greenbelt postcards August 21, 2006
postcards with service information on the back.
cut-outs from Interview Magazine.
prayer litany for greenbelt August 17, 2006
God we thank you for the fabrics of our lives: cotton for comfort, wool for warmth, silk, corduroy, denim, and spandex. For the way cloth feels against our skin: layers of memories embracing us, protecting us, and presenting us to the world. [please add your own petitions] God, in your mercy: Hear our prayers.
For the transformative wonder of a prom dress or tuxedo, a costume, a haircut. For scarves, boots, pajamas, sneakers, and all that we wear to live - and express ourselves - in the world. [please add your own petitions] God, in your mercy: Hear our prayers.
For uniforms and those in them - the police force, firefighters, sanitation workers, doctors in scrubs, priests in collars, and all those dressed and ready for service. [please add your own petitions] God, in your mercy: Hear our prayers.
For the gift of our bodies, in more colors, sizes, and variations than the human mind can comprehend. For our nakedness, made in God’s image, and the moments in our life when there is nothing between God and us. [please add your petitions] God, in your mercy: Hear our prayers.
For the celebration of Christ’s incarnation, the word become flesh and dwelt among us. [please add your petitions] God, in your mercy: Hear our prayers.
Play Dress-Up! worship service @ Greenbelt Festival
8 p.m. Friday @ the New Forms Café
We’re born naked, but spend our life in fabrics and fashion. Playing with the idea of dressing up for church and childhood dress-up games, come be transformed by textiles, biblical texts, and of course, your imaginations.
prelude & introduction
song
Exodus 28 meditation
Psalm 104:1-6
Gospel Mark 5:24-35
discussion
Play Dress-Up!
dance and share
Hem of His Garment…………………Faithless & Dido
Hem of Your Garment …………………………..Cake
Touch the Hem of His Garment…………..Sam Cooke
prayer litany
song
service by Bowie & Isaac; music arranged/composed by Isaac
some thoughts on starting a church
So my friend Renata was involved in Regeneration, an emergent startup in the bay area. She emailed the pastor there, Todd Spitzer, to get advice for Transmission and here’s what he came up with:
hey Renata,
great to hear from you. churches that do well are churches that keep things simple, teach the word and worship, let people serve - thats it. the rest is just the fluff. if we focus on the fluff, the church gets cheesy and ineffective, if we focus on substance over methodology the church will honor the Lord and He will bless it. at regen we never intentionally tried to make it anything other than a place to teach expository through the scriptures and support people in their need - the rest just happens as a result of that.
be blessed,
todd
Any thoughts?
what would we do if a naked man showed up to Transmission?
Ok, so I know that everyone is trying to figure out how to increase attendance at church meetings, but one church in South Carolina had the great idea of having a bible study in a bakery (hey, I’d go). Unfortunately, the rhythm of the discussion was thrown off when someone decided to show up naked.
Which leads me, of course, to wonder what I would have done in that situation. I think I might have just let him stay and offered him a sticky bun. According to the article, “Employees at the store said the Bible study regulars just shook their heads at what happened.”
beginning transmission… August 12, 2006
So Transmission met for the first time on Thursday. The adventure begins! Bowie made some excellent summer vegetarian fare, I led a meditation, and (between mouthfuls of food), the group of us discussed our hopes and dreams for Transmission, what we want out of a community of faith and why these things are important to us, and some specifics about our upcoming fashion chapel service at Greenbelt.
Other topics of conversation: where are we going to start meeting once we outgrow Bowie’s apartment? The Bowery Poetry Club? Avalon? We also batted around the possibility of doing a joint St Francis Day / Yom Kippur event with Storahtelling. Stay tuned!