By Heidi Wright
The vibrant Belly&Bones cohort welcomed a buzzing crowd to the launch of their creative journal, Taste and See, last weekend.
The journal, featuring a collection of art, poetry, meditations and stories was created by 12 network-connected women known affectionately as the ‘Bellies’ and is now available as a resource to the wider network and beyond.
Ben Taylor, graphic designer of the journal, and Carly Cassidy, B&B member, present Taste and See.
Each contributor has been part of Belly&Bones for twelve months, an initiative facilitated by Kym Dixon, Jo Huntington, and Abi Skelly from the Network Resource Team, as part of our network’s intention to recover the value and voice of women in leadership. Together, the group of 12 women in various spiritual leadership roles creatively reveal through the journal to show what God has been teaching them over the year and what He has been emboldening them to share.
The Belly&Bones cohort.
To symbolise this journey, an intricate spiralled artwork by ‘Belly’ Tanya adorns the journal’s cover. Fellow ‘Belly’ Carly Cassidy, explained its significance.
“In a year, we feel like we have travelled ‘in’ and that part of our journey is now over and now the journal is going to be travelling out and into the hands of ministry teams and the church network and we’re really excited to see what God does with this resource.”
The journal carries deeply personal expressions from each of the Bellies and, as Carly explained, that sharing is designed to stir something more in the reader.
“We really hope that it inspires people to listen to their spirit and to find what’s burning in their belly and their bones and then hopefully we get to hear the stories come back.”
Nick Wight from Global Mission Partners, who has closely followed the Belly&Bones project, agreed it was inspiring.
“When somebody shares a bit of their story with you, it’s a deeply sacred act and it calls us to respond in a similar way.”
Despite the launch being a celebration, the atmosphere on the day was also one of deep reflection and many who attended were visibly moved by the sharing of poetry, song and story.
One attendee, Di from Connect Church Engadine, shared how she felt after the launch. “I was in total awe of the gifts that God has given to different people and I was so thankful that it was given a platform where they could share what they were given from God to share with us. That just blew me away.”
Billy ‘Jangala’ Williams, who offered an Acknowledgement of Country on the day, was a very special guest. As part of the dhiiyaan mob, Billy and his wife Vicki hosted the Bellies on retreat last year at Bethel Farm in Dalby. His face lit up as he spoke about what was shared at the launch and the process behind Taste and See.
He said, “what we saw today and what we had the privilege at Bethel to see unfolding, is each of these women giving of themselves into what they were producing. There’s the creative side of that, but it’s [also] that deeply spiritual act of putting a bit of yourself in it.”
Billy ‘Jangala’ Williams, offers an Acknowledgement of Country.
After hearing the story of how Taste and See came together, guests relished the opportunity to see inside the journal for the first time.
Guest, Pauline, said, “It’s a very rich piece of work that you could just pick up and read over and over again. It’s everyday people with their pain and their struggles and yet they love God through it all and they can express that in such a beautiful way.”
Jacqueline Chin, from SeeChange Community Church felt connected to the project after hearing the Bellies talk about their journey ‘from ache to courage’. She said, “One of the things that I particularly love about this was the journey, the process of it ‘from ache to courage’. For me, one of the things I’m looking forward to about this journal is to go through it in that process and feel it… just ride it, ride that wave.”
The ‘Bellies’ are anticipating God will continue to move through the journal and its story.
Another Belly&Bones member, Loani, said, “I really believe this is just like a springboard. We’ve landed here and now the work’s going to go out into the hands of many people and [I believe] that God will really move in and through what we have created together and inspire other people to be listening to their heart and what God is stirring in them.”
As the afternoon wrapped up and the first journals had gone to their new homes, Billy left us with a powerful statement:
“I think it’s a prophetic piece to the broader body.” He continued, “My prayers will be with it, and I really hope that, as people encounter it, transformation takes place because I think it’s all there for that to happen.”
To view Taste and See online, visit ccnswact.org.au/belly-and-bones/ . Limited copies of the journal will be gifted and hand delivered to each of the network’s churches. If you would like to preorder further physical copies, please contact hello@ccnswact.org.au for more information.
To learn more about how churches of Christ is recovering the value and voice of women in our network, head to the Women In Leadership page on our website.
Read more stories from churches of Christ in NSW & ACT HERE
