Sense-ing Worship

September 2008

Motivation

This was an attempt to broaden our approach to worship somewhat. To examine some different ways of hearing from and interacting with God. Appreciating that people have different strengths and weaknesses, and might be more open to one approach or other. In addition, most worship tends to focus on 2, or at most 3 senses. Tonight, we wanted to focus on all 5 (with a 6th thrown in later!)

An idea was posed to use the different senses. This is a pretty common idea as it seems, as any search on ’sensory worship’ will reveal. A few books on the theme even. Although very little freely available material online.

It was also important in the planning that this not be ‘gimmicky’. It’s easy to design a service which engages the senses, but it was important that they lead us to an exploration of understanding how God might speak to us through this sense, or opening ourselves up to an understanding of God, faith and life that we might not otherwise have had.

Environment:

Very similar to the previous worship session – 5 stations set up around the front of the church. Not too dark.  Each station had some elements to respond to and interact with, and a short written reflection. In a new move (which I hope will become a regular tradition), coffee was available freely for people to grab and take with them and have throughout the service.

Audio:

Again, we used the same, reliable soundtrack from the previous month’s worship. Nice, unobtrusive…

Structure:

There were three parts to this service:

1. An introduction, including a short scripture reading(s) and prayer.

2. The body of the service, where people interacted with the stations at leisure.

3. A bringing together of the people for some final readings, a time of silent reflection (or what we called engaging with the sixth sense – “Spirit”, and a final prayer.

The Service

1. Introduction

Introduced people to the theme, and how we were going to run tonight. Then used a few scripture readings on the vague idea of ’senses’:

O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who trusts in him (Psalm 34:8)

How sweet are your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103)

Whoever keeps my words shall never taste of death (John 8:52)

Jehovah smelled a sweet savor and said in his heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of humankind’ (Genesis 8:21)

He called the multitude and said to them, ‘Hear and understand’ (Matthew 15:10)

The people pressed upon him to hear the word of God (Luke 5:1)

The sheep hear his voice, and he calls them by name (John 10:3)

Have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer (Psalm 4:1)

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8)

Behold, it is I myself; handle me and see (Luke 24:39)

Then, a short prayer to send people off on the stations…

2. Body of the Service

These were the stations that we had:

Sight

Three laptops running loops of different imagery. In this instance, we had some urban pictures (mainly architecture, signs, etc.), cloud photos, and a loop from a newspaper series including photos of natural disasters, political happenings, war, etc.

Where do you see God, present or at work in the world around us?

As you see these images, what do you see?

Do you see anything that shows you something about God?

Do you see anything that shows you an opportunity to be Christ?

What have you seen this last week that God has used, or could use, to speak to you. Change you. Grow you.

Scent

Some jars containing different ’smells’. Included some different essential oils, coffee, methylated spirits, and dirt (which didn’t smell nearly as much as hoped!)

Before you are a range of smells. Some will be familiar, some might not. Which is your favourite?

What would the overall ’scent’ of your life be? If God was to put you in a jar, your life, your passions, your interests, your hates, your loves – what would it smell like to Him. Would it be a pleasing fragrance to Him? How could you ask God to help you improve your ’scent’?

Hearing

5 CD players or MP3 players each containing a different type of music and some headphones. In our case, the tracks were:

- Be thou my Vision (old, traditional hymn)

- Taize music (chanting, reflective music)

- Hybrid’s Unfinished Symphony (techno – a personal favourite )

- Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

- Captivated, by Vicky Beeching (pop-Christian kind of stuff)

How does God speak to you?

As you listen to the different types of music, consider how God speaks to you…

What sounds are you open to? and which do you find difficult to hear through?

How might God be speaking to you in ways you might not be used to hearing?

Taste

A few different bowls of different tasting little items. In this case, it was wasabi peas, chocolate, pretzel sticks, and beef jerky.

Feel free to take from what is in front of you. As you taste each of these, focus on them carefully. Close your eyes and concentrate on nothing but the taste of these.

Consider those things that God has given us, has put in front of us. Things that we need, things that we want, things that we might be obliged to receive. How do these things add or take away to your life?

Think carefully. What do you want to receive from God?

Touch

A quiet corner with a soft blanket, and some stones on the floor.

Take a stone from the pile and rest it in on hand. With your other, grasp a corner of the blanket.

As you sit, with both experiences of hardness and softness in your hands, reflect on the things in your life that..

..are hard to you. Maybe they’re difficult. Maybe they risk hardening your heart or hardening relationships or patterns of doing things. Maybe they’re just painful…

…and those that are soft. The warmth of friendship and relationship. Those things that comfort you, bring you peace, support you softly and warmly.

…and consider how those two sit together. How does the hard and the soft in your life balance? How does one address the other? Where do you find the softness to deal with the hard things in your life?

3. Conclusion

We brought everyone back after 25 minutes or so, and had a few short readings – poached from the Swedenborgians…

In some traditions, each of the five external senses–touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight–has a correspondence with one of the internal senses. . . . The sense of touch, broadly speaking, corresponds to the love of goodness; the sense of taste to the love of knowing; the sense of smell to the love of perceiving; the sense of hearing to the love of learning, and also to obedience; and the sense of sight to the love of being intelligent and wise.

…the five senses are five ways in which love and wisdom are linked together. Touch is in all the other senses. When we taste, we touch the tongue with food and drink; when we smell, minute particles touch the membranes of the nose; we hear because sound waves impinge upon or touch the eardrum; and it can even be said that we see because light waves touch the sensitive receptors of the eye.

If touch is the universal sense, then love is universal too. Nothing can exist without love. Love is our life. Music, painting, literature–everything about them depends upon love. Science, political life, community relationships–these exist because there is a basic love behind them. Religion and the church, worldwide faiths, the understanding of God’s Word–all come from the universal love that is the very fabric of human existence. When Jesus healed, he touched. All healing depends upon the touch of love.

We then had a few minutes of silent prayer and reflection, to engage with God’s spirit, as the 6th sense – the way in which God can speak to us beyond the physical senses.

Then, a closing prayer:

Thank you, Creator God, for endowing us with the five blessings of touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight, by which we experience so much pleasure and beauty. Grant us, we pray, the wisdom to use our senses well, not plunging into physical pleasures for their own sake, but elevating heart, mind, and body in the service of those higher, spiritual purposes for which you created us. Amen.

 

Prayer for loose ends.

July 2008

Motivation

Inspired by the influx of Catholics for World Youth Day (and a recent post by Kel), we took some motivation from the rich prayer traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. So, we’ve taken the concept of the rosary and created some prayer beads – The idea that the activity of creating the beads would be a guided reflection in itself, and then the beads themselves can act as a tool for prayer as we then go about our everyday lives.

Environment

The room wasn’t that dark, as people would need to read and thread beads. Around the space were 7 different prayer stations. In the middle was the Christ station, and the rest were scattered randomly, with a couple of chairs at each, giving enough room for some private reflection and prayer.

At each station was one of the reflective readings/writings written below, and a bowl of beads which symbolically represented that theme.

Audio

A reliable mixture of Hybrid and Biosphere. Very modern (drawing from a techno/dance tradition), but no lyrics or additional emotional themes to distract. Just simple, quiet, atmospheric but non-directive music. Anything like that would do…. Moby, classical, Enya, whatever works for you and your group.

Structure

After an introductory prayer, people had 30-40 minutes to move to each of these stations and spend some time reflecting on the ideas presented there. People were encouraged to take as much or as little time as you wish… And of course, if people wanted to just do a few stations, or none at all, they were free to do so.

As they moved around the stations, they were free to collect one or a number of beads from each station, and add them to the string provided. Through this, we will be ‘constructing our prayers’ in a very physical form, and one which we can revisit later. It didn’t just have to be one of each bead, but as few or many as they felt they needed.

When finishing visiting all of the stations, people were free to spend some time constructing the beads and their order, going back and getting more if required.

(Many of the word used in the reflections are not mine. I will be referencing them all as soon as possible, but I just don’t want to claim any credit for what is not my work)

The Service:

Introductory Prayer

Come now, turn aside for a while from your daily employment, escape for a moment from the tumult of your thoughts. Put aside your weighty cares, let your burdensome distractions wait, free yourself for a while for God and rest awhile in him. Enter the inner chamber of your soul, shut out everything except God and that which can help you in seeking him, and when you have shut the door, seek him. Now, my soul, say to God, ‘I seek your face; Lord it is your face that I seek.’ Amen.

The Station reflections:

Christ

What then must I do now?
I will go and sit before the Cross. I will attend to it. I will be
concentrated, and unhurried, and let it speak to me.
I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place…
Yes, I must abide here. Here is cleansing, security, and
renewal. Here the past is dealt with, and the future secured,
and all the present – peace. Here I take strength for service,
patience in waiting, and healing for any wounds that come…
Saviour, hanging on the cross, declaring God’s love to us,
you are forgiveness. Beside you hangs a thief, beneath you
waits Mary the forgiven, and all around watch those many
people to whom you give new life and hope. To us you give
new life and hope. Forgiven sinners become your body and
your Church; may the reconciliation we share bring your
gospel to all the world.
Jesus, you know rejection and disappointment; help us if our
work seems distasteful; help us to decide what best to do,
what next to do, or what to do at all.
Give us courage and cheerfulness to go the second mile, and
all the miles ahead.
Amen.

Sin and forgiveness

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just
will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Lord, your ‘need’ is to love, mine to be loved by you. Your
‘need’ expressed itself in my creation, my being made an
object of your love. Your love expressed itself ultimately in the
life of Jesus, and now in the life of Jesus-in-me.
Lord, when I think back on my sins, my feelings range
from sadness (for what might have been)
through regret (either that I was found out by others or found
out who I really was myself)
to anger (that I could have been so destructive and stupid).
Perhaps also fear: what will almighty God do to me for what
I’ve done? So out of my darkness, sorrow and night, Jesus, I
come to you. I receive your gift of forgiveness, and ask for
your help to live in the future a life of commitment to yourself
and obedience to your word.
I am not worthy to come to you, or belong to your eternal
family, Lord. But apparently that’s not the point: your invitation
is not conditional upon my goodness, but simply upon my
acceptance of it.
I accept…..

Self

Somewhere in this bowl are the letters that make up my
name. The name given to me to identify who I am in this
world of many beings.
Creator God, you created my inmost being
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well’
When you think of yourself what do you see?
Do you like the psalmist see someone that is ‘fearfully and
wonderfully made’?
Does what you see make you want to praise or cringe?
What do you think Jesus meant when he said to love others
as we love ourselves?
Stop to feel your pulse. Life is running through you. Life is a
gift of God
Feel your fingertips. Look at the pattern on them. Each is
unique. You are unique.
You are made in God’s image. You are loved by the Creator
who is proud of you, the created.
Ask God to show you the real you, the you without image, the
you that God sees

Friends

While each of us has a personal journey to complete, there is
no need for us to travel alone. If we travel together we are
able to encourage each other.
One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One
can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are
few… We can have a surfeit of treasures -an excess of shells,
where one or two would be significant.
Lord, I need friends…
to ease my loneliness; to speak peace to me when I am
distressed; to walk with me when I am unsure of the way; to
provide a safe place where I can discover my true self.
I need friends…
who will laugh with me as well as pray with me; who will
embrace me without wanting to possess me; who will explore
their truth with me as it is continually revealed.
I need friends…
who will reflect you, Lord, as you reflect your Father; who will
recognise and call forth the Christ in me as I do the same for
them, so that in mutual giving we may become the persons
you have always seen us to be.
Amen.

Others

According to the Bible, we are to love others as ourselves, and as
God loves us.
There is an intimate connection between our love for ourselves and
our love and esteem for God and others. When we fail to love
ourselves, all of our relationships suffer. We fail to love our mates,
our children, or our neighbors properly.
Think of your own life . Remember the last time you were feeling
miserable and were angry with yourself, discouraged, or depressed?
How did you relate to your mate, children, and friends at that time?
Were you loving, sensitive, and kind? When we are uptight about
ourselves, we are usually uptight with others. We take our
frustrations out on them.
Providing a free and empty space for others, we commit ourselves to
accepting the strangeness of strangers. Each brings a gift,
themselves. In our openness, we are challenged by each guest,
changed by them unpredictably… It is thus that we entertain angels
unawares, even Christ himself. We are most aware of his presence
when the Christ in others reaches through to and engages the Christ
in us.
Jesus, friend of sinners, you call us to love our enemies, to do good
to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, and pray for
those who treat us badly.
Jesus, reconciler, when someone slaps us on the cheek, you call us
to offer the other; when someone takes our coat, you bid us give our
shirt as well; when someone takes what is ours, we may not demand
it back.
Jesus, Son of God, our friend and brother, when we love our
enemies and do good we are children of God, who is kind to the
wicked and ungrateful.
Jesus, teacher without peer, you have turned the world upside down.

Facets of life

So many things make up our lives. Work. Study, Family,
Buying. Giving. Sleeping. Home. Holidays. Leisure. Boredom.
Chores. Hobbies…
Lord, in the many things that make up my life, make me an
instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred… let me sow love.
Where there is injury… pardon.
Where there is discord… unity.
Where there is doubt… faith.
Where there is error… truth.
Where there is despair… hope.
Where there is sadness… joy.
Where there is darkness… light.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek, To be
consoled… as to console. To be understood… as to
understand. To be loved… as to love.
For It is in giving, that we receive. It is in pardoning, that we
are pardoned. It is in dying, that we are born to eternal life.

World

Grant us a spirit of concern for the future of our environment;
Bring an end to the exploitation of the earth’s scarce resources;
Encourage us to be responsible stewards of your creation.
Lord, make us prophets of our time
Grant us a spirit of respect, recognising the value and integrity of each
person;
Encourage us to be accepting of ourselves and of others.
Lord, make us prophets of our time

Help us become advocates of peace, bringing an end to conflict and division;
Renew our commitment to challenging the causes of injustice.
Lord, make us prophets of our time

Grant us a spirit of openness to see God within and around us;
Help us rejoice in the good we have experienced as we move forward to the
future;
Help us use our senses to celebrate beauty and creativity in the world.
Lord, make us prophets of our time

Grant us a spirit of truth to recognise failings, which have hurt us, others and
the world;
Give us the humility to ask forgiveness for our part in any wrongdoing;
Lord, make us prophets of our time

Grant us a spirit of generosity to reach out in trust to those we encounter;
Help us to embody God’s love in our relationships with one another.
Lord, make us prophets of our time

Closing prayer

Lord God, you have heard our prayers, of that you have given us no doubt.
Now, symbolically, we bring together these prayers that we have shared with you, and connect them
together, end to end. Lord – you bring our lives together. You tie together the sorrows and the joys, the
sins and the blessings, the hard and the easy. Bring the loose ends of our lives together, today and
tomorrow, individually, and in community with others. Take all these things that we have brought to
you tonight, and which form these prayers that we now hold in our hands, and form them together
into a life of faith and love.
Go into the demands of the day released from inner strife and outer stress. After the quiet joy of
encounter in the stillness, may the Holy Spirit remain an inner resource in the dullest routine and the
greatest challenge.
Amen