Workshop Prophets & Prophecy

Workshop – Prophets & Prophecy

Prior to the session:

1. Read through the pack to make sure you know what is going to happen.

2. Print out or copy the appropriate number of handouts form the separate PDF file. You will need:

o a bingo grid and sheet of definitions for each team.
If the definitions can be printed onto stickers it will make the game easier to play. If not the teams can write directly onto the bingo grid.

o pictures and mini biographies for the 20th-century figures.
If you are playing with four teams, print off two sets and each team can have three personalities to consider. If you are playing with only a few people it may be better to consider them as a whole group.

o a prophetometer for each team.
These work best on A3 paper if possible. If not, A4 will be fine. It is also useful to have a spare copy for yourself.

o a speech bubble for each person at the workshop (optional).

3. You will also need:

o pens of different colours
(for bingo, prophetometer and speech bubbles);

o Bibles
(one for each team – the same version where possible);

o a prize for bingo (optional);

o a camera (optional).

4. Run through the session in your head and order the collection of items in the way that suits you best. Remember that you will be leading this and it needs to be set out in the way with which you are most comfortable.

5. Enjoy it! It’s all good fun!

Workshop – Prophets & Prophecy

Introduction (2 minutes)

Group brainstorm – Prophets and prophecy (5 minutes)

Small group work – Bingo and feedback (20 minutes)

Group discussion – (How) is Christ a prophet? (5 – 10 minutes)

Small group work – Modern-day prophets and prophetometer (20 minutes)

Group brainstorm – (How) can we be prophetic? What can we do? (5–10 minutes)

Reflection – from ‘On being a prophet’ by Carol Gilbert (5 minutes)

In the silence, in the dark,

the prophet comes.

Not an individual but a movement.

A movement of social conscience, critical of the status-quo –

comes to imagine,

to create,

what could be, what should be.

Politically dangerous – because the blessings will be shared,

the prophet comes.

The prophets bring hope,

to a people who show little or no hope – as they become lost,

in the comfort of consumerism,

in the violence of militarism.

These bearers of justice – do not bring glad tidings to all equally.

These prophets bring compassion – interdependence among equals,

bring humility – living simply, in touch with the earth,

bring holiness – cosmic hospitality.

These prophets interfere, as they come

to heal,

to celebrate,

to co-create.

The prophets come.

Carol Gilbert

On Being a Prophet… Reflection from Cell 7

Published Spring 1988

Synapse

User’s guide to the Prophets & Prophecy workshop

1 Introduction

Spend a minute or two introducing the workshop and the title. Participants will find it useful if you clarify that you are referring to ‘prophets’ rather than ‘profits’. You may wish to use the following quote from Oscar Romero to start off the session:

‘If some day they take away the radio station from us … if they don’t let us speak, if they kill all the priests and the bishop too, and you are left a people without priests, each one of you must become God’s microphone, each one of you must become a prophet.’

2 Prophets and prophecy

Ask the group to tell you the first thing that comes into their mind when you mention prophet or prophecy. Invite them to report back to the larger group. Ideas have included ‘Jay and Silent Bob’ from the film Dogma, old men with beards, forth-telling, fortune telling and many others. There are no right or wrong answers. It is something that will be used in the next section of the workshop.

3 Bingo and feedback

Following on from the ideas about prophets and prophecy, you can now play a game. All the background resources except Bibles are included in the PDF file of handouts.

Break the group down into four groups (in a group with seven or fewer people, each person can play as an individual). Give each team a Bible Bingo grid and a sheet containing example definitions and some pens.

The aim is to come up with nine definitions of prophets and prophecy. In their small groups, the participants should spend a few minutes discussing the options and coming up with new ideas. The aim is to get as many different options as possible. They should then put their favourite nine onto the grid. Once all this has been completed, give each team a Bible.

Each team should be given a different reading, selected from: Amos 7, Isaiah 6, Isaiah 61 and Ezekiel 2–3:11. The first team to be able to mark off all their definitions from interpreting the reading wins! Invite the winning team to discuss what they felt made a prophet and how they found each definition in the reading. If no team wins after about five minutes, bring everyone back into the group to discuss where the prophets fell down. This discussion should be illuminating and will form a helpful launchpad for the next section.

4 (How) is Christ a prophet?

This discussion can happen with or without readings. It is worth seeing how well the group works then introduce the readings if necessary.

In this section the group will look at the way in which Jesus is described in the New Testament. There are a number of titles given to Jesus, including ‘prophet’, and several readings have been noted where this occurs. These include:

Matthew 21:10–11

Luke 4:24

Luke 7:16–17

Luke 24:19–20

The groups have already come up with definitions of prophets and they can compare these with the character of Jesus. This discussion can go on for as long as needed.

5 Modern-day prophets and prophetometer

Make sure you have all the resources before you start this session. If you are feeling really enthusiastic it is worth researching the characters further so you can answer any questions, but the session will work perfectly well without this additional work.

Give each group at least two ‘prophets’ and a prophetometer. Invite them to use all that they have learned in the session to decide whether or not these people can be perceived as prophets. Once they have decided this, ask them to place them on the prophetometer.

When all the groups have completed this, invite them to come back to the wider group and introduce their people. See if the whole group can come up with a uniform scale of where the people should rank. If you have followed the advice on the first sheet, you should have some overlapping and the groups will almost definitely disagree about where the people should rank.

Things to think about for each person:

Mother Jones

Did her faith inspire her, or was she just a good person? Does the faith of the person influence whether they can be a prophet or not? Does it matter that she is a woman?

Mahatma Gandhi

As someone who didn’t profess a Christian faith, can he be a prophet? He became single-minded about his cause and apparently neglected his family. Does this affect whether he can be perceived to be a prophet?

Daniel Berrigan

Will he be considered differently long after his death (at the time of writing he is approaching his 84th birthday and is still alive)? Does his kind of action push the limits too far for him to be a prophet?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

While he was implicated in the plot to assassinate Hitler, is your opinion based on this? What happens if he wasn’t involved? Does that make him more or less of a prophet?

Terry Virgo

The only person to be a self-confessed prophet. Does that affect your opinion of him? Is he someone whose legacy needs to be assessed rather than his current work? Are your opinions formed by prejudice rather than fact?

Martin Luther King Jr

It is alleged that he had extra-marital affairs. Does this affect your opinion of him?

6 (How) can we be prophetic? What can we do?

The first thing to do is just to discuss what about the people you’ve discussed is inspirational. Talk about actions and words, differentiating and also pointing out the links. Talk about existing situations where we may be called to be prophetic, including the MakePovertyHistory campaign and the Vote for Trade Justice.

There are a number of options for this section. One of the most successful is to produce a collection of blank speech bubbles and invite people to write a message on them. The message must be something they are prepared to stand up and be counted for. Take pictures of the members of the group, make a visual petition or collage and display on the uni notice board, website or wherever suits you best.

As a group, you can come together and decide if there are any actions you can do together – plan a big event or campaign on campus. You could also try and work with other groups like People & Planet, Speak, Amnesty International and any other social action groups in your area.

This section of the workshop is entirely free for you to adapt and amend to suit your group and I invite you to be as creative as you feel you can.

7 Reflection

The reflection on the first page is a selection from the following website: