Transmission

Greenbelt was great September 10, 2006

I had an amazing time at Greenbelt. So many chill, creative, cool Christians. So many innovative worship experiences. So many ideas and such a feeling of mutual support. And Ike was a great traveling companion.

It was also great to reconnect with Ian Mobsby, whom I met at a conference in March and who encouraged and enabled Ike and I to contribute at Greenbelt. We pitched our tent along with the people from his emerging church in London (Gareth, Andrew, Mike, Carrie, Ivy, Neil, and Aaron) and had a great time with this Moot crew. They are in our prayers and we are in their blog :-)

WORSHIP SERVICES

We attended a lot of services. All amazing, all different. The groups I saw were:

Grace (London)
Ikon (Belfast)
Fuse Factory (Switzerland)
Morph
Sanctus1 (Manchester)
Greenbelt Communion service on Sunday morning, with John Bell from the Iona Community

Very sadly, we missed the Moot “Body Mass”, which happened on Monday, after we left. There are some very cool photos of the service up on their blog. We also missed the Monday service by Foundation in Bristol, but the folks from the group were super friendly and came to our service – big thanks!

Thanks also to Sue from Visions in York for her hospitality!

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

A workshop led by Ian Mobsby on the Emerging Church and Trinitarian Theology Worship (based on Rublev’s icon of the Trinity)

An amazing talk by Shane Claiborne from The Simple Way in Philly

A panel discussion chaired by Jonny Baker exploring mission at Mind Body Spirit Fairs and contemporary spirituality. With panellists Ana Draper, Ben Edson, Steve Hollinghust and Gareth Powell.

The organic beer tent!

post-greenbelt green post September 8, 2006

flickr photo from Greenbelt Festival Official Pictures.

One of my favorite aspects of Greenbelt was how green it was. Thousands of us pitched camp in a field (well, actually a racetrack) below beautiful British hills and lived in the reign of God for a weekend. It’s good sometimes to sleep close to the ground.

Many of the vendors sold fair-trade, organic, and eco-friendly products. And as much as I was impressed by the cute wooden cutlery at some booths, others used only real dishes and silverware. Right before our Dress-up service, I went on a mission for a chai ‘to go,’ and had to leave a 1 pound deposit for a mug (which I got back when I dutifully returned the cup later). Very cool.

EASY SOLUTIONS?

A Greenbelt-birthed a group called Generous inspired me to think about small eco-actions as generous spiritual activities. When I stopped by their booth, they were giving out bags, which expand once submerged in your toilet tank. Now each time I flush, I use 1 liter less of water – an amount that adds up over the long term.

Last week, inspired both by Generous and a friend of mine who is running the NYC marathon to fight global warming, I signed up for 100% wind-generated electricity from ConEd Solutions. It costs about the same amount, has no sales tax (thank you, NY State!), and encourages development of sustainable power supplies.

I’m currently doing some research into energy-saving lightbulbs and have been trying to take less bags from stores… what other simple solutions do you recommend?

FIND MORE ACTION IDEAS @

Generous.org.uk “is an online experiment based on a shared hunch that looking after this planet and its people is what we are all here for and that if many of us can make small changes in our everyday choices then over time we can make a big difference for everyone.

Generous is not about guilt – it’s about inspiration and shared ideas. And it’s not about how many actions any of us can do – all our situations are different. It’s a community, not a competition.”

Q – are there American eco-Christian groups you like?

QUOTE

“…once science began to view the physical cosmos as a story of becoming, that is, in evolutionary terms, then a reconciliation between science and religion became possible. What connects science and religion is the accent on temporality and the motif of promise. The Bible is about nothing else than promise, and evolution discloses a universe that reinforces this theme.” From At Home in the Cosmos by David Toolan, S.J.

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

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!