A longer post today, inspired by thoughts of war which once again fill my social media feed, and mind.
…When I tell the story of Ragnarock I grieve. It follows Loki telling too much truth, harshly. It is the breaking of oaths, conflict between those who should be family. It is the twighlight that follows from the grinding down of hope and loss of integrity. The cause
… Love of gold? Warped erotic desire for power over others?
An apple which should be the sweet kiss of summer, but poisoned with cyanide?
But as I hang my mind on the world tree and prepare to travel, I follow the path of my great hero. Who, disrobing, stepped up upon the rood. Commanding it not to bend. There the work planted in the womb of time was brought to fruition. Struck down to rise up stronger than imaginable. A light in dark places and the opening of a Way that can transform.
A light which helps us see who we are and where we are going. For some this will appear to come from outside them, other will find it within. What is important is that when you ‘look’, you are able to see. When you can see, you can act.
So I pray for peace, and for all those caught up in the horror of war. May we all see truly, find release from that which binds us, and eat apples which bring life beyond death.
I can scarcely imagine what it must be like to have your country invaded and your home subjected to rocket attacks. How can you work when it is too dangerous to leave your house? How can you buy food when you can’t work?
I will have sat round a campfire, after a days work, singing songs and telling stories with some of these people. Outside the international market season we use the internet to keep in touch, and our community spans many land masses and language groups. Now some of them are selling digital downloads since they can’t make or export the things they make. Some have posted other ways people can show their support. Some are simply venting outrage. Others have posted that they will continue to stand their ground and continue to fulfil their orders.
With the help of artists in Kyiv I present this list of artists and traders, especially in the re-enactment community. Perhaps it is a way you can help, despite the state sponsored violence. Obviously, there are many things that could go wrong with any purchases you make, but I like the idea that new technology could beat barriers that break up communities.
Is continuing to make, and to shop, a non violent act of defiance? What about maintaining communication despite attempts to isolate people?
You could send messages to these shop owners and communicate until the networks go down, or data wall is built up.
This list will grow as I discover more.
Not all of the makers have been able to set up digital downloads, and in a war like this where the boundaries between civilian and soldier are not respected then no transactions are guaranteed.
If anyone else is stuck with their mind frozen trying to make sense of the war – Here are some steps based on how being involved in this installation helped me.
Step 1
Is recognising all the souls caught up in this – however they got there.
Step 2
Is recognising the outrage you may feel that this is taking place. Or perhaps the courage shown in a story, or the horror in something you have seen.
Step 3
Is to fold, and while you fold be mindful of what is happening.
Some, like me, might choose to carry the emotions to God in prayer, to ask why? Or to ask the Holy Spirit to hover round their souls. Or use written prayers or speak as inspired. I know others will have their own ways, and for some even the thought of religion will be a distraction. These steps are an offering from my art, not instructions I’m trying to impose.
Hopefully the installation communicates and is accessible to most people with integrity, whatever their politics or beliefs.
Step 4
Having taken time out to reflect, hopefully you will be in a better place to choose how to act positively, or refrain from reacting negatively. The folded Angels are a visualisation of the process.
Repeat as required…Please copy the idea if you are inspired, send angels to add to our installation if that will help you. Talk to those you trust, and help each other by listening. Look out for other artistic responses…
The next Quartz lent meeting will be one of contemplative reflection. This basically means that people can talk, and be actively listened too, but it isn’t a time for critical bible study or deep rational analysis.
This balances up the other Lent meetings where we will by exploring set questions and discussion to work out answers.
Alison is bringing something to guide our reflections. She will start with the boutique image pictured in this post, and Psalm 42
I bind unto myself today the hardy resilience of Scots in storm swept straths.
We started by sharing the peace of Christ outside the Crichton chapel as usual. Then, as the flooding river was topmost in our minds we followed it down to watch the tide.
A sculpture returned to the earthFoliage sculpted in stoneThe Nith at the Shoogly BridgeWatching the wind
We also read two sections from St Patricks breastplate, but in a new arrangement which brought new insights.
I bind unto myself today
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlitheaven
The power of God to hold and lead
The glorious suns life giving ray
His eye to watch his might to stay
The whiteness of the moon at even
His ear to hearken to my need
The flashing of the lightning free
The wisdom of my God to teach
The whirling tempestuous shocks
His hand to guide his shield to ward
The stable solid earth, the deep salt sea
The word of God to give me speech
Around the old eternal rocks.
His heavenly host to be my guard
And by then the flooding had gone down and there was blue sky. We said the Grace together and went on, having harvested the raw material of reality to smith new spiritual mantles.
This year we are starting with the spiritual nourishment we have found. Perhaps this is in our church activities, perhaps it is in our everyday lives. Wilderness experiences may draw our attention to them, or it might be that we have taken something from our abundance and have “tried it out” to see if it is of benefit to others.
We will have a pattern of thinking about things one week, and then contemplating them in a more Ignation style the next week. Throughout the season we can think about what “fresh expressions” of Church we would like to cultivate, both personally and as a community.
All our meetings will be on Monday evening at 7pm. Please join the mailing list to keep in touch with the details of where we are meeting. You will also be able to contribute your thoughts throughout the week by commenting on posts like this. Even if we are geographically separated we can still be a community.
Week
Date
Topic
1
28th Feb
Are you spirituality hungry – where do you find food? Sharing Pancakes and stories of the good food we have experienced – both Spiritual and Physical !
We will meet at 2pm outside the Crichton chapel as usual. Please keep an especial eye out for the weather forecast as there could be snow in D&G this weekend. Dress for the weather, and even if the snowdrops are hiding under the cailleachs cloak you will be comfortable enough to find them. As usual we will adjust our practice in relationship with our surroundings.
Meeting in Christ’s name and sharing the peace
We meet in Christs name – whether you consider yourself close friends, or are just curious, all are welcome – we share his peace.
Something to set our minds
The Deers Cry, or St Patricks breastplate.
We will read or sing some of this – more details will be posted when I work out how. Please get in touch if you have suggestions. (and look at the text in the featured image on this page).
Reading the book
But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’ Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.
So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.
When we start to think about experiencing the thing, we stop experiencing the thing.
When we remember an experience, we re-experience the experience.
Spring in Scotland strobes between winter and summer. One year we will be enjoying a BBQ on the beach by the Nith on Easter Sunday and the next the streets are swept clear by driving snow. There is a permanence to living things as well though. There is a danger that the above passage leads to dualistic thinking that separates the physical, temporal or secular from the spiritual, eternal and timeless.
The poetry in St Patricks breastplate defends against this. In this prayer armour for living is woven from the eternal substance of the things we experience in, combination with the eternal truths expressed through creeds. We will take some time to become aware of the eternal qualities of that which is around us. The “Solidness of Earth”, “The Suns life giving ray”, or perhaps the bravery of snowdrops and whatever we can find through exploring.
Then we can use these experiences to weave a cloak of protection from the landscape around us. Are you facing a difficult time at work? Wear the helmet of salvation, and also draw the wildness of wind around you under your coat to carry you with confidence. Are you worried about your security? Snowdrops dare the harshness of the last gasp of winter, fragile but returning each year, and the ground we stand on is solid. Perhaps you can practice binding these things to yourself, and yourself to the eternal.
Closing Prayer
If you are able, find a physical thing which represents the eternal quality you want to draw on in your daily life. We can then place these things on the ground together, letting go of the temporary but holding onto to the eternal. “I bind unto myself today the … of …”
Did you know that the Diocese of Dumfries and Galloway has an official Makar?
In this inaugural honorary post, spanning an initial term of four years, Kirstin will mark events in the life and witness of our Diocese by the creation of bespoke pieces of art that will encourage our congregations, communities, and individuals to interact with new directions of creativity and mission throughout the Diocese and further afield.
