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i'll write some reflection on "the landscape of desire" and post some video shortly. i used some of the materials from the fringe event in worship at pilgrim uc yersterday. (of course, today i'm completely stuffed!)
a conversation with steve and cheryl was helpful in getting me to focus on family issues,a direction in which i think i was leaning anyway.
i used my wood block print of frank wesley's "forgiving father" and my slide set of rembrandt's prodigal son. i told a bit of athalie wesley's story as told to me last year, and then something of the story of my own family, as a recognition that family life is complex. the rembrandt slides were used with a reflective reading of the text, an invitation to people to find themselves in the story. i showed the wonderful short film "estranged" by nick bufalo about a conversation between a son and a father.
there were four stations. there are some unashamed references to the week prior... i played 'yearn' from ikon dubh and 'that home' from 'ma fleur' by the cinematic orchestra.
our week of stuff on spirituality, imagination and culture is half over. it is such an essential combination of things that i feel compelled to work out how we will plant seeds of this peculiar trinity of connections. i keep coming back to dave gibbons comment about how church/mission developments at the moment seem to involve artists/creators, entrepreneurs, and community development people. its a brilliant insight from him. and i cant leave this stuff alone. indeed, it seems to keep me half-in and half-out of the church, and thats fine by me. and also looking for the rest of this trinity.
day #2 of 'a spirit of wonder' started with a session by steve taylor on intuitive leadership, then a lunchtime conversation with cheryl lawrie about spirituality and creativity. [i'd happily give you a summary but I was next door setting up the fringe thing.] then jonny baker led an afternoon on 'fresh expressions' at citysoul, with some input from citysoul pastor tim hein, hosted by steve. from all the feedback, good, varied, insightful, relevant conversations.
day #3 just finished. we launched 'the landscape of desire' last night, and I'm awaiting jonny's photos online (my soon-to-be-replaced-macbookpro just died and deleted some of mine). the church is an excellent space to work with in many ways (and in others not). enough people coming in each night to feel that its worthwhile (whatever that means!). here's the first review at talkfringe.
Wonderful, transports you to another place & invites you on a journey of hope, reflection, beauty & yearning. The lovingly created environment provides an opportunity to explore at your own pace & depth. Highly recommended. An amazing experience & an honour to attend.
SO ADELAIDE PEOPLE COME ALONG. IT'S FREE. PILGRIM UC. THURS 12-2PM, 7.30-9.30PM, FRI 7.30-9.30PM
I'm in the role of event-man this week, missing sessions and making sure it all happens. i'm embarrassed to have such brilliant people giving so much.
photo: salt-water on iphone
last night and today was spent getting pilgrim church ready for "the landscape of desire". 700kgs of gravel, heaps of black fabric and black plastic, some fancy work with perspex and beeswax, stunning photos, clever lighting, corrugated iron and concrete, and a rather nervous caretaker (actually, he was pretty good all the way through!).
its all starting to look pretty stunning really, but still more to do tomorrow. if you're in Adelaide, drop by one night this week to pilgrim church, 12 flinders st, 7.30-9.30 pm or lunchtime thurs 12-2pm.
tonight we kicked off "a spirit of wonder" with [re]generate at the astor hotel with jonny baker. about 40 people turned up to hear jonny talk about grace, the worship & mission community that he is part of in london.i actually missed half the night as i was doing setup at pilgrim, but got there in time to hear jonny talk about getting personally engaged in mission, and do a bit of a Q&A. firstly a good encouragement to find something you enjoy (in jonny's case photography) and get involved with people outside the realm of the church, and secondly the invitation to be present in the spiritual marketplace (my term, not jonny's). apologies for my dodgy low-light photo.
we have folk visiting from NSW, VIC and TAS, so it should be an interesting week of conversations from across the country.
thanks to steve taylor for hosting tonight.
