jonnybaker

turbulence at the boundary

several years back at greenbelt we did some silent movies for worship - 4 alt worship groups rose to the challenge. i really liked the whole thing...

turbulence at the boundary was vaux's offering. if you never got to experience it that is now up on proost. it's silent but there is a recommended soundtrack at the end of the movie and on the movie page. it's 20 minutes long and is a bargain at the regular movie price of £1.99

The M25 is 120 miles or thereabouts of road looping round London often known as a car park due to its clogged lanes of traffic. This film from Vaux turns a trip round the M25 into a meditation on ourselves, on our cities and on God finding turbulence at the boundary. The film is shot on Super8 and has four sequences/meditations:
Looking back
Looking Out
Looking in
Looking forward

If you live in the UK London's M25 is iconic. If you are elsewhere it's urban spirituality that we hope will connect.

is europe's future christian?

is europe's future christian? this week's the guardian is asking...

Will Europe's future continue to be one of the steady marginalisation of religion and a constantly satisfied belief in reason and progress? Or will God make a comeback?

grace davie makes the first response christian but not as we know it [thanks blythe for link]

good energy

the final comment before we left at the end of the london mind body spirit festival from a masseur on a neighbouring stand was that we had good energy which was nice to hear. i didn't notice at the time but it looks like he had the ten commandments tatooed on his arm (from this photo)?

a team of us have been on the dekhomai stand for the fourth year from grace, moot, cms, gillingham, contemplative fire, sheffield, greenwich - all connected through a network of friends. we offer spirituality from the christian tradition. the word dekhomai means welcome or welcoming place and our approach is gentle and warm (we hope). people can have foot and hand massage, make a prayer cord, be prayed with (which pretty much everyone wants to be) and explore the jesus deck. the encounters with people there are personal so i don't plan to narrate those. we had a sense of god's presence (good energy?) and that some searchers had been nudged by god in our direction. what we offer is a gift with minimal opportunity for any follow up, though it is interesting that having been there a few years we definitely have people coming back to find us.

one guy i chatted with was interested in jesus but frustrated with the arrogance of christians - it re-assured me that a gentle approach fits well in that environment as opposed to more confrontational types of evangelism (that i tend to think of as devangelism). one guy who visited us was wearing a t-shirt saying dear god save me from your followers which made us smile but i can understand why some people feel that...

the jesus deck came into its own this year i felt. this was partly because we have got a bit more confident using it and partly because some of us used the process of lectio divina with it which was a creative combination thought up by martin thomas when he used it at a psychic fair. he got some cloths designed that you move the card(s) round through four stages. he explains how he uses it on his web site. and if you are interested you can buy a cloth through him - contact details are on his about page. the cloth/lectio gave a structured process for using the cards that i found really helpful. the jesus deck is a set of cards of the four gospels. each card has an image, a scripture text and a theme. through whatever means (drawing blind or selecting from a number of cards turned up) the person chooses 1, 2 or even 3 cards. the story the cards tell is then narrated and explored and then we explore how it connects with the person's own story. it is amazingly simple but opens up all sorts of conversations and connections that we then pray about together. it's not a reading in the sense of predictive reading, but it is a different way of reading (lectio) a scripture.

if you have been thinking about getting involved in this sort of thing go for it. it's a great space to be in and is definitely an area of quiet growth

an area of quiet growth

the blog is a little quiet because i am in the middle of running the dekhomai stand at the london mind body spirit fair which tends to be full on. the surprise this year is that there are four christian stands with a presence at the festival - all with a different take. so this involvement in the new spiritualities is definitely an area of quiet growth...

my way of thinking about this is through margaret wheatley's amazing piece on networks - lifecycle which i have blogged about at least three times i think 1 | 2 | 3. in it she says that networks change things through 1. naming - getting involved in practice. several people have done that - john drane for me was the first i came across. 2. connecting - people involved in the same practice connect and share stories, experience and learning which of course is so accelerated through the digital media. 3. nourishing - fuelling the practice and network. this has happened informally and formally through training, blahs, articles, and the recent gathering. 4. illuminating - shine a light on the practice so others see and get inspired by it.

it seems to me this process has happened and there's now an intentional network of practitioners - christian travellers in the new spiritual culture that is in the process of being set up. leave a comment if you're interested in knowing more about it...

geez and experiments in truth

i was contacted by geez magazine a while back to ask permission to use a photo. i was delighted to be asked having heard good things about the magazine (and pleased that that is the third magazine i have had a photo in this year). well yesterday a copy dropped on the doormat. hailing from canada, it looks great, is intelligent, funny and poignant. a couple of the people working on it have done time with adbusters which didn't surprise me - it has a similar feel. on the 'feel' of the magazine the eds replied in the letters page to someone who didn't like the name by saying that they wanted a name that suggests they are in the realm of religion but not in a typical way, that the exploration of topics is more like saturday evening over beers than sunday morning with its strictures. each issue has a theme. the current one is inspired by gandhi's notion of experiments in truth (which i was inspired by in mark scandrette's book a couple of years back) - put legs on an idea try something out such as downward mobility or sit in public, see what happens. don't just sit there theorising. the magazine is like greenbelt - i.e. it's a space in church life where you actualy feel good about being a christian rather than embarrassed if you know what i mean. the magazine has been running a daringly awkward sermon contest - 300 words only. the nest issue will have a bundle of winners.

on the subject of magazines conspire also looks like an interesting new zine on the block birthed out of the simple way community - a different approach to how the economics and distribution works, with communities subscribing to be able to distribute it free having signed up and agreed to donate towards it as a community.

we are doing our own experiment in truth again this week - off to run dekhomai at the london mind body spirit festival chatting with, listening to, praying with, massaging feet of, making prayer bracelets with, doing jesus deck readings for visitors to our stand. the experiment? take christian spirituality out of the church box and into the spiritual marketplace and join in with what god is already doing... if you pray, do pray for us. we hope the 'energy is strong' in our booth :-)

reaching out in mind body and spirit

ten years ago i heard john drane speak at a conference ACE 99 reflecting on the decade of evangelism in the church of england. as part of that he talked about spiritual seekers and how a mission perspective might give us a very different approach to how we related to the new age and those seekers. the most shocking thing at the time was that he produced a set of tarot cards and showed some (on overhead projector slide back then) and showed how the imagery was very much informed by the scriptures (he has since written a book on it). i think in a lot of ways that was a catalyst for people taking the challenge seriously of being on the inside of the spirtual seeking communities and tourists in the wider culture journeying with and sharing stories rather than somehow seeing an us and them world.

i got involved in running a stand with others at the london mind body spirit festival - and we'll be back again in a month. if you follow the blog, you'll know as i've written about that before. well this last weekend was the first ever uk gathering of christians who have got involved in this area. there were about 70 people there who had brought stands and resources for what they were up to. it was encouraging to see how much it has grown. from being an area of practice one or two pioneers got involved in, it has become a fledgling movement. following the weekend i think a more intentional network will grow in which people can share stories, learning, ideas, resources and so on. the gathering was pulled together through the sheffield centre with steve hollinghurst who has been a key person in this area, and journey into wholeness. so it's encouraging! if you're involved but weren't there buzz me an e-mail and i'll get you invited into the network when it emerges. it was also wonderful to experience philip roderick playing the hang again

john and olive drane were there and were inspiring as ever. it was also a real privilege to meet ole skjerbaek madsen who has been doing this stuff in denmark for decades with a group in the master's light. i don't speak danish so don't understand the site but he shared his story and led a communion liturgy that they use. i found an interview through google with him in english. and here's a quote from the talk he gave...

what i have learned in this process is the need to move from a defensive or even hostile attitude to neo-spritual seekers and practitioners to dialogue and presence in the milieu if the gospel should be heard and the christian fellowship be inculturated.

thanks steve, howard and laurence for your work in pulling it together

12 stations meditation freebie - worship trick 61 [series 3]

it's good friday so we thought we'd throw up one of proost's pieces for free. this is party because there was a glitch in the file we uploaded originally so some people have had problems downloading it so we feel bad for messing a few people around. and because we felt like putting something out there on good friday anyway. to view this i have embedded it full size so stretch your browser window so that the whole animation is in there and then you click through the slides on the bottom right. if your window is too small, download it - see below. the movie 12 stations is a great accompaniment if you haven't seen it. thanks jon for agreeing to give the meditation away. if you've paid for it already and feel hard done by e-mail me and i'll create a coupon for you to download something else. if you are a proost subscriber you could access this anyway. you can download it here and use it either with flash player or open it in a browser if you want to use it offline.

i had a scroll back through the worship trick series and these are other things i noticed related to the season. if you have things you have come across leave a comment and i'll take a look

bitter journey
seven sayings - which has now moved to here
three days
ecce homo
a couple of animations
tenebrae
dead man waiting
good friday stencil
graffiti stations of the cross
easter liturgies
shooting jesus images
holy week reflections
passion pictures

if you were at spring harvest...

if you came to the teaching that joy and i were doing on the theme of apprenticeship/discipleship i have uploaded our slides for you to download as a pdf file apprentice. i really enjoyed working with joy - we were very different stylistically (- spot the difference in our slides!) but i think that difference brought very different edges.

if you came to the sessions i led on prayer, my wife jenny is better in this area than me. a few resources you might like that she has written are tune in chill out, and heart soul mind strength. you can download the breathing prayer here and there are a couple of examens here. sleeping with bread was the book i mentioned on the examen.

if you came to the worship we led, we loved having you there. grace has an archive of prayers and liturgies some of which we used - see wounded and slow for example. and i run a series of worship tricks - 1 | 2 | 3  which you can scroll through for ideas. if you had to describe the worship i guess it was contemplative but it comes out of a movement known as alternative worship. i have co-written a book or collated a book called alternative worship. and in recent years proost is a web company i help run that has a ton of resources - music, books of liturgies, and movies. harry was amazing this week and people loved his poetry, half of which was written on site. he goes under the name dubb and is on myspace here. i think we invented a new genre of worship mixing chants with rapped invocations! we will be putting an album out on proost of his stuff in the summer. laurence keith goes under the artist name harronell - his music is beautiful and he has an album harronell on proost that you can buy to download. listen to the track archangel on his myspce - one of my favourite tracks of last year.

if there was anything else we did that you want to know where to find it let me know in a comment or e-mail.

i work with cms and chatted to lot sof people about the current exciting shift to community

it's the first time i have been at spring harvest for 7 or 8 years i think. for those of you who haven't come across it, spring harvest is an evangelical mainstream christian festival. it caters for families really well with a very good childrens and youth programme. then there's a mix of bible teaching, seminars, and a celebration in the big top with lots of singing, preaching and all that (i was in the bar last night having my own celebration as chelsea beat liverpool so brilliantly at anfield!!). it won't surprise those of you who know me if i say it's not where i am most at home these days. in fact i feel like i hardly connect with this world - i don't even know any of the songs. and it seems pretty similar to when i was last here. the worship we were doing was on the edge, an alternative - always a place i feel more at home. called reflective readings we attracted a crowd who really didn't like the big top either because of taste, or because it was simply too noisy. we ended up with an older crowd but we so enjoyed them - they didn't have any of the usual postmodern angst!! a highlight was an evening where we went and lit a fire and built a cairn on the beach...

something old something new - hamilton stations a perfect example

something old something new is an article i wrote for the leadership journal in their current issue. the piece has just been put online. in some ways it's nothing that i haven't said a few times before but i'm quite pleased with it...

it opens up talking about stations of the cross in hamilton run by dave white and friends (which i previously blogged about here taking street art to a new level when i met dave last year) which is a curious case of good timing as this year's stations of the cross is running in hamilton as we speak. you can see photos of them here and the audio for the stations is also online - it looks wonderful as ever.

stations opening - glad and surprised it's not more religious!

the launch of the stations of the cross in oxford last night went really well. jam factory is a great space for it - art gallery meets bar and it means the art isn't just seen by gallery visitors. i expect there will be plenty of visitors. the range of media and types of art is broad and there are some really good pieces. this station of christ's scourging and crowning with thorns is by clay sinclair drawing on imagery now etched in our minds to do with guantanamo bay - simple yet powerful.

ian adams and matt rees are the two drivers behind stillpoint and they are chatting here with the gallery manager who seemed really pleased. she said to me that she was pleased and surprised it wasn't more religious - i'm not exactly sure what people think religious is but that sounded like good feedback anyway!

i took a few photos of the launch and some of the pieces. i'm about to head off for spring harvest (yes i know - first time i've been in years! - am doing some teaching and running an alternative to the big top celebrations each evening - reflective readings) so haven't had time to even add photos of my piece or others to flickr. but i'll blog about that later in the week assuming there is wireless internet and what i was thinking.

ian adams stunned everyone with his painting claiming he doesn't paint much but on this showing he definitely needs to do more. i'll add that nearer easter. the exhibition is on for two weeks so if you're in oxford go and visit - the perfect good friday thing to do...

what about me? - tracked it down...

well i finally tracked down the 1 giant leap new double cd to download. i have kept an eye on 1 giant leap's site since the dvd what about me? came out -the site is unbelievably lame and lacking in news for a project with such a huge investment! it was darren wright who mentioned it was out and got me looking again - it doesn't even seem to be on itunes yet...

it is wonderful - such a profound, celebratory window into global culture, humanity and spirituality. it's one of the best pictures of god aside from jesus that i know of - in the sense that all these people and cultures  image god...

breathing prayer - worship trick 59

thanks to anyone who showed up last night for the worship at LST. if you are interested in any of the prayers and liturgy etc most of it is here - wounded in all the right places...

mike led an opening prayer exercise to help us focus and quiet down. he used a breathing prayer that i really liked so asked where he found it or whther he had written it. it turns out he came across it following some of the lent link i have posted! it's a breathing prayer written by christine sine whose really becoming a fantastic leader in spirituality and creativity and is collating a ton of resources through her blogging, tweeting and so on. anyway mainly because i'll want to remember where this prayer was at some point in the future i am making this a worship trick in series 3 - number 58.

it goes like this...

Breathe in the breath of God

Breathe out your cares and concerns

Breathe in the love of God

Breathe out your doubts and despairs

Breathe in the life of God

Breathe out your fears and frustrations

We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation,

We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs

We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fibre of our being

Breathe in the breath of God

Breathe out your tensions and turmoil

Breathe in the love of God

Breathe out your haste and hurry

Breathe in the life of God

Breathe out your work and worry

We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation,

We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs

We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fibre of our being

reaching out in mind body and spirit

there's a conference in april 24-26 in sheffield called reaching out in mind body and spirit. i'm planning to go. john and olive drane will be speaking. lots of us have run stands and been involved in taking the christian faith and spirituality into the market place of new spiritualities. this will be a good place to share stories and learning and get new ideas and encouragement. here's the blurb

Over the past few years many Christians from a wide range of denominations and styles of spirituality have been developing ways to relate their faith to the growing numbers exploring the New Spiritualities. This has lead to regular ministries at rock festivals, health & fitness centres and MBS fairs; life coaching, card reading and spiritual art; meditation, creation liturgy and healing prayer; and much more. This conference is a place for those engaged in the whole range of these to come together, learn from each other and most of all explore how we can move further towards the establishing of Christian communities that can sustain the faith journeys of today's spiritual travellers.

more info and a booking form are available here

advent abundance... worship tricks 48,49,50, 51!!

well as ever people are doing wonderful things to celebrate advent.

here's a few...

1. have a look through my category advent to see things from previous years which include some wonderful prayers and reflections

2. the advent beach hut calendar is now under way - check the blog for photos. seems like the heavens were re-aligned for day one!

3. ben bell always produces a wonderful image for advent - i was half expecting him to come up with something and sure enough light of the world is simple but brilliant. contact him if you want to use it. i am making his images worship trick 48 - see mary set and card, wait

4. the church of england has  produced a creative site why are we waiting. i am not actually sure who is behind the site though it says copyright archbishops council (!) but rowan williams gives a reflection on a plasma screen over the fireplace and there is a calendar window to click on each day for a reflection to create space. you can also sign up for a daily e-mail through advent. worship trick 49

5. cheryl lawrie is prolific when it comes to advent. she makes me smile because there is a build up saying she has no ideas or energy and then wham! an overflow of liturgical and creative genius lands. i have not counted but i am sure cheryl is listed under more worship tricks than anyone else but all her new pieces which are bundled as a pregnant pause can get added as worship trick 50. the pieces are here here here here and here. i am looking forward to hearing how christmas in the basement goes which i received an invite to but sadly won't be attending!

6. advent windows is something i found via following a link from no 4 above. it is in london and is again so simple. created by st alfege in greenwich it's a community advent calendar where a literal window is opened every day. the first one was at the tourist information centre! there's a blog which will follow the windows. this is worship trick 51. i was thinking what we could do in ealing in a similar vein to the beach hut idea and hadn't thought of windows. i can see this idea taking off in lots of communities in future years. must pay it a visit. i love the way people are taking worship and the christmas story into public rather than church or private space...

7. cms produces a service share the light each year for advent. (i forgot this yesterday but it was on my list...) which has resources and stories from cms for an advent worship service

feel free to add any things you have come across in the comments...

luminosity and a mystical quest

i read another john taylor book on the plane recently - the christlike god. you may remember me blogging about the primal vision and the go-between god...

one of the things that took me by surprise was when he writes about luminosity.

we should perhaps be ready to trust our occasional perceptions of the luminosity of the physical world and its apparent potentiality for becoming a voice and a word whereby we know ourselves to be addressed and held in relationship.

he says that the greek word for god 'theos' might easily be translated as 'shining' in some of its other greek usage. i like this idea. maybe energy or wonder might be other ways of getting at the same idea.

i recently had a conversation with someone about my photos and they said that my work had a luminosity, an almost god-like presence. this wasn't someone who is a christian as far as i know. but i was pleased and surprised with the comment and on reflction i am attracted to that sort of luminosity. i sometimes think of myself questing the light. i guess in this or this or this ?

i had a piece published in the latest issue of the london independent phortography magazine along with this photo which i submitted with this and this and this in the last issue which i was pleased about. i don't think i have posted it on the blog (at least i can't remember and can't find it). this is it...

A Mystical Quest

“Sometimes I think the people to saddest for are those who have lost or become numb to the sensation of wonder” Douglas Coupland in Life After God

In the film American Beauty Ricky films a carrier bag floating on the wind in front of a garage door for 15 minutes. As it does so he whispers ‘there is so much beauty in the world – I can’t take it in’. He films everything. For him the camera seems to enable him to look or see more closely, to pay attention, to see beauty where others might see rubbish. The mystics call this awareness. In this sense photography is mystical. At the recent annual LIP lecture Paul Hill described photography as learning how to see. He also shared his own sense of never waning interest and excitement in taking ‘small adventures’ locally with the camera on a kind of quest.

These photographs are taken in Gunnersbury Park in Ealing, which is round the corner from where I live, on one of my own small adventures. The combination of morning sunlight, frost and mist is almost electric. It has an incredible energy to it. I find myself on a morning like this questing the light, wanting to catch moments that will never be repeated before they pass. Paradoxically these sort of moments are both wild and still. There’s a wild rush of adrenaline and excitement but then in the moment of beauty I almost hold my breath, lost in wonder at the stillness. Maybe it’s being in the fast paced city of London that makes these fleeting still moments so renewing.

send your confession into space - worship trick 38

this month on proost we have three interactive confessions. send your sin into space on a rocket, watch as it is destroyed in a machine or eaten by a goat! yes jon birch had a touch of inspiration/craziness all at the same time. all are in the movies section of proost. if you buy one feel free to add them to your church web site or blog. just give a link back to proost. i am making these worship trick 38 in series 3.

since our relaunch at greenbelt one year ago proost now has around £200 worth of downloadable content iincluding 9 books, 20 albums, and 23 movies. you can access all that plus new content each month for a year whenever you like if you subscribe and it only costs £60! what are you waiting for?

seekers after heaven in ordinary

as i was going straight to australia the day after running the dekhomai stand at the london mind body spirit festival i haven't offered much by way of reflection. but patrick gavigan who was helping on the team has written a piece on the cms site seekers after heaven in ordinary.

i notice sanctus 1 are stopping running a stand in manchester with misgivings about hit and run/lack of follow up and the consumerist nature of spirituality in the market place. ben reflects here | here | here .

i want to give this some more thought but my view of the first is that we are not running a stand to persuade people to join something. we offer what we do as a gift and that's it. the idea that it is hit and run seems to assume we want to do a whole lot more. we're neither hitting anyone or running from anyone. the challenge we face is that people now approach spirituality and religion very differently to the way we think they should and they don't want to join our clubs! grace davie has qualified the current re-shaping of the european religious scene as a shift from obligation to consumption - the demise of christendom does not mean the demise of religious practise, it means the end of faith as duty (thanks to gerard kelly for reminding me of this at RUN this week). in this environment rather than lamenting it in our enclaves put stuff out there for people to access. most of jesus ministry was gift - he didn't say i'll only heal you if there is a nurture group to join at the end of it...

on the second point, this is a real tension. but i think in that light that offering what we do for free in that marketplace as a gift is a sign of the kingdom in its own way. it's subversive. we have had a lot of people really appreciating that not just for selfish reasons. i understand the risks involved but would rather be there than not, but understand ben's concerns. i hope that he makes some of the suggestions in his third post tangible and real rather than just withdrawing from the scene... i also think i have a different view of how christian faith and incarnation might get played out in a consumer culture. it's the water we are swimming in so faith is inevitably remade and relocated in that cultural environment. it's not always a bad thing. the challenge is how to resist and engage simultaneously. the church always seem to get on its high horse and overplay resistance to culture whilst wearing clothes, listening to music, shopping at supermarkets, typing on computers all bought in the marketplace. as tom beaudoin put it - we live after purity...

i was also thinking about some of the primal vision points i reflected on in australia in relation to mind body spirit fairs...

risk letting go of control and trust god

holy ground of another culture

adventure of the imagination

do it from the inside

failure of only meeting people in their best clothes (or clothes bought at eco right on shops?!)

never call another's light darkness - sin is the last truth to be told...

chrysalis

following on from the post about spirited exchanges a couple of posts back, chrysalis arrived in the post. this is the latest book by alan jamieson (who blogs here with paul). (i think i mentioned it before when i got the manuscript?). alan has written several books offering commentary on and research on church leavers. he has made the case that the journey they are on is valid and in some cases leaving church may even be essential to move on in their growth. i think his work has been very important both to help people in that space and to help churches understand the different journies people can be on.

chrysalis is in the same area but it is a book aimed at the individual in that space of transformation on the journey of faith. it is a thin book (always a plus as far as i am concerned) and is absolutely wonderful. when i originally had the manuscript i immediately gave it away to some people who i could see were exactly in the space it was talking about.

i don't quite know why but i have become an endorser of books - i'm really not sure what value it has or what it means but anyway i am usually glad to oblige particularly if it is someone i know and a book i am enthusiastic about. i gave rather a long endorsement of this one so here it is by way of a review...

chrysalis is a wonderful book that will help many people on their journey of faith. there are many who come to a stage of christian faith where what once sustained them has grown dry and lifeless. no amount of trying harder seems to improve things. this can be a confusing lonely experience and resources to help people in that space are hard to find. chrysalis is a gift to the person in this place offering some signposts or a roadmap and encouragement for the difficult journey. this is a process many travellers have been on before, is normal and leads to transformation into a different kind of experience of faith. it's a book that many church leaders will find helpful to understand those seemingly restless souls in their communities, and to help imagine christian communities that can create spaces for people at different stages of faith.

towards the end of the book alan outlines ten characteristics of this journey which sort of summarise it as a journey...

from black and white to an embrace of black and white and greys
from dependence to interdependence
from answers to mystery and childlike wonder
from doing to being (a deep sense of being accepted by god)
from playing a role to a new giving of self for others
from trust in external authorities to an integration of internal and external voices
from effortful faith to resting faith
from martha's faith to faith that expresses mary's heart and martha's hands
from needing leaders to co-discerning with others
from external truth to communal and paradoxical truth

reading that list makes me think it's about maturing, growing up, taking responsibility. whilst it looks easy actually the journey through those things is anything but. the mystics have referred to it as the dark night of the soul or chrysalis with good reason. but if you are on that journey, this book will be a good friend.

back at london mind body spirit festival next week

we're back at the london mind body spirit festival next week.

as dekhomai we will have a stand in the marketplace - booth 43. we will be offering spiritual resources from the christian tradition to visitors. we often get asked what dekhomai means - it means the welcoming place. we want to provide a space of welcome in the busyness of the festival, a listening ear and a space for prayer.

at our stand everything is free...

be listened to and prayed for
receive prayer for healing with the anointing of oil and laying on of hands
make a dekhomai prayer cord to help you pray
have a go on the Jesus deck to see how Christ's story connects with your life
sit down, chill and have a foot or hand massage
receive a blessing (we will be using john o donaue's book benedictus)

our popular dekhomai postcards will be back with two additions to the set - see the photo album for the images and text from the cards...

we'll also be leading two meditations in the meditation room on wednesday and sunday at 2pm. tess ward is leading one on celtic mdeitation and peter rundell an igantian meditation.

the image above is of one of the cards which you may recognise from my foggy photos...

linkage and worship trick 31 - sunday

a few news/link type things...

mike morris has started blogging.

beyond church has had it's first worship gathering that looks like it was a lot of fun. and their next event should be hilarious with the brilliant comedian milton jones...

ian adams is branching out into other creative areas and projects offering spiritual direction amongst other things

moby gratis is free music from moby for non commercial ventures. it's film score type stuff - ideal for worship background?

20 questions to use in a small group to get to know people

and darren wright has a whole worship experience called sunday that is free and downloadable. it was originally used at the australian black stump festival. i am making that worship trick 31