The entire service was based on Henri Nouwen's book about Rembrandt's painting 'The Return of the Prodigal'. We had obtained a set of slides showing details of the painting - hands, feet, faces - and created a station for each one, examining different aspects of the story.
the station for the slide of the prodigal son being welcomed by his father is here
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
the central feature was a dome tent set up without its outer sheet. inside the top of the tent hung a lightbulb.
welcome
2 examples of misconceptions of therapy (Antz clip and problem prayer) -
jen
introducing theme; what is therapy?; why suggest God as a therapist? - Ana
songs x 2
? +
heal me
group discussion - exploring the metaphor of God the therapist - Mike
interview a therapist (Jona) - Jonny
Sinead O Connor track 'this is to mother you'
meditation - Christ and his relationship with God the therapist - Ana
response time - Steve
the lightbulb in the tent symbolises the light of god's presence. there are squares of various materials available - black plastic, coloured plastic, fabrics, paper etc. the congregation each choose a piece and stick it on the tent, to represent their current relationship with god: eg an opaque piece placed close to the bulb means 'close to god but not seeing', a transparent pice far from the bulb means 'a long way from god but seeing god' etc.
closing prayer - Dave
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
Scene setting: carpet at front covered in leaves pictures of saints half-hidden in leaves DAVE a timeline marked out along the centre aisle of the church, with dates from Christ to the present day [two millennia]; at the appropriate dates saints/heroes of the faith marked with their names and a small biography of why they are of note, and a candle. STEVE
ORDER OF SERVICE: INTRO: Celtic history of why All Saints/All Souls is celebrated at this time of year tradition of awareness of mortality at onset of winter, and remembering those who have died [explanation of leaves/picutres?] DAVE
ACT OF REMEMBRANCE: one minute's silence First world war poem DAVE
PRAYER MIKE
SONGS
TIMELINE: introduction/explanation give congregation 5-10 minutes to look at it STEVE
GROUP DISCUSSION: people come back to front and settle in small groups to discuss/share people of the faith who have inspired them, whether historical or present-day, well-known or not.
IAN will speak about making connections between the heroes of the past and our lives in christ today, and how we pass those connections on in our turn.
postcards are handed out. each person writes the name of someone who has been their example on one side - who/why; then on the other side they write their own pledge to be that example for other people, and stick their photo on that side. IAN
TIME CAPSULE: short intro, the video of the Blue Peter time capsule burial c. 1970 is shown [if found - MARK] the cards are then gathered up and placed in the time capsule, along with grace memorabilia, to pass the memory of this group of saints gathered here tonight on into the future.
the time capsule is taken outside and buried. sparklers may be lit. JONNY [IAN is getting a time capsule]
everyone then comes back into the church CONCLUDING PRAYER OR MEDITATION to be decided
SONG
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
it is on a Christmas theme. there will be the usual atmosphere with music playing and voice over bits and bobs. action: dave to write bits and bobs connecting kev and ana's notes and christmas readings/snippets
the set up will be the labyrinth in the hall at the back. the entrance and exit to the labyrinth will be in the entrance to that hall. there will be a cafe set up at the back near the hatch all evening with tea/coffee/squash, mince pies and clementines. action: steve to rework the st paul's labyrinth design to fit in the space incorporating 4 stations + the central area action: dave to buy items for cafe - tea, coffee, sugar, milk, squash, mince pies, clementines
the labyrinth will run from 5-6pm for parents and younger children to do together. then it will run from 6-9:30pm with people able to come and go as they please. when people arrive they will be given a card to take round with them to be stamped at the various stations en route. instructions for what to do will be on boards in the corridor into the labyrinth. action: mike to notify database via e-mail of times action: dave to do instructions for boards action: steve to get labyrinth fliers printed action: jen to make the fliers into cards to be stamped action: ian to make the stamps for each station
the labyrinth will consist of 5 stations as follows. there will also be some of the usual things to do on the way round in between the stations but given more of a christmas flavour. action: dave to produce inbetween bits
station 1: contemporary christmas reflecting on what christmas is about. this will be set up like a home with a sofa, tv loop of james bond, queens speech etc,. one thing christmas is about for a lot of people is friends and family - there will be the opportunity to reflect on this and make a friendship bracelet. action: ian and lucy to plan station, get stuff for friendship bracelets etc action: mark and adam to produce video
station 2: angel station, with readings and images reflecting on angels. people will make an angel at this station that they then take on with them to the next one. action: dave and alwyn to plan station and work out how to make angels
station 3: nativity grotto, with nativity scene and readings on christmas story. people will add their angel to the angelic host in the scene. there will be a mobile with bicycle wheel with images of jesus from various cultures around the world. this will connect with the incarnation and people will be encouraged to write or draw something to consider how christ connects with their culture/world. the children will be encouraged to draw a picture of the first christmas as they imagine it. they will then collect a luminous star to take with them. action: jonny to plan this station, get stars, etc. action: alwyn and mike to get nativity figures
station 4: epiphany station based on gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. at this people will reflect on what they bring/give to god and to others. they will write these things on a template for a box. this will then be made into a gift to be taken to the next station. there will also be face paints and people get a stripe of three colours to represent the gold, frankincense and myrrh. action: mike to plan this station, get face paints, pens etc action: jen to design templates and instructions for making gifts
station 5: this will be the central station/holy space. there will be a christmas tree here. people place their gifts under the tree. there will also be paper chains to write prayers on to hang on the tree. and people can spend some time in quiet. before they leave they will plant a bulb as a way of thinking about the future and what they would like to plant for the new millenium to take out with them. people then make their way out of the labyrinth. action: steve to plan this station, get tree, paper chains, bulbs etc.
[note from adam - I have no record as to what this service was - any ideas?]
Simon Jenkins was the guest speaker explaining the tradition of icons.
1. icons carried in in procession and set in their places on the 'stations'
appropriate music eg the beatitudes
2. opening prayer
3. general introductory talk with slides [simon jenkins]
what icons are and how they are used, history and tradition, images as
windows into other realities or presences, representation theologically
driven etc
4. pens and paper given out, people discuss in small groups and write down
things that function as icons for them
5. congregation invited to walk around, look at the icons, take time to
contemplate them and pray [standing] before them.
four icons, each with an explanation of subject/symbolism/story/how to read
the picture
possibility of people lighting candles in front of the icons
music from taverner/orthodox liturgy as background
6. congregation recalled to front
read out some of the things that people have written that function as icons
for them
7. final prayer
congregation invited to bring to next service things that are icons to them
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
a combined event with people from epicentre and live on planet earth. the labyrinth ran 6th-10th march 2000 in the south transept of st. paul's cathedral.
the st. paul's cathedral labyrinth was a development of the live on planet earth labyrinth, but specifically as altered to be the christmas 1998 labyrinth at grace. in order to be manageable in a tourist environment, the outer stations [self, others, planet] were incorporated into the labyrinth itself. a unique pattern was developed to fit the allocated space in the cathedral and incorporate the extra stations. everything in the cathedral had to be produced in six languages, and it was not possible to play background music or speak an overarching meditation; so we put the material from the overarching meditation and the written instructions into spoken tracks with background music on a CD. people walked the labyrinth carrying a CD player and listening on headphones.
for all about the labyrinth see labyrinth.org.uk
theme: lent
report on st. paul's cathedral labyrinth - steve
intro - jonny
section 1 - repentance/clearing the decks
Confession from imaging the word vol 1 pg 181 with kyrie sung between each section - Dave you have the book so please bring it with you
Song - father hear our prayer
Dropping stones in water to symbolise letting go of sin - play Moby track 'why does my heart feel so bad?' - Mark to introduce?
reading - Matthew 6:1-21 - jen?
section 2 - imposition of ashes
follow liturgy - mike/dave to concoct liturgy between them and lead it; dave to make ash
meditation 'what will be left of us' from labo CD to listen to
section 3 - focus on Christ
use picture 'give me jesus' on slide (dave to make slide)
space for reflection/meditation on our need for jesus - steve to lead/introduce
song - god above
song - amazing grace/ be thou my vision
closing prayer
IMAGES OF CHRIST
welcome/intro [cushion call]
1. making assumptions:
everybody is given a sheet of paper with a list of adjectives that could be used to describe someone. a slide image of a person is put up and the congregation are asked to pick three adjectives from the list to describe them [with only their appearance to go on]. they write '1' by each adjective they've picked for image 1, then image 2 is put up and people write '2' next to the adjectives for that person, and so on, for about five images - then the last two are images of Christ!
this is to be done fairly quickly, it's about instant impressions of character from appearance.
we'll need to ask for feedback on what people have put. [JEN ADJECTIVES DAVE PICTURES]
2. group discussion using the 'christ we share' images - hand them out and ask people to discuss which images of Christ they like and why. [JONNY]
3. talk on how the image of christ has become disconnected from contemporary life, and what reconnection might involve [STEVE]
4. two stories of jesus from the bible - how do you picture jesus in each of these?
stories to contrast, eg 'suffer little children' versus the cleansing of the temple - do we imagine the same person in each scene? [MIKE]
5. walkabout section:
congregation given time to wander about, look at stations, reflect, pray, whatever.
stations:
outline of human figure on sheets of paper, notionally Christ - write on it about *your* image of Christ. [DAVE]
photo display of the 'ecce homo' statue in trafalgar square [STEVE]
an icon - pantocrator or man of sorrows [perhaps simon jenkins asked for one of his large images]
'seeing salvation' catalogue + steve's 'contemporary jesus' collage
7. sing 'image of the invisible god'
8. carol henderson spoken word samples over some images [JONNY]
9. to end with - martin wroe poem from 'time of our lives' 'jesus' postcard. [JULIA]
'the fast game' was a board game developed for christian youthwork. the players asked one another questions determined by moves on the board.
this was the legendary service to which only one person [apart from the team] came! perhaps it was just as well, as we found that the fast game didn't work in our context. grace's one complete failure.
small communion service on fourth sunday. see nov 98 for notes.
Service originated by Mark Pierson/Mike Riddell at Parallel Universe, Cityside Baptist Church, Auckland NZ. Revised by Café Church, Sydney as described in chapter 4 of 'The Prodigal Project' [Mike Riddell/Mark Pierson/Cathy Kirkpatrick SPCK].
setup - a burning brazier surrounded by a ring of tvs showing fire imagery [see photos]
1. The Fire of God's Presence
(Exodus 3/2)
"take off your shoes... we stand before the fire of god's presence"
congregation take off their shoes
"The word of the Lord is a fire in my heart and a hammer in my bones. May the fire embrace us. May the fire deliver us. May the fire purify us. May the fire enliven us. May the fire roar. May the fire spread.
Fire of God, we welcome you."
each person lights a match and we say together, "the fire of god here with us"
The Fire of God's Acceptance
(Isaiah 6/7)
a burning coal is passed from person to person using tongs, with the words "the fire of god's acceptance"
The Fire of Revealing
(1 Corinthians 3/11)
ads torn out of magazines and burnt in the brazier
The Fire of Suffering
(1 Peter 1/7)
prayers
The Fire of Passion
(Jeremiah 20/9)
it is likely that we played 'firestarter' by the prodigy in this section.
text of an email from steve collins to cathy kirkpatrick:
at grace last night, being stuck for ideas for a pentecost service, we used your 'fire' service as featured in the prodigal project. the tvs were set up in a horseshoe around a flaming barbecue in the centre of the church. around the tvs, an outer necklace of candles. our new vision mixer, on 'permanent loan' from the bbc, makes whole new realms of video effects possible, which look pretty good on five screens. we think we'll use the arrangement again for events - i'll send you pictures when i get them out the camera [a couple of months]. for the service itself we stuck to the original script.
we had our share of technical hitches. as i read 'the fire of god's presence' ["there is nothing but the fire and the darkness"] the tvs switched to benign blue sea creatures while the video guys scrabbled at the controls. the flaming coal for the tongs wouldn't glow, and as it was passed round each person blew on it to try to get some orange; it became a sort of ritual action, but meaning what? one child was only just dissuaded from taking the coal in his hand. we tried to burn adverts symbolically, but the pieces of paper were too large and went up in sheets of flame, threatening to fly off the barbecue and stressing the vicar. but it was a good service, and the beautiful setting was a sacrament.
afterwards, my hour's drive home on the motorway became a kind of harmonious extension of the service. the road was uncrowded; the orange floodlights curved overhead in the deep blue summer night sky, the red taillights and white headlights in motion, the blue glowing rectangles of signs; people would travel to see such displays. the engine of my vw bus makes its coffee-percolator burbling somewhere in the back.
when i got home i ate strawberries, for the first time this summer. it felt like a moment to make food up, to eat three of something that comes in twos, to eat things that are not like the meals your mother taught you. unless you had a strange hippy mother who had thrown out order in cooking as a product of the system and was teaching her children that you could eat anything, anytime, however you liked.
Afternoon picnic followed by eucharist
Ran at the Guildford Youth Diocesan event
this service is based around the ideas of the 'via positiva' [an explosion of metaphorical language in trying to speak adequately of god - "god is.... and is.... and is...."] and the 'via negativa' [the collapse of language into silence faced with the impossibility of speaking adequately about god - "god is not....and is not....and is not....]
basic installation:
1. rectangular panel [door, board, ply] raised slightly off floor, and covered with thin layer of black potting compost/peat - to form light-absorbing floating black rectangle
2. luminous stars - to be kept in dark to ensure they don't glow, and scattered on the black rectangle
3. very bright floodlighting to be arranged - Mark can you get TV studio lights? need to dazzle congregation, and simultaneously charge luminous stars so that when lights are cut they glow!
service starts in normal Grace lowlight. maybe just dim candlelight.
1. welcome [MIKE]
2. 'noise' track from st pauls labo [with the oscilloscope video loop]
3. two songs - calm me o lord + one other
4. focus on the dark rectangle - in the low light it will simply appear as a 'black hole'
meditation on 'starlit darkness' [JONNY]
5. suddenly switch on very bright lights
meditation on dazzling light [STEVE]
6. switch lights off - as people's eyes adjust back to darkness they see the now-glowing luminous stars on the dark rectangle.
[if this works it will be a truly magical moment]
then while this sinks in, appropriate readings with music [DAVE to find readings, or anyone else]
7. song 'i lived in the shadows'
8. congregational response - two stations
'silence' - prayer space in small room
'god is...' - station for people to explore their own metaphors for god
[DAVE]
9. burning incense - thanks for what we know about god in whatever way
[MIKE]
10. song 'god is our strength and salvation'
Grace ran the St Paul's labyrinth at Greenbelt