Comments on: How to come and adore

By: Katrina Dowling

Katrina Dowling — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 05:17:45 +0000

In reply to Helen.

Thanks for taking the time to make such a detailed comment. So far I’ve found that children become absorbed and carried along by music for much longer than this example (less than 10 minutes) – I still count it as ‘paying attention,’ though, if they are processing the music as they listen by drawing or dancing about. If you limited the definition of ‘attention span’ to the time spent sitting motionless, then that would appear different.

By: Katrina Dowling

Katrina Dowling — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 05:00:48 +0000

In reply to Joan Bumpstead. Thanks, Joan!

By: Helen

Helen — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 13:04:21 +0000

Sorry it’s taken so long Katrina. Things have been happening !
The devotional exercise is appealing in that it provides a structure of beautiful visual cues and music to trigger contemplation and/or meditation.
I , too, think that the visual material is rather too complex for young children though perhaps a simpler painting with the music playing for a short time and some very simple and open ended questions might work. Attention span of primary aged children would be a problem as Joan says.
The Beethoven you’ve chosen is beautiful and very well suited, I think, to a short meditative session for adults and some children.
Not sure that everyone would respond easily to the suggestions. My own reaction is that, no matter what their intended purpose, they feel like a task to be carried out and this doesn’t help me to relax and allow me the art and/or the music to have its effect spontaneously – maybe simply as a trigger for meditation. I realise that this is a very personal response though. Perhaps some would appreciate the suggestions as to what t look for and how to use the paintings and music .

If you were thinking of this as one of the two or three options to be offered in an ‘all ages” service, as I gather James intends, it would be worth trying and perhaps asking for feedback. I think it is going to take some experimentation to discover what members of the congregation respond to that gives them a sense of having been to a worship service – if indeed that is what they are looking for in coming to church .

If, on the other hand, you were thinking of it as something for personal use or for Wednesday Rest I think it is all appropriate and a beautiful gift for those who appreciate such material for their own, or small group use. Thank you.

By: Joan Bumpstead

Joan Bumpstead — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 10:53:07 +0000

I’m doubtful that this would work for a Sunday School class because I don’t believe their attention span is sufficiently long. Certainly they would need to be doing something creative whilst they listened. I see it as more appropriate for a small meditation group.