Sunday, April 26, 2009

urban Easter sunday prayer

One the ways we sought to express our missional life over Easter was with regard to our corporate prayer life. Over the week prior to Easter, we placed a large 2 metre high wooden cross at various points around our community – McDonalds, police station, urban developments, state housing village. Pictures were taken. These were then shown in both our Easter Friday and Easter Sunday services. (Friday was greyscale here (click to move through each slide), Sunday was colour – here – click to move through each slide). Some historical research was done and a prayer was composed, for 2 readers (A and B), weaving a conversation between the history of our community and what the reality of the death and resurrection of Jesus might mean.

It was a fascinating exercise, a way of inviting us to take Easter outdoors (where it was orginally played out), and to consider the relevance of the cross for our local communities in 2009 – amid urban grime and fastfood outlets and urban development and social housing.

I posted the Friday prayer here, but for those interested, here is the Sunday prayer:

A: Jesus, On Easter Saturday you were dead
cold and hard
unless a seed falls into the ground and dies
only love would leave such a mark

B: Jesus, On Easter Sunday
you surprised us
you rose, graveclothes scattered
you walk before us, among us, beyond us

A: Jesus, This Easter,
we pray for your life, your love, your mark
among our neighbours, on our communities from Colombo Street to Brougham Village

B: Jesus, (click ppt) these are our neighbours,
shopkeepers building beside Beckenham Baptist

A: And so we pray for your life and love,
surprise them, surprise us
in our communities this Easter

B: Jesus, (click ppt) these are our neighbours
the new police station being built

A: And so pray for your life and love,
arise in them, arise in us
in our communities this Easter

B: Jesus, (click ppt) these are our neighbours. McDonalds and so many fast food outlets stretched down Colombo St

A: And so we pray for your life and love,
walk among our communities this Easter

B: Jesus, (click ppt) these are our neighbours, developers at Sydenham Central
David Henderson who risked. And the Council who resurrected

A: And so we pray for your life and love,
surprise them, surprise us
in our communities this Easter

B: Jesus, (click ppt) these are our neighbours
those who live in council housing in Brougham Village

A: And so we pray for your life and love,
arise in them, arise in us
in our communities this Easter

B: Jesus, (click ppt) these are our neighbours
the Canterbury crowds, who walk to AMI Stadium,

A: And so we pray for your life and love,
walk among our communities this Easter

B: We pray protection for the vulnerable
safety for the easy led, deliverance for those addicted
freedom for those enslaved by debt and habit
Help us live your resurrection life among our neighbours, Easter

Posted by steve at 06:06 PM

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