Ron Cole : off the map...navigating life.

faith communities and transformance art...

Pete Rollins of Ikon in Belfast shares some great thoughts around gathering each week, here's a taste...

For those involved with forming post-secular faith communities (often called emerging cohorts) the role of any particular gathering is rarely about bringing clarity and ideally never about outworking singular interpretive strategies. Rather there is an embrace of what may be called ‘transformance art’. Transformance art seeks to create a context which invites revelation. It seeks to do this insomuch as it endeavours to employ ingredients such as music, art, poetry, prose, pillow fights (you would understand if you had been at the last ikon), ritual and reflection to form a rich new wine that ruptures the old wineskins of our current thinking and praxis. Much like the films of David Lynch the best question at the end of an ikon gathering may not be ‘what does it mean’, but rather, ‘how have I been moved, challenged and changed in the engagement’.

By attempting to decentre interpretive strategies through the formation of a theodrama which immerses individuals in a tactile-audio-visual context, transformance art seeks to evoke an openness to respond to others and that Absolute Other many of us call God.

This is what I call ‘transformance art’ and it is, I would tentatively suggest, a new art form (derived from very ancient Judeo-Christian ideas) which the emergent cohorts are experimenting with and which may well change how we structure faith communities in the 21st century. It may also mean that more faith gatherings take place in venues like art galleries rather than church buildings.

a liturgy...Sorrow to Glory

Poasis presents an evening of interactive creative worship at the Inter-Faith Chapel on the Campus of the University of Victoria. The evening will end as a gathered community in which we, along with God's Spirit breathe life into the follwing liturgy.

You can read, and down load the liturgy ....Download liturgy_sorrow_to_glory.doc 

You find all the details about the evening here on the Poasis Art Collective Site

Poasis Presents...Sorrow to Glory

I'm just juggling to many things at the moment...so this space will be kind of inactive till after Easter. Sorry friends, but that's life...

But if your in the Victoria area at the end of March, please join us for a creative worship experience...

                      Poasis Presents... an evening of Lenten Reflection

                                           Sorrow to Glory

The event, named Sorrow to Glory, will gather together a multi-sensory display of visual image, sculptural design, audio performance, and written reflections on the seasons of Lent and celebration of Easter.

Sorrow to Glory aims to make possible an interactive and contemplative reflection. The event features artists, musicians, poets, liturgists, storytellers and church leaders representing a variety of faith communities throughout Greater Victoria. It is their desire to offer participants an environment wherein connection to the Good News of redemption can be realized.
The evening will begin with a time of undirected exploration of the displays, followed by a directed corporate service.

An evening of art exhibition and group participation will take place at 7 pm on Saturday March 31, 2007, at the University of Victoria Interfaith Chapel

http://www.uvic.ca/buildings/cha.html)

mark your calendars...

21 more sleeps to go...

Venue is booked and times are set. Artists, musicians, poets, readers are all getting their creative juices flowing... now we just need you all to book your calendars for Sat March 31st 7 pm

at U of Vic

" Sorrow to Glory" This year's Lent event has a unique combination of laid back reflection and challenging engagement. Check out the Press Release - and feel free to pass along to churches and interested media: P.S. Still room for some readers, musicians and artists but you must contact us by March 11

--

"For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Greater Victoria Artists Collaborate to Explore Easter Through the Theme of SORROW to GLORY.
(VICTORIA, BC – March 8th, 2007)
An evening of art exhibition and group participation will take place at 7 pm on Saturday March 31, 2007, at the University of Victoria Interfaith Chapel http://www.uvic.ca/buildings/cha.html)

The event, named Sorrow to Glory, will gather together a multi-sensory display of visual image, sculptural design, audio performance, and written reflections on the seasons of Lent and celebration of Easter.

Sorrow to Glory aims to make possible an interactive and contemplative reflection. The event features artists, musicians, poets, liturgists, storytellers and church leaders representing a variety of faith communities throughout Greater Victoria. It is their desire to offer participants an environment wherein connection to the Good News of redemption can be realized.
The evening will begin with a time of undirected exploration of the displays, followed by a directed corporate service.

All are welcomed, although some materials may not be suitable for young children. The University Interfaith Chapel is fully wheelchair accessible. Entry is free. Donations accepted towards facilitating future events that foster the development of the Christian art community in Victoria.

For additional information on the event or artists featured, please contact:
Main Contact: Christine Neufeld, Event Coordinator
Phone : 250- 881-4466
Email: Christine.neufeld@gmail.com
Alternate Contact: James Kingsley, Communications
Phone + 250 477-9731 ext 234
Email jkblogspot {at} gmail {dot} com
Websites:
Sorrow to Glory- www.poasis.blogspot.com (with links to artist websites)

the urgency...of imagination

Sort of working on my paper and talk around " God, creativity, imagination and the church," at this point lots of fleeting thoughts scribbled on paper, but the following thoughts that I've dug from my book shelf really spoke to me of the urgency...

In his stirring book The Prophetic Imagination, Walter Brueggemann says, “We need to ask if our consciousness and imagination have been so assaulted and co-opted by the royal consciousness [popular culture] that we have been robbed of the courage or power to think an alternative thought.” Those filling the pews every Sunday may be full of information about God, and they may be expertly trained to obey God, but without an imagination enraptured by God they will be powerless to live the life he’s called them to. They simply cannot imagine living any differently than the culture around them.

Without significant re-cultivation and sanctification of the imagination, aided by God’s Spirit, a disciple will be incapable of weeding out sin and living obediently. Oswald Chambers understood this reality. He knew that if “your imagination of God is starved then when you come up against difficulties, you have no power, you can only endure in darkness.”

Thankfully many are coming to recognize the importance of imagination in spiritual formation. Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer, author of The Drama of Doctrine and professor of systematic theology says:

“Imagination has been a dirty word for too long…The imagination enables us to see the parts of the Bible as forming a meaningful whole. But we can go further still. The imagination also enables us to see our lives as part of that same meaningful whole. This is absolutely crucial. Christians don’t need more information about the Bible, trivial or otherwise. What the church needs today is the ability to indwell or inhabit the text.”

Some radical voice from years back spoke of the urgency of recapturing the imagination of Christ...that under Constantine, the marriage of church and state, we gave up the kingdom of God, for christianity.

Home grown always tastes best...

Cafe' Suburbia House Party with... / Saturday March 3rd

Who: Jason Cook, Katie Schaan, Cindy Davis,Dave Zellinksy What: Big Party in the Cafe with Live music Where: Cafe Suburbia (rm 208) When: Saturday March 3rd | 6:30 pm Why: Because March is a good month to party. How Much: $5 ( are you kidding me !!!!! ) Join us for a rollicking good time as four of our tastiest musicians offer five songs each during our first ever "quatro-bill." The vibe we're going for is full on house-party, and we're telling you now because we want to get the word spreading...thanks to James Kingsley for the heads-up.

alternative worship...imaginational activity of the Spirit

I was having coffee Monday with my best friend Dan, talking about alternative worship that is counter-cultural, and engages. And when we were talking counter-cultural, we were also talking counter the prevailing church-ianity culture. All of us have got our own thing, for the most part, it's comfortable and it works. The pentecostal folks I'm hanging out with would never admit to having liturgy...denial, sorry you've got it. It may not be anglican liturgy, but you've got pattern, form, structure, rhythm...a works of the people. And, there is little variation from Sunday to Sunday.

In a few weeks time I'm speaking to a group of younger folks around God and creativity, maybe that's why my thoughts have wandered outside the box.  When we think of worship, how much creativity goes into it? Is creativity important? Are our imaginations stirred by the wonder of God? Does your community incorporate, and utilize the imaginations of the artists in planning worship?

In worship, in the context of community, I've always had this image of the cross that fills my mind. Our worship should be cross-dimensional, horizontal and vertical...it should engage God as much as it does the world around us.

Community art collectives would seek to embody the fecund ( or for a beautiful definition of fecundity by Nouwen, read what Paige said in the comments ) imaginational activity of the Spirit of God. They are creative, prophetic, propagandist, subversive. They explore the cultural, social, and intellectual implications of the thesis of God. They struggle to see differently, to conceive of new things. They are a place for reflection, analysis and restatement, through conversation, Bible reading, art, prayer, writing. They draw inspiration from the dramatic actions, publicity stunts, by which the prophets – including the prophet from Nazareth – confronted Israel with the prospect of judgment and restoration, failure and forgiveness, death and life. The emerging church is a place for re-imagining what it means to be a distinct, peculiar people telling its story among the nations and tribes and cultures of the world.

The ‘art collective’ analogy makes us stop and think seriously about what we want to say to the world and how we want to say it. We are attempting to articulate in public something far more dense, complex, narrative, engaging, penetrative, subversive than can be expressed through the conventional forms of Christian culture.  That is surely what Jesus was doing when he commandeered a colt and rode into Jerusalem, or overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple.

I would suggest that the Spirit of prophecy is stirring us to a creative, exuberant, multidisciplinary exploration of the calling to be a renewed humanity in Christ – awakening our collective imagination, prodding us to develop non-conventional means of communication that will achieve the largest visibility for the creator God…. With minimal effort? Perhaps not – Ezekiel spent 430 days lying next to a brick to get across the message that God would punish the house of Israel. But we recognize the limitations of our resources and trust the creative God to make up the artistic deficit.

On a side note, Dan showed me this interesting article  from CBC, " U2-charist." This is a reflection of imagative worship...it engages God, and the world around us.

The only Known Photograph of God...

Brother Antony reveals, " The Only Known Photograph of God." Was it what you expected?

sometimes its not the distance...but, the depth

Anyone who as wandered the landscape of Strathcona Park, the arduous journey into the high places. The grunting, and the endless switch-backs, leaning forward gazing at the toes of your hiking boots...the mind constantly playing against you. The little voice, " your not going to make it." But suddenly it seems you break through the trees to mounatain vista that takes your breath away.

In my journey of wandering around the blogosphere, my journey took me to one such vista, " The Sacred Art of Living ", the space of Christine Valters Paintner. It is a place of beauty captured in word and image. She always manages to reveal vistas that take my breath away. I suggest wandering in that direction and enjoy the view.

The following quote is from a recent post, that just seem to capture where I seem to have found myself...where I'm discovering that in my faith journey it is not always the distance traveled that is important...but the depth of the journey.

If, as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things…
If we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action,
when will we have the time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi?
Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds?
Or brood over the coming of the child as did Mary?
For each of us, there is a desert to travel. A star to discover.
And a being within ourselves to bring to life.

-Author Unknown

the Nativity...

No, not the big screen production...just a small church looking at the Nativity from behind the scene, and from behind the seemingly insignificant characters. Mix in some Christmas music and Word...It's an evening to reflect on this wild, infinite, intimate God who's love is scandalous...that He would become one of us. Oh, yah...after the performance...free coffee and cheese cake.

The Nativity

@ Sidney Pentecostal Church

Two Performances...6:00pm and 8:00pm

Saturday December 16th 2006

For info call...656-3712

Directions