“The job of the church is to create
the space in which people can find that they have been found by God.”
I love this quote, which was recently
tweeted by Bradford Diocese. Of course, that ‘space’ is in fact many spaces:
the way in which we inhabit our own homes, and shape public spaces – both
physical and discursive – as those who have been shown hospitality and so
extend hospitality to others. It will take people discovering their calling to
shape culture in particular ways, offering their particular gifts and
partnering with others who have different and complementary callings and gifts.
This space is far more than our own church buildings, of course; but it should
never be less than that.
I often hear people say that church is
not a building but the people. They are wrong. This is not an either/or
reality, but a both/and reality. Historically, church buildings helped people
encounter God. I think many Christians have forgotten that, choosing instead to
meet in (what we mistake to be) ‘neutral’ buildings that point to our own
skills and not beyond.
I serve in a place where the church as
people has very little resources with which to help people encounter God. But
we do have a building: a building that points to and nurtures connection with
God...a building many local people have an attachment to, through family baptisms,
weddings and funerals. Most of those people won’t come to a worship service –
there is too much baggage, too much bad experience, or too much that is unknown
and fearful about such a prospect – and yet the building itself can be
missional. With appropriate direction and sensitive prompts, this sacred space
may indeed be one in which people can find that they have been found by God.
I have created a (cruciform) trail
around the building, and asked the congregation to give two hours of their time
in order to have the building open during the day, each day next week, to
welcome people and to talk and offer to pray with people if they would like,
while respecting their space in this sacred space. Listed below are the prompts
that will be offered, on laminated card, at each station. The ideas are
specific to St Peter’s, but the principles are transferrable.
The
Font
Think about the family you belong to,
in all the joy and sorrow of human relationships. Hold their faces in your
mind’s eye, before God.
If you are baptised, you might like to
dip your finger in the water in the new font, and mark your forehead with the
sign of the cross, to remind yourself that you are part of God’s family.
You might like to write a short prayer
for anyone in your family or among your friends who is at (or hoping for) a new
beginning: a new baby, newly-weds, a
new start, a new job...
Leave your prayer in the old font.
Here are some Psalms you might like to
read, on the theme of the beginning of life, and of belonging to God’s family:
Psalm
67
(page xxx)
Psalm
91
(page xxx)
Psalm
127
(page xxx)
Psalm
139
(page xxx)
Psalm
145
(page xxx)
The
Lady Chapel
Sit awhile before the stained glass window
depicting the empty tomb. Jesus has risen from the dead; but the women who
followed him do not yet know: an angel waits to tell them. Their response would
be fear and hope, uncertainty and trust.
How might we hold before God those we
have loved and lost? How might we place our own lives, our own inevitable
dying, in God’s hands? With fear, and hope? With uncertainty, and trust?
As you look through the stained glass,
ask God to breathe his comfort and reassurance into you.
Before you move on, you might like to
light a candle in remembrance of a loved one who has died.
Here are some Psalms you might like to
read, on the theme of loss and living in the face of death:
Psalm
23
(page xxx)
Psalm
91
(page xxx)
Psalm
116
(page xxx)
Psalm
130
(page xxx)
Psalm
143
(page xxx)
The
Choir
The universe is vast, our Earth a blue
jewel teeming with life. Some things are so far off, we need a telescope;
others, so small we need a microscope. The wonder of it all has inspired poets
and scientists and artists and songwriters and astronauts and – well, every one
of us at some time or another!
The Choir stalls are surrounded by
angels, spinning in infinity, looking down on us. Sit in this space. Look up.
Look around. Let your imagination take you deep beneath the ocean waves, or to
distant galaxies. Do you feel small? Do you feel alone...or loved? Is this all
chance? And if it is, is it meaningless? Are God and our world really
incompatible, or are we held in the hands of a Creator who still sustains life?
Here are some Psalms you might like to
read, on the theme of the wonder of creation and the mystery of the universe:
Psalm
8 (page
xxx)
Psalm
19
(page xxx)
Psalm
93
(page xxx)
Psalm
147
(page xxx)
Psalm
148
(page xxx)
The
War Memorial
Sit beneath the list of names, young
men of this parish who did not return from war – from The War To End All Wars,
and The War (So Soon) After That. Consider the tragedy of war, and our
inability to decommission our weapons and turn them into agricultural implements
(an image from the Bible). Pray for peace.
You might like to light a candle, as
an expression of prayer for someone known to you who is serving in the Armed
Forces: that they may be a light in the dark corners of the world; and that,
fragile though they are, they might not be extinguished.
Beneath the Roll of Honour remembering
those who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars, we have left a
large piece of paper on which you might like to add the name of someone known
to you who is serving in the Armed Forces today – a Roll of Honour for the
living, who give their lives for others on a daily basis.
Here are some Psalms you might like to
read, on the theme of enemies:
Psalm
3 (page
xxx)
Psalm
9
(page xxx)
Psalm
37
(page xxx)
Psalm
43
(page xxx)
Psalm
46
(page xxx)
The
Labyrinth
A Labyrinth is a path that leads, by a
circuitous route, into a centre point and back out again. Unlike a maze, there
is only one path, and you cannot get lost. It is an ancient Christian pattern
of prayerful walking: away from the concerns and distractions of life, into
God’s presence...from where we return to the things that concern us,
strengthened by God.
If you have never walked a Labyrinth
before, it may seem strange at first. Walk slowly, don’t rush. As you walk, imagine
leaving behind the things that trouble you, not in search of escape – you will
return – but for a while. At the centre, imagine placing those things at Jesus’
feet. Listen for any sense of what he might say to you about them. Stay as long
as you need. When you are ready, walk back out again, following the path. Don’t
take any shortcuts!
As the path loops around, at times you
are closer to the centre and at times, further away. It is not a direct route,
not an efficient route: it is a route to aid meditation. At times, our goal
seems within our grasp, only to be pulled away. We set off, in search of
God...and just might find that he is our companion, every step of the way.
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