Modern Worship by 'Holy Parodies'

A 'sobering' parody of modern worship by 'Holy Parodies' and 'the don't worship this way band'. It's available as a free download.

If you've got 46 minutes and are up to it you can even watch the sermon by Dr David Uth (I didn't bother)

If you like this sort of thing you might also like  another 'parody of modern church services ' Contemporvant'

Special FX church

The image is a bit of a doodle that became a version of Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity crossed with a hint of Eric von Daniken ‘Chariots of the Gods: I remember asking 'was God an Astronaut’ as a youth)

The mysterious visit of the 3 men/angels in Genesis 18, who somehow represent the Trinity in Orthodox thinking, lends itself to a bit of speculation, full of mystery.

My picture came about as a result of drawing the halos which somehow looked like space helmets, and it sort of took off from there...... !

I can vividly remember watching the Apollo moon landings, so maybe in our age its appropriate to portray the church in these cosmic terms...

A MISSION-SHAPED GATHERING

CMS was hosting a visit by 4 Korean clergy, who wanted to look at Mission Shaped Church. We attended the Fresh Expressions and Pioneering conference run by centre for Pioneer Learning It was too good an opportunity to miss.

Over 50 participants gathered from mainly from Europe - Scandinavia, Germany, France,

Scotland. US and Canada: Australia and New Zealand. Plus the 4 Koreans.

The centre is run by Dave Male with input from Andrew Roberts on the Mission Shaped Ministry (MSM) course, Adrian Chatfield on mission-shaped spirituality. Bishop Graham Cray on the mission shaped movement; and Mike Moynaugh on mission-shaped theology. Everything was mission shaped. Even the sandwiches were mission shaped (they were nice triangles!)

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Fresh Expressions is often abbreviated as FX. For me that is Special Effects (I remember the movie of that name and FX2 the deadly art of illusion. Maybe that is what the Church is seeking to do - add some special effects making it more trendy, more audio-visual, more sexy, more appealing in the 21st century. enabling church to take somehow off.

Special effects can be gimmicky, all about lights and tricks and illusions. there can be expectations on pioneers to be similarly gimmicky.

Yet I was struck by how 'ordinary' many FX churches are : Messy church; Cafe church; Network church; rural church; Cell-church run by people who are trying to be essentially Mission-Shaped.

We visited Thirst a Friday morning Cafe Church meeting in a school and Cambourne, an ecumenical (Anglican Baptist Methodist URC) Church which started in a garage and a Doctors surgery and now has an expandable A-frame church building in the middle of a new Estate. And there was nothing gimmicky about them. They were ordinary people trying to make the church relevant to their context.

PIONEERING - TO BOLDLY GO

Like the star ship enterprise, there is a sense of pioneering being about 'going boldly where no man has gone before' A lot is experimental and exploratory, tentative and partial informal and flexible.

Pioneers are people who don't quite fit in with the centre, and like to push out into unexplored territory, they are happy on the edge.

IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!

Graham Cray reminded us its not rocket science. a Fresh Expression is defined simply as 'a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church'

The Archbishop of Canterbury coined the phrase Mixed Economy to describe the range of church, traditional and modern , fresh expressions Not either or but BOTH/ AND. "celebrating and building on what is mission -shaped in traditional forms of church and finding new, flexible appropriate ways to proclaim the Gospel afresh to those who do not relate to traditional ways" Permission has been given to allow Church to take off.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

Back to the Trinity and Rublev's ICON. Mike Moynaugh reminded us that the Missio Dei originated in the Tri-unity of God, drawing us into Communion. Mission is the eternal decision of God the Trinity 'communion in mission;

which the church takes and becomes 'community in mission' The church is misisonary and 'becomes missionary by attending to each and every context in which it finds itself' - 'The word became flesh and moved into the neighbourhood'

There is a sense that in Church, (FX or not), we are creating something 'other worldly', because in church we encounter the Divine....  sort of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

Yeshu Satsang Toronto

an excellent example of multi-cultural worship from Yeshu Satsung Toronto, recommended by one of the participants at the recent Fresh Expressions and Pioneering conference.   Similar to Pal Singh's Sanctuary in Birmingham. It also reminds me of the music of Aradhna  

Independent Christmas Rap

The Youff at our church are known as Re:Route and this year Ali and Jonny have produced a great rap for Christmas. Great fun - loved watching it ! Well done guys

Holy Ground

a space to encounter God Self and others in silance, reflective activity, creativity, community

'Holy ground is work in progress and will be shaped by those who come .... hosted by Trinity Methodist Church .... open to spiritual travellers from any church or none'

I went to the first evening (11th Oct) entiled 'In the Presence of the creator: reflecting on the wonder and worry of creation'. The next evening is Waiting for the Light: how do we wait in hope when darkness is all around. reflections for Advent in music, images and words (29 Nov)

for more details see their website

The centre piece was a creation table and the reading of the Genesis creation narrative.

Very simple and very moving.

then 4 activity stations

Chaos - newspaper clips and cuttings pinned onto a board

Order - laminated images cut up and as puzzles to be put back together

Creativity - clay modelling tro draw out individual creativity

Blessings - a 'mind map' of words of blessing around community, family, friends

Ambient music and reflective space

The evening was finished off with poem and (Cain) blessing

deep peace, pure white of the moon to you

deep peace, pure green of the grass to you

deep peace, pure brown of the earth to you

deep peace, pure grey of the dew to you

deep peace, pure blue of the sky to you

deep peace of the running wave to you

deep peace of the flowing air to you

deep peace of the quiet earth to you

deep peace of the shining stars to you

deep peace of the Son of Peace to you

Crossing the bridge between St Paul's & Tate Modern

Jonny Baker shared an image at our sacred:space on Saturday that connected with me very much. He spoke of the millenium bridge in London which crosses between St Pauls at one end and the Tate Modern at the other. He suggested that alt. worship is such a bridge, an attempt to cross between the institutional historic church and modern contemporary art and culture.

I seem to remember when the Millenium bridge was first opened it vibrated and swayed when people walked on it, and felt very unstable, and had to be closed and strengthened. Let (s)he who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches !

The challenge in worship is encountering Christ, the 'enfleshing of God', through our cultural lens 'on the inside of our culture'. Alt worship, like good mission, is both incarnational and contextual.

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Grace is a community that has been running for over 15 years, experimenting with various forms of worship, visual, liturgical, creative, social, communal, experimental. All they do is framed by 4 key words which represent their values as a community

• create
• participate
• engage
• risk

They see liturgy rather than a consumer activity run by professionals, as 'the work of the people', 'something we make together' It is an adventure of the imagination.

We finished the evening by participating in an act of worship - led by Jonny and Jenny - a communion service around the theme of 'wounded in all the right places' based on the song by 'One Giant Leap' Flikkr has an album of pics from a Grace service on the theme

Greenbelt: 'spirituality on the edge'

we just had a great mini Greenbelt in Woking as part of our monthly Sat night 'sacred:space', proving that you can take a festival back to church with you.

PROGRAMME

1 Performance Cafe (30) introduction to Greenbelt – The Kitchen - Open Mike. live performance - songs, stories, poems, couch-thoughts, anything goes!

2 Greenbelt punting (30) wander around the venue - Overflow 'G:source' - Prayer:space, Tent Talk, Stalls; Art Gallery; plus Mainstage - Music videos.

3 Community Hymns (30) 'Beer and Hymns' in the 'Jesus Arms' -community singing & Blessing

‘THE KITCHEN’

Food and Drink : Cheese and Wine : Beer and Nibbles

‘PERFORMANCE CAFÉ’

Sam Watts - songs & Reflections

Mike Cope - Reflection and Song

Nigel Griffiths (aka Bruce Cockburn)

MAINSTAGE: LINEUP (big Screen music videos)

Kitaro (Heaven and Earth), Hayley Westenra (Amazing Grace/ Benedictus) / Boccelli (‘Canto Della Terra’), One Giant Leap (unity/ faith); Sinead O’Connor (intro to theology/ Jeremiah/ Isaiah); Sigur Ros (glosoli, hoppipollia); Jeff Buckley (Hallelujah/Grace); Melissa Etheridge (Kingdom of Heaven) Ukulele Orchestra of GB (The Good the Bad and the Ugly); Dayvan Music Video + Foy Vance: (Gabriel and the Vagabond)

We didn't even get a chance to play them all only those in Italics

GALLERY

The Art of He Qi – from Nanjing - 3 paintings

PRAYER::SPACE

East and West video + Aradhna music

Sanctuary: PraiseRepentAskYield

PRAISE a moment to focus on (& hold) the Cross and give thanks using the Prayer cards

REPENT take a stone representing a burden and pause for thought before letting it go in the water.

ASK - light a candle of prayer for someone you are concerned about

YIELD make a personal act of commitment & seal it with a sweet

‘G:SOURCE’

‘Standing in the Long Now’ browse newspapers and programmes - Quotes, Poems, Books

Stalls: CMS (Phil) - Christian Aid (Bob) - Love Russia (Caroline) - A Rocha - Re:roote (Jo)

SEMINAR TENT

Listen to a talk in the Tent (Andy) whilst modelling clay : Mike Yaconelli - Rob Bell - Brian McLaren

BEER & HYMNS:

Community singing lead by Father Ian from All Saints Woodham. Brilliant.

And then finish with a communal blessing to finish a great evening:

PRAYER::BLESSING

John O'Donohue

"It is a very cool thing, a blessing. It has a democracy and equality in it, a sense of intention and well-wishing that is concerned more with the destiny of someone rather than their destination."

A blessing from Juli Allen written at Greenbelt 2008 during the Proost Lounge session.

blessings on you who have entered this space-
who have travelled far and near to be in this space. 
let your soul sigh in this space. 
let yourself be undone in this space.
 let yourself feel the love that surrounds, and permeates, and brings this space together.
 breathe it in and let it wash over you. 
for some, this marks the beginning. 
the beginning of a new year,
 a new song, 
a new season.
 for others it is a close, an end, a period at the end of a chapter.
 hopes have been sparked here.
 dreams have begun here. 
revolutions and relationships have arisen here. 
and as a phoenix, we will descend in all the glorious shades of red, and orange, and yellow. 
this time together...
this space together...
this experience together...
we will take deep, deep down into our bellies 
where a fire will burn that will take us through the next year. 
until we meet again we will carry within us memories that will never leave us.
 embrace what is left in this space,
 and in this time soak up all that you can,
 and be sent out knowing that you are loved and you are blessed.

GREENBELT 3 The Long Worship

Greenbelt is primarily a music and arts with a strong concern for social justice So it has its music and talks, art and literature, film and comedy, youth and children, but there is also a worship and spirituality track.

I started Monday morning in the CMS tent with Sanctuary, part East+West trust from Birmingham. Run by Pall Singh. Sitar playing, simple acts lighting candles, dropping stones / burdens into water, bread and wine. Indian sweet representing goodness. Prayer of St Francis. It was beautifully and meaningfully put together.

Later in the day after putting down all the tents and packing camp for the long jorney home, I was able to visit The Long Worship 'a space to reflect on how God fits into your story and how you fit into God’s story'

A spiraling labyrinth in the centre of the room. Images – an old man shovelling snow in a monastry – ambient mucis in background. Kids playing lego and colouring celtic saints. A wall of words for meaning making. Hanging fabrics, floor cushions. People sitting, kneeling, lying down, stretching, reading, writing, relaxing, meditating, thinking, reflecting. Shoes off for this is holy ground.

Thoughts are not imposed but are free to wander, and fix themselves momentarily on an idea, a connection, a point of contact with the Divine. Moments of Spirit of God

I was grateful for Mark Berry of safespace for putting it together (along I am sure with many friends) a great way of finishing Greenbelt 09

Afterwards I picked up a number of postcards advertising other alt.worship events

ReSource creating church in the emerging culture

Grace big complex worship café afterwards 2^nd Sat 8pm and gracelet small quiet service New Inn afterwards 4^th Sunday 8pm in St Mary’s Church Ealing

Reviv’in seeking God in the Grove – both a journey and an opportunity to meet with God (in Temple Bar, Birmingham) 2^nd Friday of month 9pm til late

sanctum (re;connect) and sanctum (:lite) in Horsham

op/en no bag for the journey in London

critical.mass building and celebrating - responding deeply to a desire to make connections in St Stephen’s Bristol

Transcrndence An ancient Future Mass - a multimedia Eucharist with ambient music, chant, movement and symbol run by York Minster and Vision

Dream Re-imagining Church a creative and open community for people exploring a spiritualit centred on Jesus - dream

And lots of 'inspiring resources that fuel faith' 11 books + 22 albums + 44 videos plus new content for £60pa see proost.co.uk

Jonny Baker Worship Tricks Cartoon

A friend, Martin pointed out to me the Ongoing adventures of ASBO Jesus blog  where there is a good depiction of a colleague, Jonny Baker, our blogger extraordinaire, who has a side-line in alt. worship. The cartoon of 14/Jan/09 says it all .... 

If the pic below is too small, then click on the original 628 . Which I suppose is always a good principle in life - to 'always click on the original'.