We ate, created art, played music (wash, rinse, repeat).  All of it was worship and it emerged out of our time, our place, and our relationships with one another.

Thanks to the hard work of David Johnston we were able to record some of what we played.  Here are the first 2 tracks with more to come!

Manuscript Project – Worship Mix 1

Manuscript Project – Worship Mix 2

The Wesley Foundation at NKU gathered for a two night retreat for a collaborative and creative project: illuminating the Gospel according to Mark.  The project was to write the gospel out by hand and “illuminate” it through panels, marginalia, and intricate first letters to sections.  The idea came from the practice of scribes when they had to copy the Bible by hand prior to the invention of the printing press.

Aaron Klinefelter, the pastor of the Wesley Foundation, offers these thoughts on the retreat: “What struck me the most was the way in which handwriting the gospel slowed us down and forced us to contemplate the text in way that reading or hearing it does not. Digital culture is so fast and immediate that we often miss the nuance, subtly, and beauty of the text. It is almost ironic since one of Mark’s favorite words is, “immediately.”

It was also significant that we engaged in this manuscript project communally and creatively. Our goal wasn’t to be uber-efficient, but to craft something together that none of us could have created alone. The entirety of the process of greater than the sum of its parts. Likewise it was emergent in the sense that it arose out of our community of students and their gifts. It wasn’t predetermined or in authentically scripted, but rather flowed out of our engagement with the text, one another, and the Spirit.”

If I had to summarize what God is up to at the Wesley Foundation at Northern Kentucky University (WF@NKU) in a phrase it would be: God is capturing the imaginations of a new generation with the beauty of the gospel.

It has been a long time since the Church was a place for true crea-tivity to happen; we may think back to the Middle Ages or the Renaissance when cathedrals were built, great frescos were painted, and sacred music was written that still inspires and crosses cultural boundaries. Over the last hundred years or so, one could argue that the Church in the US has been more about following and (trying to) shape culture than making it.

At the WF@NKU, Aaron Klinefelter has connected with a small, but dedicated group of students who are offering up their God-given talents in service of Jesus, talents such as film, visual arts, and music. If you can make it out to one of their Sunday evening Hallah worship services (7pm at the University Center), you will hear creative worship music that would explode any concept of “contemporary” you currently have. It is worship music that explores new frontiers of sound through group improvisation. So while you may be familiar with some of the songs, such “Here I am to Worship,” the element or improvisation brought to each song is a theological gesture to the work of the Holy Spirit that makes us into a new people called church in and through worship.

The WF@NKU has many other ministries including community gardening, a coffee ministry, and bible studies. It is a com-munity in which a new generation can make the faith their own and try to listen to God together about how to proclaim that gospel in new and exciting ways.

Please also consider financial supporting this ministry. Checks can be made out to ―

Wesley Foundation and mailed to 2916 Alexandria Pike, Highland Heights, KY 41076

This week a group of about a dozen students are gathering in scenic Butler, KY to create an illuminated manuscript.  What’s an illuminated manuscript?  Well, head over to Flickr and Wikipedia to learn a bit more.  For us, it will be one or more of the Gospels handwritten and flourished with hand-crafted art.

We’re starting with the Gospel of Mark and will be using the New Revised Standard Version.  Here’s a sample (we won’t be using verse or chapter numbers or headings):

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, ”See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ “John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

We’ll write, create, eat, caffienate, play music and worship together for 3 days.  Hopefully we’ll get through all 4 gospels.  When we are finished we plan on binding the physical artifact and it will be used in worship at Butler UMC on Sunday.  We’re also going to try to scan in each page as we finish so we have a digital archive of the project as well.

But more to the point, why are doing this?  There are certainly enough bibles floating about in the world and it’s immensely less expensive to print one than script one.  Nor do we claim this will be high art.

Rather, this is our way of engaging with scripture kinesthetically and visually and meditatively.  It’s amazing how the text comes alive in different ways when you engage in different learning modalities.  So much of the church and typical discipleship is a cognitive experience mediated by oral and verbal modalities.  Even when engaging as a visual learning it’s usually as an observer or passive participant.  By using our hands, touching the paper, creating an actual physical artifact and by doing so in community we will open ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit in new and unexpected ways.

This is also, I believe, a prophetic act.  Our culture has moved into such a ephemeral, virtual mode that actual, physical artifacts seem almost quaint.  It’s this odd “quaint-ness” that, I think, provokes.  It provokes our imagination and tweaks our curiosity.  It is the unnecessary gesture (who really needs handwritten bible) that allows us to enter into a space that is unexpected and pregnant with possibility.

Of course, we’ll share the fruits of our labor and the process we engaged in to create it.

The missonal answer is that we grow followers of Jesus Christ who influence their social networks for the renewal of the earth.  To do that we foster hospitality, community, and celebration.  That’s a great answer, but not very specific.  So let’s dig up some details of how we actually do that mission.

For a detailed answer check out these posts: here, here, here, and here.

If you’d like the Wesley Foundation @ NKU to visit your church, UMW, UMM, potluck, worship service, or special event let me know. We’d love to! Here’s where we’ll be and when:

• January 16 – Asbury UMC
• January 23 – Taylor Mill UMC
• January 30 – Eggleston UMC
• February 6 – Staffordsburg UMC
• February 13 – Asbury UMC
• February 27 – Buechel UMC
• March 13 – Asbury UMC

As Spring slowly approaches we are continuing our work with the Northern Kentucky Community Gardens.  Last year we broke ground on 52 garden plots that were maintained by students, staff, and faculty of NKU, Highland Heights citizens, and Asbury Church members.  We’ve been spending these cold months writing grants, planning for site improvements (like fencing and raised beds), and acquiring soil ammendments to enrich our plots.

If you’d like to get involved as a volunteer or to reserve a plot let me know. This is a tremendous opportunity to care for the earth, build community, get healthy, and seek justice all at the same time.

• Learn more and register for a plot at http://wellness.nku.edu/garden/nkycommunitygarden.php
• Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nkycommunitygardens

Each month we focus on a different topic, or vow, that forms us to be more like Christ.  Our WF Group Studies are engaged in this curriculum along with groups at University of Cincinnati and XavierUniversity.  During January we are focusing on Study and will dive into Work, Service, Hospitality, Justice, and Holiness in the coming months.  Each month/topic has a prayerbook we’ve developed, a monthly gathering with a provocative speaker on the topic, and small group study guide.

• Learn more at www.formed.cc
• Pray with us at www.formed.cc/prayerbook
• Join our email list at http://formed.cc/email-sign-up/
• Find Formed on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/formed
• Follow Formed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/formedcc

• Monday, 4:00 PM, with Kieth Daniel
• Tuesday, 1:30 PM, with Aaron Klinefelter
• Wednesday, 12:00 PM, with Margaret Maddox
• Thursday, 12:15 PM, with Bethany Daniel

All our groups meet in Starbucks at NKU and all are open to students, staff, and faculty of NKU.  Feel free to drop in once or come for the whole semester.  If you are a supporting church, pastor, or leader you also have a standing invitation, come on by!

Schedule:
- We’ll start meeting next week (so please help get the word out to all the students you know).
- Wednesdays, Noon – Margaret Maddox facilitating – Starbucks @ NKU
- Thursdays, 12:15 – Bethany Daniel facilitating – Starbucks @ NKU
- Tuesdays, 1:30 – Kieth Daniel (tentative) facilitating – Starbucks @ NKU
- Tuesdays, 3:00? – Aaron Klinefelter facilitating – ??? – (Aaron Angel and Katie Henry can’t meet at lunchtime so we’re trying to find another time to meet)
- Pick the one that works best for you schedule

Curriculum:
- We’ll be following the Formed curriculum this semester (learn more here – www.Formed.cc)
- Each month will be a different topic, as follows:
- January – Study
- February – Work
- March – Service
- April – Hospitality
- May – Justice
- Several other campus ministries (UC, Xavier) are also using the Formed curriculum for small group meetings

My goal is that we would have 5 active Bible Studies going by the end of the semester, so if you are interested in leading one let me know!

We are also planning on a night for all our groups to come together for worship and food. Probably January 16th if there is no Boys Chrysalis flight, January 23rd otherwise. We’ll need food and worship leaders…. so let me know if you are interested!