Monday, April 21, 2003
This holy week was unbelievable.
We attempted to create a environment where we followed the activities of the passion week. Wednesday we had a Passover seder. It included a full meal and the telling of the promise of God to the nation of Israel.
Thursday was a Maundy Thursday service with an all night prayer vigil where people would sign-up for half hours slots. It is amazing to be in community with people who will wake-up in the middle of the night to come to church to pray. The evening started with a 45 minute service that Jimmy put together. One of the great things for me in this week is that all the vents were planned and run by other people. There was a processional at the beginning with the most wonderful collection of our people. They were carrying a cross, a Bible over their head (an old Bible he have opened to a full color picture of the garden of Gethsemane), a candle, and communion elements. It was very us, and very liturgical. They bowed and served one another communion and then spread out and served the rest of us. The night ended in a full processional where we all bowed before the alter they had created with the elements.
Here is a part of an email that Jimmy sent after the event
– “Doug, it meant a lot to me to put last nights service together. You've said
many times that 'your dreams will/can become the dreams of SP" and you've
really been true to that. Thanks again for that.”
What an honor to share life with these people.
Friday night was an art collaborative Stations of the Cross event called The Way of the Cross. Artists created 15 stations (we added a station, the taking of Jesus’ body form the cross) in a visual format and also all 15 in performance art. They were all incredible. We processed by the visual pieces and then were seated for the performance which included songs, poetry, drama, film. I do not have words to say how wonderful it was. There are so many brilliant people who gave so much to this effort. I sat there thinking being the pastor to these people is unlike anything I was trained for. I am not leading these people into understanding of God, we are leading each other. There were some brilliant interpretations of the stations.
I hope we can find a way to document and show what happened that night. As it was all coming together at about 6 pm I said to Marlene, “I think the creation of the night will be a significant thing in the life of this community”. The sense of people working together, blessing one another and creating some thing so wonderful is a good gift to one another and to God during Easter week. Luke and Thom did an amazing job conceiving and implementing this night. Luke’s father was at the event and I saw the pride in his eye as he watched and thought, how fitting on this night to have father so proud of his son on good Friday.
Cory wrote a song for Easter that we sang yesterday morning and last night that wrapped up this sense for me.
Here are the words:
Arise
Here lies my son
Here rests his bones
Here sleeps my son
Here rests my own
Sleep just a little longer
We’re almost done
Hold just a moment
The sun is coming up
Here lies my son, in whom I am well pleased
You’ve ’done my will my son, it is time to intercede
Arise my son Arise
Arise my son, Arise
Holy love is yours we’ve given them new eyes
The sacred kingdom doors swing wide into their lives
Arise my son Arise
Hosanna you are my God
Saturday there were meals in people’s homes. Even though I did not go to any, the idea of our community doing as the disciples and encouraging each other on this day of mourning was beautiful.
Easter Sunday we had a sunrise gathering at Powderhorn park. The park is just a few blocks from our building. When I saw my in-laws in the afternoon the said, “you were at Powderhorn, did anyone get shot?” The park has a bad reputation, but it is a beautiful place and the ideal place to tell the story of redemption for the broken hearted.
After the sunrise gathering we had breakfast at Marc and Alicia’s. Jen coordinated people bring food. This being the fourth year of this helped it to go extremely well. 35 people brought things.
Then last night we pulled off, in my opinion, the best Sunday night we have had. It was especially good because Easter Sunday nights have been a drag in the past years, it is just hard to have Easter at night. So we changed our format. WE hade people sit in clusters to share with each other. We had fish and crackers in each cluster to replicate the story of the disciples meeting together that first Sunday night at Jesus came in the their presence and eat with them.
We had four musicians share music, and Tiki Ohmar, a rhythm band of high school guys, one of whom is our drummer. They were amazing. They played rhythm stuff while we looked on images of the crucifixion. We read four installments of the resurrection in our little groups and had time of discussion.
Britt’s Grandmother died on Friday night unexpectedly. She called on Saturday and asked if she could create a remembrance table where people could bring pictures of loved ones that had died, and we could make an Eater redemptive reminder. I thought this such a wonderful idea and was surprised that none of us had thought of it before. I guess it is the real life pain and the right time that allows us to see something necessary that we had not seen before. What an Easter kind of idea.
My recollection of the night does not do it justice, but it was fantastic.
Having this week right on the heals of the Guatemala trip made a wonderful combination.
I will be writing over the next two days. I think I will work on the chapters on dialog and creativity.
We attempted to create a environment where we followed the activities of the passion week. Wednesday we had a Passover seder. It included a full meal and the telling of the promise of God to the nation of Israel.
Thursday was a Maundy Thursday service with an all night prayer vigil where people would sign-up for half hours slots. It is amazing to be in community with people who will wake-up in the middle of the night to come to church to pray. The evening started with a 45 minute service that Jimmy put together. One of the great things for me in this week is that all the vents were planned and run by other people. There was a processional at the beginning with the most wonderful collection of our people. They were carrying a cross, a Bible over their head (an old Bible he have opened to a full color picture of the garden of Gethsemane), a candle, and communion elements. It was very us, and very liturgical. They bowed and served one another communion and then spread out and served the rest of us. The night ended in a full processional where we all bowed before the alter they had created with the elements.
Here is a part of an email that Jimmy sent after the event
– “Doug, it meant a lot to me to put last nights service together. You've said
many times that 'your dreams will/can become the dreams of SP" and you've
really been true to that. Thanks again for that.”
What an honor to share life with these people.
Friday night was an art collaborative Stations of the Cross event called The Way of the Cross. Artists created 15 stations (we added a station, the taking of Jesus’ body form the cross) in a visual format and also all 15 in performance art. They were all incredible. We processed by the visual pieces and then were seated for the performance which included songs, poetry, drama, film. I do not have words to say how wonderful it was. There are so many brilliant people who gave so much to this effort. I sat there thinking being the pastor to these people is unlike anything I was trained for. I am not leading these people into understanding of God, we are leading each other. There were some brilliant interpretations of the stations.
I hope we can find a way to document and show what happened that night. As it was all coming together at about 6 pm I said to Marlene, “I think the creation of the night will be a significant thing in the life of this community”. The sense of people working together, blessing one another and creating some thing so wonderful is a good gift to one another and to God during Easter week. Luke and Thom did an amazing job conceiving and implementing this night. Luke’s father was at the event and I saw the pride in his eye as he watched and thought, how fitting on this night to have father so proud of his son on good Friday.
Cory wrote a song for Easter that we sang yesterday morning and last night that wrapped up this sense for me.
Here are the words:
Arise
Here lies my son
Here rests his bones
Here sleeps my son
Here rests my own
Sleep just a little longer
We’re almost done
Hold just a moment
The sun is coming up
Here lies my son, in whom I am well pleased
You’ve ’done my will my son, it is time to intercede
Arise my son Arise
Arise my son, Arise
Holy love is yours we’ve given them new eyes
The sacred kingdom doors swing wide into their lives
Arise my son Arise
Hosanna you are my God
Saturday there were meals in people’s homes. Even though I did not go to any, the idea of our community doing as the disciples and encouraging each other on this day of mourning was beautiful.
Easter Sunday we had a sunrise gathering at Powderhorn park. The park is just a few blocks from our building. When I saw my in-laws in the afternoon the said, “you were at Powderhorn, did anyone get shot?” The park has a bad reputation, but it is a beautiful place and the ideal place to tell the story of redemption for the broken hearted.
After the sunrise gathering we had breakfast at Marc and Alicia’s. Jen coordinated people bring food. This being the fourth year of this helped it to go extremely well. 35 people brought things.
Then last night we pulled off, in my opinion, the best Sunday night we have had. It was especially good because Easter Sunday nights have been a drag in the past years, it is just hard to have Easter at night. So we changed our format. WE hade people sit in clusters to share with each other. We had fish and crackers in each cluster to replicate the story of the disciples meeting together that first Sunday night at Jesus came in the their presence and eat with them.
We had four musicians share music, and Tiki Ohmar, a rhythm band of high school guys, one of whom is our drummer. They were amazing. They played rhythm stuff while we looked on images of the crucifixion. We read four installments of the resurrection in our little groups and had time of discussion.
Britt’s Grandmother died on Friday night unexpectedly. She called on Saturday and asked if she could create a remembrance table where people could bring pictures of loved ones that had died, and we could make an Eater redemptive reminder. I thought this such a wonderful idea and was surprised that none of us had thought of it before. I guess it is the real life pain and the right time that allows us to see something necessary that we had not seen before. What an Easter kind of idea.
My recollection of the night does not do it justice, but it was fantastic.
Having this week right on the heals of the Guatemala trip made a wonderful combination.
I will be writing over the next two days. I think I will work on the chapters on dialog and creativity.
