Week 12 - getting in a knot

Week 12 was at the start of the school holidays and so the option to have some prayer stations in the vestry wasn't available as the space was needed as an overflow from the cafe.

Instead, I put bits of blank paper and coloured pencils on the table and encouraged people to create and colour anything they wished and whilst they did this to pray for an individual or situation.

I also photocopied some celtic knots and suggested that indivduals should colour these in and pray at the same time. The drawing of patterns has long been used as a way of meditating. Celtic Knotwork,is a way of calming down and helping to focus on God. The emphasis on symmetry and repetition help to sort out cluttered minds and lives. 

Colouring in the celtic knots was especially popular with the children although it was quite difficult to explain to them what they were supposed to be doing because the environment was very busy and noisy. The colouring in is very relaxing and therapeutic (I ended up doing quite a bit of it myself as I tried to model what I wanted peple to do). Once more, it was the children who did most of the colouring.

This is the final (official) week of my MA pioneer project. The project has given me a lot of reflect upon.

My thoughts have included the following:-

• What constitutes a church?
• Does what I have been engaging in constitute a fresh expression?
• What prevents adults from praying?
• Why are children more open to prayer?
• How easy it is to enforce my opinions onto someone else regarding the way that I think others should pray.

Lots to think about. This is most definitely not the end ....

Week 11 - finger labyrinths walk away

In week 10 I placed some mini finger labyrinths on the tables in the Quench cafe. The following week I arrived at the cafe thinking that I would be able to set them out on the tables again because I had left them there the previous week. It soon became clear to me that the majority of the finger labyrinths were nowhere to be seen! All I can conclude from this is that at least 10 individuals must have taken them, hopefully as an aide to prayer! I see this as a really encouraging sign.

In Deuteronomy chapter 4 it says 'we have a God who is close to us and answers our prayers.' If people found it helpful to use the finger labyrinths and to pray at the same time or even wanted to experiment and pray with it, then there are plenty of possibilities.

I am also curious as to whether the labyrinths were taken by children or adults but I am unlikely to find this out.



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Week 10 - evolving and changing

On Thursday I tried something different again. Having deliberated over the success of The Station, when it seems to be very difficult for people to walk from the hall into the vestry, I tried putting some information relating to prayer on the tables in the hall. I felt that this was much more like following the principle of being incarnational, and going to where the people were, rather than expecting them to move elsewhere.

The response was subtle but still effective. I did a small heart shaped labyrinth and asked people to trace their finger around it whilst praying for a person or situation. I imagined that leaving them on the table might result in people picking them up to see what they were and then just perhaps doing it almost absent mindedly as they talked or listened to the people on their table and this is what happened. Several people I spoke to either did this themselves or told me that they had seen other people doing it.

I also made small business size cards that had little sayings on about prayer and on the back it said that people could take them away. It was just a way of encouraging people to think a little bit more about prayer and to maybe connect with it in a way that they never had previously.

In addition to the above, there were two prayer stations in the vestry; one of them asked people to roll two dice and to then move to a square on a board where they were asked to pray in a particular way eg giving thanks, saying sorry, praying for others. The idea of this is that if people are unfamiliar with prayer, they are given information on how to pray and what to pray for.The second one asked the individual to draw around their hand and then to think of anything they needed help with and to ask God for a helping hand.

Of the prayer activities in the hall and the ones in the Prayer Station in the vestry, I felt that those in the hall were the most effective. Who knows what might be taking place in someones life who engages with the labyrinth or takes away a prayer card? It meant that there was no embarrassment or anyone looking to see where a person was going when they got up out of their seat to go to The Station. I would really like to develop this further if the time was available to me and think that I could produce mini versions of some of the activities I have done before in The Station, eg Doodle Prayers.

The Psalmist says in Psalm 54, 'Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth.' I believe that some form of prayer in the hall could be very effective when people get used to it and realise that it can be done without embarrassment or fuss. People can make the choice not to do it but others might discover a God who cares for them and does respond to their prayers.

Week 9 - we need hands

I can't believe that I have been doing this for nine weeks. It has been challenging, thought provoking, irritating and a cause for concern all at once! In spite of the low response, I am wondering what will happen when the project stops and whether or not it will be missed. In some ways I would like it to continue, but I will have to let go of it and trust that whatever happens is the right outcome.

I have found myself wanting people to use The Prayer Station in different ways than the way they appear to be respnding, thinking that I know something of their circumstances and that it would be really helpful for them. How arrogant am I? I thank God that he meets people exactly where they are, he knows everything about them and regardless of whether or not they respond or use the prayer stations how I think they should be used, God is the one who will be with them in their need, not me. I have to just stand back and allow God to work in ways that I don't understand, to work in the lives of the children who come in with their parents, in the lives of the adults who drift in and out and to trust that he will touch their lives in a meaningful way.

This week I did only two stations. The first was very simple, there were two plastic plates on the table, one with a smiley face and one with a sad face and people had to put a stone on to the one that represented the way they were feeling at that time. They then had to thank God if they were feeling happy and if they were feeling sad they had to talk to God about it. The second station had four playing cards on the table, a heart, diamond, club and a spade. Individuals had to write or draw a picture as follows:-

Heart - to think about someone they love

Diamond - what is precious in your life?

Club - What are you struggling with at the moment?

Spade - Is there something you feel you need to try harder at?

I planned to do an additional prayer station which involved drawing around your hand and then writing/drawing on the hand the names of people you wanted to remember before God but I decided that it was too like the one using the playing cards so changed my mind at the last minute. The mum of one of the children who came into the station told me about how much the child liked to draw around her hand and I can't help wondering whether there was a God-incidence going on here and that I should have stuck to my original plan to use the third station.

I have been challenged this week to think about how I can make The Station more accessible. We have discussed the idea of having a station in the cafe area but I recognise the difficulties of walking to a table when you are surrounded by people, this is probably even harder than walking into the vestry. So, I am going to try something new on Thursday - I am going to put something on every table that people can do if they choose to, a mini Prayer Station, and possibly some prayers on cards that people can take away. If people participate at some level and begin to engage in the prayer activity on the table, it is better than not at all and may make a real difference to them. If they wish, they can then go into The Station.

As I think about the child who liked drawing around her hand, and who drew around mine as well, I am reminded of the words in Isaiah 49, 'see, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.' We all go through times when we feel that God is far away but he never forgets us, we are permanently imprinted upon his memory, in the same way that a mother will never forget their child. How amazing is that?

Week 8 - finding my way through the labyrinth

I keep reflecting upon how The Station fits in with the notion of emerging church. Could this be church in its own right? I think that potentially it could, but we are a long way away from this. There is no reason why the people who come to the Quench cafe couldn't experience it as their church. Someone described the cafe as being a community cafe with Christianity on the edges, I like this. 

I did three prayer stations on Thursday - the first was simply a pot of bubbles and people had to think about something they wished they hadn't done or were worried about. Blowing the bubbles was a symbol of the freedom that God brings and that he is a God of forgiveness.

The second was a large piece of paper and on the top it said 'If God was here today what would you ask him'? The third was a finger labyrinth and as people slowly traced the path to the centre, I they were asked to think of a person or situation.

Response was generally quite low on the whole, but a few interesting things happened. I  asked two women to go and take a look at The Station who hadn't been in there before as far as I knew. Later I talked to them both and one commented on the fact that she already knew and understood what was being asked of her and that she prayed every day. The other said that she wasn't religious and that they didn't do anything for her. Later on, a child came to have a look at the stations with her family. She started to colour in the finger labyrinth but when I talked to her about what she had to do she was really interested and started to trace the labyrinth with her finger.

The first woman couldn't see any advantage to spending time with God because she said that she already did this and wasn't open to exploring this further, the second was closed for different reasons and the little girl was completely open to doing the activity even though (possibly) she didn't fully understand what she was doing.

As Andy Freeman in Punk Monk says, 'sometimes we can't fix the problem, but our prayers can move mountains. Our actions must be accompanied by passionate and persistent prayer.' I need to keep praying and asking God to show me the best way of making connections with the people in the Quench cafe so that they can feel safe but can also connect with God.

Week 7 - moving on

Week 7 and fewer children were in the Quench cafe and The Station as they have returned to school. I'm still reflecting upon why people, on the whole, are reluctant to look at the prayer stations.

Perhaps, as someone suggested to me, the reason there was a better response from the children over the past two weeks is because it becomes more difficult for us to be open to God as we get older. Children have fewer inhibitions and therefore may be more responsive to an encounter with him through the different prayer activities.

I'm wondering whether next week we should put the prayer stations in the church itself. Due to the location of the vestry, anyone going into The Station can be seen by people passing by to go into the cafe and this may make people feel uncomfortable. If the stations were in the church those choosing to go into The Station wouldn't be seen but at the same time would have to overcome the obstacle of going into the church itself, a place which is unfamiliar to many.

I'm also pondering whether we could be brave enough (for at least one week) to have The Station in the cafe area itself. This could go either way, with a positive reaction from those who don't want to go into the vestry/church and maybe a negative one from those who view Quench purely as a community initiative and not a Christian one.

At the end of the day, I want people to experience more of God in ways that they feel comfortable, and hope that the prayer stations achieve this, but they have to be located in a safe space so that they can be easily accessed.

This week there were three prayer stations, Doodle prayers, where people could focus upon a person or situation and as they 'doodled' they were encouraged to pray for that individual. The second was a picture of a hand upon which individuals were asked to sign their name, a reminder that God has our names engraved on his hand and will never forget us. The final prayer station again encouraged creativity through Play Doh as people were asked to give thanks for different aspects of creation.

In Genesis chapter 28, following a dream, it says that Jacob became frightened and said, “This is a fearsome place! It must be the house of God and the ladder to heaven.” God is in every place, but for many people being in the 'church' could be described as a 'fearsome place'. I want people to experience God where they are, without fear. But how? .........

Week 6 - fizzy faith

Today was another busy day in the Quench cafe though fairly quiet in The Station.

In my conversations with people in the cafe I was looking out for anyone going into The Station but I don't think that I made enough effort to be pro-active in promoting it throughout the morning. I have to confess to feeling that people are now thinking 'oh no here comes that woman again, wanting us to do stupid things with play doh and vitamin tablets (more on this later) and although I wouldn't allow this to stop me telling people about The Station, it certainly does lurk at the back of my mind. Maybe persistence is the key, and this reminds me of how easy it is to give up when things don't work out as planned.

As it has been the second week of the school holidays and there have been additional people and children around, we decided to just do two prayer stations so that there was room for an overflow table for the cafe if the hall become too full.

The first station was fizzy forgiveness, previously used and very simple but also very effective in encouraging people to think about anyone who has hurt them and as the effervescent vitamin tablet fizzes in the water they are encouraged to get rid of the hurt they are feeling and begin to forgive the person.

The second station was based around the theme of being thankful and people had to look inside a box at a variety of different scenes, including a forest scene, snow capped mountains, a sunset and a picture of colourful fish. They then had to think about who it was they said 'thank you' to when they saw such beautiful scenes in creation.

Both were very simple prayer stations but encouraged people to think a little more about where God fitted into their lives.

Like last week, there was a bigger take up for the prayer stations from the children than the adults, though this wasn't helped by the fact that the overflow cafe meant that the vestry wasn't as quiet as it would have otherwise been and therefore wasn't conducive to quiet reflection and prayer.

As people shared with me during the morning about the activities and parties they had been involved in over the course of the recent Diamond Jubilee weekend, I couldn't help wondering how many people gave thanks to God for the things that they did and the events they attended. How easy is it for us to take each day for granted? How often do we really turn to God and thank him for our conversations, for the fun that we have with family and friends, for the beauty of his creation as we look out of the window? How can we encourage those with little or no faith to see God in the ordinary - in the laughter of a child, a piece of music, the news on TV? The effervescent tablet soon stops fizzing in the water and disappears and we, almost as quickly, forget to give thanks.

Jesus said 'I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.' There are many people who definitely don't feel that they live life to the full, for whatever reason. Recognising that a glorious sunset is a part of God's creation may seem small and insignificant but can be a step towards an understanding of the vastness of a God who at the same time cares for each one of us, loving us because we are his (very) precious children.

Week 5 - at The Station

The journey to The Station this week seemed to be fraught with difficulties, filled with questions and concerns.

The expectation that there would be lots of children due to school holidays certainly became a reality, and at times space was at a premium. This was anticipated so the inner doors of the church from the vestry were thrown open wide and the cafe spilled over into what for many would be seen as holy place, where people 'fear to tread', and therefore (possibly) an inaccessible place. The cafe has become a safe, secure and accepting place for many, but not a sacred space. Having said this, some people sat at the tables in the church and seemed to enjoy the relative peace compared with the cacophony of noise in the hall next door.

This week there were two prayer stations in the vestry for all ages, one which encouraged  individuals to think about people and situations that they wished to pray about and to draw pictures of that situation or to write a word which was then stuck onto a piece of Duplo. The pieces were then fastened together, the intention being that altogether they would represent a wall of prayer.

The other prayer station asked people to think about what their hopes were and to write or draw something on a piece of paper which represented this. They then dug a hole in the compost within a trough, placed their hope in the hole and then a sunflower seed on top of that hope. Individuals were then encouraged to share their hopes with God. When the seeds grow into beautiful flowers (hopefully) people will have a visual representation of what they are hoping for.

I spent a lot more time in The Station than usual this week, mainly because of the volume of traffic and also because the younger children needed some explanation of the activities. As I reflect upon the innocent responses of the children, hoping for a kitten or a bar of chocolate, I recognise that often as adults our hopes and dreams can be self centred and not necessarily kingdom building. What is our heart's desire? Is it the same as God's desire for his people?

Isaiah 40 v 31 says 'but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.' I hope that those sunflowers in bloom will be a representation of the people this morning who, in some small way, will be placing their hope in the Lord and recognising him as a God who provides renewed energy for the weary but is also a God of love, mercy and forgiveness.

Week 5 - planning my journey to The Station

In preparing for The Station tomorrow, there has been lots to think about.

There will probably be more children there because it is the school holidays and so because of this we have decided to try a little experiement:-

• We are going to have two prayer/activity stations in the hall that are aimed at children. We think that although they are for children they may also attract the attention of adults who are watching what the children are doing. The aim will also be to encourage children to think and learn more about God through play
• There will also be two other prayer stations in the vestry which both children and adults can participate in.

This is a departure from what has gone before. Being in the hall is a very public space and there is no guarantee that it will be well received.

More tomorrow .......

Week 4 - news from The Station

Last week I wasn't at the Quench cafe so I have continued with this week being the fourth week.

The three prayer stations this week involved using scrabble pieces to identify feelings which people could pray about, looking at newspaper clippings and prayerfully considering the content of those clippings, and writing the name of individuals who required healing onto sticking plasters which were then added to a 'gingerbread person' type outline.

Once more, the dilemma over how much I should intervene reared its head. When one person was talking excessively whilst another tried to engage with one of the activities, it was difficult to determine whether to intervene. Who says that prayer has to be quiet? Maybe this individual reacted to the activity when she was talking loudly in ways that I hadn't considered? In the end I stood back and hoped that God would be the one to intervene.

Someone told me very clearly about why he had chosen a newspaper clipping about money and the need for money but also how it can be abused. He gave this a lot of thought and his clarity on the subject was good to see.

This made me think about the word's from Isaiah 40 - 'You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’' Not all the newspaper clippings presented good news but this person identified a positive message.
We have a message which is good news, not that it's enough to say this but we need to live it so that people can see how lives can be changed and transformed. Encouraging people to come into 'The Station' from the cafe still isn't easy though it is still fairly early days; I have seriously considered putting it into the cafe itself in order to eliminate the fear and anxiety of going into a separate room. 'The Station' should be a place where people feel they can stay a while instead of rushing through and I need to give this further consideration.

Week 3 - being a salt shaker

The third visit to The Station has raised a number of issues for me:-

• A number of mums/grandparents have visited The Station with children but sat back and watched the children take part in the activities. Is this because the activity is too child like? Is it because the adults are too embarassed to take part or uncomfortable about responding to the activity? Is it because the adults can't connect to the activities?
• Although I have tried to encourage conversations about the activities I feel that I now need to go one step further in helping participants explore their thoughts, feelings and responses to the activity and to God. I need to be more involved in order that others too can be more involved.

God is involved in our lives. He is interested in what we do, say and the way that we behave. He cares.

In Colossians Chapter 4 it says "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.  Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

I think that I need to sprinkle more salt in my conversations with the people using The Station. Finding ways of connecting with those who have little or no experience of church is a challenge but essential; not making assumptions, being loving and non-judgemental whilst at the same time pointing them way towards God.

Week 2 - being moulded and shaped

The second week of 'The Station' involved three activities, one of which asked individuals to create a shape with a pipe cleaner which would represent a person or situation, for example, shaping it into the initial of a person's first name who they wanted to remember before God. A simple yet profound exercise. People wrestled with trying to master the practicalities of how to represent that person or situation, and also with who or what they should remember in prayer. Some of the participants created something which looked quite remarkable from just a few coloured pipecleaners fastened together.

The Psalmist says, "You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvellous! Of this I have no doubt. Nothing about me is hidden from you! I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below, but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed." (The Bible - Contemporary English Version)

Engagement with the activity resulted in some conversations about who individuals wanted to pray for but was also a reminder that, in the same way that God formed and created us, wove us together and continues to love and watch over us, we too as Christians are called to hold the concerns of the world before God in pray - our pipecleaner people and places.

Week 1 - stay a while

The right name for this Prayer Project only came to me this morning - 'The Station'. A place to rest, to wait a while for whatever will move us on to the next phase. A place where refreshment (for the soul) is available.

Using the vestry at the Church for this project was a concern, is it a Sacred Space and therefore inaccessible to those to whom church is unfamiliar? Andy Freeman in  his book Punk Monk says, 'isn't God omnipresent. Doesn't "sacred space" sound a bit New Age?' The idea of a Sacred or Holy place is nothing new, returning to Punk Monk, Andy Freeman says that 'places can be special for their familiarity .... their peace or the memories we've created there.' The vestry is a spill over area for the Quench cafe when the Hall is full so is familiar to many.

Probably about 12 - 15 people went into 'The Station', most of them for a quick look, others to actually participate in one or more of the three prayer stations. A number of people with Learning Difficulties seemed to really interact with the activities. In the short feedback form I placed on each table, someone commented on how therapeutic it was to be able to roll Play Dough and to create something which made them think of God's creation.

The Celts called the holy places of prayer a 'thin place', a place where heaven and earth is more closely connected. Could 'The Station' eventually become a thin place, its sacredness being embraced rather than shunned? Could 'The Station' meet a need for those who attend that has never been met before?

Pre Prayer Project nerves!

Starting the Prayer Project tomorrow at Bishopthorpe Methodist Church.
Why?

• Initially because I have to do a Pioneer Project as part of my MA.
• But also, because I am really excited about how we can make prayer (and God) accessible to people.

I don't know how it will go, I am both nervous and excited at the prospect of whatever tomorrow will bring. It's happening in the morning between 9 am and 12 noon - no -one may turn up, there may be one, there may be more, who knows? It will be in the vestry next to the Hall which is full of people coming each week to the Quench cafe.

The plan is to provide creative ways for people to explore prayer each week for twelve weeks and tomorrow I will have three different stations. I want people to feel comfortable in giving this a go but recognise that the hardest thing for many will be actually coming through the door. Does vestry = Sacred Space and hall = Secular Space even though it is all church?

More tomorrow after the event.