there's a real treat in ealing if you are interested in photography. edmond terakopian is leading a series of photography workshops with open ealing over july and august. he is a brilliant photographer, always inspiring in person and very knowledgeable so i am sure they will be really good. details of the workshops are in this post on the ealing lip photography group site.
if you are further afield the series kicks off with a talk that will also be online
next grace is july 11 8pm - join us on zoom or whatsapp. here's the info
Communion* by numbers @home Grace July 2020 “Wherever we are we will remember God who always goes with us”
This month Grace will be a communion by numbers. Join us on zoom or you can also follow along on whatsapp. If you’d like to take part and are not in our mailing list or whatsapp group email [email protected] and we can send you the zoom link and add you to the whatsapp group. There will be no obligation to remain - you can leave the group afterwards.
Communion by numbers is a simple idea. We have a simple structure with numbered sections led by different people and you simply follow along on zoom or whatsapp to take part.
The title comes from a prayer we have used at Grace many times over the years. It’s sort of our community prayer. We’ll conclude with that prayer together.
*This is not a Church of England communion service. It’s just communion.
it was a wonderful grace last night led by beyond from brighton.
st mary's in ealing is a beautiful space and it was perfect for lasers, smoke and incense bathing the building in light as we celebrated a eucharist of light. it included a wander round to gaze on the amazing installations of light.
in the same way you 'break bread' we also broke light with some glow sticks!
it all looked very beautiful so i took some photos of course though it was a bit challenging in the low light! i have added an album on flickr - grace eucharist of light
we return the favour and will be visiting beyond on may 3 to lead an evening for them in brighton.
i am really looking forward to the next grace. we have invited martin poole and beyond to come and lead it (beyond of advent beach hut fame in brighton). they will be leading a eucharist of light. here's the blurb
Light is a metaphor for life. Going from dark to light reminds us of the journey from death to life, from ignorance to knowledge, from sin to grace, from bad to good.
Advent and Epiphany remind us of these themes and as we journey from Winter towards the light and warmth of Spring and Summer, Beyond combines these themes with the symbolic action of breaking bread and sharing wine and adds an opportunity to experience the wonder of light as we ask God to lighten our darkness and enlighten our lives.
Guest curation by Beyond who are a creative worship community based in Brighton. Cafe afterwards as usual.
alastair mcintosh says that the triune basis for community is soil, soul and society - community with the earth or place, community with one another and community with spirit/self/god. i really like this as a simple framework. johnny sertin first introduced me to it and they have made it the basis of what they are up to in earlsfield.
anyway all that to say that at grace last night we started the year exploring those themes with a space for each. soul was the labyrinth, and then two other spaces with interactive installations. i loved it and think we're bound to pick those themes up further. in classic foolhardy new year fashion i have decided to try and blog with a bit more intent this year. life is so busy that it is a genuine challenge but i'll start as i mean to go on... so i'll add this as a worship trick and have uploaded the descriptions and a photo of each below in case any of you want to chew over the themes or nick them for you own use.
soil
there were four activities in this space and a poem to reflect on. the four activities are below and the poem was the very thought by gerard kelly
The earth, our home, one tiny planet spinning in space in the vastness of the universe is extraordinary with its wonderful creatures, plants, landscapes, and habitats. To gaze at the ocean’s horizon, to walk in a forest and listen to birdsong, to climb a mountain, to sleep under a starry sky, to hold a newborn baby’s tiny fingers in a hand, to enjoy a freshly cooked meal with friends, all evoke wonder and thankfulness. What a gift life is, what a gift it is to be alive! The Christian story is fundamentally a story about the world, the heavens and the earth that have been made good and entrusted to us as gift to look after with love, tenderness and care.
1. Put your hands in the soil
The Soil by David Benjamin Blower played on loop (I love that tune)
All citizens
Put your hands in the soil
And feel the groan
and can you feel the joy?
And be stillTake a moment to be still.
You are human made in God’s image
Adam was the first human - the word adam means ‘of the soil’
You are made from dirt, from soil, from the stuff of the earth
We are earthy
Place your hands in the soil and be still
Feel the groan of the earth in our times and pray
Feel the joy of the earth in all its beauty and give thanks
And be still2. Lament for the heat
Have word soil spelled in candles in soil
Te world is too hot. Global temperature is rising due to emissions. The last IPCC report suggested there are 12 years left in which to change and limit warming to 1.5 degrees which, as we are experiencing, is already having dramatic impact. David Wallace Wells in his remarkable book which has over 6 pages of footnotes citing the evidence to back up his writing, outlines the cascades taking place that will only accelerate as we reach that temperature and beyond. He opens the book with the ominous words “It is worse, much worse, than you think”. We all have seen the images of fires in Australia, a sign of our times if there ever was one.
Blow out a candle as a prayer for the world’s fires and warming
We have sinned against you and against the earth
It is too hot
Lord have mercy on us and on the soil.
Cool the earth.
Amen
3. What a waste
Compost is like magic. Our waste is thrown in the dark with other waste. Over time it rots and becomes beautiful rich soil that feeds new plants in the next season.
Take some food waste
What feels like waste in your life
What are you throwing away
Offer it to God with whom nothing is wasted.
4. Drop in the Ocean
The challenges of the world seem so big that it can paralyse us. But as Greta Thunberg says - no one is too small to make a difference. Or as Harry and Chris say
They say it’s just a drop in the ocean
As if that’s a reason to stop
But maybe they’ve forgotten the ocean
Is literally made up of dropsTake a drop and add it to the water
Soil is about connection and community with the land, the earth itself. Our first challenge is to become lovers of the earth, the land, the home in which we live. We are all too easily disconnected from the land. How can you nurture being a lover of the earth, of the land, of the soil?
Write on a drop something you could do that helps you to be a lover of the earth, to be closer to the soil.
Write on a drop something you could do that lightens your footprint on the earth and its resources
society
To be human is to be related. Even God is community!
Add yourself to the web of relationships
Write your name on a card and then connect it to others with a piece of string. Then think about your connections to others. perhaps friends, perhaps groups you belong to whether local or far away. Write them on other pieces of card and build up the web.Grace is our faith community.
What is it about the community that helps you, that nourishes you? Give thanks to God!
Are there ways you would like to participate?
Are there gifts you have to offer in the year ahead?Do you ever feel alone?
Do you know others who are alone?
Is there someone you could show friendship to?
Hold them in prayer.One of Grace’s ethos words is engage
How will you engage in society locally this year?
How will you build community?
soul
this was the labyrinth - i just took a photo on a phone before we started which isn't great. no doubt someone else will have a better one. but you get the idea. we pretty much reused the words from the first labyrinth we ever did in 1999 by the then live on planet earth! here they are...
Take off your shoes...
The labyrinth is a walking meditation. Take off your shoes, pause at the start and then slowly follow the path. There is one path to the centre and then you follow the same path back out. There are others on the journey. Take your time. If you have to wait that is a good thing probably. There is no rush! Taking care and paying attention to your soul, your true self, the you of you is important soul work. Use this journey to give your soul some time. Soul is also about your relationship to God - take time to be with God in this space. Below are some prompts for the journey in, the centre and the journey out. But if you prefer to simply walk in silence and ignore those prompts then that is also good.
The inward journey:
As you move towards the centre of the labyrinth begin by confessing and letting go of things that hinder your relationship with God. This stage is also about shedding images or projections of yourself so that you can be real with God. Let go of what other people think you should be, their expectations of you, their projections. As you journey, empty yourself, peel away the layers - grow by subtraction. Prepare your inner self - the you of you - to meet with God.
Think of hurtful things people have done or said to you. Imagine a symbol or a word to describe this....
Jesus said, if you let go of the hurtful things people do to you - so God will also let go of the hurtful things you do. Think carefully. Are you willing to 'let go' of the things people have done or said to you?
Think of things you do - patterns of behaving that you know are harmful to your relationship with God, others, yourself or planet Earth. Imagine a symbol or word that symbolises those things.
If you are honest with yourself and God, if you really want to let go of these things... "If we confess our sins God is faithful and just and will purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 Jn 1v9) God will help you to move on. Do you want to take it with you? Or do you want to let it go? If you want to let it go open your hands as a sign of letting it go and move on.The centre of the labyrinth:
At the centre of the labyrinth is that point where we symbolically meet with God. Please spend some time here. Relax. Enjoy God's presence. Meditate on God. Commune with God.The outward journey:
As you journey back out of the labyrinth take your encounter with God with you. Reflect on how this encounter might affect or change you. John said that God became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood - think about how you might allow God to be made flesh in your life and in your neighbourhood.
What boundaries do you need to pass through?
Which of your abilities are you neglecting?
Look around and notice. Even though they may be at different stages, others are on this journey too.
As you approach the end of the labyrinth think about God who has been the host for this part of your journey. If God asked you to fill in a guest book - what would your comments be?
i have added the photos to a flickr album grace labyrinth - soul + soil + society
i loved the soil section the most - we need much more engagement with the earth, the planet, soil, place, our home and lots of soulful liturgies, prayers, songs, spirituality.
join us at grace on saturday january 11th and walk a labyrinth. if you have not walked a labyrinth before it is a lovely prayerful space surrounded by candlelight and ambient tunes. you meditate by walking. it’s a perfect way to start the new year reflecting on what has gone before giving thanks and letting go. it’s a space to be still, to be with god, to place yourself into god's care. and then it’s a journey into the decade that lies ahead with all of its possibility, challenge and adventure. there will be a cafe afterwards as ever with space to chill and catch up.
this saturday is midvent (ok that’s something we made up)! but it’s our advent grace which will be reflective and with photos related to various traditional advent readings. here’s the blurb. do come along…
Join us for a mid-Advent meditation, featuring photos by members of Grace that have been inspired by the season’s traditional Bible texts. We will make our own Advent calendars, that we can continue to fill with images up to Christmas.
Everyone is welcome to stay for mulled wine in the cafe afterwards.
this is a photograph I have in the ealing lip group exhibition home which is part of BEAT 2019. it's a group show on the theme of home. this is the key to the front door of a home in jaffa for a palestinian family who had to flee their home in 1947 and have been unable to return. many palestinians who had to flee carried the key expecting to return of course. but now for them and for those whose homes have been destroyed the key has become perhaps both a memory of home and as a symbol of their longing for home. i imagine this is also the case for many who flee home from whatever country. i also took portraits of the friend whose grandparents house it is. but somehow the minimlaist nature of the key photograph was the one i chose. do visit the exhibition which is open every day until 15 sept.
on sat 14 sept i am giving a talk about the photograph and the theme of home at 4pm. i have been thinking about this and am likely if i have the courage to perform a couple of songs from the album backbone which i recorded after visiting palestine in 1998 - they will be acoustic rather than breakbeat versions.
this month grace have been made homeless because work is being done at st mary's so grace will be coming to that talk, a visit to the exhibition and a meal afterwards nearby. message me if you are interested in coming to the meal and i can send you info.
i am exhibiting as part of home - an exhibition by the ealing london independent photography group i am part of. once again this is part of the borough of ealing art trail. the flyer is below which is also an invite to the opening night. the opening is early evening due to the venue being in a park. but i'd love to see anyone who is able to make it. i am also giving a talk/hosting a session as part of it - details below the flyer
blurb for the exhibtion
We tend to think of ‘home’ as a haven, somewhere we can retreat to after a busy or stressful day. It’s where our family, our partners, our familiar faces and favourite things are… where we can feel secure among the bricks and mortar of our domestic bliss. But it can be more complex than that. Some feel tied down by this image of home, with a longing to escape the over-familiar and make new memories elsewhere; for the elderly,loneliness can be an issue… and increasingly, contemporary times suggest other stories; home is a luxury some just do not have. The world is changing and for many the notion of home is changing too. Photographers from Ealing LIP reflect on what ‘home’ means to them.
At The Rickyard, Walpole Park, from 6th - 15th September.
Opening times:
Fri 6th, 12 - 7pm; Sat 7th & Sun 8th, 12 - 6pm
Mon 9th to Thurs 12th, 12 - 5pm; Fri 13th, 12 -7pm; Sat 14th & Sun 15th, 12 - 6pm
blurb for session i am leading - longing for home
For some of us home is a place we take for granted, somewhere we can return to - but for others in the world, conflict or occupation has meant they have had to flee their home and are unable to return. They make home in a new place but still have memories of home from their homeland and a longing or an ache for it. Many Palestinians who have been exiled from their homes carry a key to remember home, and as a sign of their longing. This workshop will be a chance to hear stories of home, exile and longing. Facilitated by Jonny Baker whose photo ‘The Key’ is in the exhibition. The Rickyard, 4pm, Saturday 14th Sept.
grace this saturday exploring our responses to brexit. glad to be part of a community that doesn't shy away from what's going on around us and difficult conversation. the blurb says
Why are we so divided and angry? What are we going to do about it?
All are welcome. After the service you can either Remain for the café, or Leave to look for a better deal elsewhere.
everyone is welcome to join us at grace on 9th february for a service of meditation and silences, followed of course by a less silent café! this year our february service falls in a space between church seasons - christmas and epiphany are past, lent does not begin until march, so we find ourselves in an in-between place, a place to pause for quiet reflection.
another year of grace begins this next weekend - join us to walk a labyrinth
i always love the season of advent. love this flyer from steve for our grace advent service this year which will consist of a series of reflections, prayers, meditations, songs brought by whoever comes. if you plan to come do bring something to share in that way. it will all be followed by mulled wine and stollen.
and i am not sure i should confess to this but if you look on the grace web site there is a link to a video from 1996 of grace on channel 4 which we dug out for the 25th celebration - it is fairly amusing/embarrassing!
we had a wonderful celebration of 25 years of grace last night.
projections - fairy lights - tunes - 4 course feast - communion shared at the table - memories - toasts - stories - laughter - an amazing cake - 25 year old whisky - nostalgia - hope - gratefulness - friends - church - alternative worship - zine - late night
here's a few photos
steve collins has put together a 64 page zine for grace's 25th celebration. it's free to download as a pdf - we'll probably do a limited edition print run but haven't got oprganised for that yet. but it's a great collection of photos and memories - largely visual - and organised into sections on worship, people, technology, greenbelt, labyrinths, music and ethos. mike and i had fun selecting a few tunes from each year that have been on the grace playlist. who would have thought - two zines in a year?!
#gracesilverservice
it's hard to believe but november will see the 25th anniversary of grace. i wasn't there when it started but jen and i got involved when we moved to london in 1995. it has been an amazingly creative group of people with whom to share life and faith as we have sought to follow christ together in today's world. i'll save a longer post for nearer the time but i am so thankful to be part of it.
to celebrate we are having a meal/banquet. unusually we would like to know numbers in advance for the catering side of it so if you plan to come please can you let us know - email or leave a comment. if you have been part of grace's life over the 25 years do see if you could make it along - we'd love it to be a sharing of stories and memories, of thanks as well as hopes for the future as we are not done yet!
(there is of course a grace service before that in october too)
if you are anywhere near ealing do come along to oblique strategies, our latest group exhibtion. it is part of the wonderful local art trail BEAT. each photographer had to respond to an oblique strategy drawn at random from brian eno's card deck of that name. it's fun! if you would like to come to the opening that is next weds night - here's an invite - i'd love to see you there.
as with last year's exhibition grace on the saturday night 8 sept will incorporate the exhibition and on sunday 9th i will be preaching at st mary's on oblique strategies using the images which could be a challenge!
