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
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
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 - tent with hanging cross and fairy lights and bits of cloth
and masking tape!!!!!!!!! (all will be revealed) - Steve
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
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
Afternoon picnic followed by eucharist
Ran at the Guildford Youth Diocesan event
Grace ran the St Paul's labyrinth at Greenbelt
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.
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?
[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 | pic
calm - pic
game - pic
searcher - mike's debut video sequence the searcher - pic
naz's picture - pic
fairtrade - pic
stones - lent blog entry | pic
how not to observe lent, using a story from Noel Streatfeild's autobiography (see below)
cards with pictures of items which may or may not be essential
(anyone remember any others?)
A meditation based on chapter 5 of "A Vicarage Family".
This is a story of three sisters in the year 1910, Isobel aged thirteen, Victoria aged twelve and Louise aged ten. Their vicar father has decided the Lent discipline they must follow -- no sweets or sweet food except on Sundays. He has permitted them to attend a birthday party during Lent because they are about to move house.
Victoria is in fact Noel Streatfeild, the author of the book.
Some questions to think about (if you don't have enough of your own):
Lent observance is a self-imposed discipline which is an end in itself -- unlike, for example, a slimming diet which has practical value. Unquestionably some people find this discipline valuable. But does it have the same value if it has been imposed by somebody else?
If you break your discipline, for whatever reason, what should the consequences be?
Is it better to make a stand, or to keep your discipline to yourself?
spiritual health was inspired by renovare. renovare was founded by richard foster who suggests that to be spiritually healthy you need a balance of six streams or traditions. we made a wheel with six spokes on the floor and had stations on each of the six streams followed by an examen. it was a debut for a parachute at grace - an example of balance...
Had titles for each station that have our word on the front and the renovare word on the back.
Each station will have stories from the life of Jesus; an object/image; a question/action. Stations:
contemplative
charismatic
social justice
incarnational/sacramental
holiness
evangelical
Service outline
Prayer/focus on God/song
Ambivalence about maturity
Parachute experience/game
To be mature is to be Christlike
Introduce stations
Stations
Introduce renovare
Uncover words on stations
Examen – individual reflection
Importance of community
Questions for future of grace
Closing prayer
paul hobbs installation holy ground ran from the thursday to saturday of holy week. a collection of shoes with stories from christians all round the world made for a simple and powerful piece. a highlight was the footwashing service on the thursday evening when people were invited to take off their shoes and add them to the installation with their own story.
jonny blogged about it with links to where you can get the catalogue from the exhibition or book it.
there are some pics in the gracelondon flickr group
when people arrived they were given a drink and stood chatting in the waiting area. then we all went through and sat down at tables. at each table were 9 numbered envelopes. every time a bell rings the table open an envelope and follows the instructions. the envelopes sort of followed the basic liturgical structure of the communion service. it worked brilliantly - we set people off and they were away - no leadership required... the envelopes went something like...
1. introduce yourselves, slips of paper with questions to ask each other
2. iconic candle making kit with a night light, strip of acetate with the last supper image on and two paper clips. give thanks for things that have happened this week.
3. text a confession on your mobile phone to the number prefacing it with the word confess (an absolution with the words you are forgiven is triggered by the keyword confess)- thanks to jason djang for the inspiration for this who had IM confession recently that he told us about, which i'll blog about separately when i get round to it.
4. read story of thomas - share stories of doubt and surprise
5. peace - toast glasses proposing a toast of affirmation to someone round the table
6. share what you are thankful for about jesus. share what you want to remember about jesus. use images of christ enclosed to spark discussion
7. share bread and wine round the table after listening to the prayer. a bottle of wine and bread were already in place on each table (duncan wandered around doing bill's prayer).
8. invite the group to share concerns for prayer - take one of the night lights and light it for each prayer
9. go and collect a plate of hot towels (the kind you get after a curry - we got some from a warehouse locally!) - say a blessing and use the towel
the texting confession was brilliant! the absolutions didn't come until later during the sharing of bread and wine - coincidence or divine intervention?!
the hot towels was another great idea...
i'm sure this will become a grace regular service. it could have as many takes as you like...
some photos are in the gracelondon flickr group
we mowed a labyrinth in the grass at the front of st marys with a focus on pentecost. in the centre we had some oil so that you could pray for the next person to arrive to be filled with the spirit of god by anointing them with oil. we gave some simple guidelines for walking. walking intenitonally and prayerfully takes a bit of getting used to. the first time you walk a labyrinth can be a bit weird. and it's good to make the most of the centre as a space for prayer/being still or whatever.
there are lots of photos in the gracelondon flickr group. mark has a lovely one from the top of the tower with people walking on it. jonny has created a set - one man went to mow
he has also blogged instructions on how to mow a grass labyrinth if you are interested.
this labyrinth was actually a trial run for a labyrinth we had been invited to help set up for the minet park festival with arocha in southall. this one proved harder to create (the grass was pretty scraggy) and was more complicated to mow as it was the chartres pattern. there are a couple of pics of that in the labyrinth set mentioned above.
At Greenbelt we built a shed worship installation and ran Communion by numbers - see May 06
This is the building of the Grace installation at Greenbelt; The creation of a "shed obscura". The idea was that inside the shed you could see a projection of the outside world but upside down.
Viewers were invited to sit in the shed and reflect on this upside down kingdom, and the way in which the Christian faith requires us to see things differently. Those who spent time in the shed were invited to write comments on the outside - most said it was an amazing experience.
the grace 2006 season got off to a fine start. a chilled service reflecting on summer gone and the year ahead.
1. chill - quiet down in god's presence - use the video image of the jar settling from the CD ROM with tune in chill out | sing this is the house of god from one of the late late service albums | play lovebleeps by laura b from the mini album midi a minuit which i got at the big chill this summer with the lyric 'i am calling to you' (could become a grace classic tune i think), and give space to call out to god for the new year... also light three candles to pray for the presence of the father, son and spirit. use the prayer we are hungry from alternative worship | sing heal me from another of the late late service albums (!)
2. examen - look back over the summer using an examen type thing - talk in twos and then reflect on your own on your consolations and desolations... these were the questions jen put together
Consolation – for what moment of this summer am I most grateful?
Desolation – for what moment of this summer am I least grateful?
When did I give and receive the most love?
When did I give and receive the least love?
When did I feel most alive?
When did I most feel life draining out of me?
When have I had the greatest sense of belonging to God?
When did I have the least sense of belonging?
What was this summer’s high point?
What was this summer’s low point?
For what moment of this summer am I most grateful?
For what moment of this summer am I least grateful?
played the tune before from panamerican's quiet city which was perfect with the line let those memories come.
3. looking forward part 1 - revisiting the grace ethos - create, particpate, engage and risk. mike had a wonderful meditation/reflection and piece of liturgy reworking the doors liturgy from the book Alternative Worship. This was the meditation...
About 18 months ago in Grace we started a process of exploring who we were, what we had achieved, where we were going. We summed up several weeks of reflection, thought and prayer into three words. We described the three words as our ethos.
• Create
• Participate
• Engage
And as we learned more about Jesus and our community we found that there were new possibilities in an old, a 10 year old, situation. And where we might previously have made an easy, obvious choice, following the rules of our tradition, we became aware of new options in old situations.
And we found that our new option had the word "truth" written all over it.
But the word "truth" is hard to take. The truth might be uncomfortable. The truth might mean changes we hadn’t anticipated which would shake us out of complacency. We added a fourth word to our ethos:
• Risk
And as we went on facing daily decisions we became aware that any given situation has a choice of doors to go through. The obvious, familiar one, and the new one you're vaguely aware of.
That second door is smaller and harder to find than the familiar big door of comfort and self-satisfaction.
The second door is not directly in front of us - it is in semi-darkness and may be covered in cobwebs until we turn around and find it.
But as we reach out for the second door we find that the word "truth" is suddenly a lot more attractive. We find that the decision to reach for the other door has somehow given us a sense of being "bigger".
If we go through that door, and take the hard option, we find that we were wrong about the fear of the small, restricting room of the truth ... we find the biggest surprise that our hearts can contain ... because on the other side of the small, dimly lit door is a wide open space. And that wide open space is freedom ... it is the Realm of God.
And once we've been through that door we get used to its feeling, and in more and more situations we begin to see the second, smaller door, and we realise that the big door that we're used to going through actually led to a small room ... a kind of prison.
But now that we're learning to find the small door. We are starting to know the price of putting our ethos centrally into the life of Grace.
As a way of re-committing ourselves to our ethos at this, our ‘start of year’ service, a series of responses:
Doors 3
4. looking forward part 2 - personal dreams put to flight - this idea was lifted from laura of sanctus1 who led worship on the emerging churches tour and got everyone writing dreams on paper and making origami birds. she kindly sent me the origami template afterwards. steve has posted his reflection that introduced it summer is over on his blog and in the liturgy section. this looked fabulous and we projected images of moving skies and so on behind it which was fun.
5. prayers and blessing - some simple prayers/blessing led by ben...
Sometimes we can have dreams and goals that were founded on grand ideas. But like the seed on rocky soil, they sprout up quickly and then wither; it seems right for them to die
- And then there are those that are those dreams, visions, aspirations, that are planted so deeply in us that they can feel like part of God's dreams for us.
No matter how low the flame is burning, no matter how little the shoot has sprouted since the seed first took root in our being, our heart still sings out somewhere when we bring it back to mind.
These are the dreams that we want to take flight. To re-engage with the great migration.
Dear God
Just as you don't break a bruised reed or snuff out a smouldering wick, graciously let our plans and dreams take flight.
- Give us a sense of how we can coax it back to life
- Incubate it
- Let us see a next step & the manageable close at hand & And the glorious dream maybe far off.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ
Amen
running order
1. People come in to see the visual - a soap box and microphone projected + CD of speeches for atmosphere.
2. Intro the theme
3. Set the soap box idea up - People given a number to make their great speech. Tickets will have a time on. 8.15,
(possibly making provision for people to prepare before giving their speech)
4. Explore a range of ideas in three groups
A) still small voice
B) those with a voice those without a voice
C) speaking beyond words
7. Some all together feedback
Speaking out when you can't be heard
Verbalising out loud - what's it like?
8. reading and liturgy from Ezekiel
9. brandy snaps ritual (never actually happened)
10. Thanks and goodnight
Intro words
In the beginning God said... and there was - language makes the world
The heavens declare the glory of God... day after day they pour forth speech... there is no language where their speech is not heard - the world speaks
In the beginning was the word - Jesus God's great speech?
If I speak in the tongues of men and angels but have no love then I am only a resounding gong - empty words
May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable in your sight - appropriate words
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt that you may know how you ought to answer one another - words of grace
A gentle tongue can break a bone - powerful words
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones - healing words
The tongue is a fire a world of evil amongst the body - poisonous words
A time to keep silence and a time to speak...
Welcome to Grace. You've probably guessed that tonight's theme is speaking. This is the first in a series of three service on speaking, listening and seeing (Because we want to use the stained glass the seeing one won't be until the summer).
As we have talked around notions of speech, words, speaking, comunicating we have realised it's a big subject. There are also lots of scriptures about it, a few we've touched on here. At the next Gracelet we'll particularly look at some proverbs that touch on speech. But for tonight we have narrowed down somewhat to speaking out...
The track we have just listened to is called Libations by Ursula Rucker. You probably haven't heard of half the people she cites but what we liked about it is that it just lists and lists people who have spoken out for liberation whether in literature, art, sculpture, music, preaching or whatever form. Not all the people listed are Christian but as Christians we have a pretty good heritage in this regard whether we think of the prophets, MLK, Wilberforce, Shaftesbury, Jesus or whoever... We stand in a long line of speaking out with the question hanging over us - what do we want to speak out about?
It may be a bit cheesy but we have got a room with a soapbox in. And we'd like to invite you or as many are brave enough to make your great speech for one minute or so. Before you get worried we are not going to pump the sound out so it will be just you. We'll be able to see you on the screen but not hear you. You'll have a few minutes to think but you could speak out about injustice in Uganda, the environment, Jesus and what he calls us to, generosity, the church, the poor, racism... Why? Well it seemed a good idea when we were planning. We'll talk about it later in the service but we think there's something scary about speaking/voicing something out loud, but there's also something good about it.
The way it will work is that we have a series of tickets (much like the supermarket deli counter) with times on. Go to make your speech so that you are at the door at your time. You have about a minute which isn't long. I'll knock on the door when your time is up if you go on too long! Not everyone has to do this - we don't want to tip anyone over the edge. But equally it will be a shame if no-one speaks...
(hand out tickets)
feedback questions
We thought it might be worth reflecting on your great speeches...
Turn to a neighbour and tell them what you spoke about (or would have).
(Altogether)
How did it feel to verbalise out loud?
How did it feel to be speaking and not be heard?
We set up a cheesy soapbox - I doubt any of us want to get on a soapbox... Turn to your neighbour again and think what ways might we be able to speak out?
The service began with a sound montage – sounds of traffic and people in conversation gradually became more intrusive and more complex, with voices of politicians and rap bands interwoven. Instead of the normal peaceful start to the service, this noise intruded and made us feel uncomfortable. It was noise to get away from, the unpleasant clamour of a busy and complex world. It grew to a crescendo and then abruptly stopped. And the silence was very sweet afterwards.
Welcome, opening prayer, songs of worship
Soundscape – six CD players around the room played sounds simultaneously – a car alarm, radio 4 news bulletin, ‘Jesus’ blood never failed me yet’, a baby crying, the sound of the sea, and the voice of a needy person who wanted to be listened to. We were invited to walk through the intersecting sound zones and to reflect on the experience. Which was easiest to listen to? Which sound did you want to escape? Where was God? Which needed to be attended to?
Reflection on the soundscape
News Bulletin "Meanwhile, several thousand miles away"
There's something strangely soothing about the news sometimes. Strange, when you think what awful things we hear about hour after hour. Can we ever hear God speaking in the litany of what Nick Cave calls "routine atrocities"? Are we driven to prayer, or lulled back to sleep?
Baby "I want to have some of your attention, give it to me"
Some things have been designed to grab our attention, not always in a pleasant way.
Alarms "Warning! Go back to sleep! Now!"
Something else designed to grab our attention in the middle of the night. But who pays the blindest bit of attention to a car alarm. There's a place for the urgent a case for too much urgency...
The Sea "Peace at last"
Calming... meditative. Do you feel closer to God when sat by the gentle ebb and flow? We often think of being closer to nature as being closer to God. But was Jesus closer to his father on a mountain top, or in a sea of human need and hunger?
Phone Conversation "Don't go ... not yet"
It may be heavier going than the sounds of nature; so many people with so many needs. But, to risk a little paraphrase; "whenever you listened to the least one of these, my children, you listened to me".
Music "Soothing? Moving?"
The sound of a tramp recorded near Waterloo and set to music. He was destitute but still able to sing "Jesus' blood never failed me yet". Sometimes music can point us to God with very specific declarations of faith and devotion. And, sometimes, perhaps God can slip under the radar with a rather less obvious message.
How good are we at listening to other people? A reading
Discussion
In groups of three and four we discussed a couple of questions:
• What does it feel like to be really listened to?
• How can we listen to each other better?
But the discussion had constraints. Each person took three tokens. Every time they spoke they put down one of the tokens, and when the tokens were gone they were not allowed to speak any more. We then discussed this method of discussing! Did you think more about what you were going to say when you knew that your opportunities to speak were precious? Did you listen more carefully? Did it affect the way you contributed to the conversation? How did you feel to have tokens in your hand when other people had used theirs?
Opportunities to think some more about listening to God and listening to self
We were invited to walk around the church and interact with four stations. If people wanted to continue to be silent and still, they could go into the sound-proofed crèche room at the back of the church which was lit with candles.
The stations:
• Obstacles to listening – what stops us listening to God and to ourselves? Take a block from the Jenga tower and write on it what stops you listening to God. Add it to the top of the tower, and come and collect it later
• Where do you hear God? Write or draw on a large piece of paper the places where you find it easier to hear God
• Ignatian spirituality – God speaks to us through our deepest yearnings and longings. Put your fingers on the pulse in your wrist. As you ‘listen’ to your heartbeat, listen to your heart and ask yourself the examen questions – for wat moment today am I most grateful? For what moment today am I least grateful?
• God listens to us – read about people in the Bible that God listened to - Anna, Hannah, David, Bartimaeus
A commitment to listen
We were invited to anoint our earlobes with scented oil as a commitment to listen more intentionally – to the world, to ourselves, to God or to others
The service ended with a prayer
Nine readings... nine tunes... nine surprises...
"Nine" is the Grace version of the traditional nine lessons and carols. The nine lessons are there, but they are allocated to nine volunteers (or groups of volunteers), each with the task of producing their own reflection or interpretation, including music. In keeping with Advent, expect the unexpected.
The readings are:
Lesson 1: The creation
Genesis 1, vv 1-5, 26-8, 31
Lesson 2: The fall
Genesis 3, vv 8-15, 17-19
Lesson 3: The people who walked in darkness...
Isaiah 9, vv 2, 6, 7
Lesson 4: Isaiah's vision of the kingdom
Isaiah 11, vv 1-3a, 4a, 6-9
Lesson 5: The Annunciation
Luke 1, vv 26-35, 38
Lesson 6: The Nativity
Luke 2, vv 1, 3-7
Lesson 7: The shepherds
Luke 2, vv 8-16
Lesson 8: The Magi
Matthew 2, vv 1-12
Lesson 9: The Word
John 1, vv 1-14
__________________
Bidding Prayer adapted from Christian Aid
This Christmas may it be our care and our delight to hear the story once again, from the first light of creation to the coming of the new light in Jesus. And as we celebrate his coming with words and music, we rejoice in his unending love for all and in the promise of his kingdom of justice.
And we recognise that it is our calling to make that kingdom a reality; and we pray that like Jesus we may be ready to greet the outsider, uphold the rights of everyone who suffers injustice, and seek to change the world through prayer and action.
God our Father and our Mother, we offer you our praise and worship that it may be pleasing to you. And we offer you our lives that you may use them to fulfil your purpose. In the name of your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The People Walking in Darkness (full version with pictures can be found here)
We’re like the kid who puts her hand up to answer a question in the old Sunday School gag. She says, “I know the answer must be Jesus, but it does sound like a squirrel.”
We hear the words light and child and instantly imagine baby Jesus laying in a manger. The reading comes round every Christmas tucked between carols, and we skip over three verses in the middle of the prophecy that don’t sound so Jesusy. We can hardly imagine the wonder and longing felt by the people that first heard Isaiah’s prophecy. We know what this light is like; we’ve got it wrapped up; tighter than any present.
The people walking in darkness…
What do us city dwellers know about darkness? To us, darkness is yellow. It’s the colour of sodium street lights. It drains the world of colour but not of detail.
What would it be like to see… nothing?
To feel isolated and alone?
To live under the control of empires and powers too strong to oppose?
To long for change, but fear to hope that change is possible?
To lose confidence that God has any power to alter the world?
But darkness is also a place of concealment.
A place where we can mask our true selves.
A place to hide the things we don’t like about us.
Perhaps we know darkness after all.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light…
Ah yes, the light. We know about that! The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes. But little lord Jesus no crying he makes. But this baby is also the light of the world. The harsh light of day, penetrator of dark corners, revealer of blind spots who tramples on rose-tinted glasses and heals jaundiced eyes.
This is the light that will not be tamed, controlled or confined. We coo and cluck over the baby in the manger, and attempt to cut God down to size, and make him in our image. For what could be dangerous about a tiny child? Yet the coming light will overturn empires, rule with justice and righteousness, see into the heart of us and save the world. God was born as a boy and made his dwelling among us. That doesn’t mean that because we know babies, we know all there is to know about God.
So watch and prepare for the coming of the light. Greet the coming with joy, and also fear.
Watch and wait. Expect to be surprised. But not comfortable.
Watch and wait.
The Annunciation
Holy is His Name by John Michael Talbot, illustrated with pictures including the following:
An Anachronistic Nativity by Paul Leach
The small hours come and bring with them the sun,
but the darkness is reluctant to give way to anyone.
But night, in itself being an absence of light,
concludes its inherent inferior might,
and concedes that for now, the sun might just be right,
and grudgingly opts to relinquish the fight.
And the sun having won, becomes conscious of time,
so begins to make good on his new chance to shine.
So Joseph wakes up, turns on News 24,
yawns and walks to the mat just inside the front door,
picks up the mail he expected to see,
but decides that his first job is going to be a cup of tea.
Flicks the switch on the kettle, goes to sit on the chair,
that he recently made between trips to Mothercare.
He opens a statement from Lloyds TSB,
casts it aside and reads the one from BT
and just as he ponders why they're serving Nazareth,
the kettle makes clear that it feels that it's had enough
time to boil. So Joseph makes tea.
But his attention is turned to the voice from the TV.
See the strangest thing about a really strange day
is that strange days and normal days begin the same way.
So he turns and considers what this voice has to say,
and how even the most well-woven plans will fray.
Joseph zones out as his brain does the sums,
and although his mind's flailing his face just looks numb.
And Joseph just stands there as minutes stack up,
till the BBC's best fanfare wakes him back up.
Music on the news hits somewhere deep in Joseph's heart
‘cos the news they've just reported has .. blown his world apart.
And whilst the monotone of read news can be something of an opiate,
the epic intermission tunes seems hugely more appropriate.
He walks back to the mail which he left down by the chair
and sees the last unopened letter which he left lying there.
He picks it up although he knows already what it reads,
Opens and reads it and confirms that ... yes indeed ...
He's going to need to go home.
But that's not it. ‘Cos this isn't a journey he'll be making alone.
I think I may have mentioned that he's been going to Mothercare.
And there's only really one reason why a man his age goes there.
See, Joseph has a girlfriend, who's all set to be his wife,
but she currently playing host to a secondary life.
And this half-life is aspiring to be a full life of its own,
for about the same time as Joseph needs to be back home.
Watch the dark clouds bruising
Bellies flushed with water
They swell above your heads
So now we move the sun a few degrees through the sky
just to signify that some hours have gone by.
We rejoin our protagonists just as they've finished packing
and as we step back in, we see brave faces close to cracking,
hid behind facades and charades is the hard realisation
that their will to see this through is lacking.
Pull your coats around you
Feel the wind cut through them
Scraping at your bones
But still the door closes.
And Joseph thinks he knows if those who chose this could be shown his
situation the decision would be reached then to postpone it.
But knows that just for them to see might not inspire empathy
and is actually unlikely to lead to change of policy. And anyway,
he realises his head is in the clouds
and if they're going to get to Bethlehem he needs to hold it down.
Searching their effects for a map he recollects a time when
Mary map-read and what should have taken two days took ten.
He's not falling for the "Leave the map reading to me" gambit again.
Upon successful procurement of a map, they start their quest,
and we'll fast forward this bit and move the sun yet further to the west,
to a time where crepuscular light
soaks the dusty trail they're on, heralding the night.
Their elongated shadows stretch across the panorama
It's time for moratorium.
Joseph puts his arm around Mary;
He holds her, and she holds him.
Their love seems to burn stronger
when everything else looks so grim.
He looks deep into the eyes of the girl who'll be his wife
and says "There's no-one in the world
I’d rather spend the worst day of my life with than you."
She smiles, and rests her weary head on his shoulder,
and Joseph relaxes, content for now to hold her.
Hold her in the falling rain
Hold him like you’ve never done
Let this be a moment
That you won’t forget
That you won’t forget
That you won’t forget
All your life
‘til you die
So once again the sun peeped his head round the world,
just to be present as the story unfurled,
to examine what went down since he did last night,
and to paint this morning's skyline with vivid orange light,
which found the weary couple, sooner than they'd like,
and announced that it was time to resume their hike.
But Joseph knew today would be much like yesterday
so rolled on to his side and asked the sun to go away.
But the sun is persistent so continues his ascent
and ignores Joseph’s ongoing pleas to relent
eventually accepting the inevitable fate,
Joseph takes the bait, sits up straight and berates
the sun for interrupting his rest.
Unjust altercations seem endemic to the stressed.
As rationality resumes it rightful place in
Joseph’s mind, he recognises that they need to make haste
‘cos they're behind.
They get up and they set off much the same as before;
instead of leaving a house though, they're leaving a floor,
and beckoned now by the trail they know they have to go
they let the wind fill their sails but the wind is moving slow.
Do you know what I mean though, where drive is hard to come by?
Destination - current position yields a value much too high?
Well I guess that's how they felt as they set off today,
and the early morning sunlight sees them on their way.
The late afternoon sun however, sees them arrive
filled with elation and glad to be alive.
They go into the first inn they come to in town
and it's true that what goes up must come down,
‘cos they walk away despondently, the last room's just gone.
They thought they'd get a cup of tea, but they've got to carry on,
so they walk on down the road and go to inn number 2,
admittedly a budget affair, but it'll do.
Problem is that this one is jammed full as well
but the bloke behind the counter is happy to tell them
of another one, just down the road,
so off they go again, carrying their load.
As they approach the final inn, the sun departs to see
how Canada’s been getting on and leaves Bethlehem be
And the moon enlisted by the sun shares his light
helping people not to bump into things in the night.
They knock on the door to which they've pinned all their hope
and are greeted by a bloke who wants to throw them a rope
but says he can't. He's got no more rooms,
but wants to help them out on account of Mary’s womb.
He wishes he had something to offer, he says,
and if there's a cancellation in the next couple of days ...
Mary looks at Joseph like he'll know what to do,
and he sort of does: he hugs her, and tells her they'll make it through.
Though he doesn't know that, ‘cos don't forget,
he hadn't read Luke, ‘cos it wasn't written yet.
Mary lets some tears fall now on Joseph’s shoulder,
and Joseph's mind is whirring; he can feel it getting colder.
He despairs and he stares, relied upon, but lost
and he's scared, stood there, too aware of the cost.
Statued close together
A precious, tender moment
A solemn, sombre time
And just as they turn their backs and walk away,
the door opens behind them, this man has something else to say
his face, no longer downcast says "You can't stay right here,
but if you're open to suggestion, I’ve got an idea ..."
Joseph will take anything he says and if he's able
to offer something to them lay it down on the table.
The man says his livestock would be happy to share
the stable round the back if they'd like to sleep there.
Joseph wastes no time and ecstatically accepts;
Mary smiles and wipes away evidence that she wept.
The smell in the stable can't assuage their relief
they get brought a cup of tea, to revisit our motif.
The decor's hardly Hilton, but it's everything they need,
if they steer clear of the wet bit where the cow just weed.
And if their son should come, for want of a cot
they can use the manger, ‘cos that's all that they've got.
Joseph says "I need to know the cow's name if I stay..."
The inkeeper smiled. "His name is Gyp I say"
"Stupid name for a cow" said Joe and sat in something sticky
"Stupid name for a dog, but it didn't bother Vicki"
So once again the two of them embark upon sleep,
both convinced that nothing's going to keep
them awake tonight.
But nothing's ever black and white.
‘cos in the moonlight
Mary senses something's not right.
Wakes Joseph up by squeezing him tight
tells him what's happening, its the fright of his life.
It's the night when his wife to be
gives the right to the life to be
and though this scene is a sight to see
this son is the light they need.
So the small hours come and bring with them the son,
And the darkness will leave, ‘cos the light will have won.
guests mark berry and jem from telford led the service. a great way to kick off and look forward to the challenges of a new year.
jonny interviewed mark about what he is up to in telford (will link to mark's report for the last year when he puts it online). and then mark and jem led us in a reflective worship time on the theme set sail.
candles formed the outline of a boat in the centre of the space and then a line of sand ran across the front of the space with the words set sail and brendan's cross on the floor.
taking inspiration from st brendan who knelt on the beach before setting sail in his small leather boat and trusting the wind of god's spirit to blow him where the spirit willed, it was a challenge to set sail in mission leaving the comforts of known securities and trust ourselves afresh to god. it included a ritual of making a mark in the sand before setting sail.
set sail worship trick has links
prayer attributed to sir francis drake
We repeated a version of our Road to Emmaus Communion by Numbers service at Greenbelt.
We decided early on that we wanted to do something out in the middle of the festival, bringing worship to a place where festival goers would pass by as the service unfolded. We secured a slot in the arena on a Saturday afternoon, and set about transposing Communion by Numbers from a cafe vibe to a summer afternoon picnic on the grass. We achieved this with windmills, a deckchair, and a scorchingly hot afternoon. Substantial use of the big screen replaced some of the envelopes.
The attached files include the contents of the envelopes we distributed, and the full text of the service, with notes.
The carbon calculator used at the service can be found here.
The service ended with the following confession and non-absolution:
For failing to think of the harm done to air, water, land, plants, and animals,
Lord have mercy.
For failing to conserve energy, Lord have mercy.
For allowing ourselves to be saturated by the allurements of a consuming culture, Lord have mercy.
For not being thankful for the gifts God has given, Lord have mercy.
God is faithful and just and forgives everyone who turns to him and repents.
But our sins are against our world as well as God. The world cannot forgive, because it has no voice. All we can do is to amend our ways so that we stop damaging it. We end this service not with a blessing, but with a charge to be a blessing to the world that God has given us as a gift.
This article started out as a review of the book Heat by George Monbiot about the reality of climate change and how to address it, but it has since evolved into more than simply a review -- I have added some elaborations of my own. Monbiot draws an analogy between the use by humans of fossil fuel, allowing us to live in an amazing way until the environment is ruined, and the pact made by Dr Faustus whereby, in return for a few years of power, his soul is consigned to hell.
This raises the question: what sort of person would sell their soul? I can think of two obvious examples.
Firstly, somebody who did not believe there was such a thing as hell. An analogy can be drawn with people who deny the existence of climate change. Although they are a dying breed now, there are a few such people, who will always point out the evidence that seems to suggest climate change is not a reality (you can always find some if you look hard enough, in the same way that if you look hard enough you can use the Bible to justify racism. The world would be a better place if nobody did either of these things). We can't be certain what will happen, but the probability that climate change will destroy the environment is high -- and who would gamble their own and their children's life and future on short odds?
And secondly, somebody who was convinced they would go to hell no matter what they did. The analogy here is with people who think they can do nothing about climate change. This belief is far more common, and perhaps reasonably so; according to Monbiot, and also other writers such as Mark Lynas, the average cut in carbon emissions required for people living in the UK is 90%. (To get an indication of how much you need to cut your carbon, click here. This calculator isn't perfect but it is one of the best I have seen).
But Monbiot believes that 90% cuts can be achieved, and sets out a plan for doing so. The use of carbon must be allocated fairly, by means of a rationing system. As a result, excessively carbon-intensive processes such as bringing fruit from the other side of the world (as Faustus does) would be priced out of the market.
And to allow us realistically to live within our ration limits, various changes are required. In summary:
- Build new homes and convert existing homes to "passivhaus" standards, meaning that they require no active heating or cooling systems. This requires improved building regulations. Also replace Portland cement with artificial geopolymeric cement (Monbiot accepts that cement is not a very interesting subject).
- Produce half of grid-based electricity from gas-burning power stations, with capture and storage of carbon dioxide produced, and the other half from offshore wind and wave machines.
- Redesign coach travel to make it the most effective way of transporting people. Move freight to the railways. Run road vehicles off batteries, which can be switched and recharged at "filling stations".
- Replace shopping in large stores with virtual shopping, i.e. home delivery.
- Aviation. Monbiot has no solution -- his message is "you can't". I suggest one of my own: limit the number of flights to a sustainable level (perhaps one-twentieth of the current level), and allocate them according to the benefit they will bring. This will enable international skill-sharing through organisations such as VSO to continue.
What is needed to bring about this absolution from hell? As Monbiot argues, the technology exists; what is lacking is human and political will.
So now it is time to take action. There are many things you can do -- but start by writing to your MP to ask them to support a Climate Change Bill with targets strong enough to prevent global average temperatures from rising to more than 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels, this being a critical threshold. A particular requirement is for the Climate Change Bill to cover aviation and shipping. You need to be quick -- the consultation deadline is the 12th of June. See the DEFRA web site for more information.
If you are short of time, Friends of the Earth has a proforma message you can use here. But individual letters are usually more effective.
I will return to Dr Faustus for the final word. He is given numerous opportunities to repent, even after he has signed his pact with the devil. This is how near he gets:
Re-enter GOOD ANGEL and EVIL ANGEL.
Evil Angel. Too late.
Good Angel. Never too late, if Faustus can repent.
Evil Angel. If thou repent, devils shall tear thee in pieces.
Good Angel. Repent, and they shall never raze thy skin. [Exeunt ANGELS.]
Faustus. Ah, Christ, my Saviour,
Seek to save distressed Faustus’ soul.
So what happens after that? The devil appears and distracts him, and he does not repent.
Don't let yourself be distracted.
grace on saturday 10 feb at 8pm
The appreciation of visible beauty is a necessary, though transitory path towards the appreciation of absolute beauty, which is apprehended only by the soul. John of Damscus
A chance to learn something of the history of Iconography, to see how an Icon is created, to practise drawing in the Byzantine tradition and to use Icons for prayerful meditation with iconographer, Suzanna Rust.
grace this month is a 'bring your own station of the resurrection' service. 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?
Please bring a station with you on the theme of one (or more) of the resurrection appearances from the list below and/or a tune on an ipod or CD.
1. The Earthquake Matthew 28.2-4
2. Mary Magdalene finds the empty tomb John 20.1,2
3. The disciples run to the empty tomb John 20.3-8
4. The angel appears to the women Matthew 28.5-8 or Mark 16.3-8 or Luke 24.2-9
5. Jesus meets the women Matthew 28. 9,10
6. The road to Emmaus Luke 24.28-35
7. Jesus appears to the disciples Luke 24.36-42 or John 20.19,20
8. Jesus promises the Spirit Luke 24.44-49
9. Jesus commissions the disciples John 20.21-23
10. Jesus breathes the Spirit in the upper room John 20. 22.23
11. Jesus reveals himself to Thomas John 20.24-29
12. Jesus appears at the lakeside John 21. 9-13
13. Jesus confronts Peter John 21.15-19
14. Jesus and the beloved disciple John 21. 20-23
15. Jesus appears to the five hundred 1 Cor. 15.3-6
16. Jesus commissions the disciples Matthew 28: 16-20
17. The ascension Acts 1.3-11
18. Pentecost Acts 2.1-11
19. Jesus appears to Saul (Paul) Acts 9.1-18 or 1 Corinthians 15.8
for more information, 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 mike on mike.rose@btinternet.com.
the stations were:
[please add a description of your station if you did one]
ice candle with the cheryl lawrie's easter liturgy printed out and these words beneath inviting prayer -
Watch the ice melt...
Think of a situation that could do with some resurrection
Pray for the resurrection to come
phone book with 500 names circled and a letter of invitation from thomas in times of doubt to ring any of them up if you needed reassurance on the reality of the resurrection of jesus.
a computer slide sequence (QT video) of the easter art of he qi
Jesus appears to Saul (Paul)/ Road to Damascus A station based on an Examen. Starting with a challenge as to how we hurt Jesus, bright lights triggered as you approach a sign "Saul, Saul, Why do you persecute me?"
An installation inspired by This Joyful Eastertide:
Had Christ, that once was slain,
Ne'er burst his three-day prison,
Our faith had been in vain:
But now hath Christ arisen!
Jesus broke free from death to enable all people to break free from what imprisons them.
What imprisons people today? What can you do to free them?
And what imprisons you? What can you do to break free?
The installation used articles from Amnesty International on Guantánamo Bay and forced child labour, and human trafficking.
photos:
damascus road | art of looking up | alleluia
For the past four years, Grace has created a lent blog. A different person each day posts a thought, a reflection, an image, a reading - anything to allow us to pause and connect with the season.
This year's blog will run from 21st February to 8th April.
We welcome contributions from anyone who has been to Grace - the more people the better. If you would like to contribute, please email Jen on jenbaker[at]btopenworld[dot]com. Let me know if there are any dates you would like to do, or would like to avoid.
This guide will hopefully explain how you can post on the Grace lent blog for 2007.
To post on the website you will need to create an account. Click here to go to the registration page. Enter a Username and your email address, then follow the instructions in the email you receive.
Before you can create a blog post the permissions on your login need to be changed. Please email Adam and let him know your user name and he'll set the permissions.
Once you have an account and the permissions are set, then you are ready to post.
The first step is to login - use the Login/register link on the left hand side of website, enter your username and password.
Once logged in you will see a fairly blank page telling you how long you have been a member. On the left a new box has appeared with your user name as the title at the top of it. In this box click the link 'create content'. The next page gives you the option of creating a story or an image. Click on 'Story'. This will give you a blank form to create your blog post.
First thing is to give your post a title. Enter your title in the box at the top of the form.
(Next ignore the 'blog cats' drop down box - it can only be set to Lent Blog 2007)
Then type (or cut and paste) your post into the main 'Body' box.
You can format your text by adding simple commands. To find out more you can look at the 'More information about formatting options'.
have a look at this image for more clues:
(This assumes you have the image you want to add on your PC)
To add an image into your text, position your cursor at the postion you want the image to appear and press the green cross at the bottom of the box.
A pop-up window will appear. In this new window click on 'Add Image' in the top left of the window.
In the next form that appears, give your image a Title and Description. Find the image by pressing the 'browse' (or 'choose file') button. Find the image on your computer and select it. Once you have chosen the image, and entered the information press 'Submit'.
This will take you back to the first page in the pop-up window. Now scroll down the list to find your image by its title, click on the title. At the bottom of the window a new set of options appears. Choose if you want your image to appear fullsize or as a thumbnail, then press 'insert image', this will close the window and put a line of code, wrapped in square brackets [], into your text. Next time you preview your entry you will see your image appears where this line of code is.
Once you're happy with your post you can preview it by clicking the preview button at the bottom.
This will show your entry with the form at the bottom for you to make corrections and changes.
You can keep previewing as many times as you like.
You must submit your post before you leave, otherwise it will not be saved.
To save your post you press 'Submit' button at the bottom of the page.
your entry will appear on the front page of the website and at www.freshworship.org/lentblog07
That's it... all done and dusted... Unless you've made a big mistake!
In that case whilst logged in go to the page for your entry, this can easily be got to by clicking on the title of your post on the front page.
At the top of your entry there will be tabs for view and edit. Press edit and you'll see the editing form to correct your mistakes.
Of course once you are really finally happy, tell your friends. email them the link for the lent blog: www.freshworship.org/lentblog07 - they can also pick up the RSS feed using the orange XML button of the lent blog page.
one finger one thumb one arm one leg one nod of the head stand up sit down keep moving:
what language does your body speak in church? what's the connection between physical and spiritual position?
how do bodies speak when words fail?
throw some shapes at this month's grace - every body welcome.
there will be a traidcraft produce stall in the cafe afterwards, as part of fairtrade fortnight 2007 [26th february - 11th march].
feed your body fairly!
steve's photos on flickr here
mark's got a good duck photo here
clear benches out of centre, leave nowhere to sit - prevent people from using remaining benches
hide beanbags in aisle behind pulpit for dragging out later
screens to each side as usual - words to songs and liturgies projected
eucharist: set up in middle of space after the peace with 'fat eucharist' [burger and sugary drink] and 'size zero eucharist' [cigarette and bottled water] either side [steve will buy bread and wine and fat and thin parts]
service sheet text:
The theme of this month’s service is Body
We will be thinking about how we use our bodies to relate to God and to each other in God’s presence.
Please excuse the temporary absence of any furniture. This is entirely deliberate and will be rectified soon enough…
We will be celebrating Holy Communion later. While you are waiting to begin worshipping, you may want to consider how you will be physically expressing yourself during the various stages of communion.
What do you want to express during: The Confession? The Absolution? The Peace?
Are you ready to begin?
Good. Now stop slouching … and is that gum in your mouth? Spit it out at once …
cafe:
Wei Hei has offered to run a fairtrade stall at Grace as it is during fairtrade fortnight. So fairtrade wine for the café would be appropriate.
1. start with empty space [nowhere to sit, posture stations set up]. people enter and are standing
2. greeting [steve]
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
And also with you.
3. welcome to grace [steve]
4. songs - ?, 'this is my body' [jonny]
5. posture stations:
announce stations/where they are, give time for congregation to visit them [steve]
each needs an explanatory sheet/instructions
5.1. discipline/attention/endurance [richard]
5.1.1 pew - sit up straight
5.1.2 prayer stool/kneeler - kneel
5.2. prostration, stretching out - face down:
prostration [steve collins]
kneel down on the floor
bend forward until your forehead touches the floor
stretch out and lie face down
this is the posture of complete submission
abasement
desperation
self-negation
abandonment of self to another
anguish
a pouring out of the inner self upon the ground as an offering
at the feet of god, or another person
in various ordination rituals, the candidate will prostrate themselves
at the feet of the bishop as a sign of submission and self-gift
to the will of God and the church
most churches don't have room for this
the pews or chairs are in the way
the floor is hard and grubby
such nakedness of the soul is embarrassing to the one who prays
and to the rest of the congregation
emotions and clothes will be dishevelled
but the dirt and discomfort is part of the point
this posture implies a need so great
that dignity and comfort are forgotten
have you ever prayed like this?
in church? privately?
prostation bible readings:
Matthew 26:36-39
Exodus 34:5-8
2 Samuel 12:15-17
Luke 8:42-47
5.3. prostration, stretching out - face up
'in the bathtub' relaxing before god - rubber ducks, large beanbag
Jesus, loofah of my soul [Ben Cohen]
I was always a bit of an anxious soul when it came to approaching God. I still can be…
A wise Christian counsel gave me a very helpful piece of advice.
“You need to find somewhere you’re truly comfortable and relaxed.
“Try praying in the bath. It’s hard to get too uptight and anxious while you’re lying there with the bathwater sloshing over the side.”
There are certainly times that sitting upright, back straight, hands together, eyes closed is exactly what’s needed for the discipline.
At other times it’s a good hot bath. Or sitting on a discarded sofa in the back yard with a glass of Jack Daniels (or non-alcoholic equivalent!).
Where could you truly relax, to talk to God - however briefly?
Help yourself to a duck and sit yourself down in the “relaxation zone”. Have a think where you could truly relax in God’s presence…
Name him (or her) and place him/her on the flat palm of your hand.
Now take your new pet home and use to remind you of God in those little laid back moments…
5.4. standing
Praying with your body 1 [ben cohen]
Do you ever feel that something in your life is so overwhelming that you don’t know how to pray about it? Where do you start? How can you stop? Try this simple exercise:
Think of something that you want to bring to God in prayer.
Stand with your body upright. Hands raised above your head, lightly touching.
Now, slowly, deliberately, describe a wide circle with your arms until your hands meet again at your waist.
While you trace the arc, bring to mind each different aspect of the need or situation - let them pour into your mind freely.
It’s as if each facet of what you are praying for is an hour of the day, or the branch of a circular tree.
Take as long as you need to do this; to bring everything to mind.
Then, when you have created the prayer circle, roll it up into a tight ball and hand it back to Jesus Christ.
If you’re feeling brave, keep your hands held out and see what He hands back in return!
Praying with your body 2 [ben cohen]
Praying or worshipping God with your body has gained a reputation among some people as being a bit, well, “woosy” ie for weedy wets. But in Biblical times, there doesn’t seem much that is twee about how they responded to God.
They would throw themselves on their faces in contrition…
Beat their breasts…
And they would “rent their garments asunder”; literally rip their garments in anguish.
It was a sign of rupturing relationship. The High Priest tore his garment at the perceived blasphemy of Jesus’ response
to the question “are you the Son of the Most High?”
Take a piece of fabric with you for the communion. When we confess our sins and receive absolution, tear the cloth with all your might.
There was another symbolic tearing of fabric in the Gospels. When Jesus gave up His spirit to God on the cross, the curtain in the temple - separating humankind from the Holy of Holies - was torn in two. It allowed God’s grace to pour out on the whole World.
The tear of contrition can also be the tear of grace…
5.5. modern seat - the anti-posture posture
The modern seat [steve collins]
sit down
cross your legs
maybe lean forward a bit to pray
the modern church seat is about individual comfort.
it's the non-posture posture.
it says that what you do with your body doesn't matter much spiritually
so park your body and put it in neutral
comfortable but not too much because we don't want you to fall asleep
as if you were on public transport or in a car
[try kneeling on the tube and see what happens]
of course it's ideal for people whose postures are limited by age or infirmity
but all this reinforces the idea that
your body is something to forget about in church
it won’t be required here
there aren't really any bible references for this one
6. then set up the beanbags in centre as usual - get congregation to bring them out of aisle
- bring back some benches too [steve to direct]
7. bible readings - verses illustrating use of postures - several voices to read
8. confession [dean]
think about what posture you wish to confess in
rip fabric obtained from posture station
9. tearing prayer [steve collins]
we have torn ourselves
torn relationships
torn society
torn the earth
and torn away from you
you took our wounding and separation upon yourself
giving your body and your bond with God to be torn instead of us
and at the end,
as you were torn from life itself,
the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom
the curtain separating us from god was torn
10. absolution [dean]
11. the peace - [dean]
12. 'communion bread volleyball' [ben] - get the congregation to play volleyball with an [unconsecrated] loaf of bread. anyone who drops it has to eat a piece before hitting it up in the air again [amazingly, people do this!]. after five minutes of edgy hilarity ben explains that this was to dramatize in a humorous way that it matters how we give out the bread and wine. the actual communion took place with a different loaf and in a more conventional manner.
13. eucharist [dean]
Communion L:iturgy
The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.
Father, we give you thanks and praise
that through your Son Jesus Christ
you have created all things.
All that we can see, touch, smell, hear or taste
was made by you, and you saw that it was good.
You give us breath and speech,
that we might sing your praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord.,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
But we have distorted the work of your hands.
By hating each other we have mocked your creation.
By hating our own bodies we have hated you.
And so your Son took on flesh to revel in your world and to heal it.
Born of a young girl, he walked among us.
He delighted in the warm sun on his face and in the sweetness of honey.
He told stories of foxes and their holes, extravagant feasting,
and the tender embrace of a father for his estranged son.
Through tales of the physical he taught us about the spiritual.
Through his death on the cross he abolished false distinctions between the two,
and offers us fullness of life.
On the night that he was betrayed,
at supper with his friends
he took bread, and gave you thanks;
he broke it and gave it to them, saying:
My body for you.
Take, eat; remember.
At the end of supper, taking the cup of wine,
he gave you thanks and said:
My blood for you, a sign of forgiveness.
Drink; remember.
Send the Holy Spirit on your people
Gather all who share this loaf and cup
to the feast where there is no size zero and no obese,
and our true beauty is revealed.
Through Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ,
in the unity of the Spirit,
with all who stand before you in earth and heaven,
we worship you, Father almighty,
in songs of everlasting praise:
Blessing and honour and glory and power
be yours for ever and ever.
Amen
14. blessing [dean]
[steve collins]
some questions to ponder:
is jesus too fat for the catwalk?
should we ban size zero saints?
do they encourage christians to develop eating disorders?
what is a healthy weight for a christian?
why are we worrying about people being too thiin in a society in which people are too fat?
does the one create the other?
if the poor are fat and the rich are thin, what does that say about the food we eat?
is there a connection between the health of our bodies and the health of the planet?
can christians have cosmetic surgery?
why don't evangelists look sexy, if sex sells?
how come friar tuck isn't in the latest version of robin hood?
what happens when the you of you isn't the you you see in the mirror?
_____________________________________
bodies - imperfect and perfect
broken/damaged/disfigured bodies
when bodies break down - how do we deal with it?
disability/death
acceptance of brokenness in old traditions/societies
now we expect to cure
ageing - how we deal with loss of youth - legislation against ageism reveals how we are prejudiced for youth
does scattering/dissolution of extended families rob us of models for ageing?
no more nurturing grandparents - they are busy unlocking equity, spending, having a second youth! they want to be young now, rather than embracing the traditional roles of the old.
do extremes of thinness and obesity reveal inner problems as well as physiological? ie the person is an agent in making themselves that way
exposure to images of beauty - there is a narrow range of aspiration - too narrow for most to achieve - not just about sexual beauty - bodies display values such as self-discipline
the old christian cycle of fast and feast - has become binge and detox - detox written up as a 'spiritual' thing as well as physical
diet books - getting you to believe in new values diet wrapped in a lifestyle package that motivates you - the prospect of a 'new you" gets you through the boredom
but christian discipleship is not in our own strength - whereas a lot of body discipline in the world is about our own control and strength
the images we are sold - link into innate biological preferences that are hard-wired into us, but now are pandered to all the time
[it's similar to how we are built to like sugar, but only to get it rarely - now we get sugar all the time and it makes us ill]
fashion - how does it affect us beyond biological preferences?
is it a matter of sex or a matter of power in society?
makeovers and makeover programmes - 'would like to meet' etc
can be redeeming if they go deep enough
there is a connection between how you look/dress and who you are, who you perceive yourself to be
[which is neglected by world-denying forms of christianity]
a change of appearance can be transformative in other ways
it's about expressing/discovering who you are at all levels
_____________________
the theme running through all our discussions is how we connect the physical with the spiritual
the issue for our service is how do we connect the practical and conceptual
what to do/take away from service?
many christians have suffered from a spirituality detached from body - in head, or emotions
"bodies as living sacrifices" was a positive evaluation of the body
religions that govern the body are not necessarily anti-body
but are making the point that spiritual and physical discipline go together
religious rules are a statement that what you do with your body matters
[religions that say 'do what you like with your body' are actually saying that the body is worthless]
we need to dig out the stuff in the traditions to explore for the service:
praying with body
fasting/feasting
jewish stuff which doesn't have the dualism of some christian thought
is there any helpful monastic material?
we need to concretize our thoughts into things people can do and take away, not abstracted discussions
can we look at pictures of different shaped bodies
maybe different ethnicities/types
to see varieties of human possibility and widen our consideration away from the usual western media images in our heads
[steve collins]
body image:
eating disorders
diets
cosmetic surgery
transvestism
gender dysphoria
wigs/makeup/corsets/weights/diet plans
physical discipline as spiritual discipline:
sex
fasting
exercise
asceticism
ageing:
illness/disability:
how do we value damaged bodies?
what is body prayer for people with disabilities?
sign language
senses:
sight
hearing
touch
taste
smell
as modes of spiritual encounter
_____
or start with empty space
people come in and are standing
intro
invite people to try out different postures
posture stations
then open up issue of posture - get a beanbag, think about posture, who you sit with
think of 3 or 4 ways of praying - eg kneeling, prostration - give people a number and a position
twister prayer
posture stations - straight/disciplined ones as well as comfy/slouchy ones
can we find examples of biblical prayer postures eg gethsemane stretching/prostration
jesus walking
prophets
sitting at the feet of teachers
covering of head - differs from time to time, tied to cultural ideas of showing of respect
standing up, sitting down
medieval - standing, gazing on hosts, listening, smells, kneeling - not pews
what posture do you wish to confess in?
ben: section before eucharist
heart things - that we've be moved by
1. communion - how it's done - body language of eucharist
2. body prayer
play bread volleyball with cheap sliced bread
eucharist:
fat eucharist - big mac, sugary drink
size zero eucharist - cigarette, bottled water
normal eucharist
we are not told to think a particular thing but to eat, drink, bathe etc
treating the spiritual and the physical as one thing
The basic idea is that people follow through the worship service together in small groups around tables set up in a cafe style. In the centre of each group is a series of envelopes numbered from 1-10. At the start of the worship we arrange everyone into groups of about 6 people. They begin by opening envelope number 1 and follow the instructions inside. When a bell rings the group open the next numbered envelope and follow the instructions inside. That's it! The beauty of this worship experience is that it doesn't need to be led. It's up to the groups to make it happen.
10 different people produced the 10 different envelopes that followed through the story of the journey to Emmaus in Luke 24. This was the sequence.
1. Chill/preparation - stand and read prayer together, walk around and find a table to sit at while listening to the music track being played
2. Emmaus Road story - read story from bible round table and create iconic candle kit
3. The hiddenness of God (Luke 24:13-16) (see attached file below)
4. Downcast (Luke 24:17-18) On the table were parsley and salt water. 'What has made your soul downcast this week? Spend some time silently reflecting on ways in which you have wounded your life, the lives of others and the life of the world. When you are ready, take some parsley, dip it into the salt water and eat it. The salt water represents tears of repentance; the parsley represents new life that will grow.’ Then we said a confession prayer from Iona together.
5. Storytelling part 1 - sharing our own stories (Luke 24:19-27)
6. Storytelling part 2 - hearing God's story (Luke 24:19-27)
7. Welcoming the stranger (Luke 24:28-29) - 'the flight to Emmaus': we fill in landing cards for one another - it's how we welcome strangers to a country nowadays, and filling in the questions for the person sitting next to you makes you no longer strangers.
8. Breaking bread (Luke 24:30-31) the liturgy we used is here
9. Burning hearts (Luke 24:32-35) (see attached file below)
10 Prayer and blessing
This simple communion service was used in Sue and Richard's lounge, prior to moving outside for a barbecue. The confession was written for the occasion, as a response to the Grace ethos. The eucharistic prayer was adapted from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (www.elca.org).
Grace, mercy and peace
From God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Be with you
And also with you.
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…
Risen Christ,
you have raised our human nature to the throne of heaven:
help us to see and serve you,
that we may join you at the Father’s side,
where you reign with the Spirit in glory,
now and for ever.
Amen
Acts 1:6-11
Luke 24:44-49
The peace of the Lord be with you.
And also with you.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is right to give unceasing thanks and boundless praise to you, Holy God, ruler of the universe and giver of life. You brought the world into being and declared it good; you made humankind in your image, and entrusted to us the stewardship of all creation.
Despite our failings you showed us mercy. Through your law and the voices of prophets and poets, you called us to faithfulness and justice. You commanded us to remember the poor and the needy, the orphan and the stranger. With infinite generosity you forgave us as we followed selfish goals and ignored your words of love. Never abandoning us to our sinfulness, you came among us and showed us the path of life.
Therefore we praise you, joining the saints and angels in proclaiming your glory, as we say,
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Glory and honour and praise to you, holy and living God. Your word of peace has been active from the beginning; your justice has sought incarnation in every age. In the fullness of time you looked with favour upon Mary, your willing servant, that she might conceive your Son through the power of your Holy Spirit. Expecting his birth she sang of your purpose: The mighty shall be cast down and the humble lifted up; the promise of mercy to Abraham and all his children shall be fulfilled in the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Living among us, Jesus loved us. He broke bread with outcasts and sinners, healed the sick, and proclaimed good news to the poor. He pronounced the blessedness of peacemakers, all those who are willing to seek first your Kingdom and your righteousness. Jesus yearned to draw all the world to himself, yet we were heedless of his call to walk in love. We returned violence for his friendship, crucifixion for his self-offering. Yet even this you turned to blessing, and transformed his unjust death into the means of salvation.
On the night before he died for us, our Savior Jesus Christ took bread, and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his friends, and said: “Take, eat: This is my Body which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
As supper was ending, Jesus took the cup of wine, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said: “Drink this, all of you: This is my blood of the new Covenant, which is poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”
Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
Accept, O Lord, our sacrifice of praise, this memorial of our redemption. Send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts. Let them be for us the Body and Blood of your Son. Send your Spirit upon us also, and grant that we who eat this bread and drink this cup may be filled with your life and goodness. Through the abiding presence of Christ, empower us to live the gospel of peace and bring reconciliation to the world in his Name.
Glory to you, holy and living God.
Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you.
All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ. By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honour and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever.
Amen.
As our Saviour Christ has taught us, so we pray:
Our Father…
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ’s side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within thy wounds hide me (from the Anima Christi)
Sensory experience
Down one side of the church we set up a sensory experience - doormats, pilates mat, blanket, slate and carboard on the floor; bubble wrap, foil, felt and a bath mat on the wall in between the windows and ledges; cut oranges and lemons at the start and an oiil burner at the end; and then right at the end a surround-sound experience of whispering music where you stood disorientated until you heard someone calling your name.
We started the service in the polygon. One by one people took off their shoes and were blindfolded, then made their way through the sensory experience and into the service.
Resensitising ourselves to the Spirit
Jesus said: ‘The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’ We cannot see the Spirit of God with our eyes, so we need to use different ways to sense the presence of the Spirit. Your journey into the service tonight hopefully awoke your senses other than your sight. What was that experience like?
How often are we aware of the spirit of God? We are so used to our busy-ness, to the tangible, demanding world that we live in, that we forget to tune in to the presence of God. A prayer:
Where our lives have been so crowded with noise that we have drowned out the voice of your spirit
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
Where our hearts have been so overwhelmed with busy-ness that we have squeezed out the presence of your spirit
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
Where we have become defensive through stress and fear and we have shrugged off the touch of your spirit
Christ have mercy
Christ have mercy
Eternal God
awaken our hearts to the reality of your spirit
invigorate our senses with the purity of your spirit
break down our defences with the beauty of your spirit
fill us afresh with the presence of your spirit
In the name of Christ
Amen
There was an opportunity to be anointed with oil as we sang a couple of songs of worship.
Experience of the Spirit
We used the Breathe Nooma DVD – 'is the name of God the sound of breathing?'
followed by space for people to encounter God.
Where is the Spirit?
Jonny talked about being at the Mind Body Spirit festival on Pentecost Sunday. The gifts of the Spirit are not for internal ego-massage in the church, but are for using out in the world, in contexts like these. We invited people to make a kite, to say that they want to be blown by the Spirit out into the world.
come and join us this saturday for the launch of a new year of grace
space for reflection, stories and dreams, and recommitment
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. welcome - play track wayfaring stranger from the cd triptych by fred deakin
2. chill - video loop of autumn images photos by jonny, and two prayers from tess ward's celtic wheel of the year - praising and morning invocation p190
3. the road in groups. gather round a road with four sections representing lakes (refreshment), mountaintops (highs), valleys (lows/struggle), and deserts (dryness). reflect on your summer and where you are at - share stories and light a candle to place yourself on the road.
4. interlude - who are you - play video identity bites by joel
5. maps - on your own reflect on the coming months. what are your dreams? how will the grace ethos shape your involvement in different areas of your life? discuss and pray with someone else. download map here (pdf)
6. recommit to christ and the grace ethos for the year ahead using three prayers
ethos confession
doors liturgy [3]
we hang our lives on your mercy
7. play track wayfaring stranger by jamie woon remix by burial
a few of the tunes on the theme of journey played...
wayfaring stranger by anita kerr quartet
far i have come by arsenal
traveller by talvin singh
journey by nitin sawhney
roads by portishead
take the lord along with you by sister gertrude
nightwalker by trentmoller
journey inwards by ltj bukem
ramblin man by lemon jelly
wayfaring stranger by jamie woon (burial mix)
As people arrived, we washed their hands mediaeval-style with bowls and ewers.
Sarah told us stories of hospitality customs around the world.
Opening liturgy – a focus on God's welcome and hospitality to us
This is the house of God and whoever you are, wherever you have been, whatever you have done and whoever you know, God flings the door wide open
Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labour on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
This is the house of God and whatever you have done and wherever you have been God has a place reserved for you
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows
This is the house of God and who ever you are God invites you in
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.
This is the house of God and God is delighted to see you
You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to be called a follower of Christ as anyone. God is building a home. He's using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building.
This is the house of God and God welcomes you here
Responsive prayer
From the Hospitality Eucharist, Alternative Worship, page 117
Song written and led by Jonny
welcoming god
welcoming god
an open home
and a holy table
welcoming god
enfleshing god
enfleshing god
imitate christ
and his welcome
enfleshing god
accepting god
accepting god
grace and care
heal rejection
accepting god
embracing god
embracing god
within the poor
and the stranger
embracing god
welcoming god...
Engaging with the biblical story – Dean led us in Godly play-style wondering about the text and how it impacts us.
The story we used was adapted from Luke 14:12-24.
Here are some of our post-story wonderings;
I wonder what the room where Jesus had dinner was like?
I wonder if it was a private place, or if there were lots of people coming in and out?
I wonder if Jesus felt comfortable at the dinner?
I wonder why the leader of the Pharisees invited Jesus?
I wonder if he wanted to meet Jesus, or if he wanted to trip him up, or if he wanted to show off his power and wealth?
I wonder why Jesus told the pharisee that he shouldn’t invite to dinner only the people who could repay him?
I wonder how the Pharisee felt when Jesus said that to him?
I wonder how the Pharisee felt when he realised that the poor, crippled, lame, blind and lame would probably be unclean according to Jewish law?
I wonder what kind of people you invite to dinner?
I wonder who the equivalent of the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame are for you today?
I wonder if you could invite them to dinner?
I wonder why Jesus told the parable of the guests at the feast?
I wonder which of the people in the parable is most like you?
I wonder if you find it easier to give hospitality or receive it?
I wonder if the parable is a picture of God’s hospitality to us?
I wonder if you will be too busy to accept it?
Confession
From the Hospitality Eucharist, Alternative Worship, page 117
Two symbolic responses
Wall of bricks – to represent fears of/barriers to hospitality, the obstacles we have to interacting with others – people to take a brick to symbolise wanting to address these fears/barriers
Setting the table – have a bare table – people add place settings – napkins, plates, cutlery, candles, salt, pepper, candles – to symbolise wanting to create environments in which hospitality can flourish. People write on place-cards the names of specific people that they want to be more hospitable to.
Blessing
From the Hospitality Eucharist, Alternative Worship, page 119
Grace
Saturday 10th November
8pm
St Marys W5
None are excluded, all are invited
1. Sign in as Grace member or visitor and wear a sticker
2. Entry to the church - people will be given a friendly welcome if they have a Grace badge, and a cold welcome if they have a visitor badge. The Grace people are invited to sit in a circle of beanbags, everyone else sits on the benches at a distance. The Grace people in the circle recite a fake liturgy which is pretentious and exclusive, and then pretend to listen to a track on their ipod headphones which no-one else can hear. Then there are fake notices which are worded so that only people who already know what's happening can understand.
[All this is to parody the ways that churches exclude people, accidentally or deliberately.]
3. ‘Welcome’ (verse 2 1st in balcony - Richard; 4 different voices)
The circle is dismantled, large bean bags hurled down. People are invited to sit and tear up stickers
4. Small group discussion – how did the start of the service make you feel; what makes you feel welcomed or unwelcome (Jackie)
5. Hospitality soundbites (1) - at the previous service Ben had recorded people talking about a person they thought embodied or practised hospitality - these soundbites are replayed at intervals in this service as food for thought.
6. Song – Toilet song (Jonny)
7. Introduce Dutch visitors to rest of congregation [we had over 20, who were on a study visit to London churches] - one of them to say how they heard of Grace and why they had come
8. Hospitality soundbites (2)
9. Group discussion: focussing on Grace - how can we be/become more hospitable
reporting back
questions on screen
ensure that each group has a Grace person [Mike]
10. Hospitality soundbites (3)
11. Reading/Meditation (Dean)
meditation about personal boundaries and Jesus becoming the outsider
12. Confession - short, with reflective pauses (Jackie)
13. Song – ‘Table of Christ’ (Jonny)
14. Eucharistic prayer (Dean)
15. Blessing (Dean)
we were invited to lead worship for the uk worship songwriters consultation. this is a gathering of the likes of graham kendrick, stewart townend, sue rinaldi, matt redman etc... i have to say this was a very nerve racking group to lead an alt worship experience for. we were given the theme of journey. these are the notes we had as a running order...
1. Preparation for the journey
[Give a notice at the end of the previous session or in the meal inviting people to make their way in to the worship space when they have finished the meal rather than 8pm on the dot.]
Have a sign up outside the room saying "take nothing for the journey" and invite people to take off shoes and leave wallets, keys etc to symbolise letting go of comfort for the journey with God (Lk 9). We will put some of our own keys and wallets etc in the box so it doesn't look empty. But when we write the names of a person on a sticker to go on their blindfold we will write another one, take their wallet and keys etc and put them in a party bag (see end) and stick their name on the bag. Shoes can be left outside the room.
2. Multi-sensory journey
Having invited people to take nothing with them for the journey, give them a blindfold, ask their name and then write it on two stickers. Place one on the blindfold and give the other to the person organising the bags (see 1). Then lead them to start the multi-sensory journey. This will incorporate smell, touch etc and at the end they are spun round whilst surrounded by sound. Then through the sound their name will be quietly called until they tune into it and follow into the worship space. The point of the journey is twofold – often on a journey there is uncertainty and bewilderment about what lies ahead, and taking out one sense heightens the other senses – maybe the same is true of our sense of God’s presence on the journey.
3. Arrival
In the worship space we will be playing some tunes and projecting images. When people finish the journey they will be given some printed instructions. These will invite them to do two things - a) reflect on the experience of losing a sense and encourage them to sense God's presence for the worship; b) take a UV pen and draw a line representing a recent or current journey or experience on their journey on one of several maps that will be around in the worship space. The idea with b) is not that they draw a geographical journey but one related to terrain - i.e. a valley or lake etc.
The printed instructions said this:
Jesus said: ‘The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’ We cannot see the Spirit of God with our eyes, so we need to use different ways to sense the presence of the Spirit. Your journey into the service tonight hopefully awoke your senses other than your sight. What was that experience like?
How often are we aware of the spirit of God? We are so used to our busy-ness, to the tangible, demanding world that we live in, that we forget to tune in to the presence of God.
Take some time to tune in to God's presence.
A prayer
Eternal God
Awaken our hearts to the reality of your spirit
Invigorate our senses with the purity of your spirit
Break down our defences with the beauty of your spirit
Fill us afresh with the presence of your spirit
In the name of Christ
Amen
Mapping the Journey
Reflect on your journey with God over the last few months or year. Go to one of the maps and with one of the pens there draw a line to represent that journey. Don't think in terms of geography but of terrain. Have you passed through valleys or hilltops? Have you been in an open space or hemmed in? Beside the sea or in a desert? Near to God or far away? If you're not used to reading a map there is a code, but don't worry about detail. Just draw a line that symbolises your journey
4. We are creatures of comfort
Reading/reflection on journey and letting go of certainities and
Welcome/intro
and prayer (confession and prayer from spirit service)
5. Mountain... valley... plain... - stages on the journey
Three vignettes (short reflections) on mountains... valleys... plains..., some of the range of terrains we might face. During valley one of the maps is painted over with dark paint.
6. Play track: Wayfaring stranger
7. God with us
Take the idea from Nooma video on breath of God being with us and us saying God's name with every breath whatever terrain we are crossing or whatever stage we are at on the journey. Encourage some silence to breathe and pray acknowledging the reality of the journey and the reality of God's presence.
Sing: Breathe on me breath of God to conclude the silence
Then gather around the maps, turn the lights off and the UV lights on and hopefully the journeys drawn earlier will glow in the dark symbolising the presence of Christ with us (idea inspired by vaux)
8. Journeying on from here
Liturgy far I have come far I must go with spoken response [we didn't have time for this]
Writing prayers/hopes for the journey ahead on paper and making origami boats and putting them on lakes on the maps or a blue cloth
Prayer for the journey ahead - invite people to pray in twos or threes.
9. Blessing
John O Donahue blessing
Party bags as people leave which will be named and have their original possessions in along with some other items - sweets, photo, meditation, prayer, duck keyring
See the archive for December 2006 for explanation.
The creation -- Genesis 1, vv 1-5, 26-8, 31
God said "Let there be light", and there was... what, exactly?
If I tried to give a comprehensive answer to that question, I would certainly be in trouble for taking too long, so I will restrict myself to a small part of it, beginning on the third day.
I have here something so small that you probably can't see it at all. It is an apple pip. If I planted this pip, all being well it would grow into an apple tree, which would produce apples with more pips in them, and the cycle would continue. We all know that.
We all know that, but do you ever stop to think about how remarkable it is? This tiny pip carries the blueprint which enables it to grow into something much greater, and to reproduce itself. And God, with characteristic lavishness, enabled it to produce many other things along the way -- not only apples, which we can ourselves eat, but flowers and leaves, which feed insects and support other parts of the ecosystem, as well as looking beautiful. I could go on -- a single tree forms part of the elaborate system of life which covers the whole planet. It is only recently that we are discovering just how complex and fragile it is.
Let us not dare to damage it, for it is very good!
And that moves us onto the next day, and the stars. If it is clear and you have good eyesight you can see thousands of stars, but of course there are many more which we can't see. How many are there altogether? Here is an informed estimate: 10000000000000000000000. Astronomers and physicists like numbers with lots of zeros -- either that, or they are coming up with strange terms and you are left not quite sure what exactly it is they are measuring. Has anyone counted the zeros yet? There are twenty-two. So this number is ten sextillion.
It is difficult to grasp the magnitude of a number like that, but perhaps the apple pips can help us. I have a small number here, but suppose I had ten sextillion apple pips? What would they look like? If they were spread out on the ground, what area would they cover? Would anyone like to hazard a guess?
They would cover the entire earth's surface to knee deep (this sounds like a doomsday scenario!) And while you're at it, they would cover the surfaces of Mercury, Venus and Mars as well.
But we're not talking about apple pips here. Every one of those pips represents a star, all with their own unique characteristics. Another example of lavishness in creation.
Have I blown your mind yet? If not, maybe this will. Out of all the vastness of space, God has singled us out for special attention, and even decided to pay us a visit. Why was that, and what happened? That's what the rest of the service is about. It's over to you now.
Music: Pavane by Fauré
The people walking in darkness... -- Isaiah 9, vv 2, 6, 7
Please make yourselves very comfortable and place your blindfolds on.
I am going to lead you where we have no God to shine upon us, no Jesus to comfort us.
We are all very small.
We have no body, yet we can feel.
We have no eyes, yet we can see.
We have no ears, yet we can hear.
In the Darkness we are alone.
The walls are black, cold and covered in slime.
We can see no exit that we may leave, only continued walls, yet this space we entered by choice.
We can hear the burden breathing and mourning of despair.
We are without anything that can make sense of this madness.
This is the time spent living and walking in darkness -- we are lost, alone and meaningless.
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.
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 rein 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.
Please take your blindfold off, when you feel ready.
Music: Movin' on up by Primal Scream
The shepherds -- Luke 2, vv 8-16
Thin places by Ben Cohen
Connie was a lovely old lady. But by most people’s standards, stuff seemed to happen to her that didn’t really happy to the rest of us. When I was a good deal younger, my whole family were into yogic flying.
I never left the ground. At least not long enough to trouble the laws of physics. Or Richard Dawkins. But Connie told me she had done once – in a hotel room.
“Go figure” as the Americans say.
As well as a yogic flyer, she was also a devout Catholic, and went off to Medjagore. It’s a village in the former Yugoslavia where some young children had a vision of the Virgin Mary.
Well, we were keen to find out – “did you see the Virgin Mary?”
“Oh, no; only the children get to see that... I just got to see the sun dance around in circles in the sky”
Now what she did and didn’t really see and do, I’m not going to speculate. But Connie was one of those people for whom this World and the next seemed to be joined by a rather thinner curtain than most of the rest of us. Or maybe she had a wardrobe...
Reading this passage got me thinking about Connie – I think it’s all those paintings of the shepherds looking up at a sky ripped open, with angels blowing trumpets and singing praises behind it.
The early Celtic Christians had a word for something a bit like this. They called certain places “thin places”.
It’s somewhere where that thick fortressy wall that seems to separate Heaven and Earth – God’s thoughts and your own, narrows down to a papery thinness.
You may know one yourself
It could be a holy site
Or maybe a retreat house steeped in years of continual prayer and worship.
You could swear you heard God’s gentle voice.
Saw him casting a shadow on the ground.
Sometimes thinness is just there for a brief spell and then it’s gone.
It can be a person.
I’m not sure you can trap thinness or bottle it.
And I don’t think we should get too obsessed with chasing after it.
Every new revival meeting or magic Christian...
Like size zero, it’s not always healthy.
And thin places can be scary too. Look at the shepherds.
But when you find one, make the most of it... Heaven isn’t so far away after all…
Let’s pray:
Dear God, show us the thin places where we can seek and find you more effectively
When we encounter the thin place, help us be sincerely and radically open to you.
And we thank you for Bethlehem, the thinnest place of all.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ
Amen
... so be it ...
(Sarah presents me Samurai sword. I tear muslin screen open leaving white light to bleed out to music – O Come O Come Emmanuel)
The Magi -- Matthew 2, vv 1-12
A recitation of T.S. Eliot's Journey of the Magi over Indonesian instrumental music -- Jeruk Manis by L.S.Gelik
Nine has become a Grace tradition of re-inventing the tradition of Nine lessons and carols. We take the nine traditional readings from a nine lessons and carols service and ask nine volunteers to produce something to reflect a reading and to choose a 'carol', i.e. any tune they think fits, to be played with or after their bit.
It's a Grace service that lets anyone get involved in planning a bit of it (about a ninth of it to be precise!) and until the night is over no one really knows what is going to happen.
If you'd like to volunteer to take part we'd like to know! You can volunteer as an individual, a couple, a family or a few friends together. We'll give you a reading from the nine below or if you have a burning desire to do one in particular then let us know (on a first come first served basis!) then you just have to come up with an activity to go with it.
The readings are:
1: The creation, Genesis 1, vv 1-5, 26-8, 31
2: The fall, Genesis 3, vv 8-15, 17-19
3: The people who walked in darkness... Isaiah 9, vv 2, 6, 7
4: Isaiah's vision of the kingdom, Isaiah 11, vv 1-3a, 4a, 6-9
5: The Annunciation, Luke 1, vv 26-35, 38
6: The Nativity, Luke 2, vv 1, 3-7
7: The shepherds, Luke 2, vv 8-16
8: The Magi, Matthew 2, vv 1-12
9: The Word, John 1, vv 1-14
Your activity could be a film to watch, a meditation, a ritual, something to make, an activity everyone can join in, a story (maybe with pictures or actions!) it could be anything you think of. What it doesn't have to be is you standing at the front giving a talk.
Your bit should last about 5 minutes (so that we have time to also read out the readings and finish the service in about an hour!) and cope with all 30-40 people that may be at the service doing it at once. Please also think about your activity being family friendly, ie kids can take part with a parent.
Your music track can be played as background to your activity or at the end as a space for reflection. It doesn't have to be a carol, it doesn't even have to be 'Christmassy', equally it could be a full-on cheesy Christmas single. It could just be a good bit of music to go with what you are doing because it's the right mood or has appropriate lyrics. It could just be your favourite tune and you've always wanted an excuse to get it played in church! (Music will have to be brought in one of the following forms: on CD, on your own mp3 player, or as an mp3 on a memory stick. If you want to use music that you have in another form, such as an LP, please contact us.)
We don't need to know all the details about you bit before the night but it would help us, to plan the flow of the service, if we knew the type of activity you have chosen to do. Also if you are doing something techie, eg something to be projected, then we would love to know so we can make sure it'll all work on the night.
For the first Grace of 2008 we explored the visit of the Magi, concluded our thoughts on hospitality, and welcomed visitor Cathy Ross who shared her wisdom on hospitality as creating space. Cathy is from New Zealand, and heads up the CMS Crowther Mission Education Centre in Oxford.
Order of service:
1. Welcome/intro
2. Opening prayer
3. Song: In the east (on the album spirit of the new)
4. Cathy Ross talk, followed by discussion
5. Confession
focussed on Walled Nativity from Amos Trust in centre of church
7. 'Backbone' track No place like home with Bethlehem video by Adam Cleaveland
8. Stations:
invite people to go round in groups of three
each station needs printed instructions
8.1 Gold - best of our selves/lives as gift
[chocolate coins in bowl]
gold represents the offering of our wealth to god
what is your wealth?
what is your greatest possession?
share with your companions
what you think and why
then together offer your wealth to god in prayer
and eat a chocolate coin
8.2 Frankincense - giving to God in worship
Worship of God through his names, using Isiah 9:6 as a focus people were asked to write down their names for God. These included:
Friend; Lord of Everything; Comforter; Peace Maker; Life Giving God; Benevolent Protector; The way things should be ; Giver of Peace; Him Upstairs; Father – Calmer of Souls; An abstraction of all that is good; Yahweh; Reconciler; You; God; God of Everyone; Always Constant; Helper; The Main Man; Boss; Father my Father; Peace Bringer; Keeper; Friend!!; Lord God Servant of All; Lord of All; Divine Creator; Servant-who-is-ruler; Almighty Servant; Lord Everlasting; My Saviour and my Friend; Source of my comfort, source of my unrest; Love; Time Giver; Loving Father; Light; Tatal Norstru!; Creator; Din Ceruri; Friend/ Listner/ Father; Creator of atoms and Galaxies – Total Symmetry; Prince of Peace – Lord your are bigger than I; Creator God, Listening God, Still God, Stable God, Wild God;
Then it was suggested that people made an offering of incense in burner in front of high altar.
8.3 Myrrh - bad/sad things in our lives offered to God:
[dead leaves in a bucket - slips of paper with bible quotes are hidden in the leaves]
a fragrant resin
burnt at funerals
an ingredient of embalming fluid.
conceals the smell of putrefaction and death.
also used as balm for the sick
an agent of healing and wholeness.
Jesus received the gift of myrrh as a sign of his death.
Also as a sign of healing and new life.
life and death
death and new life
crucifixion and resurrection
inextricably linked.
sometimes we need to face death in order to find life.
rummage through the bucket of dead leaves until you find
words of life.
read them with your fellow travellers.
reflect together:
• how can you find new life in the midst of death?
• what might need to put to death in you, so that you can find new life?
9. Blessing
10. Café
we had about 20 students join us from calvin college in the USA and they put together the montage below which subsequently won an award on yotube...
order of service:
1. intro [sue]
about this being a difficult passage - nobody behaves well
2. reading
genesis 16 - sarai gives hagar to abram and the consequences
plus poem - part of section 5 of 'the waste land' by TS eliot
[sarah to invite readers from the congregation]
3. what would you take for the journey?
three large rucksacks, paper and pens beside each one
write the one item you would take, put into the rucksack
then go to the water jug
drink some water and read the holocaust story
[sarah][sarah/steve/sue to each bring a large rucksack]
4. reading
genesis 17 17-21 isaac is chosen
plus poem - part of section 5 of 'the waste land' by TS eliot
[sarah to invite readers from the congregation]
5. chosen and not chosen [sue]
get people into small groups
hand out envelopes - inside each is a note to say 'chosen' or 'not chosen'
also questions:
how do you feel about being chosen/not chosen?
why do you think god dealt with humanity this way?
what's the downside of being chosen?
discuss
[ishmael and isaac - with and without the promise
the psychology - feeling good if chosen, angry if not chosen - like ishmael
but the one who isn't 'chosen' doesn't get nothing
chosen for what?
the responsibility of being chosen]
6. reading
genesis 21 1-21 the birth of isaac, hagar and ishmael are sent away
plus poem - part of section 5 of 'the waste land' by TS eliot
[sarah to invite readers from the congregation]
7. god's provision and the kingdom [steve]
pages from magazines on the floor
bibles marked with post-its to read the passages:
matt 6 25-34 [do not worry about clothes etc] and 7 -12 [ask and it will be given to you...]
john 2 1-11 [the wedding at cana]
exodus 16 [manna]
1 Kings 19 [elijah flees to the desert]
cross, bread and wine among the magazines
printed questions among the magazines:
god provides for the 'mistake'
god looks after something that wasn't meant to happen
god provides material needs and a path for the future
what has god provided for you?
has god ever given you water or a path in the desert?
what would you like god to provide that god isn't providing?
is god saying wait or no?
how do you deal with the absence?
god's provision is a sign of the kingdom, of the values of god
how much of what we have comes to us through kingdom ways?
which of these things are in god's kingdom?
what are we providing for ourselves,
that is not in god's kingdom?
8. the god who sees us [steve]
[despite choice/not choice, despite provision or lack, despite the moral mess, hagar is one of the few people who sees god!]
blessing
this service followed elijah's desert journey in 1 kings 19...
adam and kathy had done a neat flyer
1. "elijah was afraid and ran for his life"
as people arrive a bike on a turbo trainer with jen riding is in the centre of the worship space
Projected on screens is the text above scrolling through questions such as
When do you run? What causes you to panic?...
When people arrive at the service they are met at the door and told that there will be no formal start to the service and given a newsheet. There will be no notices slot.
Benches out for people to sit on – fatboy cuishons in the café area (see later)
music: panic attack by UNKLE
2. "i have had enough, take my life"
The person running/cycling stops and collapses
Music changes mood
Read that part of the story
Cut to videos of athletes collapsing – e.g Paula Radcliffe and marathon etc
Discuss questions in groups - have you ever felt exhausted? Where was god? Have you ever just given up, or wanted to give up? Have you ever collapsed after running? Is it time you did?
3. “Get up and eat”
Tell story and connect with a shift of perspective –
physicality vs spirituality?
connect with lent! eat and drink instead of fast and pray.
Make link to get people to go to café
Fatboys, warm breads and drink, café runs for half hour as per normal with fatboys rather than tables and chairs
On screen or on audio words – relax, eat and drink or “get up and eat” etc appear every so often along with video of chairs.
4. “I am the only one left”
On the video screen in the café show a video of someone whining the passage “I am the only one left” etc...
[this never happened - instead we had someone enact it]
5. “the lord is about to pass by”
Give instructions to step outside the café into the presence of God as he/she is about to pass by in the church. Everyone goes back in. “listen” is on the screens.
Videos of earthquake/wind/fire – maybe traffic or white noise or whatever. On the screen after each one
“god was not in the fire” etc...
[wind was sourced from bbc, earthquake and fire from dvd semiconductor worlds in flux]
Then silence – light a central candle? Project “god is in the quiet whisper” “listen” and give plenty of space for people just to be quiet.
6. “go back the way you came”
go back the way you came blessing using the line go back the way you came over desert footage from planet earth desert programme where water gushes in the desert and then flowers bloom
We met for communion and breakfast. During the service we created a liturgy that became the final entry in the 2008 Lent Blog.
Grace's annual blog through lent returns for 2008.
Usually an eclectic mix of thoughts from members of the Grace community reflecting on their journey through lent.
You can read the whole blog here.
If you are contributing to the lent blog please check these instructions to find out how.
This guide will hopefully explain how you can post on the Grace lent blog for 2008.
To post on the website you will need to create an account. Click here to go to the registration page. Enter a Username and your email address, then follow the instructions in the email you receive.
Before you can create a blog post the permissions on your login need to be changed. Please email Adam and let him know your user name and he'll set the permissions.
Once you have an account and the permissions are set, then you are ready to post.
The first step is to login - use the Login/register link on the left hand side of website, enter your username and password.
Once logged in you will see a fairly blank page telling you how long you have been a member. On the left a new box has appeared with your user name as the title at the top of it. In this box click the link 'create content'. The next page gives you the option of creating a story or an image. Click on 'Story'. This will give you a blank form to create your blog post.
First thing is to give your post a title. Enter your title in the box at the top of the form.
Ensure the Blog Cats drop down box has Lent Blog 2008 selected otherwise you will post in last years blog!
Then type (or cut and paste) your post into the main 'Body' box.
You can format your text by adding simple commands. To find out more you can look at the 'More information about formatting options'.
have a look at this image for more clues:
(This assumes you have the image you want to add on your PC)
To add an image into your text, position your cursor at the postion you want the image to appear and press the green cross at the bottom of the box.
A pop-up window will appear. In this new window click on 'Add Image' in the top left of the window.
In the next form that appears, give your image a Title and Description. Find the image by pressing the 'browse' (or 'choose file') button. Find the image on your computer and select it. Once you have chosen the image, and entered the information press 'Submit'.
This will take you back to the first page in the pop-up window. Now scroll down the list to find your image by its title, click on the title. At the bottom of the window a new set of options appears. Choose if you want your image to appear fullsize or as a thumbnail, then press 'insert image', this will close the window and put a line of code, wrapped in square brackets [], into your text. Next time you preview your entry you will see your image appears where this line of code is.
Once you're happy with your post you can preview it by clicking the preview button at the bottom.
This will show your entry with the form at the bottom for you to make corrections and changes.
You can keep previewing as many times as you like.
You must submit your post before you leave, otherwise it will not be saved.
To save your post you press 'Submit' button at the bottom of the page.
your entry will appear on the front page of the website and at www.freshworship.org/lentblog08
That's it... all done and dusted... Unless you've made a big mistake!
In that case whilst logged in go to the page for your entry, this can easily be got to by clicking on the title of your post on the front page.
At the top of your entry there will be tabs for view and edit. Press edit and you'll see the editing form to correct your mistakes.
Of course once you are really finally happy, tell your friends. email them the link for the lent blog: www.freshworship.org/lentblog08 - they can also pick up the RSS feed using the orange XML button of the lent blog page.
Six large sealed cardboard boxes are arranged around the worship area.
cynical by default by Cheryl Lawrie.
Song; Come Holy Spirit by Grace
Participants explored six stations exploring signs of the Spirit. Each station invited reflection about what each sign reveals about the Spirit.The stations were;
fire
A barbecue set up outside. Invitation to write on paper something about the aspect of your life you least want to open to God, and allow the paper to be consumed in the flames.
water
Jug of water and glasses. Reflection on the refreshing qualities of water.
light and cloud
Room filled with smoke from a smoke machine. Reflection on the transfiguration.
dove
Origami and reflection on Jesus baptism.
wind
Sit on a mat with fans all around.
anointing
Reflection on call and anointing of David. Opportunity to anoint each other with oil.
Confession (Steve)
After the confession, each cardboard box was opened to reveal a sign of the spirit, corresponding to one of the stations.
Like the Wind (Alternative Worship p.106)
Blessing
8pm, St. Mary's Church, Ealing.
Confession used in the service.
Environmental pledge made at the end of the service.
heap in the middle
everybody stands around
say confession piece:
this heap is the evidence against us
the embodiment of human wastefulness
our desire for more and cheaper
our forgetfulness of the cost
plastic from oil, a million years in the making and minutes to use and throw away
paper from trees, twenty years to grow and twenty minutes to read and discard
packaging is protection
maybe we wouldn't have to protect it if it hadn't travelled so far
packaging is advertising
we added advertising to the apple
'eat this and be like god, knowing good and evil'
we have turned the garden of eden into a landfill
let us make a physical confession
take it in your arms, as much as you can carry
burden yourself, remembering how you burden the earth
take it to the sanctuary and drop it on the floor around the altar
as you do so, remember that all of the earth is god's holy place that we are defiling
when you have dropped your burden,
look at the cross and remember how christ takes the burden
of your sin, and of his damaged creation
because the earth is the lord's, and everything in it
ask god's forgiveness
repeat your journey until all the rubbish has been dumped around the altar.
*****************************
let's start by doing something necessary and symbolic
[here] are recycling boxes
labelled for cans, plastic, cardboard and paper
let's take the rubbish from the altar and put it into the appropriate boxes for recycling
I pledge to:
Calculate my carbon footprint, and find a way of reducing it by 10%. A calculator can be found here.
Switch to a renewable electricity supplier -- either Good Energy (0845 456 1640), or Ecotricity (0800 0326 100) . (If you choose Ecotricity, choose the New Energy Plus option).
Take one fewer return flight this year.
Make one fewer car journey this week.
Change all the incandescent lightbulbs in my home to low-energy lightbulbs, and turn lights off when I leave the room.
Find out more about the Climate Change Bill (information can be obtained from Christian Aid -- click on "stop poverty"), and write to my MP to tell them that 80% cuts in emissions are required.
Substitute a Fairtrade product for something I currently buy.
Get somebody else to do one of the above things.
Something else:
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Signed: __________________________
Name: ___________________________
Date: ____________________________
Walk the labyrinth, hang out and eat with us.
Eating and walking from 8pm, through the evening, Saturday 12th July.
We'll be on the grass outside St Mary's, Ealing.
Please bring a bottle and something to put on the BBQ.
we're back for a new season of grace.
[thanks to 1giantleap for the inspiration for the title - one of the tracks on their new album]
1. intro/welcome
intro/welcome
nothing is wasted story
song - my heart is restless
1giantleap clip - wounded in all the right places (taken from the dvd what about me)
2. broken table
collect a whole tile
reflection/meditation
broken pieces of tile brought to make table
quotes on brokenness to be projected
3. broken body
hospitality 'it's rare' song as welcome to table.
wounded eucharistic prayer
bread and wine shared using table made from broken pieces
4. prayers
ethos explained (ethos movie here)
candle lighting prayers - ethos words written out in night lights
ethos confession
prayer of commitment god of many names - it's called naming and presentation: a dedication by kathy galloway from the book 'talking to the bones' spck 1996
5. blessing
improvised blessing written during the service (inspired by juli allen)
Throughout history, when humanity is faced with the dazzling light of a holy God, there's this nagging feeling that we don't quite measure up. Some people just hide. Others try and purify themselves in thought and word and deed to make themselves a little more acceptable.
This month's Grace looks at how men and women through the millennia have attempted to keep themselves free from Contamination...
'Contamination' is the first of two services exploring how humanity has attempted to keep itself separated from 'spiritual impurity' and how Jesus turned such concepts on their head.
Saturday 11th October 8pm at St. Mary's.
1. Welcome and notices (Dean)
2. Opening (Ben)
Start with everyone standing in the middle of the church, and Ben recapping something of the end of the need to be clean enough to access God.
Sheet and piñata lowered from above as Ben tells story of Peter and the Sheet.
Sheet remains in middle of church.
Ben talks through story of Peter and the sheet as sheet descends.
Piñata containing shrimps, streamers, bible verses etc.
(full script of this section below)
3. Dean invites everyone to take a fallen leaf (dry but not too crisp), and write something on it that we do or use, that is always wrong or bad for us. Discuss a couple of leaves, and explores why they are bad. It isn’t that they are unclean in or of themselves; they are bad because the disrupt our relationships with God and other people. Invite people in groups of 4 to take 2 leaves and work through them. Take feedback about 2 or 3 interesting leaves.
Screens; images of fallen leaves, sweeping up, cleaning
4. Confession (Dean)
Text on screen (see script below)
At end, place leaves on sheet.
5. Tube Train sketch.
This section explores the idea that we try to be clean in order to keep up appearances.
Two lines of chairs across front of church, dressed with old copies of metro etc, sounds of tube train. Bits of theatre are enacted. Two monologues (Sarah and Steve) are spoken or played, as if they were the thoughts of people in the carriage. The monologues explore the gap between our inner thoughts and our outward appearances.
Video; tube trains
6. Closing Liturgy (Steve)
Everyone places a leaf on a tree, symbolising reconnecting all our broken things to the source of life, God redeeming all the ways we harm ourselves. See below.
7. Blessing.
by Cheryl Lawrie
Most of us would prefer to live in a castle than a tent. Castles have stout walls that protect us from the contamination of the outside world. Within your walls you can bring order and control. In your castle you can admit nothing that may be bad. You can banish the unexpected and the unpleasant, and live a life that is secure and protected.
But in a tent, you aren’t in control; you are open to the world. You can’t shut it out; you have to learn to live with it. The green and vital grass outside becomes dirt when you bring it in on your feet. It’s your choice whether you call it muck, or consider it a natural carpet. You learn to see that what you might call dirt, God has made to be exactly what it is. Whether we might use it for good or bad doesn’t change its essential nature. It is what it is.
Help us to be tent-dwellers rather than castle builders, ready to see the hand of God in all creation.
Forgive us when we divide the world into things that are good or bad.
Remind us that good and bad can be found in our actions, not in objects.
Living in a castle, you can create exactly the impression you want to the outside world. People can’t see inside; all they can see is the exterior that you want them to see; the carefully manicured flowers around the walls, the polished paintwork and the trim lawns. No matter if the inside isn’t quite so clean and tidy; no-one sees it anyway. All that matters is the front you put up.
In a tent there’s nowhere to hide, and no appearances to keep up. By day, you never know when a gust of wind will billow the tent flaps, giving passers-by a glimpse of your inner world. By night, your lamp casts shadows on the canvas wall. Your learn to live with your inner and outer worlds in sync.
Help us to be tent dwellers.
Forgive us when our righteousness is skin-deep.
Give us strength to dismantle the walls behind which we hide.
Give us courage, in community, to drop the front,
Come out from behind the mask of respectability,
And greet others with love and acceptance as they do the same.
Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent...
[illuminated white tree placed on sheet among leaves from part 3. congregation invited to stand around the sheet looking at the leaves]
here are our harmful actions and desires
lying as dead leaves on the ground
their beauty is brief
and then we are left with the withered remains
how shall these leaves live again?
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
our actions and desires can only live and prosper if they are offered back to god
and if the life of god flows through them
they will only bring fruit and healing if they are part of the tree of life where they truly belong
the tree of life breathes in pollution and breathes out clean air
the tree of life turns dead leaves into healing leaves
the tree of life turns our bad works into good fruit
that we can eat and not die
Lord we offer our freedoms back to you
replant them in your tree of life
and let us bear your fruit and healing
as a sign that we are offering these things to god, let's tie the leaves to the tree
[congregation tie leaves to tree with white cotton]
VISUALS: Simpsons/grace logo
Every now and then you’ll find a documentary about children so susceptible to illness they have to live inside a plastic bubble.
In real life it must be awful to endure. But if you’re Bart Simpson, there’s always going to be a bright side to a week in a bubble.
VISUALS: My bubble my rules
Told off by Marge for slurping his bowl of soup, he snapped back
“Hey, my bubble, my rules!”
You don’t have to go far in London to see “my bubble, my rules”.
(mobile phone?)
All in all Bart gets pretty used to life in a bubble. In the final scene he’s been released, and the freedom of the outside world is all a bit much...
Hey, this air is a bit fresh... hey, I think I’ll just hide in this air conditioning duct...
It’s very easy to get used to living inside a bubble...
MUSIC: HIGH SPEED EXCERPT/SEGUE WITH ROGER ENO VOICES
9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11
Suddenly it was night time. And he saw the night sky open, and something like a sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
TORCHES SHINE UP TO DESCENDING SKY-SHEET
MUSIC UP FOR DRAMATIC ASCENT
12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds, including one or two rather made up looking ones.
13 Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."
14 "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."
And Peter said to the voice “Well, I get what you’re saying. But I don’t really fancy any of that stuff. And those elephants are cuuute!”
“By ‘eck, you’re fussy for an apostle!” said the voice. “OK, I shall send another consignment. These are really delicious these ones. I shall send a magical beast. And you shall strike it with your staff. But you must not look upon this beast as you strike it, so cover your eyes.”
“Why”, said Peter, “will I die if I gaze upon it?”
“No” said the voice, “it’s just more fun this way”
And the LORD provided a great cloud of witnesses, who created a landing strip for the magical creature
LIGHT SPARKLERS
who descended from the heavens...
MUSIC UP
TORCHES POINT AT SLOWLY DESCENDING PIG
“Now, said the voice, kill and eat.”
“Wait!” said Peter.
“What is it now?” said the voice
“I am about to beat the heavens out of a pig in front of all these witnesses... some of these people might be vegetarians”
“Well spotted!” said the voice. “Now that I am freeing you from all those rules and regulations, these are exactly the sort of things you need to bear in mind... I shall make it clear to them that this merely a metaphor – no matter how sweet it looks. They will tell you where you must place your staff.
MUSIC UP: SPIDER PIG
“Gather around” said the voice. “Take and eat. And you may also gather some of the goodies in a party bag, that you may pass to your offspring. They come in purity silver and regal gold. Sorry, Woollies was out of Hannah Montana. Find something tasty or sparkly that will remind you of the freedom you have. Everything is clean”
While you’re gathering, you will find that three of the creatures have a message attached. If you could wave when you find one...
GET PEOPLE TO READ OUT TAGS
My father used to work for the probation service rehabilitating offenders. Most of them were happy to be given an alternative to prison. But, there were a few old lags for who prison was the lesser of two evils – especially at Christmas. They’d become so institutionalised, the responsibilities of the outside world were too much for them. With freedom comes responsibility.
We don’t know whether Peter celebrated the new purity laws by knocking up a casserole of pork belly. What’s recorded next is that he goes forth to share the Gospel with the gentiles. Now nothing and no one was impure, the great commission of Jesus had suddenly become a much bigger task. With freedom come new responsibilities.
It’s meant that through the centuries, Christians felt free to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. Living among pagan peoples, offering shelter to the outcasts, lepers or prostitutes.
Like the prisoners, a list of rules can feel reassuring – it can keep you inside your comfort zone.
“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean”? ... are there any ways that God is asking you to step out of your bubble into somewhere new, somewhere that He has declared “Clean”?
‘Christmas in Bethlehem’ - Grace Saturday 13th December
The church is initially very dark with some candlelight. We will light candles as a symbol of light entering the world. The separation wall made from banqueting roll will be our large screen (approx 25ft tall) for the evening.
Many of the prayers through the service come from Amos’ Bethlehem Pack 2008. Video clips are taken from Amos' DVD Hidden From View.
Pre-service:
Still wall images + tunes
Introduction:
Christmas in Bethlehem. Always an occupied land. You want to think about the nativity – think about a refugee camp. Not a place where people want to be.
Leaders tell 3-4 short stories of Bethlehem through the ages. The idea being to set a picture of Bethlehem under various external rulers to get away from always having the Jews as the enemy
Visuals – loads of wall graffiti and wall images on Flickr.
1. Christ’s birth - Kitsch images
2. First Crusade (one of the Kings of Jerusalem was crowned in Bethlehem on Christmas Day) - relevant images
3. Late 19th/early 20th century - relevant images
4. Amos stories - Videos: Football team + idf soldier (edit part 1)
Meditation: ‘Not so this Christmas’
Did shepherds once guard sheep
On hills near Bethlehem,
Fearing only wild animals?
Not so this Christmas -
When the danger that lurks in the hills is a camouflaged tank.
And were those shepherds made fearful
By bright lights which turned out to be angels
And a loud noise which became
A heavenly song to the glory of God?
Not so this Christmas -
When the sound of the sky is the roar of helicopter gunships,
The light, the bursting rocket.
Did shepherds once walk freely
From those hills down to the town
Where folk slept soundly - apart from that group in the stable?
Not so this Christmas -
When the route is blocked by checkpoints
And a towering concrete wall,
And citizens, walled in, fear for themselves and for their children.
Is that family still there - poor, vulnerable?
Mother, father and the child
Who will know the suffering and sorrow and death,
Yet through it all, bring hope.
People of God, go afresh to Bethlehem
In the light of reality.
Occupied them - occupied now
Innocents slaughtered then - and now.
Go and see the child who will grow
To be the man who cries for justice,
who dies to bring new life.
He invites us to follow him.
© Wendy Ross-Barker
November 2003
Song: O come, O come Emanuel Belle and Sebastian over wall images
Stations:
Introduce the stations + graffiti (people invited to write/draw their own wall graffiti as the service proceeds)
Four stations, each culminating in an advent prayer from the Bethlehem pack
A mass of candles at each station for people to light a candle as they say each advent prayer. Video/still images rolling throughout.
1. Exploring the idea of it being always winter and never christmas. Link to Narnia (turkish delight) but also the fact that Bethlehem has never been right itself - always waiting
A prayer for Bethlehem
In this time of Advent may we remember the people of Bethlehem, especially our Christian
sisters and brothers.
From this little town the Prince of Peace came,
but today they know no peace.
Imprisoned by a wall, with land taken,
being economically strangled, many have fled.
Yet the church longs to continue its witness here as it has done through the centuries.
As we light our Advent candle today and we start preparing for our journey towards Christmas
May we not forget Bethlehem - and also continue to pray for all the suffering communities of the Holy Land.
Garth Hewitt
2. York/Clifford's Tower
A prayer for justice and peace in the land of the Holy One
Living Lord, ignite in us a passion for justice
And a yearning to right all wrong.
Strengthen us to work for peace
In the land we call Holy:
For peace among Jew, Christian and Muslim
For reconciliation between communities
For harmony between faiths.
Inspire us to act with the urgency of your quickening fire,
For blessed are the peacemakers
They shall be called the children of God.
Ramani Leathard, Christian Aid and Amos trustee
3. A response (Amnesty) - Photographer needed
A prayer about the wall of separation in a land once called Holy
Living God, in Jesus you broke down the wall of division.
We see other walls that divide in our world,
Like the separation wall that cuts into the heart of Palestine,
Imprisoning a whole community –
Cutting them off from one another, from their work, from hospitals,
From education and from places of worship.
God of liberation strengthen them in their struggle,
May hope be born again from the Prince of Peaceʼs birthplace in Bethlehem
And throughout this land once called holy.
May Palestinians find justice at last,
So Palestine and Israel can both live in peace -
Both live securely - both live in freedom
Without walls, without checkpoints, closures and curfews.
May we realise the great message of hope that all are chosen or none,
Weʼre all in this together -
One God, one community, one hope, one future.
Garth Hewitt from ʼMaking Holy Dreams come Trueʼ (SPCK)
4. Signs of hope. Mandela, Berlin Wall etc
A thought from a Bethlehem Christian for hope and light in the Holy Land
Despite the difficulties in our lives, we will rejoice at the birth of Christ at Christmas. Taking
our inspiration from the story in the Bible of Herod's massacre and the flight to Egypt of the
Holy Family.
The inspiration comes from knowing that despite being born into those dark days, amid the
harsh Roman occupation, and despite the fear that must have gone with the family as they
escaped to another country, Jesus did return and was able to spread his ministry of peace
and love.
We are living in a similar situation over 2000 years later, behind the apartheid Wall and under
the harsh occupation by the Israelis, and many Palestinians are escaping to other countries.
But we are persevering and will celebrate Christmas with the message of hope and deliverance that Christ has planted in our hearts.
We pray that through the miraculous birth of Christ we will see the Wall go and change into a
bridge of understanding between the two peoples living here.
Our prayer is that through mutuality, inclusivity, and reciprocity, the road to reconciliation will
conquer all kinds of fears, paranoia, and injustices and the Holy Land will once again be the source of hope and light.
Zoughbi Zoughbi,
Director of Wi'am Conflict Resolution Centre, Bethlehem
Bring everyone back together
Video clips:
Embarassment of the Christians
Idf soldier (second clip)
Response:
Grafitti prayers. Images from the wall together with our own graffitti
Video clip of Garth Hewitt speaking
A blessing
Blessed are the peacemakers -
the community builders,
the activists who practice non violence,
the educators who teach another way,
the reconcilers who seek to heal a wounded community,
the artists who imbue a community with dignity,
the academics who unearth buried truth,
the theologians who remind us of a God of liberation
and all those who seek to build a future by removing walls of division
they shall be called the children of God.
Peace on each one who comes in need
Peace on each one who comes in joy
Peace on each one who offers prayers
Peace on each one who longs for peace
Peace on each one who works for justice
Peace on each one whose life shows mercy
Peace on each one who walks humbly with God
Peace on each one who journeys to wholeness
Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Liberator
Peace of the Life Giver, the Holy One
May peace not conflict arise from our hearts wherever we go.
Help us to be active peacemakers - to bring peace into the world by whatever means we are able.
Help us never to stand back and watch people suffer,
but to look for solutions in the smallest and the largest situations.
May our peace be a sign of strength and not of weakness, that others may follow peace with peace.
We used the cloth from the st pauls labyrinth. The narrative for the journey was threefold:
1. the journey to the centre gave space to reflect on the year gone by
2. the centre was a holy space to be with God
3. the journey out gave speace to reflect on the year ahead.
During the labyrinth we projected the film finisterre which is a wonderful hour's footage of London.
The nine stations on the labyrinth were as follows (text that was printed at each is in italics)
1. stillness -
beanbags and mp3 players
listen, breathe be still
take one of the mp3 players. press play and listen (the track was breathe for jenny baker's contemplative prayer EP on proost)
2. reflect -
an icon of christ
where have you met christ this year?
3. thankfulness -
trays of ferrero rocher with words wrapped around and the text
what did god unwrap for you in 2008?
what are you thankful for?
take and eat a sweet
do what it says on the sweet paper
4. sorrow -
poem
what have you lost this year?
sometimes we only notice something when it's about to disappear.
read the poem
consider what you are laving behind
5. holy space
bread and wine and a candle
take time
be with god
feed on christ
6. gift
some origami gift boxes to make - click on thumbnail of template to see larger image.
what gifts from the past year can you carry into the next?
a person youʼve met or known for a long time
an experience - good or bad
a new skill or talent you developed
take a gift template. write the 3 gifts on the back of each of
the strips. make the gift and carry it with you.
to make the gift crease along each of the solid lines
and open them out. then, holding the corner square,
ʻplaitʼ the strips so the blank squares are hidden and
the stripes form a gift ribbon on the outside.
7. hope
an icon of christ on card with glue and paper to add to it
what are your hopes for the coming year?
we'll make an icon of christ together to symbolise the
things we hope for. for each of your hopes tear some
coloured paper or a section from a magazine page and stick
it in an appropriate place on the icon, tearing it to fit if
necessary.
8. fear
a pile of stones and a bucket of water
what are your fears and worries for the year ahead?
take a stone from the pile
imagine your fears and worries are held in the stone
in your own time drop the stone in the water
give your fears and worries to God who cares for you
leave them behind
let go
9. presence
am image with a hidden tiger in it
we had a group of visitors from calvin college who recorded a movie of the labyrinth and added it to youtube...
Setup of space:
Usual central space with beanbags
Big gift boxes for part 3 in centre of this
Cats cradle of strings across columns towards chancel - tangled in these are small gifts [rubik cubes, kinder eggs, sweets] on one end of a string with a brown envelope on the other end.
Altar near chancel arch, with old-fashioned 'balance'-type scales on
Main projector screen only in chancel arch - showing Babette's Feast with sound off throughout service. Since the film is 102 minutes long it started before the service.
1. intro:
introduced theme of this and the next service
2. stories:
the planning group found themselves swapping stories about gifts they had given and received - so it seemed a good idea to get the congregation into small groups to share their gift stories:
worst/best gifts
worst/best reactions
failures/bribes etc
and then share some of these with all of us.
3. our good intentions
There is a pile of wrapped gift boxes in centre of beanbags. Around these are gift tags and pens. People are invited to add, and keep adding gift tags of the real messages they want to convey by gift giving. There are some sample ones already added to give an idea e.g.
'' I don't really know you or understand you, but you always buy me something, so I thought I better get you something, and I'm trying to give it generously''
''I've searched everywhere to find the present which best says how much you mean to me, but I couldn't find it and now I've had to buy this in a hurry, and you'll never know...''
'I'd much rather hang out with you for a day, but as we don't seem to be able to make that happen, have this gift instead"
Introduction to this section:
"As we've heard in some of the stories, giving gifts can create a range of good and bad emotions. Delight. Surprise. Love. Confusion. Disappointment. Anxiety. Gift giving can be a complex experience.
The real meaning of the gift can often be different from the obvious meaning…
Have you had the experience of searching high and low trying to find the perfect gift for someone, running out of time and then having to buy something unsuitable in a rush? The recipient never knowing the time and concern you put into the search or how much you value them.
Or trying to be generous as you give a beautiful gift to someone you barely know, simply to reciprocate their gift and keep up appearances?
Or wishing that you could simply spend time with the recipient of the gift, enjoying their company and friendship but find yourself buying and giving a gift instead?
We were wondering what it would feel like to be able to give a gift where the meaning of the gift is explicit rather than 'wrapped up' with the gift.
Take a gift tag or two, remember some of the thoughts you've had as you've looked for, made, bought or given gifts, and experiment with writing an honest message to your imaginary recipient.
When you're ready add your messages to the parcels.
There are some there already to start you off."
4. gifts with strings
gifts sometimes have 'strings attached' - because gifts create relationship, they can be used to trap or coerce people into obligations or unwelcome situations. some gifts have to be refused, because the relationship they create is dangerous or inappropriate.
Cats cradle of strings across columns towards chancel - tangled in these are small gifts [rubik cubes, kinder eggs, sweets] on one end of a string with a brown envelope on the other end. In the envelope is the hidden message of the gift which is less pleasant:
now collect the rest of the series or your kids will be unhappy
now promise you love me
I expect you to turn a blind eye
just sign right here
Thankyou for accepting our offer. Unless you cancel in writing within 14 days, the annual fee of £72.30 will be charged to your card
We're sure you will tell everyone how generous we are
We're too busy to spend much time with you
Terms and conditions apply
Now stop bothering me
REPENT! For the hour of judgment is at hand!
now give me that contract
Now sleep with me
I expect you to put me first
Now phone our premium-rate number to find out if you've won a prize
If you leave me I'll never forgive you
Welcome to our friendly church community! We always need volunteers for the coffee rota and church cleaning!
Welcome to our church! We expect members to give regularly through the stewardship scheme.
Now give me something expensive in return
Leave your partner and marry me
You scratch my back I'll scratch yours
Give me the job
Buy everything from us
Don't expect me to do the washing up
Terms and conditions apply
We have the right to use your name and photo in our advertising
I will expect you to return the favour when I ask
Please don't sue
The congregation climb into the cats cradle web to get the gifts - they follow the strings from the gifts to the envelopes, and open the envelopes to read the message. Now that the gifts are untied from the strings, they give the gifts to each other.
5. how does god give?
Read some verses around gift (life, generosity, forgiveness, Jesus...). As each is read pour rice onto scales. After each one word association prayers with the response:
for the gifts you give thank you
How do we give to God?
Read psalm 50
Read Grace remix of Psalm 50
if gifts are about relationships, what do God's gifts say about our relationship with God?
ie gift of eternal life - because god wants us to be with her always
God gives to us in the hope that we give ourselves in return - it's not about what [things] we give [which are small] but our gift of relationship back to God
God wants us to gift ourselves
not sacrifices but hearts
Our gifts should be tokens of relationship not payments of obligation
response:
Come up to table one by one
we pour rice over person's hands as a sign of generosity of God
they put a grain or two back into the empty side of the scale as a token of relationship.
6. receiving gifts from god to give to others
after the formal end of the service, we asked the congegation if they wanted to take away some of the rice for cooking - plastic bags were available for this.
The Easter Vigil was a joint service run in collaboration with St. Mary's Church. The evening began at 9:15pm on Easter Saturday with a cafe serving coffee, soft drinks and nibbles. at 10:15 we went outside to gather around a bonfire, light the Paschal Candle, and process around the church in candlelight. The procession entered the church for a sequence of readings and meditations and a renewal of baptismal promises. At midnight we celebrated the first communion of Easter and went outside for fireworks, the ringing of the church bells and a glass of sparkling wine.
Service of the Light
(Small, unlit candles are distributed to members of
the congregation in the café shortly before the service begins. These will be
lit from the Paschal Candle during the Service of Light outside.The service begins
outside the church, where we will gather around a brazier.
Listen all of you
What is happening? Tonight there is a great silence over
the earth, a great silence, and stillness. There is a deep longing where hope
has vanished, and all that is left is the dull aching throb of loss and
longing.
Where is hope?
Where is light?
Where is God?
Holy Saturday is about emptiness.
‘The cross is empty now, and still.’
Where is the Lord? They are saying he is dead. The
Christ, the God, the source, the creator, the everlasting light of the world
…is dead. The heavens and the earth cry out with longing for the sinless one
who is not to be found. We wait, like mourners beside a grave, unsettled, ill
at ease, almost not knowing what to do with ourselves.
But he lives in light, bathed in beauty, ever creating,
ever living – he could never come back… to here.
But we are gathered, as Christians have gathered from the
earliest times, through the night of Easter, to recall the story of God’s
saving work, from creation through to the death and resurrection of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
The Paschal Candle is lit from the fire
May the light of Christ, rising in glory, banish all
darkness from our hearts and minds.
The candles held by the congregation are lit from the
Paschal Candle.
For every person the following is said:
The light of Christ.
Thanks be to God.
Jen introduces the walk around the church and what we
might like to consider/discuss.
We walk around the church three times following the
Paschal candle held by Mike. Once the laps have been completed, Mike enters the
building, followed by the congregation, and they pause just inside the
entrance.
The Candle is lifted up and Mike says:
The light of Christ.
Thanks be to God.
The procession continues to the centre of the building
and stops once more. The Paschal Candle is placed on the central table,
with all the small candles around. People stand in the central space
The Exsultet
The Exsultet is led by Mike standing by the Candle.
The words are presented on the screens. There is a track playing.
Choirs of angels, stars and planets:
all God’s people sing and dance.
All creation, Church of God:
all God’s people sing and dance.
We praise you Lord of life and death:
we glorify your name:
all God’s people sing and dance.
This is the night you set us free,
bringing us home in love;
holy night, when you led your people
through the fearsome sea:
all God’s people sing and dance.
This is the night you brought your Son
through the doors of death;
O holy night, when death takes flight
and hope is born again:
all God’s people sing and dance.
This is the night our tears of sadness
turn to shouts of joy;
holy night, when the choirs of earth
sing the songs of heaven:
all God’s people sing and dance.
This is the night when Christ our Light
makes the darkness bright:
all God’s people sing and dance.
Christ is the life that knows no end.
Christ is the love that burns within.
Christ is the peace that floods the world.
Christ is the Lord who reigns on high.
All God’s people sing and dance.
Amen.
The Vigil
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
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 the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
Collect Prayer
God of glory,
by the raising of your Son
you have broken the chains of death and hell:
fill your Church with faith and hope;
for a new day has dawned
and the way to life stands open
in our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
People take a seat.
Readings
· Genesis
1:1-2:4a - The creation – Jen
· Exodus
14:10-15:1a: The Red Sea – Jonny Cash ‘Hurt’ video (Mike to provide)
· Ruth
1:15-18, 2:1-13, 4:13-17 The faithfulness of Ruth - Sue
· Ezekiel
36 verses 24-28, Ezekiel 37 verses 1-14 A new heart and a new spirit, Resurrection
of the bones – Gill
· Romans
6:3-11 Song ‘And Death Shall Have No Dominion’
All stand. Lights come up
during acclamations.
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
Alleluia.
He has defeated the powers of death.
Alleluia.
Jesus turns our sorrow into dancing.
Alleluia.
He has the words of eternal life.
Alleluia.
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according
to N.
Glory to you, O Lord.
·
Gospel; Mark 16:1-8. Read by Justin
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Initiation Liturgy
Justin invites everyone to gather around the font.
Praise God who made heaven and earth,
who keeps his promise for ever.
Let us lift our voices, giving thanks to God.
We give thanks to God, who is here among us.
Loving Father, your Son Jesus
was baptized in the river Jordan,
we thank you, that through such a simple thing as water,
you wash our hearts and minds, cleansing and reviving us.
We thank you that through the waters of the Red Sea
you led your people Israel out of slavery
to freedom in the Promised Land.
We thank you that through the deep waters of death
you brought your Son,
and raised him to life in triumph.
Touch this water by your Spirit that we who are washed in it
may be made one with Jesus in his death and in his resurrection,
to be cleansed and delivered from all sin.
Touch us, by your Spirit;
birth in us to new life in the Body of Christ,
and raise us with Jesus to full and everlasting life;
for all strength, supremacy, authority and power are yours,
now and for ever.
Amen.
We remind ourselves of our commitment to the Kingdom
and renew our faith, our hope and our trust
in the one who has
and will fully restore the Kingdom
in us and in the whole world.
Do you believe and trust in God the Father?
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ?
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Do you believe and trust in the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
(People are moistened with the baptismal water and return to
seats)
We who are baptized are called to live out the kingdom of God in the
world.
Will you continue in the message of Jesus and in community with each
other,
in the breaking of bread, and in prayer for each other?
I will be the body of Jesus to all in the household of faith.
Will you fight injustice?
Will you fight evil, institutional or personal,
and, whenever you sin, repent and return to the Lord?
I will let the mind of Jesus reign in me.
Will you manifest the gospel of the kingdom
in all you do and say?
I will be the voice of Jesus in the world.
Will you seek and serve Christ in all people,
loving your neighbour as yourself?
I will be the hands of Jesus in the world.
Will you pray for the world and its leaders,
defend the weak,
feed the hungry,
shelter the homeless,
and seek peace and justice for all peoples;
so that Jesus’ true power and authority is displayed?
I will be the body of Jesus in the world.
May Christ dwell in our hearts through faith,
that we may be rooted and grounded in love
and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.
Amen.
Congregation are invited to pass through the water and
return to their seats.
Communion
The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples
and said,
‘Peace be with you.’
They were glad when they saw the Lord.
The peace of the risen Christ be always with you
And also with you. Alleluia.
All are invited to place their hand print on the
communion table, and gather around it.
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
It is our duty and our joy to give you thanks,
almighty and eternal Father,
and on this night of our redemption
to celebrate with joyful hearts
the memory of your wonderful works.
Your son Jesus took what was broken and transformed it through his 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
For by the mystery of his passion
Jesus Christ has conquered the powers of death and
hell
and restored in us the image of your glory.
He has placed us once more in paradise
and opened to us the gate of life eternal.
so we join with the angels saying
holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
hosanna in the highest.
blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
hosanna in the highest.
at the last meal you shared with your friends
before your betrayal
you took the bread and gave thanks
you broke it and shared it, saying “take, eat; this is my
body, broken for you.
do this in remembrance of me”
you took the cup of wine, gave thanks and shared it
saying “drink this, my blood, shed for you.
do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me”
Great is the mystery of faith:
Christ has died
Christ has risen
Christ will come again
send your holy spirit on us
heal our brokenness
show us our place in your community of faith
gather into one in your kingdom all who share this one
bread and one cup,
so that we, in the company of all the saints,
may praise and worship you for ever,
through Jesus Christ our Lord;
by whom, and with whom, and in whom,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory be yours, almighty Father,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Rejoicing in God’s new creation,
as our Saviour taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily
bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who
sin against us.
Lead us not into
temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the
power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.
Jesus says, I am the bread of life,
whoever eats this bread will live for ever.
Lord, our hearts hunger for you;
give us this bread always.
so gather at this table
not because you are whole
but because you recognise your need for healing
not because you think you are good enough
but because you recognise these gifts of the god who died
for you
distribution of communion
God of Life,
You took on the death that was destined for us,
but death could not hold you,
and you broke its power over us.
Help us each day to die to sin
And live in your risen life.
Amen.
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Dean to improvise blessing
With the risen life of Christ within you,
go in the peace of Christ. Alleluia, alleluia.
Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
the greater silence is service inspired by and shamelessly ripped off from beth and laurence keith but used with permission (thanks!). beth and laurence go to a fransiscan community from time to time. at the end of the day there is a service of compline in a quiet atmosphere. at the end people are free to stay in the space for as long as they like in just candlelight - this is called the greater silence and the community keeps silence.
before worship begins
Movies of water, and whales in the deep ocean (thanks Alistair) - these were stunning.
Quotes on silence (audio)
Intro
Discussion around our experience of silence and some practical gudies for how to use it.
Picture of angels folding wings...
Body prayer
Compline part 1
God almighty grant us a
quiet night and a perfect end.
Amen
Our help is in the name of the Lord
Who made heaven and earth
Holy God
Holy and mighty
Holy and immortal
Have mercy on us
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now and shall be forever.
In the evening Jesus came and stood among the disciples and said to them:
‘Peace be with you’
The light and peace of Jesus Christ
Be with you all
And also with you
O God, I call to you;
come to me quickly;
hear my voice when I cry to you
Set a watch before my mouth,
and guard the door of my lips.
Let my prayer rise
before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands
as the evening sacrifice.
let not my heart incline
to any evil thing;
let me not be occupied
in wickedness.
But my eyes are turned to you,
in you I take refuge;
do not leave me defenceless
Let my prayer rise
before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands
as the evening sacrifice.
As our evening prayer rises
before you, O God
so may your mercy
come down to us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free
Lectio Divina
John 21:15-19 - this is a way of meditating on a passage of scripture that involves, reading, meditating, prayer and contemplation. the passage was read 4 times with space for each of these stages - probably allowed 10-15 minutes for it. lectio photo . this was the movie we played during the lectio and the greater silence.
Compline part 2
Into your hands
I commend my spirit
Into your hands
I commend my spirit
For you have redeemed me,
God of truth.
I commend my spirit
Keep me as the apple of your eye.
Hide me under the shadow
of your wings
Lighten our darkness, Lord we pray;
And in your mercy defend us
From all perils and dangers
of this night;
For the love of your only son,
Our Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Greater Silence
A period of 20 minutes of silence. We lowered the lights so that just a candle was burning.
Compline part 3
In peace, we will lie down and sleep;
For you alone,
make us dwell in safety.
Abide with us Jesus,
For the night is at hand
and the day is now past.
As the night-watch looks for the morning
So do we look for you, O Christ.
The Lord bless us and watch over us;
The Lord make his face shine upon us
And be gracious to us;
The Lord look kindly on us
And give us peace.
Amen
[At the end we left a candle burning and asked people to leave the space in silence and go through to the cafe. Several people stayed in the space quite a long time]
Set up:
Long table banqueting style down centre of church. Table with white cloth/roll is bare. Light shining on table - grace logo
People arrive in Polygon through church, tunes playing, warm atmosphere
1. Aperetif – drink and menu given out to read.
Small drinks table set up with wine bottles labels and instructions for people to create wine labels to attach to bottles – what do you bring to the table?
Invite people to go to the table and to take the bottles with labels (and their glass), collect cutlery and plate on way
2. Welcome to the table - intro and prayer
3. Amuse Bouche – 5 different types of dip and bread. Dips to be different flavours – reflect/examen type thing using flavours – spicy, sweet, bitter, sour, hot.
4. Entrée – salad. Ingredients brought to table. Each group/person makes a salad. An item on its own is not so great but together make something better – picture of grace. Thanks for community and all ingredients.
5. Plat Principal – Add crackers to table. Cards in crackers with ethos words on - exchange cards to select one which you have done in the last year and one challenge for the year ahead. Talk over the meal.
6. Pause - a pause after the tables are cleared to listen to a couple of readings and pray.
reading 1 Gal 5:22 Fruit of the Spirit plus poem from Listings
reading 2 from book Sanctuary on community
Prayer - we hang our lives on your mercy and then invite people to write or draw prayers on the table cloth
7. Dessert – make cookies adding decoration – then taken to be baked. Be a gift for someone else in the community.
8. Toast and blessing – refill glasses, toast others round table.
Hot towels brought round and a prayer of blessing
9 Coffee and cookies back in Polygon with more tunes.
AMUSE BOUCHE
[The platters of dips are placed down the table along with baskets of bread]
Introduction
Time to wake up your taste buds and reflect on the past few months.
Asian cooking works around five major tastes:
• Sweet
• Sour
• Salt
• Hot
• Bitter
The perfect meal consists of a blend of all five – without one that essential something is missing.
Take some time to read the quotations.
Take some bread and taste each of the flavours in turn:
• Sweet – honeyed cheese dip
• Sour - lemons
• Salt – crisps
• Hot – chilli hummus
• Bitter - rocket
Reflect on the events of the past few months that each flavour brings to mind.
You might want to share your thoughts with your neighbours around the bowl.
[Copies of the verses and instructions were scattered along the table]
SWEET
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 119:103
Think of the good times of the past few months.
SOUR
Whoever eats sour grapes—his own teeth will be set on edge.
Jeremiah 31:30
Reflect on those times when something has not turned out as well as you had hoped.
SALT
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
Matthew 5:13
Remember a time when you made a difference however big or small
HOT
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
Revelation 3:15
Remember those things you are enthusiastic about
BITTER
That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.
Exodus 12:8
Remember times of sadness
Our Toast Washing Line with "I am the Bread of Life" in alphabet-cut toast:
Bread is a fundamental staple in the west. Other cultures have rice or potatoes; we have bread. There is a story from the aftermath of World War II, when thousands of children were orphaned in bombing raids and left to starve. The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they received food and good care. But many of these children could not sleep at night. They feared waking up to find themselves once again homeless and without food. Nothing seemed to reassure them. Finally, someone hit on the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold at bedtime. Holding their bread, each child could finally sleep in peace. All through the night the bread reminded them; “Today I ate, and I will eat again tomorrow”.
The participants were invited to gather around tables in small groups.
We demonstrated how to create a yeast fermentation using warm water, sugar, and dried yeast. We had a new packet of yeast to demonstrate the yeast of the Kingdom of God, and a packet of out-of-date yeast to demonstrate the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (this we also sabotaged with vinegar).
Each group had a jug of warm water, sugar, and dried yeast to start a fermentation with(the first stage in making bread). Whilst the yeast came out of dormancy and started making froth, the people in their small groups had two readings from Matthew to read and to discuss:
Then we compared the Yeast of the Kingdom of God (fluffy) with the Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees (flat and sour).
Before the service we had prepared some dough, kneaded it, and allowed it to have its first rising. A small lump of this dough was now distributed to every person; they were invited to knead it, to shape it into a flatbread / pizza-type shape, and to flavour it with olive oil, honey, sesame seeds, lemon salt, zatar (herbs), or fried onion. These flavourings can be taken to symbolise the diversity of the Christian community: honey for sweetness, the salt of the earth, oil for healing, herbs and onion for flavour, and seeds for new life.
The work was blessed:
And while they kneaded, people were encouraged to consider some of the following questions, taken from Examen:
before we all prayed the Lord's Prayer together.
The finished bread was laid on baking trays and carried out to the kitchen to rise.
Three passages from John's Gospel were read:
Lynda gave a personal testimony on the power of Jesus to be our bread and to sustain us through difficult times.
Then we considered the symbolism of bread in the story of Exodus - how the Israelites had to be ready to move at a moment's notice, so carried unleaved bread with them. The participants were invited to move into stations that told this story through a series of displays and questions, whilst Bob Marley's 'Exodus' played in the background.
Whilst this was going on, the bread was baking. We all gathered together again for a prayer:
before the distribution of the Antidoron, which we took from the Orthodox tradition.
“May the blessing and the mercy of the Lord be with you”
All shared the bread they had baked.
This marked the end of the formal part of the service.
"The Orthodox Church has two pulls going on inside it – one towards exclusivity and the other towards inclusivity. Eucharist is regarded very highly – only Orthodox believers who have fasted and prepared properly may receive it. But not all the loaf is consecrated: the largest portion is set aside as Blessed Bread, or Antidoron, to be shared among all the Orthodox. Churches that have a lot of non-Orthodox attendance have even-less-consecrated-Blessed-Bread which any Christian can share. Years go I took part in this Blessed-Bread sharing at a service with a Russian Orthodox community in Bath. It was a beautiful experience. First the priest would break off a large lump of bread, break it in half, bless it with the words “May the blessing and the mercy of the Lord be with you” and share it with the person next to him. Then that person would eat a small fragment of it, break the rest in two, and themselves bless it: “May the blessing and the mercy of the Lord be with you” and share it with the people next to them. Before long the whole room was a melee of people blessing bread and sharing it."
God, food of the poor;
Christ our bread,
give us a taste of the tender bread
from your creation's table;
bread newly taken
from your heart's oven,
food that comforts and nourishes us.
A fraternal loaf that makes us human
joined hand in hand,
working and sharing.
A warm loaf that makes us a family;
sacrament of your body,
your wounded people.
As this yeast does its work,
So may the Holy Spirit infiltrate all of my life:
Those areas off-limits that I want to control.
Expand my experience,
Raise my expectations.
Becoming a source of nourishment to others,
even as crumbs on the floor.
Examen:
For what moment today am I most grateful?
For what moment today am I least grateful?
When did I give and receive the most love today?
When did I give and receive the least love today?
When did I feel most alive today?
When did I most feel life draining out of me?
When today did I have the greatest sense of belonging to myself, to others, to God and the universe?
When did I have the least sense of belonging?
When was I happiest today?
When was I saddest?
What was today’s high point?
What was today’s low point?
Opening Prayer
Look at us, Lord,
Our hands are empty,
Our hearts are hungry
What do we want?
We are hungry for you, God our maker
We are hungry for a world where people are loved and affirmed
We are hungry for you Holy Spirit
We are hungry for justice
We are hungry for community
We are hungry for celebration
We are hungry for you Jesus Christ
We are hungry for change
Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
5When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"
8Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"
10Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." 15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Jesus the Bread of Life
25When the crowd found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"
26Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
28Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
30So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'
32Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
34"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread."
35Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
41At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"
43"Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. 44"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
52Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Matthew 13v31-33
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”
He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
Matthew 16v5-12
When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Questions.
What does ‘the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees’ mean today?
Is there any point in being ‘good yeast’ in our communities?
Where do you see the good yeast at work?
The weather being fine, the Labyrinth was set up mostly outside. People did the labyrinth, then munched the BBQ.
The path of the labyrinth was marked with brightly coloured wool (Ariadne's Clew), which wove from tree to tree. People started in small groups, listening to the story of The Woman Who Searched For Wisdom, then followed the thread through four separate Stations, to the Decompression Chamber inside the church.
The Woman Who Searched For Wisdom
Theseus was the son of the King of Athens. Every year an order came from Crete, that seven young men and seven maidens be sent to Knossos, to be food for the Minotaur: the half-bull-half-man who lived in the Labyrinth under King Minos’s palace.
Theseus volunteered to go, to try and slay the monster. But he couldn’t work out how to decipher the Labyrinth until King Minos’ daughter, Ariadne, gave him a ball of wool. He tied the thread to the entrance: it would lead him back to safety once the Minotaur was dead.
Please follow the thread –Ariadne’s Clew– as it leads you into the Labyrinth.
Every so often there will be a “station” with another story.
The thread led up the church tower to
From there the thread led back down into the graveyard.
By the gravestones,
Under the next tree,
The thread finally led inside the church, where a quiet place had been built with a circle of bean bags. On a low table in the centre, unlit candles, some rosemary (the herb, not the woman) and the Ern of Wisdom. This was the Decompression Chamber , a place to reflect on the whole service.
MATERIAL TO LOOK AT
Who knows what tomorrow brings
In a world, few hearts survive
…
All we have is here and now
All our lives, out there to find
Love lift us up where we belong
Far from the world we know
Up where the clear winds blow
Time goes by
No time to cry
Joe Cocker/Jennifer Warnes
I can be your hero, baby
I can kiss away the pain, oh yeah
I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away
Enrique Iglesias
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you’ll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
Mariah Carey
Always look on the bright side of life (whistle)
Always look on the light side of life (whistle)
If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and joke and sing
Eric Idle
‘I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.’
‘There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.’
‘I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.’
‘I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.’
‘I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbour. Do you know your next door neighbour?’
STATION INSTRUCTIONS
Wander the station area at your own pace.
As you wander around, consider what is being said about the place of hardship and pain.
Then consider, with others if you wish:
* What messages have you been told about pain and how to deal with it? (e.g. from parents, work, teachers, church, media, friends, ‘heroes’)
* What is the best way someone you’ve known has dealt with your or their own pain?
Then…
Go over to the paper/glue etc. These are materials for making a framed photo of someone you want to remember when it comes to dealing with pain. Follow the following instructions.
PHOTO FRAME MAKING
1. Choose a photo frame.
2. Either:
a. pick a photo of one of the people featured at this station from those provided and stick it into your frame, or
b. think of someone else who inspires you and draw a picture of that person in the space on your photo frame (or add a photo at home if you have one you’d like to use).
3. Write a quote on the back or around the edge of the frame if you wish. You might like to choose one of the quotes under the pictures around the station or something else you’d like to remember about dealing with hardship and pain.
4. Take your completed photo frame with you to the next station (and home where you can decorate it if you are so inclined).
A prayer – part of St Patrick’s Breastplate:
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
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
Think of something that you’ve learned over the years, wisdom from God or from experience, or something that you’ve learnt today.
Write your wisdom on one of the small pieces of paper, and deposit it in the Ern of Wisdom.
Feel free to take another piece of paper from the Ern. This is somebody else’s wisdom – passed on to you.
Have some rosemary. Take some to throw on the Barbeque, and keep the rest to help you remember what you’ve learnt.
Now go and enjoy the Barbeque!
You might like to do the first task in a pair/small group and the next bits on your
own. Up to you.
1. Jonah ends up angry because he disagreed all along with God's plan, (to
show mercy to the Ninevites) and he goes outside to sulk.
In Moby Dick, Father Mapple describes Jonah's battle as the struggle with
obedience to God:
... if we obey God, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobeying
ourselves wherein the hardness of obeying God consists. (Moby Dick)
When has your faith in God asked you to disobey yourself?
3. God's dealings with the angry Jonah go something like this:
God makes a vine grow beside Jonah which shades him from the sun. This
cheers Jonah up. Then God provides a worm that eats the vine which
makes Jonah hot and probably even more angry. Then God says:
You have been concerned about the vine though you did not tend it or make
it grow. But Ninevah has more than 120,000 people – and cattle! Should I
not be concerned about that?
That's it.
What do you think Jonah's response might have been?
Write the final sentence or draw a final picture for the story and stick it
up on the tree.
Cartoon version of the story of Prometheus, followed by questions on personal and corporate responsibility.
Jesus chose to go into the wilderness.
His 40 days there mirror the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the desert.
Only they hadn’t known what they were choosing, and spent the time grumbling. And complaining. And moaning.
“This water is bitter” “We want bread”
“We used to sit around pots of meat in Egypt”
Jesus chose not to turn the stones into bread.
Bread has the power to satisfy our bodily needs, but our need for the word of God is greater.
We can shop online for instant gratification.
But what word of the Lord do we lack?
“Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah” (when the Israelites complained over lack of water).
What is the difference between putting God to the test, and choosing to rely on God?
Worship Me!
We can all think of politicians and celebrities who have made this Faustian bargain.
When was the last time you traded truth for popularity?
Mark yourself with ash as a sign of repentance.
A woman went on a long journey, over hills, along valleys, fording fast-flowing streams, to visit a mountain-top hermit.
The hermit was of the approved story-type: filthy matted garments, long Monty Python hair and beard.
She asked him where she could find Wisdom.
The hermit replied: “Wisdom comes from Good Judgement”.
She was about to return home when she thought “Hang on, I’ve come a long way – what does ‘Good Judgement’ actually mean? She asked him where she could find Good Judgement.
The hermit told her: “Good Judgement comes from Experience”.
Again, she was about to leave, when she realised that she didn’t know where she was supposed to find Experience.
She asked the hermit, who finally answered…
“ Experience comes .........from Bad Judgement”.
the sunday after easter is traditionally called 'low sunday', not as is often thought in relation to the 'high' feast of easter but as a corruption of 'laudes', latin for 'praises'. it is also the day when the story of 'doubting thomas' is told [john 20:24-29]. this service explores the story of thomas, and how we believe what we believe.
setup:
church is dark with low lights
grace brazier from easter vigil - in middle - not lit - just full of ashes
images on big screen
1. welcome and introduction [steve]:
explanation about 'low sunday'
2. volunteer reader - first passage:
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
3. meditation: [steve]:
congregation watch slideshow
backing music - 'subterraneans' by david bowie from 'low'
4. volunteer reader - second passage:
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
5. volunteer to bring paschal candle up to beside the brazier and light it
slide on screen reads:
put down all your weapons
let me in to your open wounds
music - 'prologue' and 'weapons' by son lux from 'at war with walls and mazes' - track faded out halfway through [steve]
6. real and fake quiz:
big letters 'true' and 'false' hung from line slung across church. questions appear on screen - people stand under the letters according to whether they think the answer is 'true' or 'false'. the answer is then revealed on screen.
zoe to compere
7. people believe what they want to believe:
'people believe what they want to believe' slide on screen [steve]
jackie to introduce
play clip from 'catch me if you can' [steve]:
the scene where dicaprio arrives at a new school and starts teaching french, and everyone believes that he is a french teacher when he is in fact a pupil!
get people into groups of 4 or 5
hand out profiles from 'christian connection' dating site - which are real people and which are fake?
plus questions about how we decide if people are for real or not
people discuss in groups for ten minutes
jackie to ask people which they thought were the true ones
jackie to close section - about making those decisions - having a balance between faith and scepticism
'wise as serpents and innocent as doves'
8. volunteer reader - last part of passage:
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
9. commitment:
if we have chosen to believe, we are asked, like thomas, to pass that faith on.
as a sign of our commitment, we light individual candles from paschal candle and place them in the brazier so that it glows from within again.
closing prayer [matt]
final track 'sound and vision' by david bowie
followed by the cafe
This service followed a discussion we had in the planning group about inclusive language, and explored expansive language for God.
As people waited for the service to start, they played Taboo - the game where you describe a word without using any of the most obvious associated words.
We had the words of 'Praise my Soul the King of Heaven' on a screen. Half way through the service we introduced this and invited people to edit any words they wanted to change.
At the start of the service, we invited people to move to the choir stalls while 'He who would valiant be' was played on the piano. Someone appeared in the pulpit to preach to the 'brothers' about the wrath of God.
People then moved into a space at the front of the church to discuss their reactions to the sermon. They were enclosed in tape saying 'Do not cross' while we considered whether the language we use for God constrained us from a fuller understanding of who God is.
We broke the tape and people moved back to the body of the church.
Opening prayer, with space for people to think about the words they instinctively use for God.
Someone talked about different models for understanding the atom: Rutherford's planetary model compared with Schrödinger's quantum model. The new model led to many discoveries that we now take for granted.
In what way is your picture of God like the planetary model of the atom?
How is your picture incomplete?
What language and explanations do you use that hold you back from a fuller picture of God?
What might become possible if you can see the limitations of your picture of God?
We invited people to 'park' the instinctive and familiar words we use for God, not to reject them, but to put them to one side in order to create space for a more expansive understanding of God. People wrote them on yellow pieces of card and attached them to the spine of a book, creating a library of words that we wanted to rest.
People were invited to join in a confession.
We gave everyone an envelope with a different metaphor for God, most from the Bible, some from creeds and writers through the ages. People reflected on what this metaphor revealed about God, and talked to others near them about their words.
We invited people to choose a new metaphor or phrase that shed light on God's nature and write a prayer or some words that explored this. There was also an opportunity to create artwork. People came and wrote their new word on another piece of coloured card and added it to the bookcase, expanding the library of words.
Here are the words that people parked, and that people chose to explore.
In an atmosphere of worship, people read out their prayers. Here are a few:
Jesus is not lord
quantum
rock
housekeeper
generous host
ocean
We ended with a blessing.
Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas, and also the second coming of Christ at the renewal of the heavens and earth. This service included two periods of silence as we reflected on these themes.
Between the Old and New Testaments there are 400 years without word from God.
When there is silence from heaven, how do we wait amid noise on earth?
Silence in heaven; turmoil on earth
a dramatic piece, ending with questions to reflect on
to be projected onto a screen that will gradually fade into
darkness
Silence
Voices from the Christmas story
- starting with angel to Zechariah, ending with John 1
lighting eight candles in homage to Hanukkah
- more words from the life of Jesus to end with Great
Commission
Corporate prayer
- thanks for Jesus being born in our world
Meditation – how do we wait for the second coming
Silence
- during which people will be invited to light a candle
as a sign of wanting to participate in bringing in God’s
kingdom on earth
As candles fill the church with light, turn lights down
Prayer – recognising that people wait for different things
and with different feelings
Corporate prayer – we choose to wait in hope
For both of these see here
we are all waiting, lord
some of us are waiting for minor things
that only trouble the corners of our minds from time to time
some of us are consumed by waiting, unable to live fully
until our hopes and fears are resolved
none of us know how things will turn out
but we know that you do
but we know that you love
how do we know how to be faithful, when we don't know how things will work out?
how do we prepare?
what will we do in the meantime?
will it make a difference to what happens?
should we prepare for the best or the worst?
can hope and faithfulness encompass both outcomes?
none of us know how things will turn out
but we know that you do
but we know that you love
how do we wait serenely, when our imaginations get in the way?
how do we wait for god to act, without cooking up strategies for self-defence?
how do we accept uncertainty?
how long should we be prepared to wait?
how do we fill in the time, without wasting it?
none of us know how things will turn out
but we know that you do
but we know that you love
how long does faith last when nothing happens?
why do we expect answers within a certain time?
why do we think the answer will be different, if it doesn't come when we expect it?
do we think that delay means something has gone wrong?
can we think that delay means something is growing, like a flower,
or cooking, like a cake?
none of us know how things will turn out
but we know that you do
but we know that you love
we are all waiting, lord
in hope and in fear
but the difference is often in ourselves rather than in our prospects
when heaven is silent and earth is noisy
help us not to be distracted or misled
help us to be active shapers of the future we long to see
even if we cannot make the future
we will prepare its place
even if we cannot cook the feast
we will lay the table and invite the guests
even if we cannot sing the song
we will make the silence in which it will be heard
even if we cannot see the dawn yet
we will live by the light that we have
we will remember the stories
of how you rewarded those who dared to wait
we will wait in the knowledge
that waiting is not in vain if it is waiting for you
you are the one who holds our future
you are the one who was, and is, and will be
walk with us tonight, and for ever
amen
[this service revisited the story of the prodigal son/embracing father/grumpy older brother. inspiration for it came from ken bailey's poet and peasant book and miroslav volf's book exclusion and embrace. then we interwove several pieces from padraig's album hymns to swear by that we played. the set up was with a home - sofas, table, plant, fridge - in the centre and confession stations in 4 corners. amongst the visuals we used images of these stencils]
yearn flier | yearn movie loop
Welcome/intro
God above
Opening collect (from Hymns to Swear by)
Home - memories
Exploring stories, memories and associations with home
Discuss in small groups, and stick photos to fridge with fridge magnets
Blank postcards and pens for people who may not have photos
Home – trap or haven
Narrative Theology (from hymns to swear by) – the answer is in a story...
Tell/read/narrrate story of prodigal son. Set up story first - start of chapter, hear story one of whom will make a demand..., shocking request, father losing dignity etc..
Explore home in the story – I wonder... (a la godly play) on the two sons feelings/experience of home
Home – in Babylon
Play Maranatha (from hymns to swear by)
Then invite people to go to one of 4 areas they most identify with. Each will have a station and accompanying ritual for confession with a line from song.
These were...
you are my strength when i am weak -
i've given up sometimes when i've been tired - washing up
i've fucked it up so many times - shred paper with sins on
i found my home in babylon - mark on a map your distance from home
Absolution
Play Yearn for Home (hymns to swear by)
Home - Reconfigured
Improvised dialgue between two sons along lines of...
Discuss in twos - who do you identify with? - Dean
Spread out sofas – reconfigure world as an order of embrace
Home – the table
Peace
Share communion on the table in the centre of the home - take bread and wine out of fridge!
yearn communion liturgy
Home – blessing
yearn blessing
Give people a key as an object to takeaway to symbolise in terms of home that a) if they identify with the younger son, that they are not slaves but children with access to the front door and b) if they identify with the older son outside the party the door is always open and the arms are open wide as the world is reconfigured as an order or embrace.
