
[do on flip charts/post up]
what do people actually make time for?
what does this tell us about values/what we put first?
make an altar of self-help books - a monument to failure of discipline/good intentions
video - mark to run
music - mike presum. - jonny has idj?
cafe
this was the text that we sent round to publicise it that sums up the approach...
Part of the grace ethos is participation. The next grace puts this to the ultimate test...
Please bring a station with you on the theme of lent and/or a tune on an ipod or CD.
What is a station?
One of the sorts of service we do at grace involves walking around the worship space interacting with stations that have been set up in advance that contain something to cause you to reflect, pray, worship, think, or actively participate in a ritual. These might be as simple as lighting a candle, reading a story, writing a prayer, adding a stone to a pile, looking at a video loop, listening to a meditation, tasting some fruit or whatever. If you’ve never done this before even better – this could be the start of something...
What do I do?
The theme is lent. Lent is a season of preparation for Easter typically focused on discipleship and following Christ. Do anything that relates to that. If you want to work from a scripture passage then three ideas to spin off from might be a) Jesus' temptations in the wilderness (we have done many a lent service on the theme of desert) b) the return of the prodigal son c) Psalms. Create something that is self contained for people to visit – i.e. it has things that people can engage with without you having to be there to explain it. So if there are instructions print them out for people to read and then add what you like in the way of things to look at or read, activities, small rituals, food for thought etc.
When will it be set up?
Please arrive early to set your station up between 7 and 7:30pm. We will allocate you a space to set up. The earlier you are the more choice you will get.
What about the music?
We will have a CD player and ipod mixer. So if you have a tune (that relates to the lent theme in some way) bring it along and you can play it.
How will it actually work?
Grace will start at 8pm. Music that people bring will provide a soundscape while everyone walks round and interacts with the stations for as long as they like. Then when you’re done the café wil be open as normal. It’s that simple.
I’m not sure I can do anything up to standard
Please don’t be shy or think what you do won’t be good enough. It can be really simple. Just work with an idea. We value creativity, participation and risk so go for it.
I need help
If you want to bounce your idea of someone else or if you need some technical stuff (a TV or slide projector for example) then e-mail us
Do I need to let you know what I am doing in advance?
No. We quite like the element of surprise so do just turn up and set up your station.
Can I come if I haven’t got a station?
Of course everyone is welcome whether or not you have done a station. But if we all think that way it may be a very short grace!
some of the stations were:
the gate - lent blog description | pic
40 - si smith's wonderful slide set 40 - pic
give - animation on lent blog |