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A Skinny Fairtrade Latte in the Food Court of Life - Page 593

  • All Age Communion Liturgy

    Here are the words I used on Sunday, feel free to borrow them if you find them useful/helpful.  You may need a few tweaks for local custom and practice on serving, but this reflects typical Baptist experience.

     

    Invitation

    We gather round a table, set for a meal

    Clean linen and sparkling silver, fresh baked bread and outpoured wine

    We gather round a table, having come ill-prepared

    Our hands unwashed, the dust of the day clinging to our clothes

     

    We gather round a table, as members of one family

    Brothers and sisters of heavenly parentage,

    Children of God

    Siblings in Christ.

     

    The Story & Distribution

    Why are we here? 

    Why do we take tiny crumbs of bread and teeny sips of wine?

    Why do we pretend this is a feast when everything is a token?

     

    Here is why.

     

    Late one spring evening, at the time when everyone was celebrating God’s goodness a very long time ago, Jesus and his friends had one last meal together.  They borrowed a room and enjoyed a good meal as they sang old psalms and prayed lovely prayers.

    Then Jesus did something odd

    As he picked up some bread, he said a prayer, then he broke it and said ‘when you eat bread think about me, because just as this bread is broken, my body will be broken.’

     

    They didn’t understand.

    But no-one dared ask what he meant.

    So they took the bread and ate it.

    And so will we!

     

    Prayer over bread

    Thank you God for bread, even this tiny little taste reminds us of the food you give us each day.

    Thank you God for Jesus, help us to think about him whenever we eat bread.

    Amen.

     

    [Bread served and eaten]

     

    After everyone had eaten their tea and was feeling pleasantly full, Jesus did something else odd.

    He picked up a goblet of wine and said ‘when you drink wine, think about me, because just as this wine has been poured out, so my life blood will be poured out, and there will be a new bond between people and God.’

    They didn’t understand

    But no-one dared ask what he meant

    So they took the cup of wine and drank from it.

    And so will we!

     

    [wine distributed]


    Prayer over wine

    Thank you God for wine, even this tiny little sip reminds us of the joy you give us each day.

    Thank you God for Jesus, who calls us his brothers and sisters if we follow his way

    Help us to think about him whenever we drink wine.

    Amen.

     

    [wine drunk]

     

    After the meal was over, Jesus and his friends sang a song together before they went out, and so will we.

     

    (c) Catriona Gorton 2012

  • Thus are new traditions born...

    I should say, right at the start, because I know lots of my lovely people read this, that my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek as I type this, because I know you are all wonderfully accommodating of my crazy ideas and I love you all for that (and many other reasons) and there is absolutely no suggestion that you are resistant to change.

     

    We don't very often use a data projector at church - this may surprise some who know I am quite a fan of their use.  The reason is basically that our premises are far from ideally suited to their use - too light and bright even on on dull days.  Nevertheless, now and then I use film clips or PowerPoint in worship, and yesterday I wanted to show some of the photos from the sea Baptism  as part of the reception into membership of the person concerned.  Recently we have been experimenting with a 'less bad' set up for projection which means using a centrally located screen and the projector in the middle of the floor space.  On an 'ordinary' Sunday this is fine, but yesterday was communion, and I really did not want the projector becoming de facto the visual focus by its location.

     

    So

     

    Shock, horror...

     

    (are you sitting down...?)

     

    The Communion Table

     

    was

     

    relocated!

     

     

    Yes, I moved the Communion Table to a place in front of the projector stand and turned it through ninety degrees so it was longways (i.e. narrow end forward).  It was actually easier to arrange the various plates and trays so that everything was visible.

     

    But

     

    It meant there was no room for the servers to sit behind the table, so they had to occupy seats on the front row

     

    yes

     

    the FRONT row!

     

    It all went really well, and as it was an all age service my liturgy was very child-friendly in its language (I will post it when I am back at church as it's on the church computer not my laptop)

     

    So far I have had no negative comments and several positive ones, notably that people felt it was more 'friendly' and less sense of 'them and us' (servers and congregation)

     

    So who knows, just maybe a new tradition will be born...

    Only time will tell!

     

  • Planning for Christmas.... Already!

    This week it seems that Christian Aid held a meeting to work on their 2012 Christmas material, a meeting that was disrupted by adverse weather conditions which prevented people from reaching Scotland, where it was being held.  Like the greeting card designers and confectionery makers, we are already thinking at least one, if not more, festivals ahead.

    Among my post this week was a little book, just published, called Messy Nativity by Jane Leadbetter which includes three different, but potentially integrated, activities for Advent and Christmas.  Whilst I lament the 'branding' of Messy Church, which has the potential to reduce to a formula that which many have done for decades, the resources it is producing offer some new and creative outreach ideas.

    I am really taken with the knitted sheep trail idea, whereby you persuade local shops to host a hand-knitted sheep, which they can name, and then be part of a 'sheep trail' aimed at families who visit the shops to collect the names of all the sheep (good increase in footfall for participating shops) and maybe offer a prize for the 'grand draw' of completed trail sheets which coincides with the event to be held at church (e.g. crib service, christingle, etc.).

    Other ideas are the 'messy nativity set journey' and the 'messy street nativity' (the latter not too disimilar from 'Get In The Picture').

    Gatherers beware... I am enthused by these ideas, not least as we are so near to 'Sheepfold Street', whose shops attract loads of people during Advent... a sheep trail, getting in the picture, free gift wrapping and a few other ideas are all bubbling away in my mind!

  • BUGB Restructuring

    Today Baptist Times reports the agreement of Council to some significant restructuring of BUGB.  The decisions have been made carefully and prayerfully and the implications will be determined over many, many years into the future.  Reading the report is only one level of the story though.  Many people will lose their jobs.  One major challenge for all of us in Baptist churches affiliated to this union (or any other union or convention) is to play our part in making the process as God-honouring as possible.

    Behind the story are real people, with real lives and real feelings.  Some will be sad.  Some will be angry.  Some will feel guilty.  Some will feel relieved.  Some will be various combinations of these and other emotions.  Baptist House won't be a comfortable place to be in the coming months; people will work hard to keep the show on the road knowing that their own futures are uncertain.  It behoves us to pray for everyone who works there and to generous and gracious in our dealings with those with whom we have contact.

     

    Mysterious God,

    We thank you for the people called Baptist

    And specifically for those who covenasnt together within the BUGB

     

    In this time of pruning

    Comfort those who are sad

    Shelter those who who are afraid

    Be a safe space for those who need to vent rage

     

    In the tasks of restructuring

    Grant wisdom to decision makers

    Compassion to line managers

    And hope to those who see no way forward

     

    Hear our prayers...

    ... and show us how we may live the answers

    AMEN

     

  • Beside the Seaside

    Yesterday I was at the seaside with our Coffee Club folks.  It rained quite a lot, but most still had a walk along the front.

    Here are some hints of what else we got up to...

    cakes.jpg

    ice cream.jpg

    latte.jpg