August 2004: Greenbelt - Slow

This was the first performance of Slow. The second version was at Grace in Ealing the following month. The venue at Greenbelt filled to its maximum capacity of around 200 - about 100 people had to be turned away. The venue was so crowded that moving around was almost impossible.

Someone from Kubik filmed the service and made this movie. It's the only visual record, because we were too busy and the room was too crowded to take photos. Thanks Kubik. Note that the sections are in the wrong order though.

Set up:

Set the room up with two screens in the middle back to back – project speed on one side and slow on the other.

Actions:

Jonny do visual stuff from arkaos for speed side
Adam do visual stuff through mixer for slow side
Mike bring screen
Jonny get sheets to put on other side
Bring mark's blue cloth? or other dark material?
Mike bring two mac classics, one for each side of the screen with slow and speed on

Before the service:

Give out tickets for the fast track that lets people in early/quickly – make it slow for others. Have a rev counter type thing that runs from flat out to flat out – invite people to answer one or two questions - how do you live your life? how do you want to live your life? – and place a post it note or sticker on according to their answer

Actions: Adam bring fast track tickets. Jen get wallpaper and pens, Mike do speeds to go on it, Adam and Jonny do instructions to project

Service:

1. Preparation:

Welcome/intro

invite people to take watches off and turn phones off
Opening prayer/sentences/call and response liturgy (could involve slow and fast ends of room)
Play track from logical progression with sample from ferris bueller's day off (life moves pretty fast....)

Actions: Steve to write and lead

Slow down

adbusters reading of guy who stands still
video of jar being shaken and settling with words to encourage people to slow down (taken from cd rom accompanying 'tune in chill out' book)

Actions: jonny to write and lead

Group discussion on contemplative vs commuter:

Questions along lines of:
Is slow good? Is fast bad? If you're in an accident, you want the ambulance
to come as quickly as possible. When else is speed good?
We work quicker so we can work fewer hours - but do we?"
are you naturally more a commuter or a contemplative? martha or a mary?

Actions: Mike to write and lead

Confession:

Reflective piece on time

Actions: Anna to write and lead. Adam/Jonny visual of hand written clock and then words of confession on screen

Praise

2 songs

Actions: Jonny choose and lead - send words to Adam to add to projection

2. The Word

Readings

Bible passages/readings on either side of the room re slow and fast

Actions: Richard to select readings and read and find a second reader

Reflective piece

Meditation/reflection/visual piece

Actions: Steve to write/compose (let Adam and Jonny know have any related visual ideas)

3. Response

Prayer

Make Jesus prayer cords – use to pray – use animated iconostasis and jesus prayer tack from tune in chill out

Actions:
Jen do instructions and copy x 200
Mike get cord and beads for 200
Anna/Jackie get bags (couldn't remember how this landed)
All - make kits up at weekend
Jen - introduce making cords and then lead some prayer with cords

Concluding ritual

Take boiled or soft sweets - play Radiohead 'Tourist (hey man slow down)' during it.

Actions: Anna to get sweets and introduce

Blessing

Actions: Anna to write and lead and send to Jonny/Adam to put on screen any words to be said by everyone

Visual ideas suggested:

[Could run one side from arkaos on a computer and one from the mixer – Jonny/Adam/Mark]

• Shaking jar to settle (from tune in chill out)
• Art of speed loops (Jonny has on dvd and quicktime)
• Traffic
• Four tet 'arrive' tokyo train
• Tube journey
• Hand written clock animation
• Virtual iconostasis
• Urban pressure (on alt worship cd rom in extras)
• Amon Tobin car – on zen tv dvd
• Parkour/jump london
• Be still and know that I am God – words fading in and out (jonny has a flash animation)
• Blurred words gradually come into focus – adam did this with easter as the word – what should we have this time?
• Walking slowly (3 mph) - maybe desert footsteps loop we've used before?
• Person in bubble – osbd first video
• Slowed down video
• Time lapse video loops
• Royksopp animation of routine of day (jonny got on dvd)
• Egg timers/time wasters from screen of computers