worship tricks [first series]

no 16: shrines

at greenbelt there was a series of twelve shrines around the site that people could interact with. various alt worship groups had volunteered to do one and what they came up with was amazing - ranging from original stained glass creations to nothing but a question mark inside. they were loosely meant to tie in with greenbelt's theme 'the kiss of life'. the best way of describing them is as holy bird boxes [thanks anna for that]. one of my favourite's was the infinity box - l8r had filled the box with mirrors and had three little torch lights [mag lights with the top unscrewed]. when you got up close particularly after dark you could see an infinite no of small lights going into the distance. this was a memorial to children who have died of aids [reminded me of the memorial to children who died in the holocaust at yad vashem]. simple but brilliant idea! the grace shrine had bottles of perfume, ink pads with a stamp of lips, and by the end of the weekend the box was covered in what looked like kisses. these shrines were a great idea because people were just given a loose theme and used their creativity to produce something. added together all the shrines were quite stunning. why can't a church do the same - allocate an idea to lots of groups, and encourage their creativity and see what they come up with?....