A mosaic of messy theology - An Open Table retreat day

Examples of people’s mosaics representing their answers to three questions: Do I perceive myself to be made in the image of God, and how do I embody the image of God? What is my image of God? How do I express the image of God?

LAST SATURDAY members of the first Open Table community in Liverpool and friends from other Open Table communities in the region gathered at St Joseph’s Prayer Centre in Formby for a retreat day.

Warren Bohan, LGBTQIA+ Ministry Facilitator at St Bride’s Liverpool,  reflects on the creative reflection on our images of God.

For many years as a community we’ve taken a day away at least once a year to pause, reflect and pray.  You can read about our first retreat day here.

This year we invited a long term friend of our community, Revd Anne Lawlor, to lead a day reflecting on ‘A Mosaic of Messy Theology’. The theme for the day was inspired by the dissertation Anne wrote for her MA a few years ago. As part of her research Anne interviewed women and fem-leaning people exploring how they understand themselves to be made in the image of God in the context of a patriarchal Church.

Anne has been keen to see how to give an academic paper life beyond her tutor’s desk, and hosting a retreat day to explore the themes and voices of the participants is an ideal way to do that. Anne’s prayer was that it would be a springboard to develop our spirituality and connection with God. 

Some of the Open Table community members on the retreat day with Warren and Anne (second and third from left).

Anne shared some of her faith story with participants, including her discovery of feminist theology which was a liberation, and became a significant part of her journey into faith which ultimately led to her this study. In listening to people’s stories and sharing her own, Anne particularly noticed how while the view that ‘we’re not in a great place in the church at the moment’ was common; yet for many people, their faith is so important that they will grapple with how to reconcile their faith with the approach of the institutions they belong to.  

“So let us go out with joy, awakened to the mosaics of treasure within and around us … to bring transformation, challenge and hope to the world.”

This resonated for many of us in the room as we had all walked that journey in one way or another, whether it was about gender, sexuality or even ethnicity. We have discovered the journey to uncover our true selves is one that we must undertake, yet is so often hindered by the Church. This reminded me of something I frequently say: ‘I’m a Christian in spite of the Church not because of it’. We haven’t rejected our faith, we’re just looking for places where we could express it.

All of us resonated with the reflections of the interviewees that safe spaces to explore questions and identity are vital and how much Open Table has been that oasis for so many of us. Having a community of people in which we can explore and discuss and support each other has made an enormous difference in our lives.

Why a mosaic?

A mosaic is made up of small pieces which can be used to make up a whole picture.  However there is always a gap between the pieces. This can represent many things: the hurts we experience, the gaps in our lives where God is present, our finiteness etc. The broken pieces of tile can remind us of the eucharist and broken bread. In addition, mosaics are not static. They are fluid, they can be changed, pulled apart and remade.

Why ‘messy theology’?

There is an idea within academic theology of ‘bricolage’, a method of combining diverse religious and cultural elements to create new theological understandings, identities, or expressions. As the Church has lost its grip on society, people aren’t necessarily abandoning faith, rather they are exploring spirituality for themselves. Instead of listening to a top down, systematic theology, people are finding their own contextual theologies i.e. theology lived out in real life settings. The more we listen to people’s voices the louder they become, and this grass roots theology can filter into our institutions and work for change. 

Anne introduced us to her idea of mosaic using cardboard ‘tiles’ in three different colours, representing the questions she asked her interviewees, accompanied by anonymised quotes:

Red - Do I perceive myself to be made in the image of God, and how do I embody the image of God?

Purple - What is my image of God?

Yellow - How do I express the image of God?

We were all then invited to spend as much time as we liked to build our own mosaics reflecting on these three questions. We had a range of craft materials with which to work and the assurance that there were no right or wrong answers, nor did you have to share your work if you didn’t want to.

The setting of St Joseph’s was a perfect one for this kind of reflection with time to spend in the chapel, the room with the craft materials, or out on the dunes and in the gardens. We were blessed with clear and mild weather allowing us to enjoy being outdoors. 

After lunch we regathered to continue to conversation and share our mosaics, should we wish. I found it a really helpful exercise. I don’t consider myself an artistic person, and mine was very basic. I found the structure of the colours and questions a really helpful way to engage and get me out of head knowledge and thinking. It particularly reminded me of that wonderful quote from Eph. 2: 10 which says: ‘you are God’s work of art’, or ‘You are God’s masterpiece’, depending on the translation.

As those who wished to shared their mosaics we placed them upon tiles Anne had put down earlier in the day. Through continued conversation and reflection, and adding other items we had on us or in the room, we created a mosaic of Open Table. It included our stories, stories of the community, and even a banana representing the joyous and chaotic shared meals we so often have! It is indeed a ‘mosaic of messy theology’ and it is truly beautiful and precious.

To close the day we gathered for a Eucharist with liturgy inspired by the ideas from Anne’s research, reminding us that we are made in God’s image, fearfully and wonderfully made, and called to live as lights in the world. 

I came away from the day refreshed and inspired. It was so good to hear stories and reflections of such diversity yet united as children of God. To end this reflection I’d like to share the final words from our communion service on the day.  This is my prayer for all that we do at Open Table:

“So let us go out with joy. awakened to the mosaics of treasure within and around us,to bring transformation, challenge and hope to the world. In the name of Christ, Amen”