You Have Heard it Said, But I Say: PM Plans 01/06/13 to 02/10/13

PM teams will be dealing with communication this season.  In an effort to fortify connections with each other and with the congregation.  

Music members will be bringing a cover of a nonworship song that is about communication.  For help in choosing one it is suggested that you contact Joshua. 

Art members will be exploring non-visual ways to engage the congregation to express different ways of worshiping.  This will be done verbally, with movement, or by providing instruments for the congregation to use in tandem with a song by the musicians.

Solidarity Prayer members will be exploring different rituals from around the world as a means to communicate a change that is happening or that has happened.  These rituals will be connected to fellow Christians in these cultures.

BASIC LAYOUT FOR THE NIGHT
Instrumental to Gather

Welcome
Pass the peace

Instrumental song with lyrics
Cover - non-worship song about communication

Non-musical worship - Body as an instrument and the congregation participating together - stomping, banging chairs, circle made instruments, sign language etc.

How and why we worship
4 song set

Talk (You have heard it said...)
Talkback
Vision time

Solidarity Prayer: Rites of passage - standing in solidarity with Christians around the world.

Weekly Plans for the Season:

1/6/2013

?; Amanda (Rob); Becca

Becca: Indigenous peoples of Guatemala and how they give birth

Julius and team subbing for music.  Rob subbing for Amanda.

Julius and team covered Ordinary People by John Legend

Rob led the congregation in shouting their hopes for the new year and had them then yell openly to express the inexpressible.

Hello,  My name is Rob.

Often when we worship we get caught up in singing and forget about the many other ways to praise God.  We use many different forms of communication all the time and singing is just one of them.  Tonight, it’d be great if we could call out or speak as a form of worship.  A different way of communication that might be a little weird or uncomfortable.  As we enter the new year there must be things you’d like to do differently and you’ve contemplated how and why you are embracing a new direction in the coming year. Calling things out individually might be intimidating so we’ll do it together.  I’d like to try something new - take a moment and think of what you are going to do.  I’ll count to three and then we’ll all shout them together.  Obviously, this will take a little effort, so we’ll do it a couple of times.  

Now, maybe you had an idea, but couldn’t say it.  Maybe there is something you want to change, but you don’t know how to put words to it.  God doesn’t need things to be perfectly expressed or laid out clearly.  God knows what is in your heart even if words fail to express.  This time, I’ll count to three and I don’t want you to shout words.  Instead, I want you to reach into the depths of you and call out to God.  I’m going to count to three and, when I do, I want you to scream real loud.  We’ll do this a couple times, as well!

1/13/2013

John; Tiffany and Emily; Becca.

John: (Cover song about communication)

Tiffany and Emily: Homemade instruments to be played with a song

Becca: Coming of Age; Male. 

1/20/2013

Cameron; Jes; Jess M.

Cameron: (Cover song about communication)

Jess B: Will Jess be out of town? Who will substitute? Christ Be in Our Mind, with sign language teaching to the congregation

Jess M: Coming of Age; Female

1/27/2013

?; Amanda; Mariko

?: (Cover song about communication) - Start gathering musicians now to make this less stressful!

Amanda: Singing a harmony or making something from clay.  TBD

Mariko: Harvest and Growth.

2/3/2013

John; Tiffany and Emily; Dawn

John: TBD

Tiffany and Emily: TBD

Dawn: Marriage

2/10/2013

Cameron; Jess; Rachael:

Cameron: TBD

JessB: Partner with Dawn to use dance

Rachael: Death Rituals as celebration

Advent 2012 - #COHome

Our Advent plan is as follows:

Dec.2nd The prophets longed for home
Dec. 9th John points us towards home
Dec. 16th Jesus is making a new home (shepherds/magi)
Dec. 23rd Jesus' new home is in us (Mary/Joseph)

Chill song to sing together to signal time is starting-(Music Team)
Welcome, lighting and explanation of Advent candles -(Joshua)
Pray -(Joshua)
Pass the Peace- (Joshua) 
Start loud instrumental version of slow song to signal end of Pass the Peace -(Music Team)
Talk -(Visiting Speaker)
Talk Back -(Visiting Speaker)
Quiet Instrumental Song to allow Art Directors to speak (Music Team)

Art Direction (Art Directors) 

• Keep your directions clear and to a minimum. Consider using a slide to help with details.

Allow some quieter instrumental of slow song to continue so folks can get into the art experience -(Music Team)
Why and How we use music talk -(Music Leader)
Rest of Music Set -(Music Team)

• Remember to consider the flow of your set in a way that creates an arch, not a roller coaster. 
• Include Christmas songs.
• Include one Christmas song from another culture (connections with your art directors and/or solidarity prayer peeps)

Vision -(Joshua)
Solidarity Prayer (SPT)

• Keep your description clear and to a minimum. Use a slide to help with details.

Song (Music Team) Go out with a celebratory Christmas song

Music & Tech
PM Plan Goal: To create a safe space where our community can use music as one way of worshiping God together. 

• Find ways to collaborate with the community in the music making process.
• Create a sound that allows the community to be a part of the choir.
• Create a set that is well organized and easy to engage in.
• Make sure all understand the language we are using (other cultures and "christianese").

This Season’s Music Project: Make a connection with the art director or solidarity person on your team and sing a Christmas song in a Non-English language. 

This Season's Music Process (when, who & how):

Dec.2nd

Dec. 9th

Dec. 16th
Dec. 23rd

Arts 

PM Plan Goal: To create a safe space for our community to use art as one way of worshiping God together. 

• Find ways to collaborate with the community in the art making process.
• Even if individuals choose to not be a part of the art making process, they should still feel it's presence in some way.  
• Provide materials, designate a space and give simple and clear directions (1 Paragraph) on how to engage in the art making process.

This Season’s Art Project:  

This Season's Art Process:

Dec.2nd

Dec. 9th

Dec. 16th
Dec. 23rd

Solidarity Prayer

PM Plan Goal: Solidarity is worship, teaching, prayer, and opportunity for action.  We remember the suffering and rejoice with good works. We think God moves when we ask and may use us as part of the solution.

• To be informed, and to inform others about what is going on in this day and age, and to use prayer as one way of remaining connected with our brothers and sisters around the world.
• HERE is a simple Solidarity Prayer Format:

• Hi my name is ____and I am here to tell you about_____.
• Create 3-5 sentences to explain who we are praying for.
• Create 3-5 sentences to explain why we are praying for them.                                                  Create 3-5 sentences explaining how we can be more involved. 
• Offer 2-4 visual aides (slides, maps, props, etc.)
• Finish with “Please rise with me now and hold hands as I pray” or “Please rise and join me in saying this prayer together (show slide of pre-scripted prayer)”.

This Season's Solidarity Prayer project is: We are praying for different parts of our neighborhoods.

Solidarity Prayer process is (when, who & how):

Dec.2nd

Dec. 9th

Dec. 16th
Dec. 23rd

Clear the way

Image by Gerrie Congdon

This Seasons Theme is:_Clear the Way_

Based on (verses, story, quote, etc.): "Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God." Isaiah 40:3


Time Line for PM Plan:

Special Note- Everyone has been working very hard at owning their speaking parts, and by now you should be off of your script. You know how and why we do each part of our PM. Use your knowledge and understanding to communicate that with our community.

Loud music to signal time is starting-(Music Team)
Welcome -(Coordinator)
God Stories -(Coordinator)
Pray -(Coordinator)
Pass the Peace- (Coordinator) 
Start loud instrumental version of slow song to signal end of Pass the Peace -(Music Team)
Art Direction (Art Directors) 

• Keep your directions to one paragraph or less.

Allow some quieter instrumental of slow song -(Music Team)
Why and How we use music talk -(Music Leader)
Rest of Music Set -(Music Team)

• Remember to consider the flow of your set in a way that creates an arch, not a roller coaster. 

Talk -(Pastor or Visiting Speaker)
Talk Back -(Pastor or Visiting Speaker)
Vision -(Coordinator)
Solidarity Prayer (SPT)

• Remember your 3 minute limit.

Music & Tech
PM Plan Goal: To create a safe space where our community can use music as one way of worshiping God together. 

• Find ways to collaborate with the community in the music making process.
• Create a sound that allows the community to be a part of the choir.
• Create a set that is well organized and easy to engage in.
• Make sure all understand the language we are using (other cultures and "christianese").

This Season’s Music Project: Each music team will create a song based on our theme verse. The verse is currently a declarative statement, so wording will need to be changed. Feel free to rewrite this in a more personal way, it does not need to be a copy of this verse exactly, but something that speaks more personally to where we feel the wilderness, wasteland and desert in our lives, or where we see it in our community, around the world, etc. and how we want to glorify God in clearing a path through these things. You could also simply continue into Isaiah 40 for more inspiration. 

This Season's Music Process (when, who & how):

Sept. 16th DJ & Greg (Joshua Returns)

Sept. 23rd John & Danny

Sept. 30th Cameron 

Oct 7th DJ & Greg

Oct. 14th John & Danny

Oct. 21st Cameron 

Oct. 28th DJ & Greg

Nov 4th John & Danny

Nov. 11th Cameron

Nov. 18th DJ & Greg

Nov. 25th John & Danny

Arts 

PM Plan Goal: To create a safe space for our community to use art as one way of worshiping God together. 

• Find ways to collaborate with the community in the art making process.
• Even if individuals choose to not be a part of the art making process, they should still feel it's presence in some way.  
• Provide materials, designate a space and give simple and clear directions (1 Paragraph) on how to engage in the art making process.

This Season’s Art Project:  

Script: This season we are building an ebenezer to mark the places in our lives where we have seen God. Throughout the season we’ll be addressing specific areas of our lives that must be cleared to make way for the Lord. As we clear the way we are bringing objects from our lives to represent the areas explored. This week we are reflecting/using …

This Season's Art Process:

9/16 - Amanda/Kristen - Intro- Litany/Prayer
         As the first time we will be inviting people to enter into the season through a litany - the goal for this season is to build an installation with artifacts people are prompted to bring.  This will occur in the cove to the left when entering the space. Art Directors will gather the week prior to the PM to prep the space and to provide pieces to start the build.  The core of this piece must be built by the art directors.  Imagine a base with two-by-fours and a column of chicken wire reaching up to the ceiling.  The two walls in the corner will also have chicken wire hanging from them.  The things people bring each week will be connected to the column with wire or another yet defined method.
        This litany prayer will act as a prompt to encourage people to bring things from their wastelands/areas that must be cleared.  The team has identified eight areas to draw from, but we only need seven.  Amanda and Kirsten will introduce the season, encouraging people to bring things, and write a litany and create slides that praying to God for the seven wastelands we’ll be working with this season.  

9/23 - Tiffany/Emily - Build – Family Picture Frames – empty or with photos.  Tiffany and Emily will connect with Circle Thrift to collect their unsold ones on 9/16 and 9/23. CT pulls unsold things and places them in the free bin.  Coordinate with Jess Shoffner to get them for free.

9/30 - Rob/Jess - Build – Home – scrap wood or other objects from around the home. Heavier wood objects would be preferred in an effort to provide a heavier base to start the build projects. Scrap wood, chunks of metal or PVC pipes.  Larger things found around the neighborhood.

10/7 - Amanda/Kristen - Reflect - Write a prayer for what we’ve been doing.  Reflect on our process the past two weeks and where we are going. Sort of a check-in/encouragement to keep bringing things and help people into relying less on the Art Directors and taking more ownership of the process.

10/14 - Tiffany/Emily - Build – Job - an object that represents your type of work. What objects do you produce when you labor, or what do you consume?

10/21 - Rob/Jess - Build -Money - A less defined, but open interpretation of what to bring atm slip, receipt, paycheck stub (these will be attached to clothespins/clips)

10/28 - Amanda/Kristen - Build - Materialism
11/4 - Tiffany/Emily - Reflect

11/11 - Rob/Jess - Build – Navigating Emotions/Self – acknowledging the difficulties of dealing with emotional baggage or attachments.  Making connections between counseling and personal growth.

11/18 -  Amanda/Kristen - Build – Friendships/Relationships – Being known by others. Working as a collective force and growing together.

11/25 - Tiffany/Emily - Reflect - Recall the seven deserts/wastelands we have cleared our way through.  Do not reuse the prayer from the first week, but using it as source material is okay.

Solidarity Prayer

PM Plan Goal: Solidarity is worship, teaching, prayer, and opportunity for action.  We remember the suffering and rejoice with good works. We think God moves when we ask and may use us as part of the solution.

• To be informed, and to inform others about what is going on in this day and age, and to use prayer as one way of remaining connected with our brothers and sisters around the world.
• HERE is a simple Solidarity Prayer Format:

• Hi my name is ____and I am here to tell you about_____.
• Create 3-5 sentences to explain who we are praying for.
• Create 3-5 sentences to explain why we are praying for them.                                                  Create 3-5 sentences explaining how we can be more involved. 
• Offer 2-4 visual aides (slides, maps, props, etc.)
• Finish with “Please rise with me now and hold hands as I pray” or “Please rise and join me in saying this prayer together (show slide of pre-scripted prayer)”.

This Season's Solidarity Prayer project is: Consider areas of harsh living environments and the people who live in them. Remember to try and make a personal connection in some way. Reach out to someone from that community, and find a way for us to apply our new knowledge to our own daily lives.

Solidarity Prayer process is (when, who & how):

Sep. 16th-Mike C. (DJ may lead on Fracking - protest that week)

Sep 23rd-Mike C. Aral Sea is Disappearing and it's impact on Kazakhstan and surrounding region.

Sep 30th- Craig-Kenya and the extreme drought conditions

Oct 7th-Jess-Refugees from Indonesia (Jeana Masters compiled the info)

Oct 14th- Rachael - Kenya- MCC's work with the food crisis during the current drought

Oct 21st- Craig - Concrete Jungle in Atlanta GA

Oct 28th- Mariko - MCC reforestation efforts in Hait

Nov 4th- Rachael -Bolivia farmer's relief work and building of
infrastructure for sustainability

Nov 11th-Jodi K- Hebrew prayer for loss of loved ones

Nov 18th- Jess-Lao-Hunger and Deforestation

Nov 25th- Mariko -Inuit in Nunavut, Canada