It’s time to stir our imaginations and creativity and learn to pray in new ways. Our imagination connects us to our inner selves, to God and to the world around us. Stirring our creativity helps us dream God’s dreams and bring them into reality. It helps us to focus our prayer energy, and frees us from the limits of prayer forms that have become rote and stale. It gives us permission to venture into the unknown realm of God’s imaginative, creative power.
During Lent and Easter, I reminded us that the good news of the gospel is God’s desire to reconcile all things to God’s self. God’s plan embraces not just our inner transformation and reconciliation to God but also restoration of creation, reconciliation with neighbours and renewal wherever the image of God is distorted. Our creator has begun a process of redemption to restore all things to what they were meant to be.
I quoted from Kerry Dearborn’s inspiring book Drinking from the Wells of New Creation: The Holy Spirit and the Imagination in Reconciliation. She explains that it is the imagination that opens the heart’s floodgates to both receive the Spirit’s love and release it to others so that we can enter into the reconciling work of God. It breaks down old ways of seeing the world, offers us a new vision of life and hope, reshaping our desires and expectations around God’s vision of reconciliation and connects heart, mind and body to this new vision and catalyzes responses. (69)
Inspired by her writing and my desire to enter more fully into the reconciling work of God, I spent Lent and Easter looking for creative resources that would stir all our imaginations and assist us to create new prayer practices that further God’s reconciling work. I talked about this in my post Get Creative and Play Games in Lent, and have tried to share some examples of creative possibilities others are exploring in my new Saturday series Lets get creative.
Unfortunately, creativity is not widely encouraged in the practice of our faith, unless we are kids. Kids are encouraged to explore their creativity by playing games, reading books, walking in nature, planting and watching things grow, listening to music and drawing together. Adults are encouraged to pray only with their minds and not with their imaginations or other God given senses.
According to Albert Einstein:“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” So why should kids have all the fun? It is my growing conviction that we all need to learn to be more creative and more experiential with our prayers. We need to allow the spirit of God to stir our imaginations to create new models of prayer and new expressions of spiritual practices. This doesn’t mean letting go of our prayer life, but rather using the creative tools of ancient spiritual practices to reshape and reimagine how we pray.
Over the next few months, let’s explore the realms of imagination and creativity together. Many of you have already tapped into this God given ability and have created prayer practices around painting, collage and photography. Others have discovered the creativity of running, walking, sharing food and gardening. Others I am sure, have found creativity in places many of us have never imagined.
I love what Rebecca Joy Sumner is doing to help us reimagine scripture and prayer lived out in the neighbourhood – like her post I’m Having a Failure of Hope Kind of Morning. And appreciate the insights of Sybil MacBeth on Praying in Color that I shared a few days ago. We all need to explore this kind of creativity in order to connect more intimately with God.
Would you share what you have learned with the readers of Godspace? Consider contributing a post about your creative prayer process. Do you know of others who have developed inspiring creative practices that we can learn from? Let’s have some fun together.
Last Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Easter, the gospel reading was John 10:11-18 that wonderful scripture that speaks of Christ as our good shepherd. Not surprisingly Psalm 23 was another of the readings.
Another of the readings was from Acts 4:5-12. and it was this that caught my attention and has held it throughout the week.
The words that most caught my attention were:
This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”
For the first time it struck me how radical an analogy this must have been and how pertinent the juxtaposition of these scriptures is.
Shepherds have been used throughout history to depict leadership, yet, evidently, in the time of Jesus shepherds were the despised of society, rejected and without rights, considered unreliable and unable to give testimony in a court of law. For Jesus to use them as an example must have been pretty radical. They were the stones that the builders and authorities of society despised and rejected just as they would soon reject Jesus. Yet as so often happens in God’s upside down kingdom they are the chosen ones of God.
God so often chooses the despised and rejected as leaders. These are the shepherds who become the cornerstones, the caring and nurturing ones who are often overlooked, disdained and unappreciated.
The people in the background who make the coffee, sweep the floors, pray quietly – these are the shepherds who lead us to good pastures. They are the ones who prepare the feast in good times and in bad. The mothering and caring ones, often in the background, sometimes looked down on because they are inarticulate and unassuming, are the ones who watch over the lambs. These are the ones who notice who is missing and go after them. They persevere when there is trouble. They protect, care and nurture, and keep the flock together through all situations.
Caring for sheep isn’t easy. It is self sacrificing, unappreciated work. In Jesus’ day it would have been very dangerous too as wolves and other predators often attacked the flocks. Being a good shepherd means “putting others before ourselves” a type of love that is often despised and rejected by society which is self serving and self promoting.
As I contemplated this I thought it was time for me to rewrite Psalm 23.
The Lord who is despised and rejected by those in authority is my shepherd;
I have all that I need though often not what I want.
2 He lets me, if I am willing to give up control, rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams, places of quiet meditation and contemplation.
3 He renews my inner strength and restores my resilience.
He guides me along the right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley where wolves attack and life is uncertain,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside, behind and before me.
Your rod and your staff, the signs of authority in the kingdom of God
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me, working in the kitchen, where no one notices,
in the presence of my enemies who would distract me from your purposes.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with the blessings that come from following your pathway.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
even when I stray from your paths and seek my own self centred desires.
and I will live in the house of the Lord, in that upside down kingdom of your abundance,
forever.
What do you think?
It is now almost two weeks since the Inhabit Conference, our favourite conference of the year. Tom and I both feel at home there. It felt like a big family reunion, a gathering of old friends and the making of new ones. It enriched our faith and challenged us to consider new possibilities for life and faith.
The first plenary got off to a good start with Nicole Baker Fulgham, founder and president of The Expectations Project challenging us with the question: Why should a child’s zip code determine their destiny? Poor districts have poor schools and poor educational results. Nicole encouraged us to consider how we could reach out to the public schools in our area to bring about longterm transformational change through our churches.
Alexie Torres-Fleming, executive director of Access Strategies Fund, and an activist, community organizer, advocate and urban planner from the South Bronx, NY followed with an even more powerful message about our need to transform lives and systems by motivating people to stand against oppression and fearlessly speak truth to power. I was particularly impacted by her description of the Good Friday walk aimed at crucifying every injustice in the neighbourhood and nailing them to the cross.
Tom and I were privileged to give the opening welcome and prayer for this session as well as conducting smart labs on the first day.
Rebecca Joy Sumner facilitated some friends, including MSA team member Andy Wade, in an amazing liturgy which re-imagined the prayer of Saint Francis not in lofty words with no clear way to hit the ground but with the gritty reality, street names, history, names, and faces of their neighborhoods. You can find the prayer they read here and download a worksheet of a dare issued from my parish at Everett Christian Church to yours as we all collaborate locally for the global coming of love, pardon, faith, hope, light, and joy!
Forrest Inslee, another member of our MSA team facilitated a small group discussion with tiny house enthusiasts that will provide a focus for ongoing discussions about alternative housing and simplicity. and, we hope the construction of a tiny house model by next summer which could provide inexpensive housing for young people and those at the margins.
We also enjoyed music from Sean and Julie Hall of February Birds who will lead our worship at our 24th annual Celtic retreat.
John Pattison author of Slow Church reminded me that church happens not in the sanctuary but in the streets.
As usual there was a very special contribution from our three amigos Dwight Friesen, Paul Sparks and Tim Soerens whose book The New Parish has helped many of us us feel connected and rooted in this wonderful movement. The need to breathe into the holes of our communities and amplify businesses that can support it is a heart felt and important path to sustainability.
I often sit at my office window looking out at the mountains. This morning I cannot see them because they are shrouded in cloud. It does not take much faith to believe that they are still there however. Beyond the clouds the majesty of the mountains still rises in all its glory.
The clouds of our lives – the fears, the worries, the distractions – cloud our view of the glory that is God too. We need to trust that if we wait long enough it will one day be revealed again.
What is your response?
Sit quietly for a few moments with your eyes closed. Visualize your favourite mountain scene in all its glory. Now imagine clouds drifting in to obscure the view. How does it make you feel to lose sight of the beauty you love?
Now think about your own life. What blocks your view of God’s glory? What are the clouds that are getting in the way? Is there something you could do to disperse those clouds? Or is there a response that would make you more accepting of the clouds and more trusting of the glory they obscure?
Often when the mountains reappear they have changed from my last view of them. They change with the seasons and with the light. Sometimes there is a new layer of snow. Or the snow might be melting. Sometimes, at the height of summer there is no snow at all. At sunrise and sunset they are set off against amazing red or yellow skies. They are always spectacular, but I wait expectantly for their reappearing and look intently for the changes.
Telling our stories of love and of grief are often what dispels the clouds in our lives. But with the telling of those stories God’s glory, or at least our perception of it, changes too, especially with the seasons of our lives and with the Godly light we are aware of.
Expect the unexpected – Snow covered Olympic mountains
What is your response?
Sit with your eyes closed again. This time imagine God and your impressions of God’s glory. Relive your story – think of its griefs and its joys. How has you story changed your perception of who God is over the years? Write down your reflections on God’s glory. Thank God for your changing perceptions.
Looking at the mountains reminds me of Psalm 121:
I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
Read through this psalm and listen to this song based on Psalm 121
Sit in silence and allow the peace of God to wash over you. Is there any further response God would ask of you?
Like many of us I have been grieving today for the people of Nepal. The devastating earthquake and its its mounting death toll is overwhelming. Our hearts go out too, to all who are responding. May God be with them and protect them.
My friend Keren Dibbens-Wyatt posted this prayer earlier today and I thought that some of you would appreciate it.
A prayer for the people of Nepal. Thank you Keren Dibbens-Wyatt for this
Lord please be the guiding light in the darkness for those in and around Kathmandu. Help to rescue the trapped and the wounded, send your angels to comfort and to lead by the hand all those who need help.
Have mercy on the souls of those taken, and help immediate medical care get through to the injured, and bring to safe harbour all who are running scared, hiding or lost. Help those making temporary infrastructure, shelters, hospitals, roads, and morgues, those repairing power lines and getting supplies and expertise through to the needy. Protect them all from aftershocks and further tremors.
Be strength to the weak, balm to the broken-hearted, calm to the traumatised, warmth to the cold, supplying clean water and food to all who need it. Then begin the long road to healing, dear Lord, and stay always to pour loving kindness on this place and these people.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
I have just finished reading Sybil MacBeth’s book Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God. Its message really resonated with me, partly I am sure because I am having fun painting on rocks and discovering the joy of play as a focusing point for prayer.
This is a remarkable little book. I would highly recommend for anyone who becomes distracted when they pray, can’t sit still for more than a few minutes, or who finds the use of words alone restricting when they try to draw close to God. Doodling, drawing and colouring are all creative acts that can help us to move beyond multitasking to achieve a laser focus on the people we want to pray for and the God we want to pray to. Giving our creativity free reign like Sybil suggests is a liberating way to enrich our prayer life and strengthen our faith.
I love Sybil’s comment A clipboard turns any place into a prayer corner. It is not where we are that determines the effectiveness of our prayers but our ability to find a quiet place in which we can zero in on what really matters. So get out some paper and coloured markers or pencils and start praying in colour. Follow the simple directions Sybil gives on her website and discover the joy of praying with all your senses.
A couple of weeks ago, in my post Thinking Beyond the Resurrection, I talked about the garden I was creating to help me focus during the Easter season. It has worked even better than I expected. The “standing stones” I wrote on draw my attention each morning and I often find my eyes drifting to them throughout the day as well. In a world of multi tasking they encourage me to pause and single task by listening for what God might say. Sometimes I rearrange them as different words catch my attention, inviting me to respond.
Yesterday my meditations gave rise to the following prayer which I thought you would appreciate:
Listen to what the heart hears,
Beauty for ashes,
Joy from pain,
Freedom through forgiveness.
Let God’s love speak to you,
Do not lock away what is broken,
Nor leap over your suffering.
Discover humanity in the one who has hurt you.
Joy comes in the morning,
Death gives way to life.
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