[a bit of background… Tom Bandy is an ‘internationally recognised church consultant, leadership coach and trainer for christian mission’. He and Bill Easum work together… he’s doing a conference in melbourne as part of an australian speaking tour, for christian leaders. I’m doing the worship for the two days of the conference…]

we’re going with the (much edited) ‘way, way before time’ reading, perhaps with planets showing in the background, and that bit from Baraka with mud and steam in the volcano… though it won’t be as twee as that sounds… followed by a three voice reading of different parts of ecclesiastes, rolling into each other:

What’s there to show for a lifetime of work (Ecclesiastes 1);
Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, drink wine with a robust heart… (Ecclesiastes 9); and
Life, lovely while it lasts is soon over… the spirit returns to God, who first breathed it (Ecclesiastes 12)

maybe we’ll have symbols for each on the tables (people will be sitting around tables for the conference) – bread and wine, dust, clay – and do something with each of them…

i wanted to use the Eels “Dust to ages” song, but in this context i can’t get away with it.

and then this, to end up:

take the clay of our lives and shape it to love
take the clay of the church and shape it to grace
take the clay of the world and shape it to peace
take the clay of today and shape it to hope.
and then breathe your spirit into all.
again.

for ever and ever.
amen.

hmm… too many words…