BUC Arts Planning Day

BUC ARTs warmly invited members of our church community to an afternoon of dreaming and creativity which was held in a local space called Siteworks in Saxon street. Twenty people gathered and reflected on their earliest memories of creativity at BUC and the journey it has taken since those beginnings. In a circle we shared stories and experiences laying them down in parallel with each other. Listening and witnessing each other’s stories was a thoughtful and powerful experience drawing us closer to each other in communal and spiritual well-being. Thank you to Gwen Arnold, Leanne Salau and Saide Cameron for leading this portion of the afternoon. The voices spoken were recorded and will be transcribed to be part of our documentation of the day.

There was a beautiful display of works created by our congregation as a reminder of the richness and breadth of creativity as a community practice in our spiritual lives. Then, the wonderful Liz Johnson (artist and facilitator from Well Spring) offered her time and skill in facilitating our ‘dreaming’ for the future.  Using a creative process, Liz encouraged us to create mandalas in pairs that depicted our vision for the future. Everyone was asked to stay in the process and allow the work to emerge without over thinking or analysing. We then placed the mandalas in a circle creating a more whole and communal expression of those visions. After visiting the Counihan gallery during a break, we returned to look again at our mandalas and then, went around the circle sharing our vision for the future of the arts and creativity at Brunswick Uniting Church. Strong themes emerged such as inclusivity, the centrality of community at the heart of the arts, shared responsibilities and flow, bridging communities within the church, finding beauty in the discarded, seeding creativity and harnessing its’ growth in each other.

There was so much richness speaking about each mandala and this is just a small sample. Finally, we thoughtfully placed our small stone that represented where we are in relation to these dreams and visions. Ian encouraged us to offer words into a time of blessing to conclude the day. It was a unique experience in trusting the process and in deep listening and honouring the creation of dreams for the year ahead. 

We will be gathering again in the new year and bringing back some of these stories and images and making plans for 2019. More information to follow.   Ann Soo (BUCArts co-ordinator)

Comments from the day
I felt moved by the pattern our small mandalas made. Seemingly drawn to the Light of the candle and pointing to a pathway open to the creativity that will emerge in our community.  Helen Rowe
I remembered the creativity I witnessed in the church community and how I felt like I had tasted the Kingdom of God.  Leesl Wegner