If this is your land, where are your stories?
If we are God’s People, where are God’s stories?
We tell the stories of the kingdom through Scripture and Worship, reading & meditation.
We already tell our stories through music and singing; we can increase the use of the arts, visual and spoken, dramatic and dancing; actually promote these things through opening to the professionals, and encouraging all their work.
We must also listen to each other’s stories; we must hear about heir lives and their business the things they treasure and their worries and concerns.
We must be prepared both to speak up and to listen, and respect the integrity of those who tell their stories. We need to support the professions and occupations that people live by; encourage them by ourselves believing that all work can be seen as response to the creation God has made and sees as good.
Because there are many different stories, there are many different ways of receiving Christ and proclaiming Christ. I would see groups of parishes – deaneries or dioceses- in which there is a deliberate acceptance of different objectives in parish life: inclusive parishes always, but some practicing traditional music, some untraditional, some with traditional liturgy, some with newer and innovative liturgy. Many “places to stand” when proclaiming our love of God and Gods creation.
For myself, I would hope, even in my late eighties, to help provide drama in liturgy, dance in liturgy, innovation in church space. Graham C.
