Pacific Highlander

Sacred Space in the City

I spent Saturday and Sunday afternoons of the Forge Grassroots Festival based at the UCA Hub in Little Collins Street, Melbourne. Cheryl Lawrie (of [hold :: this space]) (right below), Sam Charlesworth (middle) and Blythe Toll (left below) worked with a team to transform a corporate car park into Holy Ground : : Holy City. I was there to talk with interested people about alternatives to standard models of worship - a conversation deeply enhanced by the environment in which we met.

The burning bush/sacred ground experience of Moses was juxtaposed with the glimpses of God’s redeeming, transforming, hope-giving presence in the cities. iPods hanging from the ceiling showed video clips of the Tianenmen Square protester, the monks protests in Burma, and the destruction of the Berlin Wall. Around the walls and ceilings were projected films and photographs of pedestrian traffic in Melbourne. This was an invitation to explore the small clues to life, including the nature of concrete, cigarette butts and shoes.

In the middle was a space surrounded by security tape, with the words “Do Not Enter”, alongside phrases connecting the sacred ground experience of Moses with our experience.

Out on the wall outside was a chalk outline of the cityscape, with the words “New Earth”, and the invitation to dream of a future life for the city.

See more of Cheryl’s reflections on the experience at [hold :: this space]

Tags: alternative worship, Cheryl Lawrie, Forge, Postmodernity

Posted in Art, Australia, Emerging Church, Mission, Social Justice, Worship | No Comments »

Cheryl Lawrie Alternatives in Melbourne

This morning on Educating Christians I posted on the Belonging Kit, edited by Cheryl Lawrie back in the late 1990s. It was a Uniting Education project designed to help churches nurture young adults into an active reflective faith.

I first met Cheryl when she was promoting her work on mentoring and youth. I invited her over to New Zealand to work with the Presbyterians mostly, though that did spill over into ecumenical gatherings involving Anglicans, Methodists and Catholics. We published an article or two by Cheryl in Crumbs the ecumenical youth ministry magazine.

Cheryl is still in Melbourne working with the Uniting Church Synod of Victoria. Just recently she moved from the Children and Families area into Alternative Worship. Lucky woman! Fancy having the cheek to design her dream job and put it to her employers!

She made it into the Age newspaper this last Easter, with an “unorthodox media” Easter stations experience.

Tags: alt worship, Cheryl Lawrie, mentoring, Uniting Church, Youth Ministry

Posted in Australia, Emerging Church, Uniting Church, Worship | 2 Comments »