For the past 40 days our faith community
has been set the challenge to post photos of "being together, sharing
together and working together". We called it the 40/40 challenge. We
wanted to try to represent what it looks like every day, not just Sundays to be
together, share together and work together.
At the end of the 40 days we celebrated the best 40 photos. On the final day I placed all the
photos all over a table. There were pictures of families, groups of friends,
eating, working, serving, laughing, learning, travelling, worshiping together,
right across the ages. Then the next step was to surround the photos with
written stories to match the photos, we all got into an added our small
story. Finally we wrote “words” that
come to us as we looked at the photos. Words that came up were:
We chatted, laughed, created and remembered
the events that photos sparked for us all. The room was full of joy,
togetherness, celebration and family. There were people of all ages from 2
years to 75 years. Single, married, families, widows, teens and kids all
enjoying their time together and listening to the shared, stories. We had just
finished having breakfast together and some worship and amidst all the photos
and words I placed the cross and the bread and the wine.
We we're reminded that Jesus was not
someone distant stature or God far away. He does not want us to perform some ritual
that could look like “coming together once a week” to pay homage to, ask for
forgiveness and make requests of. But rather amongst all these photos and words
that represented our faith community, He is in the midst, in fact He wants to
be in the centre of it all, everyday.
And I imagine in a similar gathering like we were in, while he was hanging
out with his community eating, talking and probably singing, he shared with
them how much he wants us to remember Him whenever we eat and meet. As we took the bread and the wine together and remembered,
our community prayed.
One elderly, sick man, who had just got out
of hospital, prayed “Thank you for allowing me to be here with my family".
This is a man who has not often been welcomed in many churches because he does
not fit the mould. To him, we are his family. One newly widowed lady, prayed
a prayer of thankfulness to the amazing love God has shown us all. A young
Asian teenager, who has recently become a Christian, prays earnestly in the
corner as he seeks God in ways that those of us who have been Christians for a
long time are thankful for the reminder. A little autistic 8 year old girl
comes to me after asking for the microphone because she simply wants to say Thank you God" for all to hear.
After the prayer time we continued to talk
to each other and enjoy the photos, as I watched another teenager walks up
to the elderly man and they have a wonderful Conversation. I watched all ages
interact and enjoy being together. A 5 year little girl walks up, to me to ask
if we could do the pharaoh story (which was a Godly play enactment of the
crossing of the red sea, which I have done leading up to communion before). A
wonderful wise sage in our midst walked up to a 14 year old and said “You are
one of my most favourite people in this world, gee I love you”. I just can’t think of a
better way to spend a Sunday morning together in a Faith community.
What does it look to “be together, share
together and work together”.....I can’t wait for one of our talented ladies to
collage all that was done that day, cause I know it is a visual way to answer
this question. I wonder if you took up the challenge what you might SEE and
LEARN together as you take 40 photos in 40 days and celebrate what God is doing
in your community.
No comments:
Post a Comment