Leader’s Notes:
In this final session, we are going to take some time to celebrate together what the Eternal has done and the experiences you’ve had as a group. Take time to review the journey for yourself and be ready to share your personal observations during the reflection questions. As this is a celebratory time, you might want to provide a special treat or snacks to add to the celebration.
Reminder, that any words that are italicized are a not meant to be read out loud, and is a note or instruction just for you
Welcome
Welcome to our gathering today.
Does anyone have reflections or new thoughts to share about our previous session?
Note: watch your time. You may only have time for 2 answers
In this session, we are going to celebrate the journey we’ve been on together.
Breath Prayer
As we move into our time together, we’re going to take a moment to release the day and centre ourselves in the Eternal through breath prayer.
As we breathe, I invite you to let go of your day. Release it. Feel your breath going into your lungs and out. We’re going to breathe together for one minute. If closing your eyes is helpful, you can do that now.
Take 30 seconds for just breathing and then start Shepherd, Guide Me or Yah-Weh breath prayer.
Note: If appropriate, close with a prayer. Go right into poem.
Poem
“Not all those who wander are lost,” the Middle-earth creator once penned.
Here’s our invitation: to breathe and listen, to unplug and then reconnect. To wander with the Sound.
Do we see–the elemental pressure of seasons form the landscape of our body, mind and spirit?
Come wind and rain, come sun and fire, reveal the pure gold in us.
It seems that those closest are often the catalyst to our refinement.
Open us, if even a little, to bless those who form us–even the albatrosses.
O Eternal, awaken strength and beauty which lie just below our hardened crusts.
For there is tremendous value in who is reflected in the mirror.
Our emotions, compressed into the fabric of our muscle and skin,
Find release in the warmth of your Sound.
This is true–no matter the depth of our collapse,
Hope is found in the courageous release.
Drink deeply of the endless gushing source,
Standing on the shore of our frail human brokenness.
Do we hear it? In the silence, in the roar,
The Sound of the Eternal echoes within.
Here we are again, at the beginning, but not the start.
Wanderers in a moment in time. “Not all those who wander are lost.”
Krystle Moilliet & Jason Hildebrand
Introduction
Today we are going to reflect and celebrate the journey we have been on! To help us look back and remember, we will watch a few moments of the film, pray together and share reflections from our personal journeys throughout this time.
Film Scene
Watch film clip 10.1 – Celebration
Film Reflection
What, if anything, has changed about your understanding of David?
Take a minute to consider again that David was human–deeply human and deeply flawed–and still he was someone God called “a man after his own heart.” What does it mean for you to know more intimately this broken man?
What part of his journey has been similar or different to your own?
Psalm & Psalm Microfilm
Today we’re going to reflect on Psalm 103. As I read the Psalm, allow yourself to hear and experience the words.
Read Psalm 103
O my soul, come, praise the Eternal
with all that is in me—body, emotions, mind, and will—every part of who I am—
praise His holy name.
2 O my soul, come, praise the Eternal;
sing a song from a grateful heart;
sing and never forget all the good the Eternal has done…
5 When your soul is famished and withering,
He fills you with good and beautiful things, satisfying you as long as you live.
He makes you strong like an eagle, restoring your youth.
Reflection
This was David’s song and celebration, and it can be the prayer of the group too!
Note: you may want to re-read the scripture over the group.
I invite you to take some time to look over your notes on from this journey. What has stood out to you? Are there any themes or growth you notice?
If you could summarize your journey with a word or sentence, what would it be?
Action Reflection
If you could create a question to carry forward with you, what would that be?
What is one small way that you can integrate into your own life what the loving Sound has revealed to you through this Community Encounter?
Which reflection has impacted you the most?
Closing Thought
Through every intentionally crafted session and activity, this Community Encounter has been about allowing the story of David, through film, to impact our lives individually and collectively. While we have each experienced a personal journey, the sharing of it has made for a richer and more impactful experience. It is our hope and prayer that by entering into David’s journey you have also experienced and observed your own spiritual journey with new eyes, compassion, and hope.
To continue the journey, we encourage you to read David’s story as found in the ancient texts (1 Samuel 16 – 1 Kings 2). You may also want to review the resources for some of the session themes. Above all, we encourage you to continue to journey in community! Continue the conversations you’ve started here and walk alongside one another.
Closing Poem
Every Moment Holy II
You have lifted my eyes to the sight of
Sunlight shafts piercing the darkest clouds,
Gracing in gold a distant hill to which
I will inevitably one day come.
You have whispered to me again and again,
That the end is not the end.
And I have begun to believe it –
Not just in my head, but in the blood and
Bones and heart of my own experience.
Douglas McKelvey (21st Century).
Closing Prayer
Pray a prayer of blessing over each person.
Prayers for Blessing Suggestions:
“May God be gracious to you and bless you and make His face shine upon you” (Psalm 67:1)
“May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)