sustain:if:able kiwi

to do at easter if you are in christchurch

Here is a higher resolution version if you would like to put up a poster in your church/workplace.

easter scattered

From Opawa church newsletter:
As a pastor, I always struggle with Easter. It is the highpoint of the Christian year and one that I believe that all Christians should engage with. Yet it is the last holiday before winter and for those who work hard, an important time to re-create.

So, whether away or present, we are asking you to join with us in this high point of the Christian year. If you are going away for Easter, simply order an Easter Bach Pack (Friday or Sunday or both) from the office.

Note to blog readers: I had hoped to offer this as a resource over the internet, but Easter is simply coming too fast. Never mind. There’s always next year.

lost and found worship

Sunday the text is Luke 15:1-9. A worship response is shaping up around 3 stations.

ONE: Community station – with pictures and explanation of the church’s various community ministries and the invitation to

Look: at the pictures and explanation of the church’s various community ministries

Reflect: by praying

Act: by saying yes to participating (including needing more Boys Brigade leaders, and involvement with our annual Easter Journey art installation).

TWO: Sheep station – with a metal fencing and gate, and the invitation to

Look: at the fence and the gates.

Act: by sitting inside the sheep pen.

Reflect: How would you feel if you were ninety-nine? Pray for us at Opawa, and for what your feelings mean for the future of the church.

THREE: Coin station – with a whole lot of coins scattered around and the invitation to

Look: at the art image, Woman Sweeping, by Jean Vuillard; which portrays God as an ordinary house-keeper in everyday life.

Reflect: on the following poem
I was passionate,
filled with longing,
I searced
far and wide
But the day
fhat the Truthful One
found me,
I was at home.
by Lal Ded

Act: by holding a coin. On one side of the coin is a name of a child in our community (either from Boys Brigade or Koru). Pray that they will be found.

The other side of the coin is blank. It might be your name. What does it mean for you to know that God, like the woman, searching is for you? It might be someone you know. You might want to pray for them by writing their name (permanent marker supplied).

Whatever you do, take the coin with you into your week.

updated: why lent?

Why Lent? “And so you can see why a lot of Reformers are not happy with the Emerging Church. After effectively getting rid of quite a number of meaningless rituals like Lent … the emerging church seem to be undoing some of these gains. Don Carson describes the emerging church as a protest movement. Is it true? Are we protesting the protest? Are we rebelling against the Reformation or are we helping the church to reform again to regain its status as the one holy catholic church?” Tallskinnykiwi wrote

Both at my previous church, Graceway, and now at Opawa, I have introduced a focus on Lent. This year this has included the Lenten 7-pack Practising our faith – a takehome resource with art and text, studies for our small groups and introducing mid-week Lenten study group/s. So why does this shortstubbykiwi support lent?

1. Easter is too important: For Christians, Easter is the highpoint of the church year. An event anticipated is much more likely to be an event celebrated. I liken it to a birthday party – the use of an invitation is crucial for building anticipation. Practising Lent allows us to send invitations to, and among, our church community. It allows the community of God to build toward Easter.

2. Lent is a great time to focus on discipleship: In Lent, Jesus is walking toward Jerusalem. The use of Lent, (and Advent) allows us to focus on the following of Jesus in discipleship. Every year Lent allows us to pause and remind ourselves of Jesus taking up the cross. Lent is thus like grit in our shoe. It works against “cheap grace.”

3. Lent allows us to accentuate the postive by building practises: I do not see Lent as time of denial, but as a time of building Christian practices. Here at Opawa we explore how Jesus lived (for example this year as part of the 7-pack Practising our faith we are focusing on his mission, his use of Scripture, who he ate with, who he included in his community, what his wallet said about his priorities). This has nothing to do with Don Carson’s “protest” but about our passion to live as Jesus lived.

Update: 4 – A comment by John Hebenton: Steve talked about some Lenten material he has put together around good practices. I really liked this. It reminded of the Irish Penitentials, which were about developing the virtues rather than penance for the sin. I have tried to approach Lent in that spirit this year Instead of just giving up computer games, I have thought about what virtue I wanted to build by doing that – spending time with my children. Instead of just giving up swearing at bad drivers, I decided to build the virtue of praying for peace for those who annoy me (bad drivers) – I keep forgetting this one. It has made all those silly giving things up for Lent so much more meaningful.”

Sorry tallskinny, I remain totally baffled about why a bunch of “Reformers” would be unhappy with my working with Lent as part of forming a community in the way of Jesus as revealed in the Biblical narrative of his walk toward the cross.

more lenten resources

A few weeks ago I highlighted some Lent and Holy Week resources. Here are two more:

Tears of lament: “The triumph of life takes place at the edge of death” Jacques Derrida
Running in Highgate, Dunedin, this church are using Lamentations as the basis for creating a “House of Sorrows.” They are wanting people to post prayers and stories of the ‘lament’ in our present world. You are also welcome to send to them a small piece of cloth/rag, which will be placed in their church as part of the House of Sorrows; thus creating an installation that can give voice to lament and be a place for offering prayers of Hope. Sounds a fascinating mix of global prayer and installation and community.

And there is some good thoughts on worship at this New Zealand liturgy site, along with suggested resources through the Church Year, especially useful for those who appreciate words well-used.

lenten resources

Some excellent Lenten resources floating around. Cityside Baptist are offering a digital prayer and art-making process.
Go to their website and you face four choices – a theme, a media, a prayer path, and a recording process. Resources are offered daily, including a Friday special in the form of a creative, lateral stimulus. A digital way of letting people individually create art and engage in prayer through the whole of Lent. Excellent.

Lenten 7-pack; at Opawa (and other participating churches).

Urban seed have 40 creative readings in an attractive, wallet-sized format.

I have blogged in previous years about the personal Lenten value I have gained from Si Smith’s “40“. It’s a CD-Rom with a visual reflection on each of Christ’s 40 days in the wilderness. It can be used for contemplating an image a day for individual preparation; it could be used as one of a number of worship stations; it could be used as a visual meditation in a more established church setting. (There’s an e-interview with the creator here, and again, antipodean’s can buy it from the future church nz website.

Peter Graystone’s Detox your spiritual life in 40 days is a great travelling companion. Aimed at 20’s-30’s, it’s a helpful mix of readings and action steps for each day of Lent. (And great to see that it is coming out in the US, as I have been asked to provide a review for promotional purposes).

A few years ago I used Richard Burridge’s Faith Odyssey; 40 readings that use science fiction to engage the Lenten themes.

Lenten resource: together or separate

The Lenten 7 pack went to the printers today. They look absolutely grand; 7 handdrawn images + 7 Biblical texts (following the journey of Jesus toward Jerusalem) + 7 practices + 7 questions, each on a wallet-sized card, to be carried by people out of church and into work and play.

(We are also producing accompanying study guides to allow small group and study group interaction. We have 3 other church groups partnering with us, so it’s nice to be resourcing in this way).

Now here is today’s question: Do we give all 7 out at once? Or, do we give them out week by week?

All at once suits when people are away, eg on weekends, but takes away the element of anticipation and makes it easier to peak and rush head, rather than savour each week. What do we do? Pros and cons please …

7 practices, 7 images, 7 texts = Lenten 7-pack

Lent is coming fast, with Ash Wednesday February 21. Here at Opawa we are developing a Lenten 7-pack. These are being offered across our 5.4 congregations, giving us a way to talk about the practices we share as one church in many congregations.

The Lenten 7-pack will include;
: 7 spiritual practices (for the 7 weeks leading up to Easter),
: 7 hand drawn art images (in the Si Smith 40 genre. Here is a sample image

: 7 Biblical texts (drawing from the gospel of Luke and the journey of Jesus toward Jerusalem),
: 7 questions.

The 7-pack will be supported by study guide questions, so that groups and congregations can engage around text, image, practice. The 7-pack will also be supported by Si Smith’s 40 as a worship aid.

We are planning to print the 7-pack business card size, so that people can carry around the practice of the week in their wallet. We go to the printer on Monday February 12. If any groups want to partner with us (sharing costs), get in touch or leave your details by Sunday February 11.

alt.worship and the poor

Noted the following (10) comment about alt.worship on tallskinnykiwi.

Actually Andrew, I came to believe that Alt Worship (of which I am generally very appreciative) actually is quite exclusive of the poor and those lacking in aesthetic graces. At its worst its quite elitist even if it never intends to be.

I will leave the charge of “elitism” for possibly another blogpost, but in terms of the relationship between alt.worship and the poor:

(more…)

christmas worship 1

This worked well as Christmas worship. I hung 4 nappies across the front. My (sermon) reflected on Christmas in the 4 gospels:

: Luke’s Christmas is the stuff of childhood carols
: Mark’s Christmas has no Christmas and Jesus is an adult, announcing the Kingdom
: Matthew’s Christmas includes foreigners
: John’s Christmas is God giggling.

On each nappy was a different visual image, taken from a contemporisation of the Book of Kells. The images had been digitally scanned and, using inkjet printer transfer paper, ironed onto the nappy. So each nappy represented a different gospel.

So the Christmas response was the invitation for people to come and rip a piece off the nappy from the Christmas that most challenged them. So if you look closely, John’s gospel got a thrashing.

christmas worship 2

This is the Christmas worship moment I like best – mixing the stars. After each Christmas service, the pastoral team sprinkle little stars over everyone; with the blessing “May Jesus Christ, the true star of Christmas, shine on you today.” It is quite a special moment, individually “blessing” each person with sprinkled stars.

I love mixing the stars before worship; getting the blend of blues and reds and golds. I love that people find them for days afterward, in their sheets and pillows. That for me is what worship should be, sustaining us in our everyday lives.

God in public space

I went down with Pete and Joyce Majendie to see Menetekel, an interactive large scale, public space art installation. The seeding idea is the story of King Belshazzar’s feast in the book of Daniel, and the mysterious wall writing. People are invited to text in messages, which are displayed, using laser technology, on the outside of public buildings.

The artist is Johannes Gees and it is part of SCAPE Biennial here in Christchurch (and well worth texting out).

It raises interesting questions about the use of public space. What could you write and not write? What is advertising? What is graffiti? Why would God speak in such an impersonal and abstract manner?

Pete and I were dreaming away. I wanted to project messages onto myself while I preach, like “rubbish,” while Pete wanted a 5 story building facade at Opawa. Nothing inside the building, just a big facade!

Trinity Sunday and Rublevs Icon as childrens talk

This is Rublevs Icon (Click here for a higher res (156K) copy). I had a go at using it for a children’s talk on Sunday. Would this piece of artistic theology hold 35 kids attention? It did, for about 10 minutes.

(more…)

on art and beauty

I once was interviewed by a reporter for National Public Radio, who … asked, “Doesn’t all the music and painting and artwork in your church distract you from focusing on God?” and I responded, “Tell me this. If your husband takes you out for an anniversary dinner, and there is candlelight and roses and violins, does that distract you from feeling romantic?” That’s how humans are made, to respond to beauty with openness and joy-a truth more apparent to earlier Christians than to many of us today.

Link