creative fuZion //3// simply packaged…

Welcome to "fuZion lab" at designing for Philistines (on Thursdays)...
Once upon a time there was a blog kingdom where freaky creative’s could share the chaos created in their minds for THE Kingdom.
Sadly, it went away. Yet the creative minds keep blogging.

Now there is a place to share all those creative elements again at the fuZion lab on Thursdays. So here’s what you do…

1. Each Thursday YOU post a blog on whatever creative church element sparks your passion.
2. In your blog, link back to this weeks specific creative fuZion lab.
3. Then link your particular post on Mr. Linky here.
4. Share your name, a brief description of the element and most importantly the link to your blog post where you share your details (and pictures. I love pictures).
If you don’t blog yet, still feel free to share your idea in the comments.
5. Then off you go. Visit other people’s ideas, comment and share.
6. Ready to begin? Here we go.

Let the creative fuzion begin.
Spread the Word.
Dorothy (vicar of vibe)
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(click to see pictures)

simply packaged…

One of things I love to do is encourage others to branch out with experiential worship elements.
There are simply things that everyone can do.
This week I thought I’d challenge you to try adding baking bread during worship.
We have done it three times this past year. Twice it was simply white bread and we had people come up after church to have some to eat. This week it was cinnamon bread and we handed bread out during the message for everyone to eat. That was a big hit!
Here is a detailed explanation of how we pulled this element off.

DETAILS:

WHAT YOU NEED:
All you need is a bread machine or two.
Bread Mix
Volunteer

ROLL OUT:
We sent out an e-mail to various people to ask if they had a bread machine we could borrow. (I now have 4 people on my list to tap for future bakings). We used two machines this week and it worked well for a 400 seat venue.

Machines: Get the machines ahead of time. I found it critical to test each machine, to find out how long it took and where each machine “beeps” in the cycles and to see if they actually worked. It wouldn’t do to have the machine beeping during a cycle during prayer or the sermon etc. I wrote down the timing.
This was important, especially after discovering one of the machines (the Breadman) made a lot of noise when it was kneading. And it beeped a lot in the beginning cycles.
The timing of the entire process varied (from 80 minutes (Oster machine) to two hours (Breadman machine).

The commonality we found was: the last rising and baking for each machine was 1 hour. This meant there wasn’t any noise going on during that last hour. That is how we determined the timing.

We babysat each machine and unplugged it when it was down to one minute on the timer. That way it didn’t beep at the end.

We carried the machine with potholders out into the hallway to get the loaves out of the machines.

Bread Mixes:
We used Hodgson Mills White Bread Mix (under three dollars a box). It was simple to use, it included the yeast and we only had to add warm water and oil.
Get enough bread mixes to test each machine, to have one available for the pastor to use as a prop, and enough to feed people if you plan on using it for communion, etc. it’s probably good to share it at the end, since I guarantee that people WILL be hungry after smelling bread throughout the worship service.

TO TAKE:
This is what I had to bring with me to church to implement the element at church.

Oil
Measuring cup
Scissors
Big thermos with hot water for bread
Potholders to carry machines and bread
Cloth napkins to wrap bread in
Baskets to put bread in
Paper towels
Various wood, rubber and plastic utensils to loosen bread, etc.
Cinnamon and Sugar mixture

INTEGRATE:
The key is to have it actually relate to the message or theme of the worship that day. But, that is relatively easy to do. This week we were emphasizing the letter to the church at Pergamum in Revelation. Our pastor linked it to provision (manna) and hospitality (lacking in Pergamum).
The previous time, the bread element was linked to the Temple in the Old Testament. The various staging areas in the temple.

If you need help linking the idea to your services, feel free to contact me. I’d love to help you out!

Waiting to figure out how to add popcorn smell one day. Let’s see I need small microwaves…
Seriously.

Tell me, do you like this idea of sharing packaged elements? Do you think this is useful?