Session One- God’s Call to his presence
Represented by a labyrinth contained within a bell.
Introduction
With our first labyrinth, we think of the call that God issues. It is a call to each of us, a call to come into his presence.
We can always fill our lives with things to do. Good things that are worth doing but in our rush and activity we can lose contact with God.
God is always with us. Through the sounds of creation and the voices of others, if we make time to listen, we can hear His voice.
We listen for God’s call
We come into his presence in answer to his call.
Some Thoughts as we begin the session.
I have chosen the bell to represent this section. When we first moved to St Albans the bell on St Paul’s church would ring on a Sunday morning. Calling people to worship.
Although we didn’t worship at St Paul’s we knew it was time to get a move on if we were going to be on time at Hatfield Road.
When John Wesley first went to Cornwall he became lost on Bodmin Moor and was guided to safety by following the sound of the ringing of Bodmin Church Bells.
Bells are loud, they call to us, they call us to the right path, they ring out loud and clear above the other noises of our lives.
As the bell is moulded from molten brass and then skillfully tuned, we are moulded both by our experiences in life and our touching points with God. We are shaped by those we meet. We are gently and skillfully tuned to the note we were made to ring.
So we take time to think of those who have helped us on our journey, those who have led us to this moment in our lives.
Those we know well, those who have touched our lives briefly, and those we do not know but whose words we have heard or read.
All of whom have kept our feet firmly on the path.
We spend a few moments remembering the times when God has touched our lives directly or through others.
Take time for a period of silent reflection
Activities
A printable copy of the Bell Labyrinth is available by clicking here
Once you have listened. Please use the bell labyrinth to:
Trace the way into the bell labyrinth thinking of those who have helped you on your journey. Those who have brought you to this moment in time.
As you trace your way out of the bell, think of the opportunities God has placed before you to speak to others and help them on their own journeys.
On the sheet: Make a note of the people and incidents which have called you and kept you on your journey of faith.
If you would like to, write their names and some of those important times and things which have shaped you as a Christian.
I think it is also helpful to note the times when you yourself have been “The Bell” calling to others. It is much more difficult to do this, at least for me, but make a note of those you have felt God has placed before you at important points in their lives and those times when you have felt God speaking through you to others.
Perhaps, in the centre of the labyrinth, write what you are hoping to get out of working through these reflections.
If you do not want to write you could draw things, pictures or symbols which are helpful to you.
A final thought.
We too easily underestimate the impact of our words and actions and the changes these can invoke in people’s lives.
To give a personal example: One holiday – we worshipped at a small church in Norfolk. When we introduced ourselves it turned out that my Dad had married the Minister and her husband, when he was stationed in Norwich. They had not been church people but Dad insisted that if they were to be married in the church they should come to worship before the “big day”.
30 years later Sharon is a Minister and Kevin a Local Preacher on Trial. They remember the impact his words and actions had on their lives. When Sharon realised who we were she enthusiastically rushed inside to grab Kevin to introduce us.
Some Material to help your Reflection
Bible Reading
Read Acts Chapter 9 or just verses 10 – 19
“God’s calling of Ananias to minister to Saul.”
1 Samuel Chapter 3
“God’s calling of Samuel.”
Some Hymn and Songs:
Singing the Faith 250 – Jesus calls us o’er the tumult.
Songs of Fellowship – Jesus you are changing me.
Sabbath Bells are Ringing
Sabbath bells are ringing, sounding loud and clear,
Calling forth the children, calling young and old;
Come and work for Jesus, pleasant duty share,
Come with us while singing, enter in the fold.
Sabbath bells are ringing, See the children coming,
Happy hearts and voices all unite to sing;
Hark the glad bells ringing, Hear the children singing,
Singing loud the glory of a Savior King.
George W. Bungay (1818 – 1892)
This work by Christopher Hancock is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
