Friday, December 15, 2006
written on city walls
8 shipping containers, placed in the centre of Christchurch, around the Christchurch tourist tram route. Each is wrapped in fabric. These are gifts, each an interactive art installation, waiting to be unwrapped, a present to our city, telling part of the Christmas story.
While this is a huge undertaking, the Lectionary Scriptures for today were of immense encouragement to the tired and stressed and nervous among us, for in Daniel 5, God writes on the walls of the place. God’s words are displayed in the corridors of power.
Interestingly, sown into each shipping container are scriptures. The words of God hang on container walls, around our city.
Today, as in Daniel’s time, God’s words are being written on the walls of our city, in the places where lawyers walk and shoppers shop. We at Opawa rejoice in being God’s handwriting. And we pray that today, as in Daniel’s time, our city might have the wisdom to discern the words of God.
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Thanks for all the effort guys – I am planning trips into the installations as they are on my “want to” list amongst the “pre-christmas overwork church season” and I have just had a weeks holiday!!
Comment by JoWall — December 17, 2006 @ 5:39 am
PS How are you going with the helpers??
Comment by JoWall — December 17, 2006 @ 5:42 am
Still plenty of gaps if you know of people who would like to help! But we are getting there. Bottom line is pete and joyce work all day/evening when numbers low!
Comment by Lynne — December 17, 2006 @ 5:37 pm
thanks jo. we’ve had lots of positive feedback from people about the journey so far, church people unexpectedly finding work colleagues going and so spiritual conversations begin.
steve
Comment by steve — December 17, 2006 @ 10:26 pm
Hey I think your containers are great. You guys are very creative at the way you view life and its great that you help Chchers see a different way of doing/thinking/being. As a ministry, how do you harbor relationships with your audience?
Comment by Alice Brown — December 18, 2006 @ 12:19 am
Alice,
thanks for dropping by and leaving your note of appreciation.
we as an organising team talk constantly about “how to harbour relationships with your audience” as you put it.
we are very conscious that so much at Christmas is with a price tag and also that so much Christianity is actually switch and bait – we offer people a carrot to get them in the front door of a church or to sign on the dotted line.
so for us, we really want the containers to be a gift with no price tag, no request for donations etc., no dotted line to sign, not guilt manipulation. i guess that in doing that we run the risk of “not harbouring” a relationship.
feel free to interact more with us on this, as we are always talking this back and forth,
steve
Comment by steve — December 31, 2006 @ 2:16 pm