As a now grown-up fantasy-role-player it was with some trepidation that I offered a week on using fantasy in prayer to mayBe.  Perhaps they would feel the need to cast me out of the group…  Perhaps they would all just laugh or, worse still, just not get it…

Foolish fears – everyone willingly suspended factual reality to enter another type of belief, opened themselves up to encountering God in their imaginations, and shared the richness of their fantasies with each other.  Small children allowed themselves to be quietened by the process and even joined in.  What can I say except it was FANTASTIC!!

Sam

At our last community conversation we discussed prayer and spirituality. How can we be a community with a glowing spiritual centre? How can we encourage prayer at our gatherings and also in our daily lives? It would be good to have some practical ideas on this. Email your ideas and suggestions and we can post them here.

Here are some ideas to start with….

• A night prayer for a cycle: Write a night prayer to end our Thursdays. This prayer could change with each cycle. (If we don’t write a prayer we could use some published Celtic night prayers or something similar)

• Reflective breaks between activities. e.g. silence between conversation and prayer on Thursdays. Or more use of breathing.

• Do more Godly play. It’s reflective and child inclusive.

• The other week when Tracey and Rich were hosting the Saturday session at the Mish, they put some stones and candles on a mat and made a little altar in the pool room bit off the main room to make some quiet prayer space. Then, one at a time, we took turns going in and having some quiet prayer time while the others looked after our children. As you know, quiet time on your own is at a premium when you have children, but I think other people might find it helpful too.

What should the theme of our next cycle be? Your ideas below!

• The Holy Spirit – Ending with Pentecost

• Trinity – For Trinity Sunday

• Emotions – Anger, Happiness, Fear etc…

• Eternal Life or Time – with “time” for prayer, expressions of thought about eternal life in ways other than talking!

Possible Cycle breakdown…

1) Ideas about time/eternity – Philosophical ideas (linear/ circular)

2) Ideas about time/eternity – Time and the mind

3)  Ideas about time/eternity – Time travel (science and time)

4) Phases of life – birth, youth, middle age, elderly (what does progression of time/ age mean for us spiritually?)

5) Eternal life  – what do we think/believe about this?

At the Thursday community meal in our Prayer Cycle yesterday:

Physical aids for prayer were considered thanks to Ginny (and baby Tabitha) and examples passed around including the mayBe prayer figures. Ezra showed a strong preference for Thomas the Tank Engine whilst others had a go a making and then using some prayer beads. We had 4 beads each with 3 knots between them and used them to pray together for the world, mayBe, ourselves and something/someone on our minds/hearts. The knots gave us a trinity shaped prayer (our father, jesus prayer, come holy spirit) for each of the 4 prayer foci. Doing it together was really supportive and created a prayerful space between and within us. And there were chocolate biscuits!

by Sam

Some amazing effort was made on Sunday to get to the mayBe gathering. The wind was cold and the rain bitter. South Park was guarded by a moat of mud. Niamh and Ezra took shelter double decker style in the push chair. Poor Guy had a tumble in a deep trench by the gate. We all made efforts to clean him down. Tabatha was perhaps the most relaxed of us all, occasionally waking up when mum moved too much.

The prayer figures were great. So creative and varied. A signpost for the lost, embracing arms for carers and a blue rectangle for anger. Phoebe had made a dead mermaid to signify bereavement. I’m not sure I can think of anything more sad. Or perhaps was she referring to the death of childhood fantasies? She could have been, she is a very bright 5 year old.

After the gathering it was time to dash for the cafe. Hot chocolate, with ice cream in it, is the antidote for cold hands and feet!

Some themes we talked about on Thurs 25 Mar 2010 at Cara’s:

• Prayer about listening
• Public prayer can be abused to express an opinion
• What is prayer life anyway?
• Does it change anything? As humans are we just desperate to control the world around us?
• Expressing feelings to God important
• Do we think too much about it? Should we just do it?

It was wonderful to gather together in Bethlehem Chapel again (it’s like a womb to us) and a real privilege to welcome Rev Sister Margaret Anne from All Saints Convent to celebrate the eucharist with us for the first time.  The big turn-out reflected our hunger for the bread and wine, body and blood of Jesus – and it was a holy nourishing after a period of fasting.  Toby provided a great soundscape, Chris helped us meditate on St Paul’s words about love using the Jesus prayer, and Andrea brought a prayer-provoking image of Christ for us to focus on.

The Rusty Bicycle has become a firm favourite venue for the continuing conversation after our worship – and we discovered that children are welcome as long as they don’t drink too much or get too rowdy!

By Sam