Worship as Response, April 2008
How do we respond to God, or our concept of God? For this 'Response' service, twelve stations were designed based loosely on a theme of meditation and discovery, each station requiring a contemplative approach but with a strong interactive, tactile element. This gave the participants the opportunity to escape the chaos of everyday life and commune with God on a focussed, spiritual level.
Each of the twelve stations are described below, along with their instructions. Click on the thumbnails at right to see photos of most of the installation. Please feel free to email us with your thoughts or ideas - contact details are below.
Shalom!
STATION 1 - PREPARATION
(Instructions) This is where we take a moment to meditate on the knowledge that
God will meet us anywhere, anytime. And so, even in this humble house, we ask
you to remove your shoes, switch off your phone and meditate for a minute in
preparation.
This station was in the entrance to the house. We invited everyone to light a candle as they arrived as a mark of their spiritual and physical presence. A leaflet was also provided
explaining each of the stations and a brief description of the idea behind the service.
STATION 2 - HATE
(Instructions) To be still enough to commune with God we must overcome hate, anger, frustration, impatience and other negative thoughts.Write down all your negative emotions at the moment and then burn them as a symbol of your readiness to calm down in the presence of God (at least for tonight)! You may like to go back and repeat some of the other stations now that you have taken control of your negative thoughts!
Pretty straight-forward. The kitchen wok was used to burn thoughts instead of stir-fry.
STATION 3 - TREADMILL
(Instructions) Grab a piece of chalk and write a message to God on the treadmill. Not easy, is it? The need for stillness is paramount when it comes to effective communication. Now imagine God trying to talk to us amidst all the chaos of our lives!
The household treadmill was comandeered for this station. With the treadmill running (very slowly) the difficulty of communicating with a moving target was made clear!
STATION 4 - NOISE
(Instructions) Look at the TVs and slide show - it's just meaningless noise, but what grabs your attention and why? If you were God trying to get your attention in a chaotic world, how would you do it? If you like, write anything at all on the screen as a protest, plea or prayer.
Two TVs and a laptop were used for this station. One TV was tuned to snow and the screen covered in bubble wrap. The other was tuned to a station but the screen covered with kitchen paper. The laptop displayed an annoying, rapidly changing set of random images. A marker pen allowed people to write their thoughts on the TV screens.
STATION 5 - M&Ms
(Instructions) In relationships of any kind it has been said that there is only "ministry or manipulation". That is, we either help people, or we use them. Take 5 minutes to read anything in front of you with this in mind. Eat a few M&Ms and consider how this knowledge could be useful to you tomorrow.
A simple station which again proved that chocolate is a powerful ministry tool.
STATION 6 - BITTERSWEET
(Instructions) Life is a bitter/sweet affair. Consider you spiritual journey as you sample the foods and read the reflections.
Two plates were on offer - one containing slices of lemon, the other confectionary. The invitation was to eat the food that best symbolised the person's spiritual walk at the time. Two written prayers were provided to reflect and emphasise the eprson's choice.
STATION 7 - DAWN
(Instructions) Have you ever attended an ANZAC Day dawn service? Two dawn-themed videos ask pertinent qustions about suffering and sacrifice.
Being the day after ANZAC Day, with its powerful dawn service commemorating those lost at Gallipoli in WWI, these two videos asked difficult questions about how we respond to the sacrifice made by others for our sake.
STATION 8 - DESIGN A CHURCH
(Instructions) What should church really look like? Have a crack at designing your own... or just write down your thoughts. Comment on what others have craetd/written.
Paper and craft materials were made available for people to put their thoughts down on paper.The results were diverse and surprising!
STATION 9 - BOX
(Instructions) What's in the box? Lift the curtain and have a look. Are we guilty of compartmentalising, and using tunnel vision to pigeon hole too quickly? Take a look then at the painting on the wall. How many objects can you identify in the painting? How does the artist's approach differ from the box installation? Which is better?
This was a simple cardboard box with a bobble-headed Jesus figurine at the far end, with a flood light underneath the box providing a simple spotlight effect (not apparent in the photo).
STATION 10 - THE RABBIT HOLE
(Instructions) If you could be shown the truth about everything, would you really want to know? Enter the rabbit hole, wtach the video and make you decision!
People were invited to enter a tent, where they were shown a video highlighting the problem of choice and the starkness of truth revealed. Tehy could then choose between eating a red jelly bean symbolising their desire to learn the truth about life, or a blue jelly bean if they preferred the truth to remain a mystery. (The results were surprising!)
STATION 11 - MEDITATION ZONE
(Instructions) Return here as often as you like for contemplation, prayer and reflection. Burn a candle and some incense if you wish.
A quiet area away from the rest of the installation was provided with a comfortable chair, candles and incense for meditation. It proved very popular.
STATION 12 - COMMUNION
(Instructions) This is for everyone, regardless of your beliefs and doubts. On their own, the bread and wine are nothing. Read the stories and become part of the story. Finally, consider which stations have impacted you the greatest. What have you learned that can help you maintain some spiritual communion in your everyday life? Share with the others!
