I thought it would be good to give a quick update before everyone runs off to enjoy their summer. 

Spiritual Retreat:

I was very happy to be invited back to Maple Grove Christian Retreat Centre to lead their annual spiritual retreat weekend. On the Friday night I introduced the Spiritual practice of Visio Divina and then led people through an exercise where people were asked to draw 4 Images of God:

1. Their earliest image of God.
2. Their image of God when they first became a Jesus Follower.
3. Their current or dominant image of God.
4. The image of God that the Holy Spirit is inviting them to for this next season. 

I was first introduced to this exercise by some of my coworkers at GOHOP. The idea behind drawing (instead of writing) is that images come from a different part of our brain. Sometimes we can recall memories we have completely forgotten by using a different part of our brain. Many people were very pleasantly surprised at their earliest images of God

On the Saturday morning I led people through a Gospel Contemplation spiritual practice that helps people connect with Jesus through our imagination. We had some great discussions and people were really open to participate. In the afternoon I led a Blind Contour Drawing Workshop. Blind Contours are a drawing exercise that can feel a lot like prayer. You are only allowed to look at the person you are drawing and not not look down at your page. The drawing might look funny but it teaches you to really be present. I asked people to see each other as children of God and give thanks for each other as they were drawing. The picture above is of the youngest artist (age 5) drawing one of the oldest artists. It was amazing the diversity of people engaging with each other.

On Sunday I spoke at Maple Gove’s chapel service on Prayer Walking. I had retired pastor come up to me afterwards and say that they are still using the prayer exercise I had taught them last year. That was really encouraging.  

• Pray that the seeds planted at this retreat would continue to grow.

Breath Prayer Resource:

I had the opportunity to introduce a group of pastors to the spiritual practice of breath prayer. I try to make sure that whenever I’m leading a prayer experience that there is also some sort of takeaway that helps them continue to journey with what they have learned. 

I really enjoy creating these little handout resources and I seem to have a knack for it. I’m going to start adding these ideas to my website. Feel free to use them yourself or pass them along to your church. You can download the resource here: https://randellneudorf.com/breath-prayer/

• I have a few other resources and projects that are in various stages of completion. Pray that I would stay focused and be able to get these done.
• I’ve handed out a number of these Breath Prayer bookmarks now. Pray that God would use them to help people encounter the God that gave us breath.

Summer Art Shows!

I’m very excited to be participating in a number of art markets over the summer. I have lots of fun hats and posters for sale. If you are in the Hamilton area feel free to pop by on the following dates:

• Fri July 14th, 7pm – 10pm, Art Crawl on James St. N. (between Barton & York)
• Sun July 16th, 11am – 4pm, Open Streets on Barton St E. (between Wellington & Victoria)
• Sun August 20th, 11am – 4pm, Open Streets on Barton St E.
• Sun September 17th, 11am – 4pm, Open Streets on Barton St E. 

Pray that I would sell enough art to pay for my time and to fund my other creative endeavours. I’m starting to sell some of my more personal Looking for Kindness Cartoons that talk about mental health issues. Pray that God would use these drawings to start some good conversations.

Recording & Health Update

We hit a little bit of a snag in the recording of my first Old Reverend Randell album. My voice hasn’t been cooperating. My doctor suggested not singing for 2 weeks to let my voice heal (a harder task than I expected, apparently I sing all the time without realizing it). In the recording studio we had the vocals done on half the songs so we have switched over to mixing. Hopefully I’ll be able to let you hear the first single by the end of the summer.

I have been singing now for about a week and my voice is doing better but I can still feel that it isn’t 100%. My mental health on the other hand has been much better. I haven’t had any large anxiety attacks in the past few months. I feel a lot more like myself.

• Pray for my voice to be strengthened. 
• Pray that I would continue to do the physical, spiritual, and mental health self care that keeps me in a good place. 
• Pray for the songs I’m recording. They aren’t your standard worship songs. My producer and I really believe that these songs are needed both inside and outside the church. Pray that we can get them done and out into the world.

Summer Donations & Budget Update 

I’m currently receiving $1990 from people signed up for monthly giving plans. That is 68% of my monthly goal! That means I’m only $920 away from hitting my monthly goal. 

Consider Making a Summer Donation:
If you are someone who donates occasionally, or on an annual basis, it would be really helpful if you were able to send your next donation in over the summer. Donate Online with CanadaHelps!

If you like to use cheques or you would like to find out more about signing up for a monthly giving plan click here.

• I’m so thankful for the support I have received. Pray that I would be able to  continue to connect with people that believe in the work that I do and that I would be able to reach my fundraising goal.
• Pray that God would continue to open up opportunities for me to speak at churches, workshops and retreats.

Grace & Peace to you over the summer,

Randell (Randy) Neudorf

PS: It might seem like a small thing but I have created a new business card that brings all my endeavours under one roof. This will go onto the back of all my art posters and handed out when I’m teaching at churches. I’m trying to be a whole person and not have a separate identity for my prayer and creative endeavours. I’m hoping this card piques the curiosity of someone meeting me in one sphere to find out a little more about some of the other things I’m up to in another sphere of my life.