The Beauty Stuff

We do beauty for our God who is beautiful. It’s our third (of just 5!) missional priority, so it’s a pretty Big Deal! We have found that an atmosphere with some beauty is more conducive to a worshipful attitude than a fluorescent-lighting white-wall conference room, for example. Below you’ll find some ideas to make your space beautiful. Ideally, set up should take only 30 minutes before worship, with a reset of the same time afterwards. All of what is below is 100% optional. We know that you know best. You are, after all, a grown-ass adult imbued with the Holy Spirit of the Living Christ. And Christ is beautiful. And you are beautiful. So go make some beauty! You already know how. Here’s some of what we know:

The Table

I recommend setting an actual table for communion, and placing it centrally where worshippers will see it during worship. Use pretty dishes for communion; put some fresh flowers in a vase; use a nice tablecloth and/or runner; use crates or slats or blocks to set things on to give it dimension. Get creative! In a conference room space, this might be a folding table near the TV. In a living room, this might be an end-table or TV-tray that fits better in the space. Or, perhaps it’s an actual dining table if you are having actual dinner afterwards as communion! Which we totally dig, by the way.

A Candle

Candles are beautiful, and they offer a soft light, and they also create a sort of ritual of opening and closing. If this is your living room, meaning you already—well—live there, lighting the candle can symbolically transform the space to something different than it usually is. Try to go unscented, so as not to bother anyone’s allergies.

The Lighting

Related to, but not the same as, the candle. Low lighting is recommended for worship. “But people might fall asleep,” you say! “But what if they need sleep?” I counter. People worship in different ways, and they’ll need different things in the space. Low lighting allows for crying, praying, doodling, and—yeah—sleeping without much disruption. If the overhead lights are too bright, use lamps, lanterns, and candles instead. Electric candles set out among the seating are a great idea that we actually do in the barn!

A Prayer Space

At the barn, we have a prayer wall, made of recycled pallets. People write prayers on index cards and tuck them in the slats, facing out so we can see or in so we can’t. You could have a prayer bowl for written prayers, or a simple pillow somewhere for kneeling. Also keep in mind, we have an online prayer wall on our website: galileochurch.org/inside-out-prayer-wall. Those prayers appear live as people type them. You could pull that site up on your screen during the communion time, and encourage people in your party to type prayers on there from their phone and watch them populate on screen! You would also see the prayers from other Inside Out worshippers at the same time. How cool!

A Fidget Space

This is less about beauty and more about our second missional priority, celebrating neurodiversity. It affects how you set up the space, though, so we put it here. Have some chairs, or other furniture, set out away from the main space. Set out some coloring pages, fidget toys, or whatever you’ve got. Plus, people have their phones and they mostly know what they need. The physical space symbolizes that it’s ok to do what you need, even if no one actually sits there.