An intergenerational weekend for full and part time participants. It's learning, discipleship, temporary community and fun for children & families, youth and adults with a focus on the children and youth!! Here's the typical template for the program:
Lunch, intentional group activity and then the invitation to try some sports and the flying fox all afternoon from Muslim families from Newcastle!! It was a brilliant time of unity and understanding!!
We had 100 punters, 20 adult Muslim guests and 15 of their kids!! The weekend is supported with funding from the Hunter Presbytery of the UCA, it's Education Committee and an Innovative Grant each year from 'Uniting.' It makes for an affordable weekend for all participants!!
To be fair our current model is 'unsustainable' as it's organised by small team, contributed to by a range of busy people who do great things on the weekend BUT everyone is 'too busy'!! If it's to continue in 2019 we will need to engage a network of our congregations sharing the planning and potentially expanding that participation to the north of the Sydney-Central Coast Presbytery!! This can include timing, site and other aspects!!
My main interest has always been the "All Together Time." It's a creative, tactile, story based time of learning, worship and community exploring our discipleship through the yearly theme. "TIME" in 2018!! Ecclesiastes, Kairos time, our use of time, Jesus a person if his time with a timeless call and message of hope...
Here's what we did Saturday 9.15 to 10.30
Music Group played a song as people arrived
1. Video "Clocks" Coldplay (spliced together with Newcastle One Song Sing at Carrington Bowlo)
2. Music Group led (3) Songs
3. Acknowledgement of the Awabakal People
I talked about Aunty Zelma (whose video we watched at W/OUT 2013) that I met at NAIDOC Week this year, still going strong!! AND read Neil Murray's lyrics as Prayer for his song "Native Born"
4. "A TIME" Reading with 10 people
“A TIME”
ONE For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
TWO A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
THREE A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
FOUR A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
FIVE A time to throw away stones,
And a time to gather stones together;
SIX A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
SEVEN A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
EIGHT A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace.
NINE There’s a time for Netflix, Snapchat and Youtube
A time for activities and friends
TEN Is there a time for justice, a time for community and love
A time for following Jesus and growing or practicing faith
5. Movie Collage "TIME"
6. Sorting Groups
We lined up youngest to oldest and numbered off ten all age groups
7. Storytime was marked by the playing of the first few bars of "Bakerman" Midnight Oil
We read "Drought" Jackie French/Bruce Whateley (now I've used Flood and Fire as well)
Then each group was given a sheet of yellow cardboard (the newsagent had run out of ochre or grey)
And an envelope with scissors, glue sticks and black and white copies of a drought map and newspaper stories (can you believe I printed double copies of 40 photos and forgot to get them out)
Each group made a collage cutting up what they chose, talked about Drought and together wrote a one or more line prayer about the people and issues... I'll be buying the book BUT how great are Public Libraries!!!
8. Heather Price sang her brilliant song "My Lords Prayer" (we joined in 2nd time)
Our lunch.afternoon visitors plan was explained...
9. Music Group led (2) songs... and we went to morning tea and age based groups
10. People went out to the sound of "Turn Turn Turn" The Byrds
Here's what we did Sunday 9.15 to 10.30
1. Video “Love is Bigger Than Anything in It’s Way” U2/Beck
2. Music Group again led (3) songs Communal Singing
3. Open Prayer, A few words
4. Movie Collage Sun "TIME 2"
5. “TIME” Biblical Reflections (5 voices) postponed from yesterday..
ONE For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; to break down, to build up; to weep, to laugh; to mourn,
and to dance; And so much more,
As we live through the Greek idea of ‘chronos’ time or chronologically,
measured like our sweeps around the sun, limited and connected to past, present and future…
God lives and breathes ‘kairos’ time, including the intricacy of the creation itself,
It’s a sense of ‘the right time’ or appointed time, not so much defined by past present or future…
TWO And often followers of Jesus or communities of faith get a sense of God’s timing
A word, a movement of people, an opportunity
In a nearby community of faith while some discussed a “Fix It” Festival,
suddenly a community group providing food for those in need, a repair café and a network of like minded people has sprung up…
One couple are keen to offer a monthly community meal and a group of six people came and asked if their existing activity could bring that into the church hall, kitchen and community,
wow, instant match!!
THREE Mark 1: 14-15
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent, and believe in the good news.”
Jesus, became one of us, lived this life and shows us what God is like…
It’s like an ancient collision between the secular and the sacred,
between God’s values and our sometimes stubborn ways.
FOUR Romans 5: 1-8
5 By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God. 2 Christ has also introduced us to God’s undeserved kindness on which we take our stand. So we are happy, as we look forward to sharing in the glory of God. 3 But that’s not all! We gladly suffer, because we know that suffering helps us to endure. 4 And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope 5 that will never disappoint us.
All of this happens because God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with his love.
In the ‘kairos moment’ of the cross, Jesus standing in solidarity with humanity,
reminds us of God’s unshakable love
FIVE 2 Peter 3
8 Dear friends, don’t forget that for the Lord one day is the same as a thousand years,
and a thousand years is the same as one day. We should always live our days looking for those moments, those inexplicable times when His will and his way intersect with our daily walks.
And they can happen anytime! A friend calls you out of the blue to give a good word.
A child's innocent joy pierces a long, hard day of struggle.
A coworker takes a moment to lend a hand.
God is always surprising us with his perfect, kairos timing.
Jesus was of his time and yet timeless like HOPE
Like any relationship our following involves investing TIME
Taking our relationship deeper, like a 1km deep and wide,
not paper thin and built purely on history or memory… kairos time
6. I cancelled the planned Video Clip “Holy Moly Zacchaeus Edit” 4min 44
7. Storytime Intro “Bakerman” Midnight Oil 12sec
8. Storybook “The Flying Orchestra” Clare McFadden
And a few comments...
9. Story Sharing Crate (20min)
Check out the items/choose one or more that helps you tell a story about you/ in groups...
10. Video “Just Pray Lords Prayer UK” 1min Worship
11.Communal Singing #2 7min
Then, “Turn Turn Turn” The Byrds background as people leave...
With the two group times as a centrepiece there was a little less collaborative liturgy/prayer and we were too under resourced for me to get some video-ing happening along those lines.
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-10386543-1497206124-4134.jpeg.jpg)
