Mark Pierson
Mark Pierson is the Executive Director of Urban Seed (otherwise known as the Receptionist).
« August 2005 | Main | October 2005 »
Lost comment
September 21, 2005
Hi, someone (a woman in the UK? I think) posted a comment on Monday 19 September. Before I could approve it the comment was lost in a hail of spam. If that was you, would you please repost. Thanks,
Mark
Posted by markp at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)
An intuitive introverts guide ... 10.
September 20, 2005
28 August, 2005.
Brother Roger at Taize was recently stabbed and Marcus (who is good at picking this stuff up) wove Taize songs and a tribute to Brother Roger and radical discipleship through the worship. Eventually 6 adults and 2 children fronted up. Is this sustainable in its current form? Am I sustainable in my current form?
04 September, 2005.
15 adults, including 2 visitors tonight. Trickled in. It felt good (in the end).
Fathers Day. Marcus again wove good stuff together, this time the Lord’s Prayer and images (positive and negative perceptions) of God as father. We tore out headlines from the days newspapers and hung them on a fine nylon line with disposable chopsticks, calling out the headlines and the responsive, ‘Lord Hear Us…Lord Hear Our Prayer’ as we went. Nice bit of hustle and bustle.
I have written to the Deacons of the church I am part of in the mornings, to ask them to reconsider their decision that Urban Seed:church not meet geographically or chronologically near their services. I’m wondering if a venue closer to the rest of what Urban Seed does would integrate things better. Being at the other end of town seems to fragment us. Maybe I’m clutching at straws. Nothing wrong with that. One might hold me up.
11 September, 2005.
A significant day in history. I also launched the possibility of us doing a public Stations of the Cross art installation next Easter. The service started 15 minutes late after we waited for the Call to Worship to arrive! It was worth waiting for. Jeff wove a track by Sufjan Stevens (Casimir Pulaski Day) about loss and pain and confusion (I think), in with Psalm 22. Marcus connected terrorism in with our confession. I presented a rapid overview of what Stations of the Cross was about and showed a couple of hundred pix of previous installations I’d curated. We seem to have a few people keen. Will this be a sustaining straw or the one that breaks the camels back?
Nine adults and two children tonight.
18 September, 2005.
SONAR tonight. This is style of worship we developed at Cityside in Auckland almost 3 years ago. There it is still held monthly on a Wednesday at 8pm. The 3 elements of it are live ambient electronic music, large screen projected visuals ie film loops, and a set of 4 stations. The stations stay the same with the exception of the biblical text one that changes. It is an open space that people can drift in and out of. The intention was to give film and electronica makers a venue for their talents and interests to be used in a worship context, and to begin to bridge the gap between church and culture by providing a relatively neutral gig space that people of all faiths and none could hang out. It has never taken on the strength I think it should have at Cityside, and numbers attending are very small, but that is another story.
Cam, one of the original SONAR music and video artists, was over from Cityside and played on his laptop. The space looked good with 7 IKEA low tables (LACK for you IKEA culties) in our usual central cruciform shape carrying the stations. I’d added a couple of black tables to the usual white ones. Large screen at one end. Cushions and chairs around the walls etc. People sat, lay, stood, wandered around, listened, watched, interacted with the stations. It was just what I hoped it would be.
The roller coaster of emotions and energy levels I feel every Sunday night, and as the Sunday gets closer, is incredible and very difficult to manage. I’m still very tired constantly and don’t feel that I am giving the service the work it needs to make it take off. As I stood in the foyer at the top of the stairs welcoming people to the service, and had done so to 6 people by 5.30, I again wondered what it was all about and if I could keep doing this. By 5.45pm there were 21 adults and one child in the space and the comments after were very positive. Interestingly, of the 21 punters only 8 could be called regulars. Others came, apparently, to check out this worship combination. I’ve begun a weekly email newsletter that reminds people of what is on offer each week. No pressure, just info.
Beforehand someone I trust and respect a lot in the emerging church scene emailed me, ‘you have no idea how lovely the idea is of going to a worship that someone i trust with worship is organising - and how long it's been since that was the case... no pressure, of course!’ and after the worship, ‘it was so lovely, honestly - transcendent. hope it wound its way through you too.’ Safety in worship…transcendence in worship. I guess that’s what it’s all about. Maybe I’ll hang in for another week. No response from the Deacons. Maybe this venue will work for a while longer anyway?
Nice to have a drink downstairs after and then wander across the Docklands to show Cam a potential venue for a very public Stations of the Cross installation next Easter.
Mark Pierson September 19, 2005. www.urbanseed.org
(This column also appears at www.sacramentis.com )
Posted by markp at 08:20 AM | Comments (1)
