Easter & Lent Material – “Proost”

February 19th, 2008

Proost is a community website based in the UK that is trying to connect artists, liturgists and communities that are developing multimedia and liturgy for use in worship and in other ways. Many of the peope involved (the “usual suspects) have been connected with many alternative worship communities, or with “fresh expressions” of church.

Proost has now been in existence for 10 years, it came in to being as a resource and a service to the church.

In a world dominated by large record companies and publishers, we believed there was a need for a broader range of creativity from independent artists, musicians, authors etc. We also saw the need for an outlet for creative individuals who also had the same desire as us.

In the very early days, budget constraints, inexperience and a sense of feeling our way meant that we concentrated on one project at a time, usually an album of music or a worship ‘experience’… we found that people were finding many uses for what we were providing which was encouraging and spurred us on to do more.

Now, several years down the line, Proost has developed and grown. We have built good relationships with a large number of very creative people who share our vision and are happy that we help bring their work into a more public arena. Working with these people has proved to be a real joy and the standard of creativity which they are bringing to us means that we can now provide a whole range of products and tools for you to use in your own worship settings. It is our hope that you will find many things on this website that will be of use to you… and we also hope you will find us to be a helpful partner as you seek to worship in spirit and in truth.

Proost has worked with a number of people and communities to be able to offer a number of resources, images, multimedia, music, visuals, liturgy and film that you can accesseither by becoming a subscriber for a year to the service, or by purchasing the media individually via their website. I’ve been using a number of their resources for a few years now and am always excited by the broad range of pieces that they have available.

One of my favourite pieces is Si Smith’s “40,” a resource that I’ve used in many spaces in a variety of ways, the images in this collection are stunning and inspirational. Here are a few other resources on Proost for you to check out:

**NEW RESOURCES FOR 2008** Contemplative Prayer EP – a perfect accompaniment for lent with three meditations/prayer exercises from Jenny Baker over ambient soundscapes. Empty chairs, benches and seats in a variety of settings are linked together to invite the viewer to take some space to quiet down and sit in God’s presence in the movie Space and Time which comprises photos by Jonny Baker. Laudamus – an album of morning and evening prayer from Church of the Apostles in Seattle and 40 Book which takes Si Smith’s wonderful illustrations of Jesus journey into the wilderness and adds accompanying reflection from Chris Goan.

**LENT IDEAS ON PROOST** 40 movie | 40 Book | Beattitudes movie | Where are you movie | Identity Bites movie | Molten Meditation A movie | Navigatio Pocket Liturgies book | Earthenware EP (don’t miss the free accomapying downloads for bag and desert) | Space and Time MP3 | Save My Life MP3 | Labyrinth Meditations album | Molten Meditation album | Laudamus album | Contemplative Prayer EP | Space and Time movie