prayer rooms and possibilities...

last friday i was part of a group of presenters for a united theological seminary intensive week with mike slaughter. i was the last one to speak and my topic was “creating welcoming spaces” it felt really good to be sharing thoughts and photos with leaders who are serious about mission. i met a kindred blogger and designer, jenny smith. you can visit her site @ http://www.journey4610.blogspot.com/ to see photos and learnings from the intensive - great stuff!!!

i shared about one of the spaces we've redesigned this spring, our prayer rooms at ginghamsburg. initially, i had toured u.t.s. and was inspired by their prayer room, seen above with the floor pillows. students had asked for a place for prayer and reflection and were given a closet and $500 to create this customized space.

ginghamsburg, on the other hand, had two designated prayer rooms and no "real" money to make significant changes...so I went to work gathering up rugs, bamboo sticks and street lamps (with flickering bulbs that stay on all the time), mostly pieces we had in our stash.

i'm not done yet but these rooms are taking shape. i want to add a shelf for oil, a prayer box, and communion elements on occasion. I envision a place that draws seekers in – a tranquil space that invites conversation and prayer.

is a designated prayer space important to your community? do you have a space like this on your church campus? what are the challenges making that space inviting?

oh and...i think we’ll be getting a design intern out of this class! her name is rachel and it turns out she designed that uts prayer room. she loves this stuff too...yay~! .

wildest life dreams

OK, here we go. The first three months of this year I took a sabbatical. Twelve years of weekly worship design had left me in need of a break – not because I felt a lack of ideas or creative energy, but because the farmers are right - all fields periodically need a “rest” from production. Fruitfulness can only grow out of soil replenished through non-use. As a daughter of God created in the image of God, I needed to experience the law of the Sabbath and step away from everything familiar – dreaming, developing and deploying nine weekly worship celebrations – and spend time doing a few of my favorite “re-creating” things – more on that in a future blog.

Three months is enough time to go pretty deep with God. For years I’d challenged other leaders to identify and live out their “wildest life dream.” I’d discovered mine years ago in worship design but now realized I could be turning the page into Chapter Two of that dream. Always fascinated and engaged into the artistic process of space design, I wondered if this might be my new focus. I felt that Ginghamsburg’s current mantra to “minimize brick and maximize mission” deserved a third component – mesmerize the masses with the creative use of our space and resources. I’m just crazy enough to believe that what Ty Pennington’s team can do for homes across America might be a model for what certain Creatives could strive to do in the sacred spaces of our faith communities.

What do you think? How is worship design going for you and your team? And are your campus spaces inviting people into connection and community?

Whether you’re a new friend, a former conference connection, a pastor, worship planner or simply an artist with something to say, blog on. I’ve love to hear from you.