A progression of photos sent in by Win as autumn moved into winter.
From posts that make perches for pigeons, to the gold of autumn.
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Letting Go
Author: admin
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November Forest Church
A few photos from our time reading creation and reflecting on words from the bible.
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QFC November
Sunday 19th of November
This forest church meetup will be at the Crichton as usual outside the chapel main door at 2pm.
Greeting
We meet in Jesus name, and share his peace. Whether you consider yourself a close friend, or are just curious, all are welcome.
Pause
Take a moment to look around. Be mindful of where you are and when you are. What do you sense in this moment as it connects to all moments, past, present, and future?
Reading from the collection of books.
The SEC lectionary reading is Matthew 25: 14 to 30. The story is called the parable of the talents, or the bags of Gold.
Reading from Creation.
The reading from creation will be autumnal, wintery even. Please dress for the weather and we will walk or sit as suits the day and those who gather.
What does what you sense physically help you know about what you can sense spiritually? What does the nature of creation tell you about the artist creator?
We are in Winter, what has been gathered in that we can treasure, use – what do we need to let go of?
What do you observe that reveals the relationships between humans and landscape, what warnings or encouragement does this inspire for you personally?
Time for Reflection
We will gather to discuss what we have sensed.
Prayers
Jesus you are the light of the world,
A light that no darkness can quench.
Upon your church
Wrestling with the darkness of evil,
battling against doubt,
let your light shine.
Upon the worlds governments
facing gloom and despair
battling against disaster
let your light shine
Upon those who live in the shadows
caught up in sorrow and strife,
struggling against oblivion
let your light shine
David Adam “The Open Gate” Triangle 1994
Blessing
We beg you, Lord, to help and defend us.
Deliver the oppressed.
Pity the insignificant,
Raise the Fallen,
show yourself to the needy,
Heal the sick,
Bring back those of your people who have gone astray,
Feed the hungry,
Lift up the weak,
Take off the prisoners’ chains.
May every nation come to know that you are God alone,
That Jesus is your son, that we are your people, the sheep of your pasture.
St Clement of Rome
Go in Peace, to Love and co-create with God
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Textual visual
How does the inclusion of text in visual art affect the relationship between the artist and the observer?
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Open doors
Will music open doors?
The Melody singers are a group of young people from the Nineveh Plain who have discovered joy and purpose through making music and sharing the gospel – and now they’re helping other young people to do the same.Â
“I want to keep on presenting music that surpasses the noise of war and destruction, wanting to deliver a message to the world. Music, in general, is the biggest drive for hope in the future. Music is a language of peace, of love. It is grasped by all kinds of audiences.”
Farid (27) is a singer and also plays the daf (a frame instrument)
View the whole story on the Open Doors website
(Thanks to Gill for sending news of this in).
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Solidarity
Collective punishment… can never address the root causes of this violence.
If, like many people, you find it difficult to know what to pray when you think about the conflict going on perhaps these resources drawn together by the Quakers will help.
If you are not troubled, perhaps they will help you ask questions.
https://www.quaker.org.uk/blog/5-solidarity-actions-you-can-take-for-palestine-and-israel-oct-2023
We condemn the targeting of civilians and the taking of hostages by Hamas. We condemn Israel’s indiscriminate and disproportionate bombardment of Gaza; the prohibition of food, water and electricity into Gaza; and their attempt to forcibly transfer over 1 million Gazan people. In the West Bank, all cities are on lockdown and heavily militarised. Collective punishment of an entire population can never address the root causes of this violence.
https://www.quaker.org.uk/blog/5-solidarity-actions-you-can-take-for-palestine-and-israel-oct-2023
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FX Cumbria
There is a lot going on just south of the border. This map shows where fresh expressions activity is happening in Cumbria
View the map on the Northern (England) mission centre website.
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Poverty
When the topic of Poverty is raised people in the UK often find it important to mention the distinction between “Relative Poverty” and “Absolute Poverty”.
After all, how many people in living in Scotland are unable to access drinking water, decent housing, heating, and healthy food? This article has some statistics.
https://capuk.org/news-and-blog/millions-skipping-meals-as-we-head-into-winter
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Time For Forest Church
There is a time for everything, is the time right to explore the idea of Forest Church in Scotland?
This article form the church of England discusses the question further.
https://www.churchofengland.org/about/fresh-expressions/could-now-be-moment-forest-churches-grow
Quartz Forest Church meets every month on the 3rd Sunday at 2pm outside the Crichton chapel. We also do something special about four times a year.
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QFC October review
What’s been happening in October with Quartz Forest Church
The harvest is gathered in and the leaves are beginning to fall from the trees. Here is a quick overview of how we have been responding to this time of year.
Tabernacle trip
Here is a collection of photos and reading from the special forest Church day we held in October. We visited Cairnholy to “Feel small, but in a good way” as we reflected on the passage of time.
We also drew on the Jewish tradition of setting up tabernacles/booths after harvest for the festival of “Sukkot”
Quartz Forest Church at the Crichton
On the third Sunday we met at the Crichton as usual. We took time to notice the change in the season as we move into autumn. We used the fallen leaves to create a wheel. This was divided into four, to represent the seasons, and then we walked round the wheel to reflect on our passage through time. At each point we stopped and thought about that particular seasonal change and our relationship to it.
Some Taize also featured!
School Visiting
When Simon goes into schools to help with history lessons, sometimes he will adopt the character of “Cathbad” from the Viking Era. The (primary school) pupils get to meet someone from their past. This is used to help them think about differences and similarities between their lives and people from the past, as well as find an interest in learning about the places they live in.
You may notice some similarities between the shelter used at QFC and the shelter in the school! This is one of the ways in which the Cluaran heritage work of Wordsmith Crafts CIC harmonises with the Quartz project.