We all know that prayer can be difficult sometimes. We run out of words and we give up. How often we want to stay in prayer for someone yet once we’ve completed the sentence in thought or word we don’t really know what to do. We can’t just repeat ourselves, yet we don’t want to stop. Instead of the words enabling us to express ourselves, they hinder us. We need something more like the groans of the Spirit. We also need some fruitful way to channel our physical restlessness
This is why I have developed Prayer With Percussion workshops. They are not drum circles or elementary rhythm experiences. Mostly, the participants work individually and fairly quietly, learning to let the instrument do the talking. As we work in dialogue with the instrument, we often find ourselves taken beyond our starting point. Something about the sound or feel, reflected upon with help from the Holy Spirit, has led us to new insight or deeper understanding.
Of course, we are not necessarily playing the instruments in any conventional manner! Why limit yourself to hitting a drum head when you could be far more evocative in prayer by scraping your thumbnail down the tuning ropes? Why does a cowbell have to be played brashly as in a salsa band, when it can be tapped at an almost imperceptible volume with the finger tip – suddenly this “cut through” instrument is a vehicle of prayer for the weakest in our world.
Workshops can be tailored to last from 90 minutes to a whole day. It’s difficult if numbers are lower than 8 or higher than 40. I have dozens of different instruments so there’s plenty to experiment with.
If you would like to arrange a workshop, contact me via my church website: Holy Trinity Tulse Hill.