far i have come far i must go

grace new season got underway last night. it was fun! steve has added a few pics. it was the first of three services that are part of the reshaping of grace. the thinking behind the first one was that some things need to die, the ground needs to be levelled before newness can come.

• a dramatic opening with steve dressing up for the part. grace written on a mirror and smashed to pieces with a sledgehammer...
• into radiohead's stunning  video go to sleep with collapsing and rebuilding of buildings
• a few scriptures/thoughts
• then we wrote things to let go of, things held dear, things of comfort, things to move beyond on plates and were invited to put on grace issue goggles and smash the plate with a hammer... during this the lemon jelly shouty track video played - i suspect one of the only times that will ever be used in church! follwed by nitin sawnhey's letting go.
• a godly play style moment of wondering what could be done with the fragments
• introducing the transition process for grace - with takeaway postcards for everyone to reflect on. followed by the track 'so beautiful' by the urban myth club 
• a meditation 'creatures of comfort', music track 'far i have come far i must go' from the idjut boys album press play. liturgy/prayer (see below).
• scriptures on rebuilding and newness
• takeaway bags with a fragment of broken plate to create something with for next time.
• maps to plot the grace network.

a few worship tricks out of it...
no 33 so beautiful - an amazing track by the urban myth club. i heard it at the big chill this summer and went straight away and bought the album helium.

no 34 far i have come far i must go. another big chill connection. this was on an online radio set. the track is beautiful and inspired the meditation and liturgy that jen wrote (below). thanks to len's article on the resonate journal for some inspiration on liminality...

We are creatures of comfort.
We like to be safe and secure
to be surrounded by what we know
to be in control
to order our lives in the way that suits us.

We want our journeys mapped out for us
itinerary decided, tickets booked
time of arrival guaranteed
refreshment breaks at regular intervals
and a credit card for unforeseen circumstances.

But Jesus said ‘follow me’ without saying where he was going
just promising transformation along the way.

The Israelites in the desert, rescued from slavery and oppression,
were tired and homeless, hungry and thirsty, insecure and unsettled.
And their minds went back to what they had known.
They yearned for the structure of predictable slavery rather than the broken walls of unknown freedom.

Liminal space is the place of inbetweenness, of insecurity.
It is the Israelites in the wilderness,
it is Paul blind in Damascus waiting for Ananias.
Liminal space is emptiness and nowhere,
it is uncertainty and chaos,
it is a place of discomfort and unrest.
Liminality is a place of dying and rebirth, of metamorphosis, the place where the caterpillar spins its cocoon and disappears from view.

Nothing good or creative emerges from business as usual. Much of the work of God is to get people into liminal space and to keep them there long enough so they can learn something essential.

This is the invitation of God, to move
-    from comfort to  insecurity
-    from what we know to what we have yet to discover
-    from what we are good at to what we might fail at
-    from safety to a place of risk

[Play Far have I come, Idjut boys CD]

God of broken people and broken places
We confess to you our love of comfort,
of the known and predictable,
of the safe and secure.
We recognise that you call us into liminal space
To leave what we know and venture with you into desert and wilderness, into blindness and discomfort
We want to follow you, but it’s hard to leave what we know
Help us to trust you, and to set out.

On the journey of faith,
Far I have come, far I must go

God of broken people and broken places
We thank you for all that Grace has been to us and to many others
We thank you for the space to listen, to grow, to create, to be challenged
We recognise that you are calling us on
To leave what we know and venture with you into new things, into engagement and participation, into creativity and risk, into new structures and opportunities
We want to follow you, but it’s hard to leave what we know and we’re not sure where we’re going
Help us to trust you, and to set out.

On the journey of faith,
Far we have come, far we must go.

God of rebuilt people and rebuilt places
You have plans for deserts and wilderness
‘Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
The thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
Grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.’

God of transformation we look forward to what you will do
With our lives and with Grace

On the journey of faith,
Far we have come, far we must go.

Technorati Tags: liturgy, worship tricks, grace

Comments

[l. koons]

i love this!!!

[Tony Myles]

Very cool... nice stuff!

[Venetia]

This is so beautiful - I am copying to everyone at the moment. Thank you for the concept. Thank you for thebeautiful words.

[Dorothy Horne]

How would I go about getting permission to quote part of this beautiful writing in my book? (Very close bout to self-publishing my second book: Glimpses of Grace, Vol. 2: And Grace Will Lead Us Home). Thank you so much. I had written it down years ago, but all the info I had on it was Jonny Baker, church of Scotland minister, 2005. (Not the name of the publication or any other details I might need. Until recently, I didn't even realize I need to ask permission to publish it!) Thanks so much.

[Jonny]

Those pieces were written by Jenny Baker. I am sure she would be happy for you to use them. I will check with her and let you know.

[Jonny]

Yes jenny is fine for you to use that. Perhaps say written by Jenny Baker for Grace and add web site or something like that.