[photo: steve collins]
it's lovely when something comes together. i have had a playlist called ambient prayer for a few years so it's an idea that has been brewing. but last night's grace saw the first ambient prayer.
we have created a frame/shape for ambient prayer around 5 sections - settle, descent, meditation, silence, ascent. ambient music plays throughout (apart from silence). within that there are two guided prayer exercises - one a centring/stilling prayer and the other a meditation/contemplative exercise. those can vary of course. then each time there is a visual idea - ideally expressed in both still and moving image. we also made a card to give to people who came. that has the image, section titles, and prayers. a screen has the visual idea and the name of the section at that point i.e. also minimal. it was low lit with a candle in the centre.
for ambient prayer 1 we used a breathing prayer exercise with christine sine's lovely prayer and the lovely be still prayer from st hilda community. the visual idea was the tidal pool in margate as one side of the wall was still and the other choppy which seemed a good picture for the attempt to settle and be still. i took the movie on a phone camera so it's a bit shaky but now want to go back and shoot it with a tripod but whether the conditions will repeat i don't know. it was a very compelling image.
the outline for ambient prayer 1 has been added to the grace archive here, including an explanation, the prayers, the playlist, the postcard and so on.
the opening and closing prayer written by steve collins were written especially for ambient prayer. i am adding those below:
opening prayer
turn towards god
with all of your being
throw your turbulent concerns, your anxieties and joys
into the calm and unfathomable sea of god
let them sink down until the ripples have ceased
do not look for them
or cast lines into the depths to fish for them
holy god, holy and eternal
maker and sustainer of all things
calm the storms of our hearts and minds
carry us in the ship of your love
across the reflecting sea of prayer
guided by your Son
amen
closing prayer
return clean from prayer to the world
and love it more
let calm trust in god be rooted in you
like a tree that stands secure
become shelter and healing to those around you
bear fruit
holy god, holy and eternal
maker and sustainer of all things
fill us with the strong hope of your spirit
help us plant the seeds of your love
into the broken ground of the world
watered by your Son
amen
the playlist is here on apple and here on spotify - i think these tunes are really wonderful but then i did put it together.
i hope over time we'll build up several of these.
i have tagged this new forms. that has been on my mind for quite some time to blog/insta new forms of worship, community, church. i have of course done that for years and it was the name of a venue we hosted at greenbelt for years. anyway i hope over time to add a few things to that conversation as we need them as much as ever. grace is not new and yes we have done things like this for a while but this is a new form/shape which others are welcome to pick up/adapt/reinvent so i think it fits the bill.
this can go on the worship trick 4 series list too!