A Thin Place - borrowing and creating tradition

Posted Jul  5, 2015 in Faith

Earlier this year, Rosalie Upton responded to a series of questions about A Thin Place, an innovative worship service held at The Corner Uniting Church, for the June edition of New Times. Due to space requirements, her responses were edited into a shorter article – they are featured here in full.

What is A Thin Place? And who attends?

A Thin Place is a multimedia, multisensory contemplative worship service held several times a year at The Corner UC. It is multimedia in that images pertinent to the theme of the day are projected on to three giant screens, along with Scripture or prayers to aid reflection. It is multisensory because as many senses as possible are used to experience worship in fresh ways at the various stations: taste, touch, smell, sight. The room is fairly dark, and the stations are lit by candles.

People who attend are generally members of the congregation who have found that they love the quietness and the opportunity to spend a quiet hour in contemplative prayer. It is also advertised widely, so visitors attend from time to time.

Where did the idea originate? Why?

Rev Mark Hewitt had begun a similar service at a previous placement, and with a team of like-minded helpers, he has been able to expand and develop his original idea. The name comes from the Celtic concept that there are “thin places” where the gap between heaven and earth is thin and communion with God is special and unique.

This sort of worship has been around as long as there has been a church, but it is not so prevalent in the modern church. Also, just as there are different personality types, there are different spirituality types and some people thrive not so much in exuberant public worship, but in quietness where creative personal reflection is enabled.

How does A Thin Place relate to or engage with the life and other activities of The Corner?

The Corner is very deliberately multigenerational in everything it does. We seek to be a place where all generations can worship, learn and grow together. In morning services and many other activities, we go out of our way to include everyone from 0 to 100. A couple of services, though, appeal more to one group than another. For example, Messy Church attracts mainly young families. A Thin Place is of little interest to most children, but that is OK. It is an expression of worship that anyone is welcome to try. Our aim is to provide as wide a range of worship experiences as we can, so that everyone is nurtured in a way that suits them.

What does worship look like at A Thin Place? How and why do you think people engage with this?  

There is an hour of personal worship for each participant. There are 6-7 worship/prayer stations placed in a semicircle around the auditorium. Each one has a particular focus (e.g. confession, thanksgiving, etc.) that relates to the theme of the day. In the centre there is always the communion table with the elements ready for each person to take communion in their own time. Often this is set up as a Last Supper with other food as well, and people are encouraged to linger, eat, and spend time there with Jesus. Communion is by intinction.

Stations vary, depending on the creativity of the team and the needs of the theme. There is usually an artwork (e.g. an icon or other sacred painting). We have also used blackboards, whiteboards, a water fountain, massage oils, hand creams, a brazier with a (fake) fire, candles, sand, and representations of rivers, rock cairns, just to name a few. This year we are looking at each of the four gospels in turn.

Many of our people hadn’t experienced contemplative worship before coming to A Thin Place. They say that the reason they keep coming back is that it has become the place where they encounter God in the most real and personal way. It has opened their minds and spirits to the beauty of silence and enabled them to look creatively at their faith and at God, the author of creativity.

Does A Thin Place include any elements that you feel have been drawn from old church traditions? Have you created your own traditions within this space?

All through the history of the church, there has been a monastic stream existing side-by-side with the more conventional way of being church. Contemplative worship sits most comfortably with this stream. And while joining a monastic community is not generally part of the modern Protestant tradition, engaging in this sort of worship is something more and more people are wanting to try.

We also borrow and adapt elements from the Orthodox tradition, and most definitely from the Irish and Scottish Celtic traditions – both ancient and modern. Their prayers, poetry and music feature prominently.

However, we are operating in the 21^st century, and are grateful for the technology we can use. The three giant screens can be viewed from all stations and make participants feel that they are enveloped in beauty. Gentle music plays in the background, helping create a welcoming reflective atmosphere.

To find out more about A Thin Place, please contact The Corner Uniting Church on Turn on Javascript! or 8350 5400.

 

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