Prayer Weaving
Resources and ideas for prayer weaving in community can be found here:
Opportunities to create a community weaving:
+All Saints Day [use names of saints who have died on fabric or paper or fabric or items that are particular to loved ones who have died]
+Easter Sunday [create a nature - or new life - loom with nature items from your worship location or items brought from home]
+Lent [encourage individuals to write their own prayers of the people on fabric all through Lent and weave them into a wall hanging]
+A church anniversary, baptism, funeral, or blessing [encourage individuals to choose or bring fabric or yarn that represents their experience with this event]
On Art in Worship:
From: ART: THE ACT OF CREATION AND INVITATION by Theresa E Cho
For many of us, considering the use of art in worship and in ministry can illicit two emotions. We may feel inadequate or incompetent to produce good art. We may also imagine art in worship and in ministry to be like a craft store blowing up in our sanctuary space. However, art is merely the act of creation and invitation. As artists, we are mediators between what is and what could be. Art is a powerful tool to open up the minds of people to the impossible possibilities that God has in store for our faith community, our world, and us...
Depending on what translation you use, the first three words in the Bible is “in the beginning.” The Common English Bible translates Genesis 1:1-2 as “When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was without shape or form.” I love that the first words in the Bible illustrates God as artist. With a blank canvas set before God, God created. As pastors, teachers, educators, and worshippers, we can glean two important elements to consider from these first two chapters of Genesis: space and participation...
Art in worship and in ministry is more than just having beautiful decorations. It’s a communal process that invites all to add their fingerprints and self-expression to mark a specific moment and context in time. In Genesis 2, after all was created, God invited the human one to participate in the creation process by naming all the living things. This act of naming not only made the human one a co-creator, but also to take ownership of what has been and is being created.
Abby Leese zionetters.com pastor@zionetters.com