Wednesday, June 11, 2014 ~ "We Make Church For Other People"

Our final day at Calvin College Grant Colloquium was met with our final breakfast, our final worship, final plenary, final lunch, final prayer together...

Wednesday Morning Worship ~ Living in the Spirit

I found my eyes drawn to the ceiling as I entered my final worship in Calvin Chapel (for this year anyway)... the beautiful liturgical banners had been changed. There was a band that had been assembled for today's final worship service consisting of Drums, Cello, Piano & Guitar... so nice. This morning we would have the pleasure of hearing the word of the Lord spoken in Dramatic Word: Ephesians 4:1-6, Nancy signed up for this workshop and had to spend some time practicing with the other grantees. I loved how the dramatic reading started with one, then two, then three, then four... it would build and build, then back to one. It was very powerful, and the word was spoken clearly, infliction was emphasized... I loved it.

Nancy did a wonderful job, I commend her on branching out as well. It really opened our eyes to new things, and it gave us a sense of involvement different from what we were used to.

I also enjoyed the singing by Paul Ryan and others that we had seen around the Colloquium, we had just seen them as staff until worship. Beautiful voices, singing together... transformed.

I felt very moved during this service, I would describe it as a more contemporary service. The previous evening had been more multicultural, and the morning, more traditional. I am not sure if that was the intent, but I grabbed on to different things during this service. I was draw to the visuals, very understate... but effective. The was this beautiful painting on the screen with the words "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control"... it was simple.

During plenary, discussions of intercessory prayer came into play... there was this beautiful slide show of images juxtaposed with words, essentially prayer for the people, prayers for all. I was actually moved to tears during this slide show, it was truly like I was identifying with others outside of where I was but inside too. I could tell you what was on the screen in word form, but I could see the faces... I prayer for them, I prayed for me, my family, neighbors, friends, Calvin's staff and the many leaders present, and the world we live in. It was very powerful. The music we sang too was more contemporary during this service, and I was thankfully familiar from Wednesday nights @ APC with "God of this City"... How Cool =)

Morning Plenary

After worship, I was joined by Nancy and we continued into the final Plenary. Lots of important information pertaining to how the Grant project works and what to expect in our coming year. "Effective Leadership for a Vital Worship Grant Project" by Kathy Smith. She is one of the people that we had been in communication with early on, and she is very nice! Again... "Remember the Football!"

• Know yourself...
• Know your congregation or organization - What kind of Church are you?
• Need someone from Worship Committee to report - keep lines of communication open with other committees. 
• Change is Healthy! but not easy...
• Communicate clearly and appropriately
• Practice healthy reciprocal leadership with the 4 C's
• Character--> trust
• Conviction--> vision & purpose
• Competencies--> healthy responses to normal anxieties of changing living organism
• Confluence--> leader, congregation, situation, training coming together by he Holy Spirit
• Expect Suffering
• Stay Connected 

Some other speakers came up at the final plenary, and there was a lot of information shared about leadership and change. Change is something that is healthy, but not easy... we experience this everyday. We also stumbled on the subject of multicultural congregations, a recurrent theme at Calvin, with speaker Doug Brouwer. He was a quick-witted Presbyterian that is currently the minister at an International Protestant Church in Zurich, Switzerland. I enjoyed his talking points, he was very humorous and lively. His description of communion in his congregation was interesting... He has a very unique group of congregates from all over the world. He spoke of the Presbyterian members that would walk up to the table for communion, almost sad, walking with their heads down. They look up at him with such anguish in their eyes. Then you have the black women of his congregation, echoing the Baptists of the US, dressed to the nine's, ready to see Jesus! They come to the table so happy and cheerful, ready to meet the Lord. Doug seems to be very happy with the congregation he is with, but has to pay special attention to its diverse needs. I felt he was the right person for the job, his charisma as a speaker was very captivating. He wrapped up his story by sharing that he had decided to learn German, on of the languages of his congregation, thought it would be a little easier than some of the other languages spoken. Then he confessed to having to learn a language spoken in his congregation, or he would be looking at deportation!

After finishing in the Chapel, we said goodbye to this beautiful space. I had grown so fond of it, and look so forward to worshiping again at Calvin College. But, now we head to Prince CC for our final lunch, a few speakers, and a farewell.

Step In... Step Up... Step Out

How do you see your church in 5-10 years? That was the question posed by Fernando Cascante Gomez... Again, the theme of multiculturalism was address again. I keep stressing this not just because we were asked and it was discussed, but because as a congregation, we need to ask ourselves that question. I don't think we will just be faced with multicultural, but multigenerational, social media, Tweeting in church, reading screens, not using programs, visual arts, what will we be faced with next?

As always John D. Witvliet led a few more discussions that I jotted some notes down from related to multicultural congregations:
- Sharing food from their culture
- Asking for them to participate in worship
- Using language
- Artwork geared toward other cultures
- Communion - using breads from other countries
- Involve the youth - Sunday School

What I resolve to take away?
- Organization
- Communication
- Facebook, Blogging, Slideshow, & Presentation
- Trusting Team
- Multicultural - Where you are from... your age & cultural diversity
- "Vision Catchers & Vision Casters"
- 2 Corinthians 9:8 - "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

Blessing List: Gratitude List @ Home
- Chapel Experience
- People I met
- Speakers I heard
-Marcia McFee
- Overwhelming & Inspiring
- Energy, Imagination, Intelligence, & Love

and Finally,

"We Make Church For Other People..." 

Tuesday, June 10th, 2014 ~ What a Day, It Needed 2 Parts!

Wise Practices in Communication and Social Media by: Phil deHaan

"There are so many ways to communicate these days, both personally and professionally. How do individuals and organizations keep up with the latest ways to communicate? Is it important to be on Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest and and and... Sometimes it gets pretty overwhelming. So, let's talk – yep talk –about the communication landscape in 2014 and our place in it."

I really didn't get anything new from this workshop. I feel our church is working towards using different types of communication. Although, we do struggle with having different types but sometimes they don't all work! One of the most interesting things I heard was the used of cell phones and ipads during service... some congregations Tweet during worship and put the tweets up on the screen. I know a lot of members wouldn't like that, but it does show the changing landscape of generational worship. I did decide that doing a blog of the grant would be a nice idea, and would also give me a place to come and meditate on what were are doing. I also have to write and do a poster at the end of the year, and thought it would be a good way to catalog my thoughts.

Social Media Gospel by Meredith Gould, was referenced during the workshop if anyone is interested in how social media is changing the fabric of worship. I heard a few people discuss how putting in screens has changed their worship, some churches have removed their bulletins, also learned that the largest growing facet of the population that tweets are grandparents! WHAT? Watch this video... it was interesting to me. I mean, seriously, I just had a FB moment that shows that social media is relevant!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag84TiskdLQ&list=UULC9cX5GntaQmTSF6hTqrzA&index=4

Visual Art in Worship: Faithfulness + Purposefulness in its Use Today by: Betsy Steele Halstead


"The visual arts can reflect the deeper meaning and purpose of worship. We will explore how the visual has influenced corporate worship and how art plays a broad range of roles in worship. We will discover the biblical foundation for encouraging disciplined creativity, see how every space speaks theologically, and consider the purpose-full visual elements of worship."

This was right up my alley! I really enjoyed Betsy, she reminds me of an art teacher I had early in college. She was cute, quirky and funny... she was moving and motivating. She was different and understated, but she gave a handout with right justified text... girl after my heart <3
So here are a few points that she made during the presentation. 

Lots of visuals can be found if you just dig on the internet. Search Liturgical Art... I have links at the end of this section.




The "Why" – A Biblical Foundation

• Scripture "shows" beauty and creativity. Example: Exodus 28:33-34 "Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. ³⁴ The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe.
• God engages us through our senses and created us as imaginative people. We should study scripture together + talk. Visual Choir
• God calls for disciplined creativity. 
• God communicates through the visual. Coordinate + Communicate to make sensory connection.

The "What" – Visuals Speak Theologically

• Worship and Art as visual witness
• Worship and Art as diaglogical
• Worship and Art as communal
• Worship and Art as purpose-full
• Worship and Art as holistic

Watch Balances "Happy - Sad" Transformation

The "How" – Reality Check

Visual meets ---> Textuality meets ---> Musicality meets ---> Performitivity

Adornment - Decorative - Beautify
Education - Didactic - Teach
Meditative - Devotional - Guide
Transformation - Pastoral - Heal
Mediation - Sacramental - Present
Motivation - Prophetic - Challenge

Some Random Thoughts I had During This Workshop:

• White on White Banners - Renewal
• Design something from the circular window down
• Paint over the top of previous season
• Different Vessels for communion
• Communion table topper made from broken tiles
• Start Visual library
• Use Gauze
• Dying Fabrics
• Photography displayed during service on monitors
• Photographic paper for cutting projects
  

http://www.churchstagedesignideas.com/
http://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/
http://www.marciamcfee.com/
http://www.pinterest.com/marciamcfee/
http://www.pinterest.com/elschemper/church-ideas-crowd-sourced/
http://www.pinterest.com/skribblekat/
http://www.pinterest.com/source/worship.calvin.edu/
http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2012/march/five-senses-spirituality-why-our-whole-bodies-need-god.html
http://www.alamy.com/
http://www.artway.eu/

http://www.artres.com/
http://www.bridgemanimages.com/
http://civa.org/
http://ecva.org/
http://eyekons.com/
http://www.makotofujimura.com/
http://janrichardsonimages.com/

Betsy provided links from her lecture and added a few myself.

Poster Sessions in DeVos Conference Center, Great Hall

APC will have to do this for the 2014 grant, so there is already a plan to return to Calvin next year... Here are a few of the posters that we saw. If you are interested in their grant information, I can share some of those details in another post.

2013-49 The Reformed Church of Highland Park ~ Highland Park, New Jersey

2013-47 Philadelphia Montgomery Christian Academy ~ Erdenheim, Pennsylvania

2013-47 Phil-Mont Tissue Paper Poster on Black Board ~ Group Project

2013-37 Kirkwood United Church of Christ ~ Kirkwood, Missouri

2013-10 Broadway United Methodist Church ~ Indianapolis, Indiana

2013-10 Canvas by a Congregational Artist

2013-64 Vancouver Urban Ministries / More Than 12 Church~ Vancouver, British Columbia

I really enjoyed the posters, talking with different grantees. I did manage to find the only graphic designer turned minister. Could tell by his poster, was very intrigued by his ministry. After talking with him, I realized how many different ideas had been created. How could you possibly come up with more? But somehow, the grant evolves, the churches evolve, the congregations evolve, the schools evolve, the communities evolve... evolve or you disappear essentially.

and of course they had some treats for us...

Dinner & Conversation... followed by Worship @ Calvin College Chapel

And just when you thought we couldn't have had any more added to our day? Guess what, there is more! After our workshops and poster presentation session, I had to run back to the chapel for a rehearsal for our evening worship at Calvin. Being part of the dance team had its commitment, but totally worth it! We had the chance to practice with the choir and use the worship space. Most of us admitted that we had gone back to our rooms the night before, and forgot the dance. In fear, we were all there to practice Tuesday morning and Tuesday afternoon. Dedication was the name of our game... that and we didn't want to make fools of ourselves! We finished up and headed back to Prince CC for dinner... how nice was it for Calvin to reserve tables for those involved in worship, we felt like superstars! And of course, dinner was great.

Calvin Dance Team
Missy (First Baptist Church, Prineville, OR), Vanessa & Monique (Bridge Street AME Church, Brooklyn, NY), Jasen, Christine & Sarafina (1st Presbyterian Church, Hartford, CT) ME, Sunny (Carey Theological College, Vancouver, BC)

Tuesday Evening Worship: Fruit of the Spirit of Jesus Christ

How uplifting! We did our dance with the choir singing and the congregation singing to "Uyai mose/Come, All You People"... a few mistakes, maybe, but it didn't matter! We had such a joyous time, and I do mean that. I was proud I had volunteered, met such wonderful people, and was part of a wonderful service... Praise God moments all around! Even to my surprise, Marcia McFee joined us for service as well. The service was moving, it kept you waiting for the next thing. There was suttle shifts in the program, music was overlapped, spoken word transitioned. It was like a well oiled machine, like we had all rehearsed together many times. Michael Hawn was great, he lead everyone very well. Really enjoyed his humor and attention to detail in his music.

The worship had eight sections:

• Faithfulness of Christ ~ Gathering
• Love of Christ ~ Praise
• Joy of Christ ~ Thanksgiving
• Patience of Christ ~ Confession
• Goodness & Kindness of Christ ~ Assurance
• Gentleness of Christ ~ Intercession
• Self-Control of Christ ~ Dedication
• Peace of Christ ~ Sending

After service, I met Marcia's partner Jordan, and we talked and laughed about life in the RV. I shared with Marcia how I was so down the night before. I was worried... and there was the moment today, I actually felt the work of God around me. She was here, we had connected thanks to others. CICW Staff was so excited for us as a church, and they were also moved by her arrival knowing I wanted to meet Marcia. I told her I was so excited that we had this opportunity, and for a moment during all of this that is Colloquium, I felt I could do this!

Back to Prince CC for a phone call to home to share my day. I was a little excited and found some sleepy time tea to partake of while I tried to come off the high of my day....

Tuesday, June 10, 2014 ~ And We Dance...

Meeting Michael Hawn
 
There is quite a bit of discipline that comes with attending the Colloquium, so I had to get up bright and early, have breakfast and head to the Chapel for a last minute warm up session with my dance team. Before I headed over to the Chapel, and had the pleasure of having breakfast with one of the more outspoken attendees of the Colloquium and his partner, Frank & Vicki of First Congregational United Church of Christ Lake Helen, FL. I didn't realize the other vacant chair was actually take by Michael Hawn, another member of the Advisory Board, but also the music master mind at the Colloquium. Michael is a resident of Dallas and teaches at SMU. He was responsible for the choir and the music that we would be dancing to at Chapel. I told him I was on the dance team, and he was very excited, my other breakfast guests were singing in the choir and had already been run through Michael's rigorous prep sessions. He was noted for making changes to the music and the singing while in the midst. He was very enjoyable but very serious about getting the it just right. We talked about the music of Zimbabwe and I shared with him my daughter's experience in playing the Marimba Xylophones in elementary school. These beautiful handmade instruments were purchased from a man that has a wait list a mile long, but Camryn's school had managed to get a few of these instruments. They just received a new one this year... it is huge!!! The Marimba conversation peaked his interest and he shared his experiences with the culture and his love of Marimbas and one maker in particular, Youhass. Michael is a very vibrant character, has a beautiful voice, he has made an effort to bridge the ever growing gap of multicultural worship... how do we bring our congregations closer with music from around the world?

Tuesday Morning Chapel & Plenary

Off to Chapel I went... I really enjoyed the conversation. I was in a pretty good mood since I had a bit of a moment before breakfast. I was on Facebook and saw that Marcia McFee had pulled into of all places, Grand Rapids, MI. Really? I was so surprised, small world, even smaller world? She would be on the campus of Calvin College for another convention that would be kicking up in a couple of days, a Methodist Convention in the Fine Arts building on campus. Anyway, even more exciting, another grantee mentioned to her on FB that there was a church here at Colloquium that wanted to bring her to their church!!! "That was us!", I told my phone, "that was us!" I couldn't reply to the message saying that it was APC, but I did manage to look up the name of the other grantee and found out who she was here to represent. Kelly Brill, Avon Lake Untied Church of Christ, Avon Lake, OH... she would be at my table for lunch today, but I would run into her before that after our chapel service. Really small world, but also a remarkable moment... she had helped me, and I am grateful.

The Chapel at Calvin College is very nice, and very moving in many ways. The space itself is octagonal in shape, and the materials are organic in nature... wood and brick mostly, colors are very understated, I would say 1960's in style. In touring churches in South Carolina, I had only seen one octagonal church, a Huguenot Church (I was told Calvin Chapel is a Dutch Reformed church). The shape was said to be important for its function is to keep the Devil from hiding behind the corners. The windows are small and you can see glimpses of green outside, and very little natural light. The organ is amazing, and it adds a sense of traditionalism to the worship service. The liturgical art is understated, but captivating... Those involved in hanging the banners are lucky to have a catwalk that leads to rods that have been installed for hanging each seasonal banner. The Calvin Chapel crew also has a connection to a fabric store which keeps cost down when creating new pieces. I took a picture of the ribbon like cascading fabric artwork that was in the narthex... they have attached them with clear rods and they slip them in the wooden brackets that have been installed on a low ceiling... low ceilings are awesome! We would finish up a very calm, traditional service entitled "Listening to the Spirit" with organ music, hymnal songs, and performing our Deuteronomy liturgical dance piece =)

After service, we rolled right into Plenary and had the opportunity to hear speakers from the board and the staff. John D. Witvliet, CICW Staff and spoke at many times during Colloquium, would lead this day. We were then asked to discuss different talking points in groups of 3-4 people to share our experiences or interpretation of what we had just heard from the speakers from the Grant Advisory Board. I was with a group that contained 2 Presbyterians (myself & Jasen), 1 Baptist Seminary student from Georgia, and a Asian Theology student from Vancouver. Multiculturalism seems to be a rampant theme in many of the discussions, also multigenerational worship.

And we got a break! Had the opportunity to have coffee in the courtyard... very beautiful and well manicured. I made a joke with Paul Ryan, the chapel coordinator for Calvin Chapel, "this place isn't beautiful at all, is it?" He laughed, and said "No, I can't stand it here!" He did follow by saying how hard the winter had been, but any other time, he is blessed. He also suggested another worship artist to look into... Erica Schemper at reformedworship.org. I was excited to share my FB story about Marcia McFee and joked about trying to find her on campus at some point in the day. We didn't have very long to socialize, and had to meet back in the Chapel for the session on "What Every Project Director Needs to Know"... sounds like I should pay attention! Thankfully, the information had been laid out nicely in our Colloquium guide book pg. 72! STAY FOCUSED!!! Discussions of "Lift Up Your Hearts, Where??", Alleluia is world wide, cultural involvement, intercessory prayer, "If you don't know, ask!"

Lunch & Marcia McFee
 
After Plenary, I was found by Kelly, the pastor that had put a message on Marcia McFee's post about our church wanted to bring her to Texas! I had hoped to see her at my lunch table, but even before that, she recognized the name of my church and asked me if I wanted to meet Marcia. I said "ABSOLUTELY!" Kelly said she got a message from Marcia that she would be at Calvin today.

We walked back to the Great Hall for conversation and lunch. I had been receiving texts from Jackie and then one from Marcia McFee. "Hi! Guess what? It's Marcia McFee and I just happen to be at Calving College right now. Heading over to the Prince CC. Do you have time to chat??" I responded back that I was at Prince CC table 5, and would make every effort to talk to her. She was heading over as we were texting.

Not one for Selfies, but we needed evidence!

Marcia entered the room and I could see her heading to my table. I stood up and began to leave my chair... she and I smiled and one another and gave each other a hug. Like we had been long lost friends.  I have been following her work and her blog, Facebook & Pinterest posts for some time now. Jackie and I have talked about getting her here, and Jackie had been in contact with her about a good time for her to come to Texas before I left for Calvin. I introduced Marcia and Nancy, and Marcia sat at the table with me and Kelly. Kelly was blessed enough to make one of the retreats that Marcia hosts in Lake Tahoe... Kelly said it was amazing, you will love Marcia! It was like meeting a rock star. After eating with us, listening to our conversations, she and I agreed to be in touch in a few weeks. Her plan was to head to Texas and have a host church for her worship and workshops. She wanted the host church to invite churches in the area... I agreed, that's us! I told her about hosting Presbytery and how well everyone pulled together for that. We will need that kind of organization to pull off something like this, but I know we can!

Topics of discussion for Lunch other than Marcia McFee?:

• Name one idea or question from the morning plenary that seems especially relevant for your project.
• What gifts are in your congregation that have not been brought fully into the grant project
• As a result of what you have learned, are there people back home who should be invited into your project?

And the learning continues... As I sit here and type out everything from my journey, I am again overwhelmed by the amount of information and experiences thus far. We were told there is no way to take home every piece of information, and if you try, you will not be successful. I had already began to see the wear this Colloquium had on just more that me! Individuals that are in the industry of prayer and people, felt the heavy burden of information. Two of my table mates for Lunch were Lisa Smith, from the advisory board, and Fernando Cascante Gomez, a participant observer native of Costa Rica and Executive Director for Association for Hispanic Theological Education. I think at this point in the Colloquium, I was getting a bit overwhelmed by the theological nature of some of the questions and topics being discussed. I answered at one point with "I know what I know, and that is the best I can do.""I am impressed with the amount of theological intelligence sitting in front of me, but in all honesty, I am just an artist, I am visual, I "see" the word more than I understand it sometimes." I was surprised that I was not met with opposition, but the contrary, I made them think of how they were perceived by their own congregations or audiences.

I was actually thankful for the break to the Day of Learning Workshops that I had picked to attend.

Monday June 9th, 2014 ~ Let the Conference Begin!

Grant Consultation

Nancy and I were awarded the first consultation of the Colloquium... It's always hard to be the first, but I think Nancy and I did just fine! We discussed the points of our grant, established who we are as individuals in regular life and church life, we also asked questions in regards to how the grant works. I was very relieved that the CICW team is there for us every step of the way. If ever we have questions, we can pose them to the staff or if we need to move funds, consult with CICW. Betsey and Kathy are very nice people and very excited about what they do.

Registration

Our day was very light in the morning considering that most people had not arrived as early and wouldn't be checking in until noon. So, we were about to talk about the consultation and get a bit of lunch before we continued on through our day. We were about to register and had a lot of books to take with us!

1. Lift Up Your Hearts - Hymnal
2. Psalms For All Seasons - Hymnal
3. Discerning the Spirit - A Guide to Thinking About Christian Worship Today 
4. A More Profound Alleluia - Theology & Worship in Harmony
5. Wise Church - Exploring Faith & Worship with Christians Around the World
6. Arts Ministry (I dove into this book... So far, so good)
7. Global Songs for Worship (I bought this one, comes with a CD)

Getting all this books back was really fun! But we managed and had some muscles to show for it.

Worship Sessions: Liturgical Dance

Movement/Dance was the pre-Colloquium worship session that I signed up for, and really enjoyed! Jackie had encouraged us to branch out, and I think Nancy and I both did... really opened our eyes to our involvement in worship as well. I love being behind the scenes so to go in front of people and participate was a very big thing for me. I loved the people that I was with, and they were all very supportive. My teacher was a young woman named Julia Start Fletcher, she was very cute and very sweet. She was graceful, young and talented. Julia challenged us, but she didn't teach over our heads or outside of our abilities. None of us were classically trained dancers, so we were all in the same category... ready for anything!

We would be taught two interpretive pieces...

1. Meditation - Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (Performed @ Tuesday Morning Chapel) - We had a designated speaker that that delivered the verse...Very slow and we used hand motions and steps together to interpret the word.
2. Dance - Uyai Mose/Come, All You People (Performed @ Tuesday Evening Chapel) - More of a Zimbabwean inspired dance. We had 9 people, three on each aisle. We danced up and down the aisles while the choir sang. Congregation was standing and following along with the music. Very upbeat and we did great!

I have to say... one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had in a long time! The people I was dancing with where wonderful. We really bonded as people, and not as grantees. We dubbed ourselves the Calvin Dance Team and at one point had our own table together. =)

Plenary, Dinner, & Panel

After this fun and exciting experience, we began the rigorous process of Colloquium. It was a lot of discussion, talking and listening... could be somewhat overwhelming at times and enjoyable when the conversation became lively! Every time we met in the Great Hall, we were given a table assignment and sometimes a board member would be present to facilitate conversation. But before we were assigned tables, we had a chance to hear a few board members and speakers.

• Lisa Weaver - from Washington DC, part of the Advisory Board for Calvin and is currently a Baptist Minister at Catholic University of America in DC. She was very clever in her words, she described Calvin Grant Colloquium as an "Ecumenical Lab Experiment"... so many different religions, so many different regions of North America, so many different roles. She talked about how religion was changing, and the practices that we were so traditionally engaged in were changing too. Being that she was a female Baptist Minister and a Catholic College said a lot about her personality. We have to put things in an ecclesiastical context... we are all God's people. (I was at Lisa's table Tuesday Night)
  
•  Joyce Ann Zimmerman - from Dayton, OH, part of the Advisory Board for Calvin and is currently at the Institute of Liturgical Ministry. Joyce spoke of being baptized as an ongoing thing... We all have a common identity and that is the Body of Christ. We forget so often that we are being baptized everyday, and that it is not a one and done kind of thing. She was very insightful into the nightmare of worship that turns into a sweet dream! She was descriptive in her history of baptism being like a near death experience, and that once we survived we would rise up with Christ "Dying with Christ, rising with Christ"... The Paschal Mystery was a focus of her discussion. (I was at her table Monday Night)

Dinner was great! I don't think I had anything at Calvin I didn't like. I was soooo worried about my next meal before I got there, and then felt kind of silly. We really enjoyed the meals and the conversations. Like I said, many of our meals, we were assigned a table and a member of the team would facilitate conversations.

1. Briefly go around the table; introduce yourself, your congregation or ministry and your project.
2. If you are beginning your grant, what need(s) do you expect your project will address?
3. If you are completing your grant, did the grant address the need(s) you expected?
4. What do you hope to gain from our time together at Calvin?

These questions were pretty easy compared to the next couple of lunch and dinner discussions. I felt pretty comfortable with the question and how I answered them. I did have one gentleman from another church challenge me with a question of how did I expect to bring out some of the other senses... for example I mentioned diffusing oils. Stating that sometimes the senses are aggregated or the congregation might feel a sense of discomfort from what we would be using... for example I spoke of Lent being a difficult time, but we go through it in our liturgical calendar.  He was very intrigued by that and so was Joyce Ann. She had spoken about the Paschal Mystery and she said that was it and encouraged me to look further into this mystery. Worship isn't always comfortable...

As far as commonalities at the table, we all really didn't have many things similar in our grants. There were opportunities to discuss with finishing grantees how the process had gone for them.

• Trust People
• Try to stay focused on the overall project scope
• Don't sweat the small stuff
• Be flexible 
• Plan 

We heard from a panel of five 2013 Grantees,  they were all from various religions, a couple of schools and churches. I have to say, my favorite grantee to listen to was Gayle from St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Berea, Ohio. She was very sarcastic and had a little bit of a pessimist streak. I know it sounds funny that I would point her out, but she was very matter-of-fact about the process. She talked about the "Ashes to Go" program that she started at her church and how they went to a very un-Christian part of their community. Didn't go so well, she said that people could understand why they would do something like hand out ashes, and what would they do with them, what were these for... she said it wasn't well received. They almost got arrested! She basically said, you are going to have your successes and your failures... and not everyone will be okay with what and why you are doing things. You have to let God guide you and trust.

Favorite but most intimidating phrase? "The Grant is like a football, once you get it, everyone is coming at you!" YIKES!!

Some notes I wrote:

• "Psalms Senses"- series name
• Organization of Teams for each sense
• Don't get discouraged by pople leaving or not being involved.
• Bring scripture to life: Spoken Word & Dance in service
• Family Workshop: Use panels from storage, give a verse for inspiration, have members or families paint what they see.
• Giving our group a name, presenting to the congregation formally. I don't think our church realizes how important this grant is, and what it could do for us.
• It is not just a Presbyterian thing!

After my first day, I settled into my room took some aspirin! I had such a headache from all the information, that I think I just really needed to focus on getting a good night sleep. I was also feeling very down about where we were on things... I was nervous about scheduling Marcia McFee. I had people asking me at round table if I had her scheduled yet, and I said no, we were working on it. I felt a sense of worry and thought I was on my way to failure already! Marcia is the biggest part of our grant... the opportunity to learn from her is imperative. I had already started to consider asking other people if they could give me recommendations for other Worship artists. I felt that football in my hands, and thought I was about to get sacked! Not a great way to end my day, but I just needed to sleep and see what tomorrows activities would bring.

Sunday, June 8th, 2014 ~ Our Trip Begins...

I don't think I slept a wink the night before. I was so excited about the journey that we would be taking, but I was incredibly unsettled by the unknown. What would they ask us? Would we be sent home? Would I get lost in the airport trying to make our connections? Did I do enough prep to leave my family for 4 days? Would I freak out on the little plane to Grand Rapids? ... where is Grand Rapids anyway??

I was packed and ready to go, and I had made contact with my travel companion, Nancy Tribolet. I was very excited about taking another artist, and someone I knew was ready for the challenge. I could see that upon arrival to the gate. She was set, coffee in hand, and a notebook full of information pertaining to our adventure. We had both decided to look through the packet of grants from last year and this year, so we were ready for anything. There were a wide range of interests throughout the page, after page, packet that had been mailed to us. Some grants like ours, looking at art in worship, some dabbling in the five senses, some wanting to bring in guests or had already. With my highlighter in hand, I marked through the information most important to me... project management, planning, success and failures (not many failures), arts in the landscape of vital worship, other potential speakers.

Calvin awards grants to churches, schools and other organizations across the United States and Canada. I made my self aware of the number of locations represented and the different religious groups to be seen. Wow, how was this all going to work out? Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Mennonites, Reformed Churches, Episcopal, Church of Christ... Colleges, Universities, Seminary Schools... Oh, and did I mention, The Catholics?!?! What a large body of religion we were about to set foot in, and could we hold our own in this intimidating landscape of Pastors, Theologians, musicians, students, and church staff?

Nancy and I also took the time to study our own grant, over and over again. Hoping to have absorbed every bit of information in preparation for our consultation at 9:20am the next morning. We were so lucky to be the first grant team to meet with the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Staff (CICW)? I don't know... but none the less, we looked over every detail to be ready for whatever they would ask. We flew into Grand Rapids, Michigan on the little plane (not my thing!), but it was a surprisingly fast trip and pretty comfortable except for how cold my feet were getting because of the lack of insulation these planes seem to have. It was nice to make it in time to join some other early arriving grantees at an informal dinner at the Prince Conference Center on the campus of Calvin College.

At dinner that night, we met some of the CICW staff, people that I had been emailing back and forth with for a few months. They were very nice, and so accommodating. The food was not a disappointment at all! They fed us well, and the company was small this time around. We met grantees from Boston, Oregon, Atlanta, and Michigan, very delightful and full of weather stories and city stories. It was very informal and a very nice opening start to our journey at Calvin.

Nancy and I took a moment to talk to a young couple from 1st Presbyterian Church in Hartford, CT. Their names were Jasen and Christine, and they brought there 17 month old daughter, Sarafina, with them to Colloquium. I was surprised to see a child there, and for a moment, missed my own... but I would have been no good if I had had the distraction of kids! We stood and talked for about 30 minutes about where we were from and what we were wanting to achieve with our grants. Christine is an art therapist and her Jasen is an Elder in the church. Both seemed very involved in their church, and I would continue to watch these two navigate Colloquium with their young daughter. Towards the end of our conversation, we all joked that the reason we gravitated to one another is because we were Presbyterians... have to stick together!

After a long day of travel, Nancy and I said good night, made our plans to meet in the morning for breakfast, and retired to our rooms.

I took a moment to call my family and see how things were going... sounds like home! Loud and crazy and lots of activity... I was then left with a quiet room and my thoughts of tomorrow's consultation. Yikes! So I took a moment to look over things one more time...

• We were looking to enhance worship using the 5 senses... sight, sounds, smell, touch, and taste.
• A large part of our grant was looking to bring Marcia McFee to our church and host service and workshops inviting other churches and community members. 
• Focus on sermon series developed by our Pastor, and using the team to design multi-sensory worship around the series. 
• Organizing Bible studies initially lead by Pastor, in hopes of calling on committee members to continue the studies.
• Purchasing a ladder to help with instillation of future projects.
• Purchasing books for the committee in order to educate each of us in regards to art in worship.
• Organizing family dinners and projects to enhance community in our congregation and involve them in the process of vital worship.
• Finally, we would like to put together an exhibit in the final stages of our grant to show progress through the grant year to the congregation.
• Some of the ideas we have expressed examining:
• 5 Senses Station
• Blindfold Congregation: Force the senses to activate.
• Diffuse oils, bake bread using bread makers in the sanctuary the night before.
• Look for musicians in our congregation
• Banners constructed of materials that are donated or inexpensive depending on sermon series.
• Ask children and adults to design worship bulletin covers based on scripture
• Wanted to create a multi-sensory landscape in our sanctuary using the senses.

That is just a taste of what we would like to do... I hope you all will take time to write your own ideas for worship based on the concept of the five senses in worship. From my experience at Calvin, I have already started to think of how we could change our worship and bring vitality back to our congregation. Some of the ideas are maybe new, maybe not, but changing things here and there will be an interesting experience.

And to rest I went... at least I hoped.