late night and more to come

i just got in from working on the labyrinth mat up at the church. the JESUS project retreat is this weekend and i’ve still got plenty of stuff that needs to be done so i probably won’t be writing much in this thing until monday, november 24. of course, you never know because i always read more when i have the least amount of time, and that could also transfer to typing also. i’m just not sure. all i do know is that i have placed approximately 120 yards of gaffing tape in a pattern on 600 square feet of canvas (not an easy task). i am finished with it and i am excited about it being used for the first time tomorrow night.

now so you’ll know what i’m talking about, the labyrinth is a 21st century rendition of a 12th century spiritual practice. in the 12th century many cathedrals had labyrinth (kind of like a maze but without dead ends or wrong turns) on their floors. these were used as a kind of guided walking prayer time. people would walk the pattern of the labyrinth while they prayed. it was supposed to physically remind them of drawing closer to GOD, spending time with GOD, and then taking their time with GOD back out into their daily lives. yes, they could do this without the labyrinth, but the labyrinth was a good way of reminding them and getting them focused.

what we are going to do is a modern version of this. this means a multimedia approach that still retains the meaning and most of the methods of the ancient version. the whole point is to get the youth and the adults on the retreat to focus on GOD for an extended period of time. instead of just spending 30 seconds in prayer, they will spend between 45 minutes and two hours in prayer, talking with, listening to, and just being with GOD. again you can do all this without the labyrinth, but the labyrinth is merely a good tool for helping you to make sure you spend some serious time with GOD.

it’s quite cool. of course, setting it up is also quite time consuming and that is why i am writing this late at night and getting ready to wake up in 5 hours and go back up to church. even though i’m tired and i know i will be even more tired tomorrow after doing pbs chapel as “worship in the round”, throwing a party at “the view”, and just the normal busy wednesday i love my job. i have the greatest job in the world. there is none better. in fact, it’s so good i usually feel guilty taking my paycheck.

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