Quartz at St Johns Dumfries

Extracts from today’s reading

Blessing to move on with

TA mi lubadh mo ghlun
An suil an Athar a chruthaich mi,
An suil a Mhic a cheannaich mi,
An suil a Spioraid a ghlanaich mi,
     Le gradh agus run.

Doirt a nuas oirnn a flathas
Trocair shuairce do mhathas;
Fhir tha ’n uachdar na Cathair,
     Dean-sa fathamas ruinn.

Tabhair duinn, a Shlan’ear Aigh,
Eagal De, gaol De, agus gradh,
Is toil De dheanamh air talamh gach re,
Mar ni ainghlich is naoimhich air neamh;
Gach la agus oidhche thoir duinn do sheimh,
     Gach la agus oidhche thoir duinn do sheimh.

I AM bending my knee
In the eye of the Father who created me,
In the eye of the Son who died for me,
In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me,
     In love and desire.

Pour down upon us from heaven
The rich blessing of Thy forgiveness;
Thou who art uppermost in the City,
     Be Thou patient with us.

Grant to us, Thou Saviour of Glory,
The fear of God, the love of God, and His affection,
And the will of God to do on earth at all times
As angels and saints do in heaven;
Each day and night give us Thy peace.
     Each day and night give us Thy peace.

From Bk1 Carmina Gadelica

Quartz Forest Church gathering 21st of May 2023

After the excitement of Easter this months forest church gathering is going to be a chance to practice things like “Forest bathing” and #SensingSpirituality, especially #SensingAwareness

Please join us at 2pm outside the Crichton chapel to spend time outdoors #SensingSpirituality

Please read on for more thoughts about what we are attempting to do.

The estate is full of many people doing this in their own way. Activities like Walking the dog or playing football are a normal part of peoples daily routine. You don’t tend to think of the benefits of them, or even seek them out each time because you hope that they will be beneficial. The habits are simply part of a healthy lifestyle like taking a bath to clean your body.

Every now and then though we become aware of just how good it is to be in a place. The way the mist hugs the trees, or the light shines on a drop of water or the experience of a particularly good match that you watch or play in can stand out and create a changed sense of awareness. Not only do you enjoy the moment, but you also become aware of the specialial-ness of it. These memories become treasures and help you form your identity and sense of self. They can be a reservoir of resilience when it’s chucking it down with rain and you don’t have the energy to hope for an enjoyable walk.

Take a moment and compare this with your experience of services in church, if you have any. For some the smell of the place, the flow of the poetry in the words, being with people and singing of thoughts through song becomes physical feeling of sound harmonised with the building and belief.

I was there when he set the heavens in place,

    when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

when he established the clouds above

    and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,

 when he gave the sea its boundary

    so the waters would not overstep his command,

and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

     Then I was constantly at his side.

I was filled with delight day after day,

    rejoicing always in his presence,

 rejoicing in his whole world

    and delighting in mankind.

Proverbs 8: 27 – 31

Do you recognise who is speaking in these words?

Learning #SensingAwareness can be a process of learning to recognise the “Voice”, in unfamiliar places – or perhaps in familiar places too!

So this Sunday we will spend time doing the normal activities of meeting, walking, together in a park, talking, eating, and drinking; and they will become special.

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Look out for a special Midsummer events – A Labyrinth at Caerlaverock castle, Forest Church on Wardlaw hill