Creating joy

At the recent Axbridge Deanery Synod, something a little different took place – something that encouraged those attending to share in creativity, connection and community. One of those taking part was the Accompanier for Axbridge Deanery, Caroline Bruce.

Caroline shares what happened on the day and reflects on how an idea sparked by Revd Gill Sakakini, Pioneer Minister for the Arts, turned a simple meeting into a transformative experience. 

At one of our Axbridge Deanery Synods, we agreed that as well as learning together, and getting the business done, it would be nice to actually get to know each other.

Fast forward to Saturday 12 April, and a group from Synod found themselves in Blackford Village Hall looking forward to a substantial hot lunch (with pudding) made by various people and Margaret and Mike Gelder and in the company of Gill Sakakini. Gill is a Pioneer Priest in the Arts in the Diocese of Bath and Wells in Somerset. 

She started to talk to us about creativity and God. God is a creator, we are creators too and when we engage in our creativity, something bigger than our imaginings can happen. She was inviting us to join in and be creative. It is certainly true that many of us had a stomach sinking moment as we really didn’t feel that gifted in the creative arts, and there was some dread at making stuff. But after engaging in two warm up activities: thinking about images and saying how they connected with our beliefs about God and then making a postcard in collage thinking about our community, we went to a big table which was entirely covered in white paper, and we were invited to choose something with which to make a mark. Pens, paints, glitter glue, charcoal and brushes, spatulas, or fingers.

We stood and nervously made our mark, and then we moved moment by moment around the table, and each time we moved we added to the marks that others had made before. Gradually, the marks became freer, the images changed sometimes because of the additions and the paper filled into a glorious abundance that joined together. When we had started, we had been quite quiet, but as the activity built, we began to join in with one another and there was even laughter! 

As we stood back and surveyed the once blank paper, we were delighted. What had seemed like something that we might not be good at, had become bright and vibrant. However feeble our mark, by the joining of other marks we had created something good, something more than ever we could have done on our own. 

There was something about making something together that brought us a bit closer than your average Deanery Synod, there was something about remembering God’s creativity and being encouraged to join in with it and our own, there was something about remembering the power of putting God into everything… that made our morning transformative …. Transformative and deeply theological… something to inspire us to do small things but join with others to make the world a brighter place.