Looking back on the Long Slow Eucharist

So, it's done. Last night the last movement of the Long Slow Eucharist at Greenbelt was concluded. You may recall that I advertised it beforehand a post or two back. I have a few reflections on the experience and felt a, perhaps slightly meandering, blog post might be a helpful thing -to me at least.
The idea was to have a communion service which took most of the festival and wove together the wider festival and the act of worship. There was a further aim to reference and use the festival theme "The Bright Field" taken from the RH Thomas poem of the same name. The outworking of this in the case of the LSE was a focus on mindfulness as a way of learning to pay attention to the created world with the hope that we could become better able to notice and enjoy the epiphanies and the "ordinary wonder". So the liturgy aimed to help form (or at least introduce) participants in practices of giving attention as well as of making strong connections between the wider festival and the acts of gathered worship that formed the Long Slow Eucharist.
These aims showed themselves in the inclusion of various kinds of mindful meditation practices into the liturgy. And these were done both as individual exercises and also small group work (it is, after all, a corporate thing -a liturgy). Many of these exercises also drew connections to the wider activities of the festival by using it as raw material for reflection and bringing insights and recollections from it into the liturgy.
I should say that 'liturgy' I mean more than the words on the page (which are reproduced below) and include guided reflection and discussions and sharing in small groups. Also included are the symbolic actions within the sessions.
In the primer session on the Friday night which was simply a talk by me to give a bit of a prospectus about what would be happening.

In that I mentioned the aims as set out above and also that the aim was to have an event covering the time of the whole festival. In a sense to try to make visible the claim on the Greenbelt website that in a way the whole festival could be regarded as worship by giving that claim a concrete eucharistic form.
It's quite a big ask at a festival to get people to come back to the next bit of the same liturgy rather than to come to one in a series of essentially stand-alone events. Therefore, I did not expect huge numbers: it's a significant commitment when there are so many other things happening and there is an increased chance of having to make (invidious) choices about what to attend when inviting things are happening at the same time. So I was expecting we might only have about 20 people. In fact we probably had about 50 at the primer session on Friday night, 40 or so on Saturday and Sunday and 30 on Monday -the rain may have deterred some, but then there were a handful came who hadn't been before. I'm not sure whether the blurb in the programme should perhaps have been clearer about the continuity issue and I'm not sure how it would have felt to simply be at the final session without having experienced the prior two. Certainly some of those I spoke with at the end wanted to see it happen again next year.
One of the ways to weave together the wider festival and the gathering for LSE that I put in place was "Re.immersion cards" these were given out between gathered sessions and had on them suggestions for ways to engage the festival, I will include these at the relevant points below.
One of the things I was quite pleased about which doesn't show up in the way the liturgy is set out is the way of helping people to form small groups for discussion. One of the participants made a particular point of thanking me for this at the end of the Saturday evening session. While thinking about this beforehand, I realised that it was likely that there'd be a number of people who would have come with one or more other people and a number who would essentially have arrived in the session alone. Since I feel that the theology of Eucharist gives a preference for a Communion to be a corporate event rather than one where people essentially attend as individuals and remain so, that there should be some way to encourage people to interact together as part of the LSE. This meant trying to find a relatively uncringeworthy way to get people to talk together. I considered asking those who had come alone to identify themselves so that they could be 'adopted' by others around them. But then it seemed to me that this would potentially feel patronising or stigmatising in the context of a culture where singleness is suspect. So I opted rather to ask the accompanied to stand and then to look around to befriend one of those still sitting and for them all to introduce themselves to each other. This took place near the beginning of the Saturday (that is the first 'proper' session).
In the main sessions, the non-congregational lines were mostly spoken by one of two or three other voices apart from myself as presider. This includes the lines in the thanksgiving. The role of presider was enacted by leading the responses into the thanksgiving and standing at table to handle the bread, wine, water and vessels as well as the opening and closing prayers.
We had a slight logistical problem in having microphones tethered by wires at one end of the tent. I very much felt that the communion table should be in the dead centre of the space which meant that there was a gap of 3 or 4 metres. So, if I wanted to speak something while at the table, I couldn't; I had to either rely on the voice of one of the helpers or tread back to a microphone. Mostly the way was to use the voices of others while I performed the actions. This was mostly okay or even good. At one or two points it was less smooth than I would have liked.

Long Slow Eucharist Primer

Read out the RSThomas poem at start of GB guide. Highlight the bit both sides of the laid-out stanzas (not hurrying into the future or holding back in the past), making connection to mindfulness, being aware of the present moment.

Genesis of idea

The idea began in leading retreats and days of prayer involving spending time praying and learning together, and then ending with HC. BUT then I thought, HC is meant to be about praying and learning -not just a set-piece hour relatively disconnected from the rest. And vice versa: life and activity is meant to inform and be informed by our worship; centrally worship is HC.
AND the GB website claims that the whole festival is meant to be worship.

Rationale

To integrate the  festival and acts of worship (liturgical events) and help us to FEEL the connections more fully.
Slowing down -taking time to worship -so why not take a good long time ...
Mindful in the sense of paying attention to the simple and commonplace as potential epiphany. So the worship is to try to help connections and epiphanies to occur.

Mindfulness (I lead sessions at Northumbria University) is fundamentally about learning to direct attention and be conscious of oneself in the present moment. -More later.

The Liturgy

I intend 'liturgy' to mean the whatever we do together as God's people before and with God to build up each other and to be equipped for God's work in the wider world.
So: not wedded to particular forms just because ...
Smearing the Communion service across the days. This means messing with the order otherwise it might feel backloaded (a discovery from early experiments)...
7-fold /4-fold action (Doing in remembrance) Take bread, take wine, bless them, break the bread; ... wine; eat bread; drink wine (> take; bless; break; share)
the sessions pick up these but spread them across the 3 sessions and interweave ministry of the word and prayers.
There will be times of communal reflection as well as individual...

Slowth (vs sloth or slowness)
Ctr hurry or hurriedness -supposed curse of modern life and esp. of so-called time saving tech like transport and ICTs. Leading to Slow mvt and "multitasking is a sin". I disagree  a bit: the problem is with our attitudes and taking hold of them. Not the tech in itself. It is a convenient shared fiction that these things own us / control us. But it's actually our need to learn to use or not use them wisely. To make them servants of human welfare not tyrants of dis-ease.
Our experience of Time: memory and attention. Age and busyness. Slowth is about deciding for slow when it is appropriate for the sake of our mental and emotional (and physical) health.
To be mindful is not emptying mind but filling it with single attention on just one thing in order to be in the present moment.
Breath, a sight, an awareness of God .....
Also about self awareness especially with attitude of being compassionate to ourselves: slow to 'anger' about our reactions, slow to judge, curious about what we find.
Exercise: Basic breath awareness exercise.

Immersion exercises for Friday to Saturday

Take a few minutes to be still amongst noise, activity and/or hurry. Just be physically still without interacting with those around and simply observe the sounds, smells, sights and feel of the moments as they pass. Sense yourself as a quiet centre amidst it all. And enjoy …

Perhaps set an alarm to call you to stillness.

Long Slow Eucharist, Introit

Saturday 6pm

In the worship text, bold parts are to be said all together, italicised parts are headings or information, ordinary type is normally said by a single voice.

Surfacing
A Light in the name of God; author of all being, who lights the bright field of our world with Life
A light in the name of God the eternally begotten, who invests the bright field of our world with grace
A light in the name of God the Go-Between who energises all with God-ward-ness
Three lights in honour of God
in whose three-fold friendship we now gather.
Three lights attracting festal fragments
So may we gather them and full-feel them
To know them with brightening hearts.

Introductory comments. (in this case mainly offering some words of welcome and to reaffirm that this was the first of three gatherings. The main theme would be 'taking' more about which would be said later in the session)

Blessed and hallowed be your name, O God; Giver of good gifts;
you have guided and sustained us and brought us to this space and drawn us to this occasion.

We are gathered here to encourage one another to grow more fully into the loving purposes of God.
We are gathered here to grow in our appreciation of God and God’s ways.
We are gathered here to be nourished with the acknowledged presence of God.

Taking in the Festival: orientation, groupwork and ownwork. The 'taking' of bread and wine to be complemented by taking our own experiences and bringing them to table. The groupwork

Petitionary prayer, Closing with
Our Father ...

Reading
1Chronicles 29: 10-12
So David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, "Blessed are You, O LORD God of Israel our father, forever and ever. "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. "Both riches and honour come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.

Reflection on 'Taking' and Taking and tasting exercise

Taking bread and wine for hallowed use
With this bread that we bring
We will remember Jesus
With this wine that we bring
We will remember Jesus
Bread for Christ's body, wine for Christ's blood
God's gifts, and ourselves to this table we bring. *

Re.immersing...

Blessed are you God; you gave us to each other for a time and now you call us to join you in the wider relationships and activities of this bright field. People called by God, when you leave this venue ...
go knowing you are loved
go secure in God’s sustenance
go revelling in God’s continuing presence.

Saturday's Re-immersion in festival (Saturday to Sunday)

Try to 'collect' at least five experiences of 'ordinary wonder' -where you have a sense of the beauty, is-ness or glory of something ordinary in the festival that you encounter. Give yourself permission to notice them consciously and tarry a while to appreciate them.

*Prayer based heavily on Church of England, Common Worship prayer of preparation © Archbishops' Council: under license for use.

Long Slow Eucharist, gradual

Sunday 6pm

"Gradual" is a word meaning a journey from one point to another. Often, usually, in liturgy it refers to the music and process of taking the gospel book to the point where it will be read. In this case the term is used because this is the middle gathering of three and helps move us from the taking phase of the LSE to the final.

Resurfacing
A light in the name of the Father of lights
A light in the presence of the Light of the world
A light in upholding of the bright inspiring Muse.
Three lights drawing in festal fragments
So may we gather them and full-feel them
To know them and God with brightening hearts.

Introductory comments. The main focus at this session is 'blessing' or 'thanksgiving' (brief explanation about Jewish blessings, hallowing by thanking etc)

Blessed are you, God; giver of good gifts; we are thankful for companions and conversation, time and place, and leisure to bring them together. As we are gathered:
May we encourage one another
As we converse:
May we grow more fully into your loving purposes.
As we share:
May we be nourished with your presence O God.

Exercises: “Take of your shoes...” -literally (just one if two is a faff because you are wearing boots, for instance. Or even do the exercise with your hands). Just feel the grass beneath your feet for a minute or two. Try to fill your attention with the feel of grass beneath your feet. Then, with or without footwear, walk slowly around for a bit, noticing and filling attention with the the sensations of walking, moving.

Reading
1Timothy 4:3ff
They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer. If you put these instructions before the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching that you have followed

-Reflections: rationale, communal exercise in 'counting our blessings'. Essentially this involves sharing in groups one each of the things discovered in the prior re.immersion exercise. We write them down (on the exercise cards and bring them to table.
 Thanksgiving...
God be with you
And also with you
Let's lift up our hearts
We lift them to our God
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
it is right to give thanks and praise

Blessed are you God: for every good and perfect gift comes from Above;  [the cards with the blessings written on are poured/dropped on the bread and wine on the table] …
Thank you for blessing us by your presence and bringing us joy.
You reach out to commune with us through every particle of creation.

We laud you for Jesus who shared our condition, suffered our abuse, and entered our death.
dying and living, he declared your love, gave us grace and opened the gate of glory

We praise you for Jesus' sharing of our Earthliness & connecting with our brokenness.
In Christ we know ourselves beloved of you, that we are truly children of God.

Blessed are you God; your generosity brings us this bread & wine; earth-& rain- & sunlight-born, products of human care and delight. In our sharing of them now, renew us and mend us.
Father as we do this, may we re-present Christ in the world

Re.immersing...
God, you draw us into the field of your nurturing presence, you give us to each other and to the world that we may create together care and flourishing, life and delight. May we show forth your image as we seek your love-bright purposes in the wider field of this festival.
Amen.

Re-immersion in festival (Sunday to Monday)

Try to notice three things that remind you of the brokenness of the world. Spend a little while tracing in your mind the connections between this festival and the wider world through these things.

Long Slow Eucharist, consume/ation

Monday 6pm

Resurfacing
Source of all life, as a child to her mother:
We turn to you
Saviour of all life, as a flower towards the sun:
We turn to you.
Sustainer of all life, as music to silence:
We turn to you.

Explanatory comments. -Focus this time on breaking and sharing. 'Breaking' is also taking in the breaking of the world as well as the breaking of ourselves as we connect with the broken things and places of the world and in our own lives.

Blessed are you, God; giver of good gifts; we are thankful for companions and conversation, time and space, and leisure to weave them all together.    
As we are gathered:
May we encourage one another
As we converse:
May we grow more fully into your loving purposes. O God.
As we share:
May we be nourished with your presence.

Breaking open of wordly sorrows: exercise. By 'worldly' is meant not 'sinful' necessarily but rather 'belonging to this earthly vale of tears'. The exercise is to share in small conversation groups something that we lament over, perhaps it is something we've heard about in the festival, perhaps it is something from the wider world. In token of this we fill a flask each with a few drops of water to symbolise the tears shed (recalling the Psalm that pictures God saving all our tears in a jar). This flask of water is brought to table ready to be added to the wine later.

Call to confess our sins … (framed as how we have prepetrated or perpetuated brokenness in the world)
We acknowledge that we have played our part in the breaking of the world.
And that we have allowed ourselves to despair
(a moment of silence)
We refuse the risks of faith, preferring the safety of our sorrow or cynicism
we are afraid of being broken.
(a moment of silence)
Loving God, father and mother to us, speak hope into the bleak fields of our life
Speak comfort into the sorrow of our hearts
Speak love into the brokenness of despair.
forgive us and make us whole
words of forgiveness are spoken leading into...
Let us choose faith even where we find it hard to see God or to hear God’s voice and our minds are awash with questions
We turn to God and choose to persevere
Let us choose hope in this world created in goodness, but where goodness is run through with pain, crushed, and death is always present
We turn to God and choose trust
Let us choose love even where love hurts and selfishness, greed and apathy seem mightier
We turn to God and choose life
God in Christ asks us whether we would continue in the way of Spirit and truth:
Lord to whom shall we go
you have the words of eternal life.
We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God

Preparing ourselves, and the bread and wine
We are the Body of Christ
God's Spirit is with us
We have blessed God:
We have given God thanks and praise

By your Spirit brood over us and over these gifts of your creation: as we eat and drink unite us in the body of Christ.
As bread and wine are made one with us, may we become one with you; living our prayer and praying our life.  *

Proclaiming and celebrating Christ's death and rising in glory, let us find in this bread and this wine an assurance that we are indeed your beloved children.
As we eat and drink now, make us one in Christ, once dead and now alive.

Around this table we come with creation groaning in childbirth anticipating its liberation from decay. We offer our sacrifice of praise and join with the eternal song of heaven.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Heaven and earth are full of your glory,
hosanna in the highest.

Breaking of bread
We break this bread |the bread is broken and placed on tables| to share in the body of Christ.
Though we are many we are one body because we all share in the one bread. **

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.  (x3)

We pour this wine |the wine is poured from bottle into glasses| to share in the blood of Christ.
Though we are broken we are healed and forgiven because we all share the wine of the new creation.

The tears of affliction |the water in the flask is added to the wine| we bring for hope:
Tears may stay the night but joy comes in the Morning.

sharing of communion;
the hallowed bread and wine are shared with these or similar words:
The body of Christ broken for you
The blood of Christ for your forgiveness

Gospel reading John 21:15-17
Hear the words of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to John
Glory to you O Lord.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

This is the gospel of the Lord
Praise to you O Christ.

reflection: drawing a parallel between Peter's being commissioned and ours as we go into the rest of our lives, having been fed by Jesus, the Bread of Life.

Ending
Blessed are you God; you lent us to each other for a time and we give thanks for what we have learnt and the support we have known.
Whatever we have heard that is Good
Let us remember and take to heart.
Whatever we have found challenging
Let us recognise the benefit and find wisdom to carry out.
If we have offended in some way
Let us come to know it gently and make amends wisely

As people loved by God and called into the wider world:
We go to seek God in all
And find God in each
To discover God at work
in creation and human culture
To discern God’s blessing
And to be God’s blessing to others

Sharing signs of peace as we leave

Re-immersion in wider life

Choose one of the things that you feel God might have been drawing your attention to during the Festival. Draw up at least one thing you could embed in your life as a response to that thing.

*This phrase from Iona Commmunity Communion
**Prayer from Church of England, Common Worship prayer of preparation © Archbishops' Council: under license conditions for use.