Activity of Disorientation and Connection
Set-up: Long pieces of string stretched out among the chairs.
Invitation: This morning you will notice that there are long strings along each of your rows. I invite you
to take the piece of string and wrap it around some part of your body, you wrist, arm, finger, waist, foot,
ankle. Wherever it makes the most sense for you. This string symbolizes in a tangible way our
connection to each other. As those around you move, you will notice the string and your connection to
the person change. If someone unwraps themselves to leave you’ll notice a slack in the string. If
someone joins you’ll notice that too.
Our scripture this morning emphasizes the connection of the people of faith to Christ and the fact that
God and Jesus chose that connection in order to do good in the world. Therefore, we as people of faith
need to remember that connection and God’s good work in the world. As people experience mental
illness, grief, addiction and suicide, we need to be conscious of the changes in our connections. And the
changes those people may be experiencing related to God. And yet we are, as the scripture said, one
family, with Christ as the first-born. So how do we treat each other, how do we encourage that
connection, as it shifts and changes? I encourage you to stay wrapped together in the string this
morning, as a reminder that we are connected and that our connection is part of how God wishes to do
good in the world, to bring hope and healing to our communities.
Remembering our Connections
At the end of each row is a pair of scissors. I invite you, if you wish to pass the scissors down the row and
cut off the portion that is wrapped around your part of the body and tie it there. I invite you to keep this
string tied to some part of your body as long as it is meaningful to you, as a reminder of our connection
as the family who God has chosen. You can remember what it feels like to be connected to others in a
very physical way and what it is like when those connections move and change.
© 2012 By Laura Lehman Amstutz
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
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