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.