Contemplative Service | Collective

We're thrilled to announce Collective's first additional service. By adding an additional liturgical space and opportunity, we're hoping to expand the offerings for others to become involved, and for those already connected to become differently engaged in the practice of faith.  This service is a very different, and highly complementary, service from Sunday night; but it also stands on its own as a moving, meaningful, and life-giving liturgy on its own.  

Our standard weekly liturgy is broken into three primary moves: Content, Practice, and Response. This is listed below in the full liturgy, and more detail is added beneath to clarify some of the response portion of the service. It is important to note that this service is facilitated by a number of different people, with diverse perspectives, voices, and traditions. By "facilitation" we mean that in this space, nobody preaches, and everyone is invited to engage and contribute. 

In this space, nobody preaches, and everyone is invited to engage and contribute. 

LITURGY
Welcome
Community Statement
Content
Practice
Response
Benediction

We begin by reading our community statement together:

We value highly the metaphor of journey. We’re different people from different places and backgrounds, representing a multi-generational community, and we’ve traveled different paths. So, we agree not to make assumptions about the person across from us, next to us, or in conversation with us. We challenge ourselves to be sensitive, knowing this community includes a diverse group of people from life-long followers of Jesus, to people who are just now open to the idea that God might exist. We strive to avoid offense, ask good questions, articulate and explain our responses. We don’t assume fluency in bible, spirituality, or Church language, because we believe the message of Jesus is not for Christianity, but for humanity. So, we do everything in the spirit of love and grace.

In the first movement, we'll typically engage some content: a sacred text, a theme, a brief presentation, or question from the evening's facilitator. This may or may not lead into, or even blend with, the second movement: practice. In practice, we do just that. We engage a contemplative practice, very often extended periods (up to 20 min) of silent meditation or reflection. In the final movement, we engage in multisensory response. This includes an invitation, but not an expectation, to participate in the following elements:

STONES - We have a vessel and some stones prepared. Everyone is invited to consider their burdens, to feel the density and weight of the stones as if they were each burden, and then to release these burdens - not only into the water where they can sink away, but into the reality of a burdened community, where like the stones, they are among others. In this we are reminded that we are not alone with the weight of burden. We feel free as well to make use of the kneeling alter for prayer or silent meditation.

PRAYERS - At our prayer table, there are pens and parchment. Everyone is invited also to respond to the evenings experience with some expression of prayer. Keep in mind, we make no assumptions about beliefs or postures of prayer. In fact, some of the most beautiful prayers come from the lips of those indifferent to religion, or from those without theistic views. We simply invite you to allow your expression to find its way into words. If you’d like your prayer to be shared, or for others to pray for or with you, feel free to leave your prayer in the basket and it will be read and prayed this week. 

EUCHARIST - As a Christian community, we find the Eucharist to be central. In this symbol of self giving love, we are invited to consider the sacred, manifest in the human experience. We are invited as well to consider the blood of injustice, and what it might look like for us to become a community broken and poured out for the healing of the world. As we share a meal, we are invited to be reconciled to one another around a table. We can be reconciled to the sacred in each of us, the oneness of our humanity. 

We take up to ten minutes to silently respond in any of these ways, and then return for a closing benediction. 

The graphic below helps to name some of the many forms of contemplative practice. As this service grows and develops, we will remain open to the addition of practices and facilitators. Please join us.