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