We tried to reconceptualise communion as a meal - just like it was done in the early church. As they ate and shared life together, they would remember Jesus and celebrate his life, death and resurrection again. This post details some of the planning and thinking around what would be appropriate. Eventually we settled on this structure:

A welcome which includes everyone ("Present among us!") - taken from the Greenbelt_06 communion intro.
A invitation prayer from the Iona community (of which we just used the last verse), and then into the communion proper, inviting everyone to serve each other and to then enjoy the meal in the presence of the risen Christ.

"Compassion" is a prayer installation in which the viewer is shown an image loop 3 times. Before each loop a question is asked: "What emotions do these people invoke in you?" "How would Jesus respond to each of these?" and "What prayer would you offer to each person?" The participant is then invited to write out a prayer for some of the people portrayed, and place them at their "feet" (on a bowl on the floor underneath their printouts). The intention is to encourage the participant to outward-focussed prayer.

The committee asked me to be in charge of the creative worship stuff - something which took lots of work to set up (especially by Jean and T) and also to plan (thanks Jean, Bert, Warren, Avril and others), but which was an absolute pleasure to be a part of. We wanted to make available some things which would allow people to engage God in new ways, especially considering our guiding theme: "Think new, act new."

We wanted to explore worship outside of meeting times and create space for people to meet with God. We decided to go with inviting everyone into silence not least due to the influence of "Noise" (Nooma) and the emphasis of silence, solitude and meditation from the spiritual disciplines (Richard Foster's "Celebration of Discipline" is an excellent resource - a book that cannot be merely read but which must be practised).

We were concerned that we'd be forcing people into doing things that were outside of their tradition (for many people "meditation" is a dirty word, conjuring up images of demons at worst and dodgy spirituality at best -> it's actually simply taking something and repeatedly thinking upon it, just like the Psalmist says about God's word when he says he will "meditate upon your word day and night" - not that we pushed the concept of meditation, just that it was a dynamic we had to be aware of). And we knew that silence was going to be a completely new experience for most people (interestingly, the emphasis on silence as a spiritual discipline has only recently been lost - perhaps one result of living in a fast-paced world?) and so we'd have to introduce it in a way which would draw people in - even if it was just as an experiment - as a chance to do something new.

In all things we tried to treat people with respect. In other words, not forcing them into an experience but saying, "Here are some things - try them. If they help you move closer to God, great. If not, then move on." So, for instance, I think about 2 people actually used the prayer stones in the coffee shop and no-one wrote any Psalms. And that's fine.

One implicit challenge given for people to think about once they've returned home is, "How can we create space for our community to worship
 outside of structured worship times?" Rosebank Union has done an excellent job with this with their prayer room (under the main flight of stairs). It is a a quiet space with many helpful materials letting people engage with God. It's prayer both as a "God meeting with me" and as an outward praying for others and the world. I'd highly recommend a visit there - and allow yourself to linger (we can too easily become consumers of worship experiences). I'd love to hear how you've answered this question in your context.

Over the next few days I'll be uploading as much of the creative worship materials as possible. Please leave a comment to let us know where you'll be using it - that would be much appreciated!

Communion has been the central act of worship for the Christian church through the last 2000 years. Only recently have some parts of the church eschewed it but it's a ritual which is mean to bring us closer together - both within our own churches and as diverse Christians.

At Change Agents this year we're thinking about doing it as a meal - as it was originally celebrated in the early church. This has logistical challenges, of course - how do you get everyone (250+ people) together over a mealtime? And once you've done that, what needs to be done so that we can say, "That was communion"?

We're thinking of using a basic liturgy which will include everyone and to then have people serve the elements to each other. Here are some resources which have helped us think this through:

spirituality of the table, from Jonny Baker
Some great thinking on mealtime liturgy from urbanseed.org. Two of their questions are:

How will our meal reflect the Eucharist as practiced through history?

How will our meal reflect peace, justice and joy by making reconciling connections with God, others and the earth?

They've also included the following table liturgy:

3. Tablelife Eucharist (Tablelife, Oxford)

Bread and wine are placed on the table

While they were at the table Jesus took a loaf of bread and after giving thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying “Take; this is my body”. Then he took a cup of wine, and gave it to them. “This is my blood – which is poured out for many.”

Thank you God that ordinary things can become special when placed in your hands. Thank you that that which is broken may be made whole, and that which is given is not wasted.

In the silence we think about things in ourselves and in the world that we would like to change

Bread is passed around

Be grateful when you touch bread
Let it not lie uncared for, unwanted.
There is so much beauty in bread;
Beauty of sun and soil, beauty of patient toil.
Winds and rain have caressed it.
Christ often blessed it.
Be grateful when you touch bread
We eat bread together

Wine is poured
Be loving when you drink wine-
Let its colour, life and joy be appreciated.
There is so much beauty in this wine
Beauty of self-giving, beauty of forgiving
Winds and rain have caressed it.
Christ often blessed it.
Be loving when you drink wine.
We drink the wine and say together…

Thank you God, for love, for food, and for friends to share it with.

Communion is both a looking forward and a looking back. We look back and remember Jesus and the pouring out of his life for us. We look forward to when God makes all things new.

Affirmation

The prophet Isaiah writes: On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food, a banquet of well-aged wines – the best of meats and the finest of wines. God will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; God will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces, and take away the disgrace of the people from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. In that day they will say

This is our God; the one in whom we trusted, the one who saved us. This is the Lord for whom we waited, let us rejoice and be glad.

A stack of resources from Busted Halo's Guide to Prayer:
Prayer is intentionally placing yourself with God. You don't have to talk, you don't have to listen, you don't even have to like it. You just have to be mindful of God.

Experiment with some of the prayers linked to on this site. You could listen to sacred or secular music and notice how you feel. You could take a walk alone or with a friend. You could jog, hike, read scripture, say a rosary, go to Mass, or even just daydream. What brings you peace, joy, and hope? What makes you feel love and forgiveness? If you can find these, you have found God. Welcome to prayer.

At the Greenbelt Festival in the UK last year there was a fascinating multimedia installation called "Set Sail." It was a simple laptop/projector setup, with a written explanation and then some audio on a cd player which had a 5 minute meditation on journeying into God.

The pictures below are from a service at grace in London on 12th January 2007 (full text available here). St. Brendan and his monks sailed to Newfoundland in a leather currach in the 5th century.

Making marks in the sand, as a sign of commitment to travel - as St. Brendan prayed, "Shall I leave the prints of my knees on the sandy beach, a record of my final prayer in my native land?"

Deep inside you hear a call – “SET SAIL”, a secret voice heard only in your heart “SET SAIL INTO THE UNKNOWN”...a stirring on the edge of the wind “SET SAIL INTO THE UNKNOWN, STEP OFF THE EDGE OF YOUR WORLD”… an echo of stones dragged along the beach by the tide “SET SAIL INTO THE UNKNOWN, STEP OFF THE EDGE OF YOUR WORLD, COME WITH ME INTO MINE”

Like St Peter stepping tentatively out of the boat onto the waves… you step from the planking of the jetty into the boat… it flexes beneath your feet… was it the water or the leather?  Either way it does not feel secure.  Like St Brendan and a hundred other Pioneers and Missionaries you SET SAIL.

What does it feel like to truly abandon the shore?  To leave behind Models and Strategies… to ignore Maps and Guides… to cut oneself adrift from techniques and practices… to place yourself beyond the horizon… no turning back… no clutching to tried and tested solutions or the words of an expert… to put yourself solely in the hands of God… to SET SAIL.

The text is from the St Brendan Meditation. We're hoping to set this up as a permanent install in the coffee shop during Change Agents, probably not quite as elaborate as above, since this won't be the focal point for a specific service, but as an installation to which people may go - and return - during the course of the weekend.

Labyrinths have been used in Christian worship for over 700 years. They help to centre the mind and give the body a physical expression for prayer, for you pray as you walk. Probably the most well-known one is at the Chartes Cathedral in France; I've only heard of 2 in Joburg - one in Honeydew and another at a garden in Hartebeespoort. Here's an interactive online one.

The Veriditas site gives more information about a labyrinth:  

The labyrinth is not a maze. There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. It has a single circuitous path that winds into the center. The person walking it uses the same path to return and the entrance then becomes the exit. The path is in full view, which allows a person to be quiet and focus internally. Generally there are three stages to the walk: releasing on the way in, receiving in the center and returning; that is, taking back out into the world that which you have received. There is no right way or wrong way to walk a labyrinth. Use the labyrinth in any way that meets what you need.

There are many ways to describe a labyrinth. It is a path of prayer, a walking meditation, a crucible of change, a watering hole for the spirit and a mirror of the soul. May you be nourished.

We're hoping to set up a labyrinth at Change Agents - to provide a different means of praying and experiencing God. We haven't quite settled on a design yet, as it will be set up outside, but there are several possibilities. It would be great to mow one, like this:

...or like this, but I don't think the grass will be long enough, it being winter and all. Our options are to either use candles or rope or stones or lime or paint to mark the ground...with this design:

Labyrinths have been used in the church for centuries as an aide to prayer. Some people are uncomfortable with them because of the New Age moment co-opting them, but they're rooted in Christian history and quite valuable. We'll be using 2 labyrinths at Change Agents this year - a grass one outside and an indoor one. Jonny Baker from the UK has a great post on how to mow a grass labyrinth.