There has been a thread running through today - and it's variations on the dance metaphor in relation to God, church and mission!

The Rublev icon (not a dance in case you think I've lost it!) prompted some good responses from my folk: the openness of the grouping, the equally sized characters, their looking at each other and also the lure to the central chalice; one person was even convinced all the characters were female. 

Reactions to the Matisse were varied, with a few people very pointedly looking at the floor and pursing their lips.  When I invited comments on it, I was struck both by who commented and by what they said.  The comments were GREAT!  One person instantly noticed that there is a gap in the ring of dancers, a place for more to join in.  Another noted that whilst the dancers were together, in one dance, they were not all doing identical movements.  A third said that it looked to be joyful. 

-Although I had to demonstrate the 'reel of three' with a couple of pressed dancers, most people grasped the grand chain idea.  I've no idea what they made of relational model of Trinity, but I was adequately pleased with it.

Tonight I was preaching for the Penties (using my woman caught in adultery narrative sermon, which they loved) and at the start if the service one of them was sharing a vision he'd had about the church... expressed as a choice of two dances.  He said he'd realised that a church could be like a conga line, long thin and one person leading with everyone else following along doing exactly the same thing.  Or it could be more like a hokey cokey, broad, round and inclusive with people moving in and out (and shaking it all about).

I was struck by this metaphor so shared my 'missional grand chain' with them - I think they quite liked it too.

So there you go - Or I go anyway.  Dance as a metaphor arising in two congregations on the same day... cue spooky music!