epiphany story event

an evening of poetry

What is it about poetry? I mean, it's still words, but someone speaking poetry doesn't seem to be participating in the words words words we are so relentlessly bombarded with ... 

I've just been to Poet's Corner, which is part of the Effective Living Centre's Sacred and Creative program. (The Effective Living Centre is the main engagement with the community of Christ Church Uniting, where the Esther Project is based and where I am doing my student placement.) 

Jeff Guess was the guest poet, and he spoke about the way that poetry is for him prayer - I suppose it's like the psalms, that deep, honest expression of life in its beauty and sorrow, the presence and absence of the divine. 

I was speaking with one of the other participants before the program kicked off, and we were observing the way that poetry enables you to say things you can't say ordinarily, or to say things differently - like for instance those poems you write for a special birthday, which give you a bit of freedom to say some of the more cheeky things, make observations about our foibles, which ordinarily, you shy away from naming. Or in a worship space, poetry seems so appropriately to invite wonder, mystery, a discovery of meaning, without naming it for you. 

The poems that were shared in the second half of the evening were such a variety of fun and love and worship ... 

I so enjoyed taking a couple of hours out of the week to wonder, to imagine, to marvel at life through the eyes and poetry of others. 

This is the gift of the poet - to open up the world and show it to us anew, to invite us to see, to wonder, to imagine - to pray. 

The Esther Project : community, creativity, sacred story

The Esther Project is a community. We have been forming community over the past six months, but I think we new feel like we are a community. 

We have a pattern of gathering that works for us, nurtures our beings, our faith/spirituality, encourages our creativity. 

We have many people connected through emails and facebook and blogs. 

We have visitors to the story spaces we create. 

And we have a busy and creative and exciting series of gatherings in the next month. Whether you have connected by email, read this blog or the Esther Project blog, are part of the facebook group, been to one or all of the Esther Project gatherings or haven't heard of us before, you are invited to participate in any or all of these spaces. 

Friends,

 

The Esther Project celebrates community, creativity and sacred story in partnership with our host congregation, Christ Church Uniting. Would you like to come and experience the life of this emerging church community in 2010? This month we celebrate stories told through poetry, movies, Taize and alternative worship experience...you are welcome to come to any (or all!) of the events below.

 

Trish Watts leading a twilight Taize service

Join us at Christ Church, 26 King William Road Wayville, Sunday 24 January at 7.30pm with refreshments to follow. Trish Watts is a singer, songwriter and educator with over 25 years experience in spirituality and the creative arts. Trish was artist in residence at Christ Church / Effective Living Centre in November 2009.

 

Poets Corner

A rich encounter with creativity, as poets share their inspirations, joys and struggles and the fruit of the creative process involved in writing poetry.

At Christ Church, 26 King William Road Wayville, Monday 25 January at 7pm, $10, supper provided. Jeff Guess is the guest poet, and there is also time for those who gather to share their poetry.

Heresy, blasphemy, or just a very naughty movie? 

The Esther Project is a community of story ... and what better way to share a story than at the movies? Join us for a screening of Monty Python's The Life of Brian at the Moonlight Cinemas on Sunday 31 January. If you'd like to come, you can book your ticket online at www.moonlight.com.au - tickets are $15. Gates open at 7 pm, movie starts about 8.30 pm. To find us once you are inside Botanic Park, call or text Michelle (0417 840 746) or Sarah (0408 087 754). BYO rug or cushion, supper and drinks to share. More details: contactus@estherproject.unitingchurch.org.au | www.estherproject.unitingchurch.org.au 

We look forward to meeting you in this story of the messiah sorry, a very naughty boy ...

Epiphany: sacred mystery in the midst of ordinary reality

In the Esther Project's Ephiphany story event we will wonder what stars lead us to ‘Bethlehem’ – to pay homage, to worship, Jesus, a shepherd king in a radically different realm to any earthly kingdoms. 

We invite others to join us as we wonder about stars, about light in the darkness, about finding our way to the manger. We will reflect on the story with song, silence and symbols.

Join us Monday 1 February at 7.30 for the alternative worship story event with wine, cheese and conversation from 8.30-9.30. Christ Church Uniting, 26 King William Road Wayville.

 

The Esther Project welcomes people from all faith traditions to share in the life of its community, especially those who may be looking for new ways of being church.

gaining confidence in ministry

As part of the student placement experience I have been meeting monthly with what is called a Ministry Reflection Team. This is a group of people from the congregation in which I am placed (in my case it's a mix of people from the host congregation and the Esther Project) who reflect with me on various aspects of my ministry practice. I have key learning areas that we focus on, and there are areas that the college asks the group to talk about, like preaching and worship leading. 

I have to say that this has been such a positive and helpful aspect of the experience. These people have helped me to reflect on what I'm learning about who I am as a leader - the collaborative approach I naturally prefer, the creativity I bring to the role, and the different approach to more traditional aspects of ministry. 

For example, last night we were talking through one of the key learning areas for my placement, pastoral care. After a couple of courses at college introducing approaches to pastoral care, I still didn't feel terribly confident about my ability to reflect well in pastoral conversations. The idea is that you listen to a person and rather than giving advice, you reflect back what you're hearing, the emotions and the facts of a situation, and in this way help a person to find their own way through a situation that might be troubling them rather than being the one with all the answers. I couldn't find the language I wanted that felt authentic for me, found it difficult to identify emotions to be honest, and saw this as an area needing a lot of work. 

Part of what I've done in this placement is to participate in a narrative therapy course at the Dulwich Centre. Not because I want to be a therapist or to take a therapeutic approach to pastoral conversations (there is a sometimes subtle difference between the two types of conversation), but because story is my modus operandi, and I thought a narrative approach would help give me language and understanding more authentic to who I am as a minister / pastor. 

And it did. The language of wonder and the approach of curiosity has been so helpful, not only for one on one conversations with members of the EP community, but also in group discussions as we gather and encounter the story, which is the main setting for the care I as leader offer this community - and also that the community offers to each other. 

What this approach does is to allow each person to be the expert of their own story - and by wondering, and being curious, the 'pastor' is merely helping to understand a person's story, to bring ignored stories (often more positive stories) into the light, and to enable a person's story to inform them and bring them to healing. 

But in the Esther Project, I don't have one on one 'pastoral conversations' that often with people. So the ministry reflection team have helped me to look at what I am doing and to name what is pastoral, or caring, or nurturing in that. 

So that I can see that the blogs and emails that keep people in touch with the progress of encountering a story are pastorally caring. I can see that the wondering around the table is nurturing by affirming each person's story and their own encounter with the biblical story. The meetings in cafes, hearing people's stories and maintaining relationships with people around the edges of the Esther Project community are pastoral care. 

Not only am I involved in shaping a new form of church in terms of how we gather, but I am also moving beyond the common shape of ordained ministry and forging a new shape. I am letting go of my own expectations that there is a way I 'should' be approaching pastoral care, and having the confidence to take what is helpful from the established approach, and adapt it to the strengths I have and also the unique needs of this new community. 

And this will be just as helpful if I find myself in an established congregation in future, or working with emerging communities of faith. 

CompassionArt

People might diss facebook, but I do find out some interesting things from some of my friends' posts. 

Today, for example, I see in the news feed that Sandy has joined CompassionArt, so I have a look at what CompassionArt is and decide that I will also join their facebook group. I've also gone to their website, and have added a link to it on this page - here or on the sidebar. 

What an excellent idea, to use the arts to raise awareness, financial support, and compassion for the people who are our neighbours in this world who are struggling with poverty. 

The campaigns encouraging people to give something up in order to stand beside those less fortunate than us in solidarity look great too, challenging, confronting, and compassionate. 

Check it out. 

drought-breaking rain

I am sitting outside as the rain comes down, refreshing the earth and the people after a week of stifling heat. 

As I sit here, almost getting wet myself, I ponder recent gathered spaces of the communities of faith I belong to. 

Sunday morning John Pfitzner led the gathering at Christ Church. We were hearing of the story of Jesus' baptism. John read a poem that had been published in a newspaper 12 years ago, a poem that told a story of living on the land, of the hail that damages crops and bogs cows in once parched dams, and of lighter rain, like angels tapping, on the roof, bringing life and hope. The poem was called 'On the Third Day', and was written by M. Freer. 

John wondered if the opening of the heavens following Jesus' baptism might be like the opening of the skies with drought-breaking rain ... what a powerful image. I love it. 

And last night the Esther Project gathered for our first encounter with the story of Epiphany. The story of Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas, is the story of the visit of the Magi to the place where Jesus and his family were in Bethlehem. I have blogged about our encounter here. These spaces, the gatherings around the table, sharing our stories and encountering the story of our faith, are for me like drought-breaking rain. It's like I am lifting my face to the rain, soaking it all up, being refreshed, brought back to life ... I can only hope the others who gather in this new and growing community are also refreshed and renewed by these encounters with story, with creativity, with faith, with community. 

where wandering takes you

Tomorrow at Christ Church I'm reading the passage from Sirach (24:1–12). I've been surfing the internet looking for some thoughts about this passage, Wisdom and light, and I came across the website for an emergent church in Dallas Texas. Church in the Cliff looks like a wonderfully relaxed, inviting, innovative, creative, thinking community. If I lived in or was visiting Dallas, I would be strongly inclined to meet this community.

I like the post from their lead pastor, Courtney, on dancing with Wisdom. Not sure it's quite the angle Sean's taking tomorrow, I think he's focussing on Light, but Courtney paints a lovely picture.

Bright Star

I experienced a wonderfully told story last night.

Julia had found Bright Star, a story about the poet John Keats and his love Fanny Brawne, and guessed well that this would be a film I would love.

It was classic, from the first scene, an ultra close-up of a needle and thread, panning out to the garment being sewn, then to the sewer (Fanny) and then to the room and Fanny's sister Toots just waking up.

So the cinematography was brilliant - later on you have magic scenes of connection framed by doors, windows and trees as the two young lovers cross thresholds and boundaries ...

The costumes, scenery, sets, all fantastic.

Then there's the performances. Stunning acting by the two actors playing Fanny and John, and the brother and sister of Fanny.

This movie took my breath away.

And it has inspired me to read the poetry of John Keats, a collection of which I found I had on my shelf, with the books once belonging to my Nanna (she bought this one in 1936), and to hunt out some biographies.

Why, you might ask, has an English Lit graduate not come across Keats before now? Well, I studied Australian poetry. And now I'm going to read the classics.

If you are looking for a story that will move you deeply, I recommend Bright Star.