Posts Tagged ‘Prague church’

Approved…

October 29th, 2008

I have some good news for you all…

You see, as a few of you know, I applied to join Christian Associates International’s church planting team here in Prague a little while back. And on Sunday I was officially approved and accepted onto the team.

This process of applying and being approved has, itself, been filled with a lot of back and forth in my heart. I have already had to work through a lot of fear and self doubt, but because I have faced those fears and doubts and uncertainties I can now say with full clarity that joining this team is exactly what God is calling me to at this stage in my life. I have no doubt now that He wants me here, at this time with this group of people. And that He has a purpose and place for me on this team that he has been preparing for me (even if that purpose and place still seems a little vague).

I will write more about Christian associates and this church and what my specific role on the team will be later, but for now it’s enough to just tell you that I have been approved and invite you to celebrate this new transition in my life with me. My heart is thankful.

Thank you, Lord Jesus. For showing me the next step in the road. For leading me to this new place, and this new opportunity. Thank you for bringing me to Prague and for guiding me to this particular church and community – I love these people so much and I pray that you would make me to be a good support for each of them. Lord, thank you for bringing some little clarity to all the uncertainty of my life lately. Thank you for providing a place for me. In Jesus name, Amen.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

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Experiencing the Church Seasons Through Art

September 12th, 2008

A while back I heard about a group in London doing an art exhibit for Lent. A number of artists (mostly photographers and painters) got together and all created art work having to do with Lent and journeying through Lent. I thought this was a really cool idea and thought why can’t we do something like this in Prague?

One of the things that I have done this past year is tried to enter into, and walk with Christ through, the different seasons of the church calendar (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and “Ordinary Time”). It has been an incredible experience for me and God has really spoken to me through each of these seasons. God has drawn me into deeper truths about my life and my own walk with Him as I have journeyed through Christ’s life and the life of His church during the church year. One thing that I have wanted though was to make that journey more in community and to do so in creative and artistic ways that touch more than just the mind but also reach into the heart – I wanted a journey through the church calendar that would not just be mental but symbolic.

God has shown me a lot over the past few years about the power that symbols and pictures and stories can have and the special ways that God can use these things to draw us to himself. So, I started to think about getting a group of artists and creators together to make an exhibit of pictures and symbols and stories for each season of the church calendar for one year. I dreamed of a group that would consist of all types of artists (photographers, painters, sculptures, potters, writers, movie makers, etc, etc) each bringing their own unique talent and gift to the table to show the different church seasons in an artistic and creative way that would help people to enter into the redemptive moving of God in the world, whether they are far from God or near to him. I imagined a group that would be made up of artists from all different backgrounds, nationalities and churches, united with a common desire to create something that would bring glory to God.

So, that was my idea or vision and honestly I don’t really know what will happen (or not happen) with it. But, I want to take a little step towards it and create an art exhibit for Advent. The weeks before Christmas are often so hectic for people and we all spend a lot of time preparing externally for Christmas day – buying presents, decorating the house, going to parties, etc. But, I would love to see a place and an experience that would help people prepare their hearts and souls for Christmas. I’d love to create a place, through art, where people could experience Advent and what it really means – a place where they could remember that Christ has come and is coming and will come again. And I think that art can speak to that and draw people into the story of Christ and his church better than anything else.

So, I don’t have any of the details worked out. I don’t have a venue or anything yet. I do have a small handful of people who have expressed an interest in being involved though and for that I am really thankful. So, if any of what I’ve written here resonates with your heart I would love for you to join me in praying about this and for it. If you live in Prague and are at all interested in helping make this happen by creating art (in any form) for the exhibit I would love to have your help. If you have any connections with art galleries and know of a venue that might work for this I’d love to hear about it. Or if you are just curious and want to hear more about it I’d love to talk with you about it.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

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First “Setkani” of the New Year

January 7th, 2008

For those of you who don’t know Bryan and I have become involved with a new church here in Prague. Over the course of the last year they have been having meetings at someone’s house once a month and then doing service projects once a month together as well to begin to build a community. But, this year we will start meeting regularly every Sunday – one group will meet at Craig and Sarah Springer’s house for a gathering in English and another group will meet at Saša Flek’s for a gathering in Czech and then once a month we will all meet together at this art gallery/pub. So, tonight was the first combined gathering at the Nova Síň (the gallery/pub). I want to write about and document the evening but I’ve been having trouble figuring out how to write about it… should I just share what happened, what it looked like? Should I write about what I felt during it? Should I write about what Saša and Marek talked about? Or about what their talk got me thinking about? I’m not really sure… I guess I’ll just start writing…

Bryan and I arrived early tonight to help out and so that Bryan and two other gals could practice to lead worship – Bryan had agreed to play the bongos, which was fun.  It was weird because when we first got there with only a few people there the place felt like sort of a hole-in-the-wall kind of place but as people started to arrive and fill the space it seemed to just come alive with character and energy. The place was set up with a large entry way and then off of the entry way there were two rooms one was filled with modern art sculptures (that room stayed closed most of the evening) and the other room was a small pub with a bar and a few tables. Off of the pub there was another long room that had a number of tables in it and at the end of the room there was a piano and a little sound system. As people started to arrive they filled the pub and soon the small room off the pub as well. Little pockets of people formed – some speaking English, some speaking Czech. If you stood back and stopped focusing on one particular conversation you could hear the two very different languages as if they were blending in musical harmony. There were kids running around as well – some shy and sticking closer to their parents, others excited by the people and running freely between the legs of older adults. The children may have been one of my favorite parts of tonight – no doubt they made the night messier – the teaching as well as the socializing afterwards was sometimes interrupted by children talking or laughing or even babies fussing or talking in their own little language. But, there is something about having kids around that I think has a tendency to keep everyone humble and to remind us that life with God is not always simple and clean sometimes it’s messy and uncertain – and that life with God is not always about knowing, sometimes it’s simply about being. One thing God has been bringing up with me a lot is the idea of delighting, and enjoying and playing. I think that is something I’m not so good at…playing with God…delighting in Him…just enjoying Him instead of trying to figure him out. Kids are a good reminder to me to relax and play and God used the kids tonight to remind me of that again. I think another thing that tonight got me thinking about more (well, it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately and a little about for maybe even a few years now) is the idea that God can and does speak to us WHERE WE ARE and in ways that uniquely fit who we are and what we are doing. Saša talked tonight about the wise men coming to see Jesus. He touched on a lot of interesting points but the one thing that stuck out to me and got me thinking was when he was talking about how the wise men were astrologers who studied the stars so God spoke to them and called them to Himself through the stars, through what they knew. One thing I have been thinking about lately has been how I relate to God and how I allow God to relate to me… I’ve been thinking about what it looks like to have a relationship with God in all four of the relational spaces (public, social, personal, and intimate) as I shared in a previous post. And I’ve also been thinking about letting myself relate to God and God relate to me in different ways, ways that fit me and my interests and needs and lifestyle – I think sometimes I have been taught or have felt like the only way God can relate to me and speak to me is through the Bible and prayer but it is interesting and freeing to think that God is God of everything and He can speak to me through anything and in any way that He sees fit in order to get my attention.  This morning I really felt God calling me to worship and speaking love to me while I was doing yoga – it was sort of a weird experience actually and as I felt God’s presence I responded by changing my routine a little and doing more backbends as a way to physically exhibit the opening of my life and heart to God – asking Christ Jesus to come and be involved in my life. It seems like a odd way to experience and relate to God and there may be those who would discredit it but for me it was a very powerful experience of connecting with God. Tonight God reminded me that he can speak through anything and anyone and tonight He called to me through the kids who were present, especially Marek and Elaine’s little girl, Julia, and the joy and delight in life that emanated forth from her. I’m curious how God spoke to others tonight. Was there something that Saša or Marek said that stuck with them on their way home, that challenged them or encouraged them, or drew them to worship like the wise men at Christ’s feet? I’m excited for this new year. I’m excited to get to know the people in this community better this year – to hear where their journey with Christ has taken them and to experience that journey along side of them as a fellow companion with Christ.  

Lord, come among us. Lord, may our eyes be open to see you, our ears be attentive to hear you, and our hearts be soft to receive you this year. Lord, may we not just look for you in the normal places this year but may we be open to experience you in all things and all places and through all people. Widen our horizons this year. Lord, may we be a people who are open to you, a people who do not put you or your Spirit in a box, but who allow you to work freely among us and in us and through us. And as you do so, Lord, I pray that you would draw us to one another. That this would be a year when we would gather unto you and gather unto each other – when we would encounter you, and encounter the people around us in significant and life altering ways. Make us a community where people would experience a sense of connection and belonging. A place where people can come and encounter and experience what it means to belong to you and to belong to each other. May we be a community that is marked by its open arms and its authentic demonstrations of love. To the Glory of God the eternal Father of all and to Jesus Christ His gracious son. Amen.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman

PS – pictures from tonight will be posted soon at www.bstedman.com

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