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.
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Sunday, 1 July 2012
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.
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 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.
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.
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