The first response has been posted on the creative worship board. What does Jesus mean when he gives this instruction to Mary? Can you hear the words thousands of years away in time and still sense the tenderness from the context?
When so much is out of kilter, what to we need to let go of?
When so much is out of kilter, what do we need to keep a firm grasp of?
Take some time out and drop into the wordsmithcrafts workshop yard. Listen to the birds singing while you reflect on the stories.
Welcome to the 2nd Sunday creative worship service in November. Whether you are online, or in the St Johns building there will be a lot that seems strange.
Set this time aside to rest from the strain, don’t ignore it as the challenge of encountering the unfamiliar can be healthy and helpful, but rest. You are not in this alone, and we have the heritage of the Church spread throughout time and space to draw on. Take time to become aware of your feelings, your thoughts, your breathing, and the peace of God be with you.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now, and shall be for ever.
Amen.
II. PSALM
Psalm 46
Another (extended) version of this playlist can be found here if you are online, have a bit more time, and don’t mind a bit more metal)
Time for ReflectionActivities
The psalm for this Sunday is followed by a playlist of music videos on the theme of refuge. The following activities have been chosen to suggest a wide range of ways to respond to the psalm. Have a look at the headings and have a go at one or all of them. They will be available online at least unitl the 2nd Sunday in December!
In the St Johns building we will be providing clay, but these reflections activities could be carried out using a wide range of materials at home.
Some Questions
Where do you find refuge? What are the foundations you build your life on? When have you felt alone? When has God been your refuge?
Want to make something with an obvious use?
Labyrinths can be used to help guide your meditation, they can be a visualisation of calming down and placing things in order. Becoming aware of God at the heart of your life.
Roll the clay into a ball
Flatten it and roll it out as a disc
Make a dot in the middle
Lightly draw 5 circles radiating out from the dot
Use these lines to trace the path into the centre
The white lines in the picture are the path your finger takes!
You could use this time to write references or words on clay pebbles, stones – or even a wall to remind you of texts you find helpful. The CornerstoneStanding StonesLegal Refuge Assurance
Graphical Truth, meditation on meaningfulness
If you draw a right angle, wrong, the house will be insecure.
You can discover and explore truth with a bit of string and a straight edge, and these are the foundations on which archetecture is based.
Roll out a flat sheet of clay and take some time exploring the making of patterns (or a pencil, ruler and pair of compases on paper).
There is a pattern of circles within which all the Euclidean solids can be formed – perfectly- and this is constant within the human expereince of physical time and space.
So when you look at a building, perhaps you can wonder at the amazing ability given to Humans? Can it be a way to sense less physically accessible truths? Perhaps you could make a more permanent reminder of this as a clay mandalla – or a window frame?
Lord, God almighty, come and dispel the darkness from our hearts, that in the radiance of your brightness we may know you, the only unfading light, glorious in all eternity.
For the last few weeks I have been working on an online celebration of Harvest.
People would usually provide worship in the church building by filling it with a blaze of flowering beauty. This hasn’t stopped, but it is restricted this year.
So I made a digital harvest. I have been sent poems, spinning, papermaking, as well as more traditional harvest content that is food and flower related!
I have even been sent an insight into the machinery which brought in the harvest, and the wonder and joy that exploring the history of technology brings.
Some episcopal churches celebrated harvest last week. This means that I’ve been able to harvest some of their celebration and feature it too. “Though we are many, we are one body”.
When a dream dies and is buried, how can you hope again?
If you are abandoned, who can you trust?
If you have let someone down, what conversations can reconcile you both with each other and the memory of the event?
You will be able to bring your own artwork and add it on, or write, draw or even paint responding to what you find there. This project will be exposed to wind and rain, so prepare accordingly.
Please remain in your household bubbles. Remain 2m apart, and follow the gov.scot guidance. Use the gel in the lobby to clean your hands before and after interacting. Act as if you are infected, protect those who aren’t.
We have been gathering online throughout the covid crisis. This Sunday though we reckoned it was permissable, but also beneficial, to meet together outdoors.
The natural #SensingMeaningfulness weaving from Youthbeatz
The service we will use will be a form of evening prayer, adjusted to be paper free and outdoors. We will also be launching a collaborative art project on the theme of “reconcilliation”.
This will explore three passages which tell the story of Jesus meeting his followers, friends, after he returns from death. As well as the texts we will have prompt sheets to help people access the writing in different ways. The idea is that throughout the month people can add to the installation in their own time, and household bubbles – but we can collectively see it grow.
Use the resources here in your own time. Join us online between 7 and 8 pm on Sunday evening to discuss the theme of “How can we describe a relationship with God”. We may even have some musical worship too.
How to do this will be published on the facebook page (which shows up on this page). Or Email us quartz(AT)wordsmithcrafts.co.uk to be sent an invitation by e-mail.
Resources These resources can be used just as they are, or might help you reflect on themes which feature in the book “The Shack” and the film of the book. These are themes like: suffering, the ups and downs of a personal relationship with God, how do we imagine “The Trinity” as three persons, and one being?
They will all benefit from taking time to do them, either before or after the meetup online for a discussion, so don’t feel pressured to rush.
Reflect Joan Osborne wrote a song called “What if God Was One of Us”. This link will take you to a YouTube video, with the lyrics listed. Listen to the song, watch the video. Some questions to help you reflect: * How does thinking of God as “one of us” make you feel? * Read Philipians ch 2 vs 1-11 and listen to the song again. If God is close, in everyday life, does this tarnish our image of God or does it elevate the ordinary as an antidote to idolatry?
Discuss Online! with a group of us using jitsi The name of the meeting is QuartzCreativeWorship. The song we will be using can be found on YouTube https://youtu.be/6fak-h9_o4w
Create Art is frustrating! The process of producing works of art takes skill and effort. Your perceived lack of success, especially if you invest yourself in the process, can completely undermine your self confidence. However, to not create can be just as bad. You may appear to be successful and conform to everyone’s expectations, but at the expense of suppressing your inner being. The author of “The Shack” uses his imagination to describe his relationship with God in strong images from his culture.
Here is a guide to some activities you could use to explore and express your relationship. Or you could just play with some clay and work through the meanings in Isaiah 45 5 – 13
Learn What does the word “Theodicy” mean? If you enjoy using your reason to wrestle with complicated thoughts and discover #SensingMeaningfulness then it’s time for some theological research. *An introductory essay to “Theodicy” can be found here “What is Theodicy” *A broader discussion can be found here “Theodicy – A Brief Overview”
