the prayer path labyrinth

this month we will open the family life center from 3 pm to 9 pm on saturday, september 30 for the prayer path.

the prayer path comes originally from st paul's cathedral in london and has since been used all over the world and is a regular installation at various churches across the u.k.

since this is so well organized by the folks at proost and group publishing, there's not a lot of planning involved. a few of us will set up the labyrinth on thursday, september 28 at 6 pm and we'd love to have you there to help.

More info at Eric Coomer website.

taize at the well

this month we will ease back into gatherings at the well with a prayer service in the tradition of taize.

this service will be held the last saturday of this month, aug 26 at 6 PM, in the grace family life center.

we will also have a few prayer stations.

i think our theme for the service should be peace. thoughts?

maundy thursday and what's to come

thanks to everyone who helped make the maundy thursday gathering such a success. pictures are coming soon.

our next gathering is may 27 and we will use the proost/group worship experience worshipping the creator. click the link to check it out.

more info is coming.

the photo that lit the spark

this picture was taken at first birmingham umc in michigan. it was one of the results when i searched "maundy thursday" in google images. after talking to some of the staff at the church and reviewing their order of worship for that night, i realized that we could do something like this for our holy thursday service at grace. that night was the beginning of the well. the rest is history in the making...

well gatherings for 2006

January 21 – finding God in the land of narnia

February 25 - love

March 25 – lent (stations of the cross?)

April 13 – maundy thursday (at the flc)


May 27 - worshipping the creator *

June 24 –

July 29 - taize prayer gathering

August 26 - the rat race

September 30 – prayer path labyrinth (more pics here) *

October 28 -

November 18 (second to last saturday) – thanksgiving - come home *

December ??? – advent / christmas

*Indicates a pre-made worship gathering (we can alter) using products from group publishing/proost. click the link to learn more and view pictures.

"aslan is on the move!"

our well gathering this month centers around the theme of "finding GOD in the land of narnia."

we'll meet on saturday, january 21 and worship together as we eat turkish delight, drink tea, and learn about the parallels between the gospels and c.s. lewis' chronicles of narnia.

if you haven't yet seen the new film, go see the it and come excited!

if you have any ideas for this gathering including the worship space, songs, prayer stations, or anything else be sure to leave a comment here.

january 21 - finding GOD in the land of narnia

our next regular well gathering will be held on january 21 (note: not the last saturday of the month) under the theme of "finding GOD in the land of narnia".

we're excited about this theme. we need to borrow the following items for this gathering:

• a large wardrobe
  
• fake snow - the cotton blanket things that are on sale everywhere right now (and maybe a bag or three of the loose snow flake stuff as well)
  
• flat screen or plasma screen tv or monitor - for a faux fireplace
• un-lit christmas trees (don't pack yours up just yet...we need a forest!)

more info to come...

new year's well this sunday morning at 10

woefully behind on blogging at this site...

we will gather at a special service this sunday morning at 10 am with many elements from the well. we'll be using the sanctuary instead of the family life center. this will present interesting problems as the room is already smaller than the flc and it's the only service that day so it promises to be wall to wall. very different than the average well experience but we'll make it work.

the theme for this service is "finding GOD in the new year". there will be lots of corporate reading, a four member band will play, and betsy hall will speak.

we'll be setting a prayer closet in the sanctuary, a prayer hall, and a few tables outside the sanctuary. due to the limited space (and chrismon tree) there won't be much room for stations in the actual sanctuary.

so join us on national hangover day at 10 a.m. to contemplate your life and GOD in the new year.

the well resumes in january

for several reasons we have decided not to hold a well gathering in december.

our next gathering will be held on the last saturday of january.

more to come...

october reflections

the well went quite well this month and we had a much bigger turnout than at previous gatherings. thanks to all who participated in the gathering.

our theme this month was "finding GOD in the desert" and the family life center was turned into a desert landscape with around 700 pounds of sand. rather than a traditional sermon, pastor ken edwards facilitated a conversation in which all of us contributed. We also worshipped through song and hymns, creed, interactive prayer stations, communion and even shared refreshments throughout the service.

we will post more reflections with pictures sometime this week.

if you're reading this...

then you care about the well. if you're in the nashville area come this thursday. and here's the real challenge: tell five friends or co-workers you care about to come to the well this thursday. our attendance has been really low and we need your help to assure this service continues.

the well october - this thursday

it's been a while since the last blog!

our next gathering is THIS THURSDAY at 7 pm. our theme is "finding GOD in the desert".

we will fill much of the family life center with sand as we focus on the good and bad about desert times in our lives. ken edwards and david teel will facilitate a conversation with the congregation. we will have six or seven worship stations including the art station.

join us at 7 pm as we all contribute and create worship through discussion, music, liturgy, interactive prayer stations, food, and a whole lot of sand.

we will set up in two shifts:
1. wednesday night at 7:45
2. thursday starting at 2:00

items needed for the well

we still the following items (you can have your personal items back after the well) for october's well gathering:

• baby food jars
  
• small pool / baby pool
  
• portable personal cd player
  
• large bags of sand (beach sand)
• large cacti (that would be the plural of cactus)
  
  

things we need at each well gathering:

• large persian rugs (for future well gatherings)
• candles
• candle holders
• canvas drop cloths

leave a comment if you think of something else we need or would like to donate something or email me at ecoomer at comcast.net. (spelled it that way to avoid spam).

finding GOD in the desert

this sunday at noon we will meet to talk about october's well gathering. everyone and anyone is welcome to come and discuss our next gathering over food and drinks in the special studies classroom in the adult wing of grace umc.

our theme this month is "finding GOD in the desert" and we will be discussing the desert times in our lives. we touched on this in july but we will focus on it this month. our conversation will be centered around finding GOD in the desert times.

between now and then think about the following and bring your ideas:

• scriptures
  
• liturgy
• visual aids
  
• video & movie clips (feel free to bring a dvd or video)
  
• artwork (print it out if it comes from the internet)
  
• songs (from the church and from the world) & hymns
  
• prayer stations
• other ideas

let's get the ball rolling. leave a comment here with ideas.

here's how to comment:

1. click "comments" below this blog.
   
2. write what you want.
3. click "other"
4. type your name in the name box and (if you have one) your website in the website box
5. in the "word verification" box type the squiggly word that is above that box. it will be something non-sensical like "lymonf".
6. Click "publish your post".
   

taking the offering

we started to talk about offerings at well gatherings and never finished. considering we spend money it is something we need to discuss. i think we could do one of the following:

1. take a traditional offering (but use wooden baskets or something like that) and as we announce the offering say, "If you are a regular attender of grace umc, we'd like for you to give what you can to help us keep the well going." something like that.
2. or...get a wooden box with a slot and place it by the door.
3. any other ideas?

this thursday - finding GOD in the ordinary

this thursday at the grace united methodist family life center we will hold this month's well gathering. we'll start around 7 pm and worship under the theme of "finding GOD in the ordinary."

if you'd like to help we'll be at he flc starting around 2 pm and would love your assistance.

come to the well this thursday night at 7.

theme

what theme(s) would you like to see explored at a future well gathering?

pictures of july's gathering at the well

you can now view
a few pictures
of the july gathering
by clicking here.

some stuff we need by the first gathering

1. justin's idea of running water throughout the service is great, so we'll need fountains, waterfalls and the like. what else can we do?
2. 2-3 floor lamps (should be about $15-20 each)
3. modeling clay
4. 2 or 3 drop cloths
5. some 8 1/2 x 11 plexi sign holders (a 4 pack is $20)

what else?