Our family collective worship today was all about listening and the importance of embracing times of quiet. Deacon David started by saying he would play a piece from John Cage’s famous 4:33 (Four Minutes and Thirty-three Seconds, 1952). This is among one of Cage’s best-known works, a piece in which the performer or performers remain utterly silent onstage for that amount of time (although the amount of time is left to the determination of the performer)
This is exactly what Deacon David did, sit in silence in front of a keyboard as his audience waited in silence – although not for 4 minutes and 33 seconds! He used this illustration to focus us all on the silence – listening to what is around us. The children shared afterwards that they thought it was a prank or a comedic sketch.
Deacon David went on to discuss Elijah, a prophet in the Bible’s Old Testament. At one point in his life, Elijah prayed that it would not rain – and it didn’t for three and a half years!
On another occasion, Elijah wanted to hear God speak. Deacon David used the children and the pews to recreate a building storm as Elijah would have experienced and heard, trying to find the voice of God.
Watch this clip, even better to listen to it with your eyes closed. The children made the storm in St Michael’s church and learnt the value of listening to that still, calm voice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrl1RBhsj_U
1 Kings 19:11-13
“Go out and stand before me on top of the mountain,” the Lord said to him. Then the Lord passed by and sent a furious wind that split the hills and shattered the rocks—but the Lord was not in the wind. The wind stopped blowing, and then there was an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire—but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the soft whisper of a voice.
When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”