jonnybaker

still curating worship

it's funny how things come round again. i published a book on curating worship some years back and it was based on interviews with people doing wonderful creative things trying to get at what it was that helped them in pulling together worship events. some months back i was invited by the diocese of bath and wells  to curate a celebration in bath abbey of their lay ministries. they have a passage of scripture (colossians 3 in the message translation) that they have been reflecting on all year which involved the idea of putting on clothes as a metaphor for the kind of life you might live. so we invited lou baker to be an artist involved in the celebration and she added to four clothing rails throughout. those attending had been invited to bering something that represented them to add to the rails. it was a simple idea but because it was big it created a really good visual centrepiece for the event.

afterwards i was celebrating with pioneer students who had completed the pioneer certificate in the holy rumpus which was fun. 

then midweek i took a workshop/webinar for a group of koreans online on the subject of curating worship. it's kind of weird that the idea translates across the world. but it was a really enjoyable session and they seemed to be quite energised by it. i had sent something in advance that was translated but you could feel the interest and energy in the questions. it was great to hear one story of how curating worship had inspired a very participative approach to one online exploration of worship from one attendee. i took a screen grab which is a visual with an outline of a service online. for some reason it looks very cool in another language!

that time of year again

getting out and about - pioneers in penrith and london

i loved getting out and about a bit in the last couple of weeks. it was brilliant to be on the first weekend of the second round of the cms certificta in pioneer mission with the northern mission centre. and it was wonderful to join the graduation of the london pioneer school. there are a few photos and short blog about it on the cms pioneer blog here

fecundity

this year turned out to be very fecund when it came to squash at the allotment!

a landscape full of both promise and potential danger

john and olive drane have written a review of pioneer practice that is published in cms' newspaper the call. it is been added here on the pioneer blog - stories that will stir your soul. thank you to them for such a positive review - they have been encouraging about it from day one. here's how they describe it

There is an abundance of advice on practical issues for would-be pioneers, along with an honesty and realism that reflects the difficulties as well as the joys of working with God in spaces where no church has ever gone before. 

"get yourself a copy!" is their advice which i obviously agree with :) if you do want to it is available from getsidetracked.co

 

embers and gracelet

the next grace is called embers and is on saturday 9 october - really liking the theme... here's the blurb:

A reflective service inspired by Jon Hopkins' track 'Sit around the fire'.

It feels like the past two years have left many things burned out and reduced to ashes, but among the ashes may be embers that can be nursed into flame again.

What for you feels like it has turned to ashes? Is there an ember at the core of you that you would like to fan into flame? What are the embers of Grace that we would like to fan into flame? What would you like to leave as ashes?

Join us at 8pm in real life at St Mary's Ealing.

Café afterwards, possibly with burnt offerings.

i think grace have been pretty creative online for the last eighteen months but it is good to be able to meet on site as it were. but we are wanting to carry our learning forward and have a mix of online and on site so gracelet will be a monthly online gathering. it's been lovely connecting with the grace diaspora and others - see flyer above for info

a beautiful carpet of inspiration for us to walk on...

thanks to gill poole for the enthusiastic review of imagining mission. if you want to know what the book is about she goes through chapter by chapter for an in depth review. gill describes it as a beautiful carpet of inspiration to walk on... that has wonderful perspectives that invite us into a conversation...

if you have not looked at the book i am really proud of it - don't be put off by the obscurity of john taylor - you don't have to know about him or think it's historical. it's a book written for this moment riffing on his creative writing and ideas.

a really good starting point...

so says mel neale in her review of pioneer practice in baptists together - thank you! she concludes by saying

This book provides what someone needs to hear when they know pioneering is not just what they do but who they are. 

if you want a flavour of it, i wrote an article using a part of the book for baptists together - a start in pioneer practice three questions to ask

if you have not got your copy yet where have you been??!! it's available from getsidetracked

it's up!

unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

the last week has been so brilliant. our local photography group has had this crazy idea for an exhibition outside so that we knew people would be able to see it and feel safe. that thought led us to pondering whether we could use ealing police station as the canvas - that took a few creative leaps in itself. fast forward a year after thinking why not give it a go and unlocked is up! it looks incredible.

install of unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

i am so proud of what the group has achieved. we have liased with police, fundraised, hired cherry pickers and installers, worked out what's need to clean a building and print on vinyl, curated a powerful set of images reflecting on the last 18 months and the moment we are in. seeing the building being jet washed in preparation and then the photos arriving and being installed at the beginning of last week felt so exciting.

install of unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

this weekend we had the opening with a hundred or so photographers, sponsors, friends and family and some passers by stumbling across it. 

unlocked exhibition at ealing police station - photo by edmond terakopian

sometimes in an exhibition people say what's your favourite photo or whatever. but for me what i love about this is that it's about the whole. it's the impact of seeing all the photos together that has so many resonances of the last eighteen months. we hope it gives people a chance to look back and reflect and to look forward. i didn't want to post a photo before the opening as i liked the idea of a surprise for those coming. but now it's up and there are photos around i want a record of it on the blog. if you are in ealing do go and see it. if you are somewhere else in the world or country then here is gallery of the images which you can look through. click on a photo and you will get some info on it.

edmond terakopian who is a fellow member of the group took some wonderful photos of the install and of the police station with the images on that really gives you a feel for the scale of it which he has given me permission to post - all the photos in this blog post are his (thank you!)

i have loved being part of the planning group. thanks to ealing police for saying yes, to our sponsors gogar services, fujifilm, clarion futures and all the individuals who have given to support the project and especially to our photography group for being bonkers enough to think we might actually pull this off.

unlocked exhibtion opens in september

it's been a crazy adventure but i can now tell you that the photo exhibtion unlocked is going ahead. it will be on the outside of ealing police station with 35 photos over 5 storeys. it will be a huge piece of public art. it is going up to be part of BEAT festival which runs over the two weekends of 11-12 and 18-19 september but will remain up for a few months (we hope) and of course is visible in daylight hours any time. the exhibition explores the experience of the last 18 months both looking back and looking forward. i have photos in it which i am really excited about. this is the biggest scale exhibition i have been part of. it's been a fun ride to raise money through crowdfunding and sponsorship - i am very proud of our little photography group. we have jet washers, cherry pickers, installers and printers lined up. ealing police have been really helpful all the way through. there is an opening event  - if you want an invite to that get in touch. but i hope you get to see it. no doubt i will post photos for those of you who live far away! i really cannot wait to see it myself.

sacred bean eucharist and other follow up from prospect farm

thanks to anyone who came to the session in the long barn at greenbelt's prospect farm. here's some follow up info.

imagining mission with john taylor is here - i loved working on it. john taylor really sparked my imagination and we have tried to write in the same creative vein and i hope it will spark your imagination if you dive into it. each chapter ends with exercises on creativity you can try out.

pioneer practice is here - this is a mix of stories and very short practical articles - ideal if you have an idea to work on, and ideal for a group to use together to dream up something. it's full colour - there are sample pages on the web site. the discount code i gave out will work until friday. if you have forgotten or weren't there and want to know get in touch.

thanks to jo howie for taking part in the session and telling the story of sacred bean. go look at their web site and order some coffee! and as i said in the session we have added the wonderful sacred bean eucharist to getsidetracked - simply click on the page spread that says sacred bean eucharist which is in pioneer practice. i am sure jo would love to hear how you get on with that so do message me or her about it. i am making that a worship trick - remember those? it would be about 86 in series 4....

jo wrote that liturgy as part of a worship module at cms on the pioneer training essentially thinking how you might create a ritual/liturgy that reflected the culture of the community gathered around sacred bean. the training is wonderful - do have a look at the pioneer mission leadership training web site here. it's quite late for this year! but we have certificate, diploma, BA, MA, DTh options as well as simply picking modules to do. there are now quite a few options online as well. if you are interested for this year get in touch immediately! we also have hubs round the country offering training which is not accredited - again see the web site for those.

and thanks to ali for coming and sharing about the social supermarket and other adventures getting going in rotherham.

above all i hope it sparked your imagination around what you might be able to participate in or catalyse.

prospect farm greenbelt weekend - meet up

prospect farm is a camping weekend on greenbelt's site. it's not a festival as such - a much smaller affair but i am really looking forward to it. i am doing a talk in the long barn at 3pm on saturday. it's been billed in one place as pioneer practice and in another as imagining mission so i'll try and cover both or something! jo howie and ali middleton are going to join me to talk about the sacred bean and the social supermarket. afterwards we will head to the tiny tea tent for 4pm - so do come and say hi. it will be a chance to catch uo with other pioneers and if you are interested in finding anything out about pioneering and training come and find me there.

curating worship is published in korea

i was so chuffed today when the korean edition of curating worship dropped on the doormat. i love the cover. it was published here in 2010 so it's quite a surprise that it's got a new lease of life. having said that i love curation as a way of approaching worship and there are some wonderful conversations with people about their amazing creative practice in it which without doubt was ahead of its time. i hope it sparks some creative things in korea. a huge thank you to hong-il kim who was the person who first invited me to korea, keyongmoon kim for friendship and believing in the book and publishing it (and the others - this is the fourth book i now have had published in korea!). also big thanks to younha hwang for translating it. and to the brendan insititute for their commitment to pioneering in korea.

london pioneer gathering

there is a get together for london pioneers on sept 4th 2-6 in the afternoon at wolf fields in southall. it's a terrific space - i really love it. i'll be going. love to see you there if you are in or around london. do register here - it's free btw - as that helps us know numbers. it will be plenty of time to hang out with a few creatuve things to do and a fire around wich to share stories and food and drink - what is there not to like?!

suffolk and norfolk

just back from a lovely two weeks holiday - a week in suffolk and a week in norfolk. i had been to suffolk before but not so much norfolk. this is holkham beach which is a terrific 5 mile or so stretch of sand in north norfolk. it was great to get a break, switch off email and notifications and chill out. for anyone interested there is an album of photos on flickr here (of course)! right now to catch up on email and all that...

season of plenty

my mum always used to call this time of the year the season of plenty. we have an allotment and have been eating raspberries, strawberries, beetroot, potatoes, chard, courgettes, blueberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants, runner beans, peas... i just love the colour of these redcurrants

church for people who want to punch stuff + first review

it was great to read a first review of pioneer practice from russ bravo at inspire. he says 

Pioneer Practice manages to both provide inspiration and motivation for the pioneer, while being hugely pragmatic and realistic about the cost, the struggle and the challenge of doing things differently. Full of wisdom, deep questions and electrifying examples of what God can do when people who don’t fit the established order get stuck into changing things.

you can read the full review here. 

i also wrote up one of the 'electrifying examples' from the book for an article for inspire too - church for people who want to punch stuff 

latest edition of anvil - mission and shame

the latest issue of anvil journal is up on mission and shame. it is edited by andrea campanale who has explored and researched shame herself in relation to faith (and life) out of her pioneering. it's a really terrific issue with strong articles from people who have researched and written on shame digging deep alongside reflecting on practice. you can read online or download a pdf,

unlocked - over half way

you get those jokes about the good news and the bad news. this post is one of those in relation to unlocked - the photo exhibition we are planning in ealing.

the good news is we have managed to raise over three thousand pounds towards the total of 5.5k. one member of the photo group secured two thousand pounds sponsorship from fujifilm which is amazing!

the bad news is that ealing council have not yet backed the project. this is slightly exasperating as to become a crowdfunding project they have to approve it so you jump through quite a few hoops. so you assume this means they have decided they will back it to some degree. but apparently this may not be the case. we still wait to see... and meantime we have to go ahead and arrange people to do the installation and printing so have given ourselves a deadline of the end of july which will be make or break. we have also applied to a couple of other local foundations/trusts too. but again not sure we will hear in time. so it's squeaky bum time for sure. 

so send a prayer up for us! and if you want to back a local photography project of course we'd love you to - you can do so through the crowdfunding page. money will only get taken at the end if we reach our target. it's weird for me because this is not my usual thing so i have not raised for arts projects n this way. 

ten years of spiritual direction

i found out today that i have been meeting with my spiritual director for 10 years. not sure where the time went but it has been an absolute gift to be able to chat several times a year with someone wise in the ways of the soul where we have an intentional conversation about faith (and life and whatever else is relevant). it's a safe space and one where there is no judgement - in fact the opposite is the case as I always come away feeling encouraged. for me it is up there as one of the most important spiritual practices that sustains me. i wouldn't normally say who I meet with but michael mitton agreed to have a conversation with me about spiritual direction to include in pioneer practice - i love how that conversation turned out. spiritual direction is a misnomer really but it's what it seems to get called - soul friendship or accompaniment is a lot better description. whatever you call it, he says that "the primary focus of the conversation is to help the person track their own particular journey with god" - sounds about right!