Megan Little talking about Randell Neudorf’s work with Asah.
Asah: Creativity & Prayer Studio is a really exciting ministry hat that I get to share with Megan Little. “Asah” is the Hebrew word for “to make or bear fruit.” We thought that summed up the practice of combining art and prayer.
Asah workshops happen on the 4th Monday evening of the month at 7pm in the @gohophamont prayer room. Both Megan and I have Fine Art degrees and experiment with art in our own prayer practices. We started Asah because we felt like this was an experiment worth including others in.
We break the night up into two parts:
In our first hour we try out a spiritual practice (or a way of praying) that leans towards creativity.
In our second hour we take an art practice that you might learn in a workshop or at art school and we bend it towards an act of prayer.
The workshops are free but as a GOHOP staff member I raise my own support (think of it as crowd funding). If you would like to contribute to my work at Asah, you can buy some art from my store or make a donation towards my ministry.
“I am grateful to Randy for sharing his art journal on social media, for the value and quality of the works in themselves; but even more for Randy’s vulnerability in sharing his struggles with anxiety through his kindness cartoons. I see so much of my own experience in these cartoons, and they remind me that I am not alone. Thank you so much, Randy, for sharing your talents and your story to bless and edify others.”
Tara Briggs Kirkey
“I have known Randy since highschool. Social media allows me to keep up with the many stages and iterations of old (and getting older) friends. And while I could ramble about the negative aspects of social media, I am writing about Randy and what his positive contributions to social media have meant to me. As someone who suffers with anxiety, social anxiety and depression, I have identified and related to most of Randy’s posts and drawings in the last few years. His art journal has expressed so much of what a lot of people can’t say.
Randy will forever be etched in my mind as the long haired, bearded hippie guy who was always good for some wisdom, some laughs or a hug. And it is good to see he his still out there in another city putting that into the world.”
When we meet with a pastor, we practice something called listening prayer. We take 5 minutes of silence and then humbly shares any prayers, scriptures, feelings, thoughts, or images that we felt God was showing us.
We leave it to the pastor or leader to decide if the listening prayers resonate as something from God. If it resonates, people are welcome to receive it gladly. If it doesn’t resonate (for any reason) the pastor is welcome to say “thanks but no thanks.” Permission to say “no thank you” is what gives us permission to practice listening prayer in a safe and supportive way.
Pastors have a very hard job where most people don’t even see the many demands and pressures that are placed on them. Often pastors are so spent from serving others that they don’t have any energy left to listen for them selves. Week after week I see pastors come in and be really encouraged and blessed by what they receive.
I have had the pleasure to work with lots of great “listeners” as part of the Prayer for Pastors & Leaders team. Douglas Horst is one of those listeners. Here is a little message from Doug,
When Randy is wearing his hat of Coordinating Prayer for Pastors and Leaders, he reaches out to his extensive network of pastors and leaders and actively encourages them to come and experience listening prayer by the GOHOP listening prayer team. As a member of that team, I have experienced his excellent ability to communicate well to us and all the pastors and leaders we pray for. God continues to speak through Randy and us to bless others. Under Randy’s persevering leadership, in the last year we have prayed for more pastors and leaders than in any of the six years that I have been part of this prayer team.
Consider helping me to continue coordinating this very important ministry by contributing to the Keep the Hats on Fundraiser!
GOHOP is a registered Canadian charityand all donations are tax deductible.
If you would like to make a donation by cheque scroll to the bottom of this page to find out how.
Hey church friends, I would really appreciate it if you could take a look at the info below about my year end fundraiser. If church isn’t your thing, feel free to just skip this. If you are curious and do decide to keep reading you can think of this fundraiser as me “crowd funding” my job.
I’m on staff with GOHOP(Greater Ontario House Of Prayer). I often describe my job as being a “Punk Monk.”
GOHOP is a new monastic ministry connected to the world wide movement of 24-7 Prayer. We aren’t a monastery but we do live a community life dedicated to the monastic rhythms of prayer & service. That covers the monkish part of the job but what about the punkish part? For me, punk music is all about creativity with a strong DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic. I think of prayer in that same way. We can learn to play creatively with prayer as a way to connect more deeply with our maker and each other. For me this permission to play with prayer is very punk!
The other DIY part of my job is that I have to raise my own support. Believe it or not but being a Punk Monk is my main source of income. To be completely honest, fundraising for my own job has a unique kind of stress to it. I often find myself experiencing imposter syndrome. I wonder if people should give to support my ministry. Is it worthwhile? Is my work worth being paid for? To combat these feelings of imposter syndrome, I remind myself of the different hats I wear as a punk monk, the beautiful and diverse work people are supporting by funding what I do.
Over the next few weeks I’m going to be highlighting the hats I wear as a Punk Monk and invite you to partner with me “to keep the hats on,” by donating towards my ministry. For each hat, I’ll be getting a friend to talk about how they have seen my work make an impact on different people and churches. My hope is that one of these ministry hats might excite you.
My goal is to raise an additional $2500 by the end of 2022. There are three components to this goal:
Monthly Giving Plans are the most sustainable way for me to do my ministry. Currently 48% of my monthly budget comes from people who have joined my monthly support team. That is amazing but it also means I have to put a lot of work into coming up with an extra 52% each month. I’m trying to raise an additional $500 a month to have 65% of my income be more predictable and sustainable. In my experience God has been using a diverse group of people to fund what I do. Some people give $25 and others give $100 or more each month. Click Here for more info about signing up for a monthly giving plan.
One Time Donations are a huge help to me. I must admit that it is stressful not knowing each month where my income will come from but it is also amazing to see the diverse group of friends, family and strangers that decide to bless me out of the blue with a donation. My goal is to raise an additional $1000 in one time donations by Christmas time. You can make an online donation through CanadaHelps.
Art Sales have been part of my life for a long time. They have never been a huge part of my budget but they do help with that little bit extra. I have a large selection of $20 posters for sale that pop right into an 11×14 frame. My goal is to raise $1000 from my art, which works out to 50 posters. Click Here to check out my store to see if there is something that you might like to buy.
Accountability:
I think it is really important when talking about money to be 100% transparent. If you would like to find out more about my job (including what I get paid) you can find all that info here: https://randellneudorf.com/gohop/
Any money raised above the goal for this fundraiser will help create a buffer for my ongoing fundraising efforts in the new year.
Thanks so much for taking the time to consider partnering with me on my Punk Monk journey. I also have an e-newsletter that I send out about 4 times a year. Email me if you would like to be added to that list: randellneudorf@gmail.com
Thanks for taking the time to consider supporting the work I do!
Important: Do not write names on the memo line (or anywhere else) on the cheque. Revenue Canada disallows the use of cheques with allocations written on them for charitable donations.
Please attach a letter or post-it note indicating how you desire the funds be allocated. It just needs to say something like “GOHOP Support for Randell Neudorf.” Be sure to include your contact info as well to receive a tax receipt.
Mail your cheques & note to: GOHOP, Box 57022, Jackson Square, Hamilton, ON L8P 4W9 You are also welcome to hand your cheques in directly to me if you would like.
Randell Neudorf 