From the Ministry Table: Sculpted Prayers
This is a series designed for use within the staff or leadership of your congregation (Board/Presbytery/Session/Elders/etc) as an opening devotion,
or as personal reflection.
Image: Coloring pencils in holder, provided by Unsplash
This Sculpted Prayers activity has become one of my favorites to begin a meeting with! I’ve led it with several different groups/boards/congregations, each in different seasons of ministry and discernment; the prompts can be easily adapted to what best fits for you. Every single time, I’ve been delighted at the images shared at the end, and the activity set the stage for fruitful conversation throughout the meeting.
Note: While many adults (myself included!) might seem resistant to anything artistic or creative, often it helps our imaginations get out of a rut - and helps us think more creatively for the rest of the meeting. And, even if some people aren’t comfortable with it, that’s okay! There will likely be others who really enjoy tactile activities, and they often sit through reflections, devotions, and meetings that lack opportunity for creative reflection. If your folks are resistant, just remind them that you’re going to try something different together, and that the point is to be prayerful, not to have the best quality artwork!
Materials Needed:
Play-Doh (or other modeling clay) - I like to get those bags of 50 small containers of Play-Doh and keep them on hand for things like this! They’re really easy to find around Halloween, but available year-round. Play-Doh also makes a good “fidget item” to provide at meetings and studies, though in these COVID-times, it might be best to let participants take them home!
~~ OR ~~
Paper with pens/pencils/crayons/markers
Read:
1 Corinthians 3:4-11
Reflection:
What we just read is a part of a letter written to the church in a city called Corinth. They were a new church, trying to figure out how to faithfully live and serve together. There had been some division, because instead of working together and partnering with God, they had begun to work in silos: Some followed Apollos; some followed Paul. To be sure, Apollos and Paul had different experiences, different perspectives, and resonated with different people for different reasons. And isn’t that the way ministry is sometimes? It can be easy to feel like we serve in a silo, apart from others. Maybe there are some people who are always signing up to help in one area, and struggle to appreciate another.
In helping the congregation understand how they all should be working together, Paul uses two metaphors: Growing plants, and constructing a building. In each metaphor, participants certainly use their individual gifts and skills… while laboring together, always remembering that it is the Spirit who brings fruition.
In that same vein, we’re going to take some time to consider how our work in this ministry fits in to the broader mission of this congregation, and the way we all partner with God. When you envision how you fit into this ministry, what metaphor comes to your mind? Maybe it isn’t a plant or a building, but something else. Maybe it isn’t even a whole metaphor, but an image, or a shape, or a word.
Activity:
Do you have that idea in mind? If not, that’s okay! We’ll take a few minutes to sculpt (or draw) this. If nothing is coming to mind yet, then just start sculpting (or drawing), even if you aren’t sure yet what the final result will be.
As you do, prayerfully consider:
~ What is your hope for your team/committee/congregation/role?
~ What might God be calling you to do in this next season?
~ How might the Spirit might be leading you to focus your energy and attention in this work?
~ How do you imagine your ministry fitting into what God is already doing?
Give participants a few minutes to do this, as needed.
Then, provide time for everyone to share what they’ve done!
Prayer:
Creating God, thank you for the gift of beauty and imagination in your creation! Help us to be willing to think outside the box, and to be attuned to what you are leading us to do. Work in and with us, as we bring your love to this community. Amen.