jonnybaker

oh canada

packing my bags to head to canada tomorrow to take part in the united church of canada worship matters conference. i'll be chatting about curation as a way of thinking about planning/designing worship and giving a keynote address on newness and tradition inspired by jesus' idea that the kingdom of god is like someone who brings new treasures as well as old out of the cupboard. we'll see how it goes. i am also looking forward to a week with friends in ontario afterwards. and yes the blog post title is inspired by james blake's cover of joni mitchell's case of you in case you were wondering!

grace - spirit

grace this saturday on the theme of spirit - 8pm st marys ealing

...and we will become a happy ending

occasionally something comes along that is a wonderful surprise. this happened to me recently when a book arrived in the post called and we will become a happy ending. it's a collection of stories and sayings, ponderings and pictures that describe a church called theStory in canada - it fuses meditation, liturgy, prayer, art, theology. it's laid out beautifully like a coffe table book. it really is amazing. you can preview the book here

when things like this come along i find myself filled with hope. it's a real labour of love. it's available on proost i am delighted to say - proost exists for precisely this sort of creative publishing that comes from the bottom up. it's available as a downloadable pdf. of course if you are a subscriber it's available as part of your subscription! i actually have 10 physical copies that i have bought - they cost me around £15.50 each by the time postage is added. i am very happy to pass them on at cost price so if you know me or bump into me just ask. or you can order it through amazon.

this is a table...

last night we had friends round for a meal and conversation. maundy thursday is a day particularly to remember jesus' meals with friends and to share bread and wine at the table. we chatted about the various meals and tables jesus had and was round. i invited people to complete a sentence that began 'this is a table...' and that then became a prayer of thanks as we read them out and shared bread and wine to remember

This is a table of new expectations

This is a table where everyone can come to receive

This is a table for those who haven't met Jesus before

This is a table with the Lord of the harvest and catch

This is a table where the host is often in the dependent position

This is a table where we are reconciled

This is a table where there is safety and acceptance

This is a table which welcomes, invites, provides, unites

This is a table where uncomfortable things happen

This is a table that was the natural place to be

This is a table that was the place to meet people

This is a table where strength is restored

This is a table, this is our community

a question...

the latest update from fresh expressions seemed jam packed with interesting things - i highlight a couple here.

i am headed to wells on thursday to do a training day for bath and wells diocese on curating worship - download the brochure for info. i actually have two or three things on curating worship over the next few months. i was chatting with someone yesterday about it and it seems that the concept of curation as a way of thinking about leading worship is out there in conversation and imagination in quite a few spaces now which i hope is a good thing!

i was asked a question via e-mail this week from a pastor in the usa which i thought i'd run by you. it went something like this...

I have noticed that many of the emerging church blogs and websites have dried up. Where I live, there were virtually zero churches doing what you were doing. I like to play and create and offer worship experiences that are different from the traditional 1900's models; however, I have found it difficult to find folks in my area who share this.  These blogs were my discussions of ideas, etc. Have these churches and creators of worship arts gone somewhere else, or are they just gone? If you have suggestions on where else I can go to find discussion and idea creation for alternative worship, I would greatly appreciate it!

i sent a reply saying that i thought a lot was happening but inevitably the conversation moves and things like twitter and facebook have had a part to play in that. but equally the phases of the church reconfiguring that were called emerging church and alternative worship have been passed through i suspect. lots of things now seem to be configuring around mission and community. quite a few people have got involved in moving worship into public space which is good. others are gathered round meal tables in small missional communities under the radar. but i do think it's harder to find groups who are creating worship that grabs the imagination, soul and spirit. if any of you have thoughts/comments on this issue do make them here or on facebook where i'll also post the question. and if you know of hubs post them. i post less on worship now but am still passionate about it. the reason i post less is that so much of my time and energy is taken up in running the cms pioneer training so i post less on everything!

steve has paused the alternativeworship web site. he says this

This site has existed since 2002. The movement it attempts to describe and map is now too diverse and widespread to be adequately summarised here, even if I still had time and energy to do so. Consequently this site will not now be actively maintained, as in truth has been the case for some time. However, the site is still functional as a gateway to the movement on the internet, for those coming from Google, Wikipedia or books. The definitions [which have been much quoted] have been updated, along with the directories. The practical advice is still valid. Beyond this site, the alternative worship/emerging church world is highly interconnected, so follow the links and you will find much more

and we paused the emergingchurch.info web site a while back now which i notice has disappeared off the internet so i will try and least get it hosted somewhere as it contains lots of great stories...

i noticed that pete rollins has posted that maybe one of the spaces things have moved to is with non-christians...

 

caption?

well grace was as random as anticipated last night. couldn't think of a caption for this photo - any suggestions?! i have added a set of photos here

goldfish

yes - possibly the strangest title ever for grace - but this saturday it's goldfish 

gracelet returns

at grace we took a break from gracelet for a season but it is now back on the fourth sunday of the month with a simple liturgy and a focus of community prayer. 

making communion - new book of grace communion liturgies

i am very excited! yes some people don't believe that my laid back self does excitement but i am honestly (at least inside)!

the first copy of making communion, a collection of communion liturgies from grace has landed on my doorstep hot of the press. this is the latest in proost's pocket liturgy series. it is the longest yet at around 150 pages. i feel very proud of it having helped put it together. 

there's a couple of reasons i particularly like this book...

the first is that grace have spent a lot of time over the years trying to work out how to be creative with communion whilst also being respectful to the tradition we are located in (church of england). so this book gave us a chance to write a summary in a 20 page introduction of how we have thought that through  and worked it out. i hope and suspect this may be of interest to lots of other communities who are trying to negotiate similar challenges. if you do read it we would love some feedback and further discussion around that.

the second is that there are 24 liturgies or ways that we have celebrated communion. most have been written by members of grace. a few are from other communities and used with permission. but there are some really lovely and inspiring prayers and approaches. many are on the grace web site in the archives but it's great to pull them together in one place. 

you can order a physical book through lulu who we use to self publish.

or you can order a pdf to download through proost - it's part of proost's lent new releases.

if you are a proost subscriber, then you can access the book as part of your subscription. did you know that there are now around 25 books published on proost?! i have all the pocket liturgies on an ipad so can pull them up at any time. the books alone are worth more than the cost of a subscription before you add in the movies and albums and other stuff.

labyrinths take over london

mark wallinger is going to be installing a wall mounted labyrinth at all 270 london underground stations - yes 270! now there's a photographic challenge for someone...

the writers of creative review clearly have no idea on the difference between a labyrinth and a maze but i assume the designs will all be labyrinths.

the first ten designs are up at baker st, bank, embankment, victoria, green park, kings cross st pancras, oxford circus, tottenham court rd, westminster, st james park with rest due in the summer. 

to reach satisfaction...

To reach satisfaction in all
desire satisfaction in nothing

To come to possess all
desire the possession of nothing

To arrive at being all
desire to be nothing

To come to the knowledge of all
desire the knowledge of nothing

these are words from john of the cross in a poem that we will be exploring at grace this saturday - see you there?!

desire - grace feb 9

grace february 9 is the saturday before lent. so come along to gear up for lent. we will be exploring some of the thoughts and ideas of john of the cross and our desire(s). it starts at 8pm and as ever there will be a café afterwards. love to see you there. if you've not been ever, it's a contemplative worship service in a relaxed setting using a variety of media to explore the christian faith in today's world.

all souls portland

i have always loved whatever karen ward has got up to in mission, church, worship. she is deeply rooted in the traditions but able to improvise creatively in whatever cultural space she finds herself in and gather fellow travellers to create an intersting christian community that i think i'd like to be part of i was in the neighbourhood (which is never very likely!). she is one of the people in the usa who was inspired and influenced by alternative worship in the uk. anyway all that by way of saying she is up to something new - all souls in portland so if you are anywhere nearby go and visit or join or support...

proost new team member

i'm delighted that andy freeman is joining the proost team. we have been looking for someone for a while who could give a bit of time each month but who is on the same page as us. andy fits the bill perfectly with his own creative approach to worship and involvment in the creative edge of the church in mission. proost has an amazing amount of resources now - i was counting up the other day and we have 20 pocket liturgy type books for example. but it's the world's best kept secret. so it needs some new energy to get the word out and build the creative content. we interview andy here who sadly is one of a growing number of people referring to me as 'harry baker's dad'!!! if you are not a subscriber to proost it's really worth sigining up or encouraging your church/community to. you can log in to the back end of the site and download what you like when you like and the price is still only 60 pounds which we have kept since we relaunched several years back.

gifts - first grace of 2013 this saturday

it's the first grace of the year this coming sturday - why not join us? post christmas here's the blurb...

What did you want? What did you actually get?

What will you do with it now that you've got it?

How do we recognise the true worth of what we are given?

Join us on Saturday 12th January for the first Grace of 2013.

It would be great if you can bring, or be prepared to talk about:

• a valued gift
• an useless or unsuitable gift
• a gift whose true value only became apparent much later

Hope to see you

small ritual postcards

steve has produced some brilliant small ritual postcards - he kindly gave me a set. i see they are also being contextualised for the dutch...

common worship common mission

this may seem an unlikely recommendation but the prayer book society journal faith and worship vol 71 has a couple of lectures from the diocese of liverpool conference on liturgy. one is by bishop graham cray entitled common worship common mission. the whole journal is downloadable here as a pdf. if you are trying to navigate worship in the church of england in relation to mission in a new culture or community this should be helpful. there is also an interesting piece here by kim hartshorne on the fresh expressions site of exactly this sort of challenge on the ground - it's worth looking at the discussion in the comments...

24.1 can't wait - grace this saturday

sadly i am not able to be there but it's grace this saturday introducing advent. if it seems a little ahead of time it's because we meet the second saturday of the month so the next one is too late for advent! love the flier...

following the missionary spirit - fresh expressions day in london nov 22

there is a day in london with rowan williams among others reviewing fresh expressions movement and looking to the future. one not to miss - nov 22 - details here and booking here

see you there?!

movements moving on

alternative worship was a name given to a movement that began in the uk with the nine o clock service and the late late service 20 years back. grace was born in that era. it was an attempt to make worship out of the stuff of every day life and popular culture rather than live in two worlds. it involved a turning back to tradition remixing it with postmodern culture. i experienced it as a homecoming and it has shaped my instincts to faith and mission ever since - the theologising done then was so helpful. however things change and move on and steve collins who was one of the people publishing stories and photos and ideas that captured the movement has announced he is pausing the web site alternativeworship.org as the movement has moved on into other things. interestingly the same is true of emergingchurch.info which captured a later moment... both are still really good sites, but movements by definition are always moving on!

a big thanks to steve who put so much into reflecting on alternative worship. smallfire is an amazing record and it looks as though that is being kept live...