This post is part of a series forming a review of Quartz activity. For an overview of the report start hereat the“Sabbatical”post.
School Visiting
In 2003 I set up in an art gallery in Southampton as Wordsmithcrafts – The Viking in the Basement. I started making shoes and other leather goods for re-enactors. I also produced my own works of contemporary art and soaked up knowledge about the heritage of Southampton and traditional craft skills. This included adding blacksmithing to the wordsmithing I already carried out whenever I told a story. The workshop itself embodied a story, and as it was in an art gallery those who dropped in were willing, even eager, to discuss the nature of meaning and explore the ethos I was experimenting with.
Set up for a solo visit
After setting up my workshop in the basement of an art gallery one of the first services I began to provide was visiting schools as a “Viking” to help tell the story of the “Invaders and settlers”. These are immersive days where the pupils get to meet a character from the past brought to life. They can handle replica artefacts, ask questions and explore history through specialist activities. The particular story is tailored to the school’s needs and over the years I have collected equipment and knowledge to span from Southampton to Shetland, and from the British Iron Age to the time of the Border Reivers.
The current selection on offer can be viewed on the Cluaran website. This service is paid for by schools from a range of sources, usually the Parent Council/PTA but also windfarm and other community funds. I work with freelancers and voluntary groups to provide this service to schools, but also to provide training and formal volunteering opportunities that benefit the people involved.
Sweetheart breviary interpretation.
Photos by Clarice Milligan
Of particular interest to Quartz is work I carried out for the Museums Service in 2017 to interpret the Sweetheart breviary. As well as the school visits I also sat in the museum to work with members of the public who dropped in. This project was extended beyond the funding available through support from St John’s as Quartz.
The extra content involved using content adapted from the framework from “Time for Reflection”(TFR) in schools to use in the museum setting. To find out more please download the above files from the project.
Arts Development
Having set up the Wordsmithcrafts workshop in Dumfries in 2011, the opportunity arose in 2013 to apply for funding to help young artists explore the possibility of finding employment in the creative industries. As well as giving them opportunities to participate in community arts activities, this project encouraged them to practice #SensingSpirituality throughout their involvement and to record this in journals or Vlogs. The project is described here https://www.wordsmithcrafts.co.uk/McNab14.html
I have maintained a website www.wordsmithcrafts.co.uk since 2003. Recognising the importance of a shift from billboard-like websites to full social media use as represented by Facebook I have also maintained a Facebook page and a presence on other social media platforms. I have used my personal Facebook page to build relationships and engage in conversation online in a similar way to bumping into people in the pub. A notable difference is that whilst pub capacity is limited, I am directly connected to over a thousand people every time I make an online comment, and this will be shared with their friends too. I am also linked worldwide and can continue theological discussions started at university.
I maintain a Quartz facebook page, twitter feed and Instagram account with a more modest audience of 300 or so. In the run up to Easter this year when I was posting consistently I reached almost 200 people a post, although engagement and interaction are a lot lower than this. During the second lockdown early in 2021 I moved online activity from Facebook to the new WordPress-based Quartz website in preparation for supporting an online user group should the opportunity arise.
During lockdown I took my Wordsmithcrafts activity online. Cluaran facilitated “Tales from the Longhouse” where we provided a monthly time and place to gather online to replace the experience of gathering in physical groups to hear stories. We also hosted an informal gathering for storytellers to practice telling stories to each other. Following up Hidden Histories work with LIFT (Lochside Is Families Together), I also took part in a series of online activities for families. These were presented over Facebook Live, and I contributed a viking story, a saints story and a craft every week throughout Lent. this was part funded by Quartz (the saints stories) and part by Lift (Heritage and crafts) but all were presented through the character of Cathbad the Cyberculdee – a time traveling monk from “The Floating Monastery” on Facebook and YouTube.
I view this online presence as a very real extension to my physical presence in Dumfries, or wherever I travel. I do not use it as a virtual existence to escape to, but more as a way to enhance my offline activity. I love meeting people in physical life, and it is very difficult to teach crafts without that! However, especially in Lockdown, being comfortable meeting up for a drink at an online pub has meant that I can overcome barriers of distance to keep in touch and be part of niche interest networks and friendship groups spread accross Europe. There is a lot of unrealised potential in working with digital residents.
This post is part of a series forming a review of Quartz activity. For an introduction and overview of the report start hereat the“Sabbatical”post.
Activities like Interweave, All Age Worship, Second Sunday and Housegroups best fall into this category. They are all activities which draw from recognised models of Church and adapt or apply them in new contexts and ways. Unlike an outward facing “Fresh Expression” the direction of movement was to draw on the context of everyday life, and then plant this in the church environment to see what would grow. This ‘internal ecumenism’ approach used creative spirituality to give established attenders of St John’s the opportunity to try out new things themselves and learn to value the possibilities presented by practices beyond their traditional church experiences.
Interweaves started by applying the multimedia approach to services first established by Alternative/Creative worship communities in the 1980’s and 90’s. (I’ve written a post about this here which includes video footage of what they looked like back then). The building of St John’s was used as a canvas within which to create an immersive experience that drew from traditional church liturgies and activities, combining them with contemporary popular culture. At each event a theme was chosen and then the team worked collaboratively to explore and express the insights gained during preparation – as well as plan activities for those who just came to participate in the event.
The big Interweaves involved a team of around five volunteers supported by a week’s worth of professional time. They were often themed around specific festivals celebrated both within St John’s and the wider Dumfries community. Some connected chaplaincy work in schools at assemblies and in classrooms with the Interweave event through the use of similar activities adapted to each context. Interweaves were publicised on the Quartz Facebook page which also provided an avenue for further engagement. Artwork used at Interweaves was left in place when appropriate and contributed to the seasonal changes in the St John’s building marked by flowers, colours and the permanent artwork bonded to the fabric of the building.
Advent 2014 Poster
Images from Advent Interweave 2014 and supporting activities
Difficulties encountered included timetabling clashes where established activities were given priority. The building is magnificent, but not designed to support multimedia installations, and simple things like finding plug sockets could be a challenge. As everything was temporary, setting up and taking down required considerable effort from the core team. As it wasn’t a defined service it was difficult to explain what Interweave was. The name “Interweave” was actually a late development, and early events were named individually and described collectively as “Creative Worship” when a term was required.
Difficulties can build a team however, and the challenge of hanging things without using scaffolding and of working together to create something beautiful, interesting and engaging was great. Interweaves could adapt flexibly to constraints imposed, and to involve temporary residents in Dumfries such as students, benefiting from their skills.
As there was an overlap between those involved in quarterly Interweaves and the more frequent informal service (currently known as All Age), aspects of the two events were shared. Examples of this included the collaborative approach, the use of creative spirituality from serving food to visual arts installations and a range of ritual, musical worship and words.
A ‘Second Sunday’ poster (used online)
The “Second Sunday” events developed last of all the Quartz activities. They focussed on a single creative worship approach for each event and filled a gap in the cycle of forms of evening prayer. When Lockdown happened “Second Sunday” moved online. We provided a range of ideas for people to carry out creative worship in their households, and a live chat window to meet up online. This was blended with physical meet ups when safe and activities such as walks and making a cairn of stones.
Quartz also facilitated a series of housegroups. These are included in this collection of activities because whilst Lent study groups are a traditional part of St John’s life, the topics of study for the Quartz group included books on alternative worship, forest church and spiritual responses to the climate crisis that explored rethinking the traditional relationship between human institutions like the church and the rest of creation.
The groups also featured creative approaches like using video conferencing to make meeting accessible even when people couldn’t leave their houses (long before lockdown).
Footage filmed before and during Covid, used to bring the outside indoors when locked down.
This class of activity fits less easily into the idea of “Fresh Expressions” because there was no intent as Quartz to develop another instance of church. It is perhaps better described as preparation for a “Fresh Expression” or for welcoming internal growth and training in creative spirituality.
Some statistics for the number crunchers. Attendance at interweaves varied too much between events and over the years to work out a reasonable averageso I have focussed on typical volunteer team hours supported.
This post is part of a series forming a review of Quartz activity. For an introduction and overview of the report start hereat the“Sabbatical”post.
Sometimes the church is invited to contribute to the life of the community. As a guest there are responsibilities, but also there is a welcome and a recognition of worth. School chaplaincy was one of the first ways I was involved with St John’s in activities which led to the setting up of Quartz. I started by working on an art project with St Ninian’s Primary, a school originally set up by the St John’s community along with a mission church. This developed into a programme of regular assemblies. It then broadened to include more schools, both primary and secondary and occasional nursery visits.
Hidden Histories
In 2017/18 I worked with a Sleeping Giants project called Hidden Histories. I was employed in my capacity as an artist, Wordsmithcrafts, but this led to opportunities to participate and involve volunteers as Quartz. The project aimed to give people access to their heritage and develop better futures. This involved exploring general spirituality, and alternative models of group descison making (such as The Ways of the Council).
My main role was as a living history advisor, and to do this I adopted the character of a time travelling culdee from “The Floating Monastery“. As a guest, and associate worker with, Sleeping Giants in a community context it was important that my actions were conducted professionally and inclusively. When you are walking through a landscape shaped by Christians for over a thousand years, the story tells itself if you know where to look, or have someone inviting you to ask questions.
A review of some of the activities carried out as Hidden Histories
As Quartz I was able to follow up interest generated by Hidden Histories after my employment with them came to an end. This meant I supported weekly craft sessions, and this also provided an opportunity for a visitor to Dumfries from the American Episcopal Church as she describes here:
I also attended events continuing the now familiar character of Cathbad. This included two “Abbey Antics” events. The first was actually held at the Abbey (Lincluden Collegiate Church). We provided some “Time for Reflection” activities, demonstrated manuscript-making skills and gave tours of the ruins communicating its significance to those who lived there, as well as the continuing living tradition. The second year there was a yellow weather warning, so we adapted and I have described the experience here.
School Chaplaincy
My involvement in schools chaplaincy started with St Ninian’s Primary School. Following a review of Religious Observance in schools by the Scottish Government, St John’s responded to a request by Dumfries High School. I became part of a chaplaincy team, primarily delivering four assemblies a year. This developed into classroom work in the lead up to the assembly, which improved pupil engagement. I also contributed to RMPS classes and ongoing continual professional development after attending council run curriculum for excellence training sessions in Religious Observance/Time for reflection. At one point I was working with four primary schools and one secondary school. I delivered four assemblies a year in most of them, and contributed to classes and worked with teachers in others.
Two of the schools closed and merged into a new superschool. The new rector at St John’s was keen to take a hands on approach herself rather than the previous model where I delivered on the ground, following up leads and supported by the previous Rector who had a strategic role on the council education committee. With the changes to the schools and having been active in this field for over five years I was ready for a change. I continue to work with Dumfries High school.
Instead of an assembly in person, a lockdown video to be played during registration.
When schools shifted to working from home, and visits to assemblies were no longer possible I moved online. I recorded video presentations, and developed a Pandemic resources page with a mixture of Wordsmithcrafts and Quartz activities. I also transmitted three sessions a week from “The Floating Monastery” on Facebook as part of the LIFT activities progamme in the run up to Easter 2020. Not strictly school chaplaincy, or purely Quartz activity, but working in the same community as the Hidden Histories project.
A sample primary school assembly:
A pdf version of the powerpoint presentation used in the assembly (with speakers notes)
I also visit schools as Wordsmithcrafts (currently described as the Cluaran Living History Project). In this activity I am hired by a school to contribute to the curriculum by turning the classroom into a day-long interactive story. I use a combination of props, stories and activities, either solo or with a team. When I first met the current year group at the High School over half of them remembered me as having visited their primary school as a Viking, usually when they were in P5 , so about six years previously. I meet pupils in pubs and the street who remember me from doing assemblies too!
This area was not a conscious “Fresh Expressions” activity as the main objective held by St John’s was to try and attract people to its regular activities, or perhaps those newly developed as described in “Planting and Adoption”. Involvement in the community did however increase the confidence of the volunteers involved, and provide opportunities for them to discuss their faith in shared spaces. It also maintained the public profile of St John’s, and contributed to the development of “Spiritual Literacy”. I also used these opportunities to develop the material for schools into a community learning and development context.
Some statistics for the number crunchers. One primary school requires four assemblies and two lesson visits per class a year so 16 hrs for a primary school and 86 for a secondary school annually. Multiple same stage schools or team working can share preparation time, butI haven’t included team meetings or teacher CPD in these estimates.
This post is an introduction and overview. Within each section there is a link, giving you the opportunty to read more (and watch videos or download files) about that type of activity on its own post, and then link back here.
My time on sabbatical is drawing to a close. One of the questions I have been reflecting on is how to describe what it is I do, and in particular what I do that is recognisable as St John’s activity. This is not a question that can answered by presenting a diary of a typical three months, even if there is flexibility in choosing which three months that might be.
When I first started working on Quartz I kept such a diary, and have a spreadsheet with hours on each activity logged and categorised up to 2019. Some activities were income-generating and others voluntary. In some I was obviously identifiable as representing St John’s, others were explicitly Christian but not generally recognised as a St John’s type of thing. Other areas of activity could be described as simply contributing to the community or exploring heritage and artistic expression.
It is much more difficult to quantify the significance of, or time spent on, my own mulling over what I was learning or time in the forge hammering metal and my mind into a shape where I become aware of opportunities and creative solutions. This is the context within which Quartz developed. In discussion with the Rector and Vestry, specific areas of activity were identified as recognised desirable contributions to the life of the church. These contributed to overall aims to develop spiritual literacy in the community, work with local schools and support creative spirituality with my artistic skills at St John’s events.
Quartz has also been flexible, responding to opportunities and the requests made by the leadership and community of St John’s and beyond. This changes seasonally, adapting to school term times and wider community activities. It also means that the project has changed over the years it has been running as the opportunity to work within different communities has presented itself.
Initially there was a focus on schools work and creative worship services, as well as mentoring and providing opportunities for young artists to develop or try out career options.
This then developed into more work with adults and a pattern of Interweaves within the building and Outerweaves at community events.
The third phase involved a lot of work in North West Dumfries building on links I had been developing with the youth and heritage sectors as Wordsmithcrafts.
In the fourth phase, adapting to needs arising from loss of people involved and a change in church leadership, Quartz activity became more focused on supporting activities within the St John’s context.
When lockdown occurred the release from the pressures of normal physical activities opened up new possibilities to develop Quartz online. When people who were unfamiliar with online existence found they needed to migrate to the internet, they found Quartz had moved in years before and was a digital resident. The website you are reading this on is new, but Wordsmithcrafts has had a website since early in the millennium, and cyberpilgrimages, online sacred spaces and the relatoinship between early medieval manuscripts and digitally illuminated screens is something which I have explored artistically from the beginning.
One of the reasons for undergoing a time of sabbatical was a perception that the understanding and relationship which existed when the activities which became the Quartz project was set up had been lost. I am still unable to describe this satisfactorily here. I have however been able to reconnect with the theme currently described as “Fresh Expressions” which provides frameworks and language to describe the sorts of things which Quartz has been doing.
So instead of a calendar of events and activities, I’ve used a framework based on five headings described by Hodgett and Bradbury in their 2018 article “Pioneering Ministry is a Spectrum” (ANVIL vol 34 issue 1). This will allow me to report on the diversity of activities carried out as Quartz, show how they relate to Wordsmithcrafts in general, and also answer the question about how it relates to St John’s.
Although Quartz was not set up to generate “Fresh Expressions” of church, it did work towards the
“Engagement with new constituencies”
aims of St Johns Mission action plan both by taking the activity of St John’s out of the building into new settings and by contributing the growth experienced from this to life within the building. At the end of this post I have a redrawing of the Hodgett and Bradbury diagram to reflect how Quartz has worked within the ‘attractional’ mission strategy of St John’s rather than the ‘missional’ or pioneering mission strategy setting of the Fresh Expressions diagram.
Hopefully these examples will help the congregation of St John’s recognise the presence of Church activity in unfamiliar contexts – and inspire future activity and growth!
(I’m also checking my diary, looking at the finances and getting an idea of how much it took to make each activity happen, as well as how much ‘extra worth’ was generated from the initial investment)
Types of activity
As is described elsewhere, Quartz is a partnership between St John’s and Wordsmithcrafts. Some of the following activities are beyond the scope of Quartz, others will be recognisable as ways to fulfil aspects of the Mission Action Plans made by St John’s (especially chaplaincy in schools, engaging with those on the margins, small groups, incorporating new ways to be church). Quartz itself gradually came into existence as this overlap between Wordsmithcrafts activity and St John’s was recognised, and to support those things which could be described as St John’s activity.
The first class of activity “Church Plants” is the most easily identifiable as ‘Church’. As they move to the right they become less obviously ‘Church’ to those who consider themselves to be Church. Please remember that all of these activities are interlinked as you read the descriptions. They have developed as opportunities arose, and this process of describing them is made with hindsight, with a flavouring of hope to enhance readers’ appetite for more.
Please follow the links in each section to explore the types of activities more fully
Planting and Adaptation
Activities like Interweave, All Age Worship, Second Sunday and Housegroups best fall into this category. They are all activities which draw from recognised models of Church and adapt or apply them in new contexts and ways.
Interweaves started by applying the multimedia approach to services first established by Alternative/Creative worship communities in the 1980’s and 90’s. The building of St John’s was used as a canvas within which to create an immersive experience that drew from traditional church liturgies and activities, combining them with contemporary popular culture. At each event a theme was chosen and then the team worked collaboratively to explore and express the insights gained during preparation – as well as plan activities for those who just came to participate in the event.
This class of activity fits less easily into the idea of “Fresh Expressions” because there was no intent as Quartz to develop another instance of church. It is perhaps better described as preparation for a “Fresh Expression” or for welcoming internal growth and training in creative spirituality.
Build as a guest
Sometimes the church is invited to contribute to the life of the community. As a guest there are responsibilities, but also there is a welcome and a recognition of worth. School chaplaincy was one of the first ways I was involved with St John’s in activities which led to the setting up of Quartz. I started by working on an art project with a school originally set up by the St John’s community along with a mission church. This developed into a programme of regular assemblies. It then broadened to include more schools, both primary and secondary and occasional nursery visits. I also contributed to RMPE classes and ongoing continual professional development after attending Council-run Curriculum for Excellence training sessions in Religious Observance/Time for reflection.
In 2017/18 I worked with a Sleeping Giants project called Hidden Histories. I was employed in my capacity as an artist, Wordsmithcrafts, but this led to opportunities to participate and involve volunteers as Quartz. Interpreting the heritage of a ruined collegiate church provided some special moments; on another occasion I was asked to tell the Easter story to an impromptu crowd of parents and their children.
Again, this was not a conscious “Fresh Expressions” activity, as the main objective held by St John’s was to try and attract people to its regular activities, or perhaps those newly developed as described in “Planting and Adoption”. Involvement in the community did however increase the confidence of the volunteers involved, and provide opportunities for them to discuss their faith in shared spaces. It also maintained the public profile of St John’s, and contributed to the development of “Spiritual Literacy”. I also used these opportunities to develop the material for schools into a community learning and development context.
Walk with and accompany
This area of activity is described as working with new constituencies and takes place outside of the building. It is therefore more difficult to recognise as a St John’s activity by the St John’s community. We have tried to address this issue through magazine articles, comments made from the pulpit, updates on social media and on the St John’s website, as well as all the activities described in the first two areas.
Those within the congregation who have been interested in this area of activity have attended housegroups or asked one too many questions and then found themselves in a tent at Kirkcudbright Arts and Crafts Trail, walking labyrinths and being privileged to witness people discovering their ability for #SensingSpirituality in daily life.
This area of activity shares a lot with “Build as a Guest“. However in this setting there is no host organisation or community. As it was beyond the scope of Quartz to establish any permanent communities (that could be fresh expressions of church), Quartz activity has been restricted to creating temporary spaces. This has resulted in longer term relationships and the development of trust with a wide range of groups. Whilst culture within Scotland has been shaped by church influence, trust can not be assumed. There are many who have had negative experiences of church and are deeply suspicious of the intent of missionaries. In particular, discussing issues of human identity and sexuality are a challenge. These are core Faith issues and failure to come to terms emotionally and rationally with changes in culture is to fail actual people, not just a theoretical exercise. I mention it in this context because the growth strategy of many churches has been to expect young people to return when they decide to marry and have children, and buildings are still sought after wedding venues even for the unchurched and de-churched.
There is a loose working title of “Outerweaves” to describe this type of activity. This short video is made to describe one of them.
This particular Outerweave was linked with an Interweave in St Johns and to work with the Hidden Histories project. It was carried out at the Nith Raid river festival which was set up as an arts project to help people reconnect with the river Nith and transform their relationship with it.
Develop community with kingdom values
Wordsmithcrafts accompanies those with passion for history and crafts. It provides access to skills and resources. It creates shared spaces for exploration, discussion and debate. I participate in festivals, support my travels by making things for the heritage sector and delivering services they value. I have invested in developing a community of voluntary enthusiasts within Dumfries and Galloway. I did this within a larger network and it is now a sustainable local group with around 30 members and a new group leader who was recruited and trained as the group grew. In addition, until lockdown Wordsmithcrafts generated general heritage activity opportunities for volunteers and freelancers, many of whom were on low incomes. It has helped young artists explore professional opportunities and discover Europe-wide possibilities.
It is right to ask what this has to do with the church. On one level it is simply my passion, and an employment opportunity just like selling shoes (session 4 talks about shoes, listen to the rest!) or coffee. On other levels it creates opportunities for shared/proximity spaces. It is a mutually agreed exchange of resources and skills to make the world better. It is like moving to another country and working, playing, living, alongside people rather than coming in with a self-sustaining, externally-funded colonial agenda. When I set out to found Wordsmithcrafts no geographical movement was required. The distance between all church cultures and those described on St John’s website as “‘not natural church-goers’” is far enough.
So when I visit schools I remain within the educational remit of helping the pupils recreate the lives of those who have contributed to the Scotland we live in now. Within this I include the story of changing beliefs, and the role of Christians, which might otherwise be forgotten. When appropriate and agreed, I have part funded my professional services with Quartz time to interpret places like Abbeys, or artifacts like the Sweetheart breviary, and to provide “Time for Reflection” activities where participants can practice #SensingSpirituality as well as using all their other senses.
As I described in the introduction, the aim of St John’s was to bridge this gap and attract people into the life of the St John’s community. I have done this to the extent that St John’s has been able to adapt to welcome new growth, and by contributing to the reputation of St John’s in a similar way to the many other members who are active in the community.
The intentionally with which I choose opportunities to explore, and exchanges I make in the pursuit of business go beyond just being a Christian living within a workplace however. Wordmithcrafts has a distinctive ethos, and in a similar way to one of my immersive school experiences, those who come into the orbit of Wordsmithcrafts encounter an incarnation of the story at the core of my being.
If you explore the “walking with” section you will hopefully understand that this is accompanied by an approach that respects differences of opinion and belief, and is carried out with a care to ensure that all concerned can participate fully, with integrity. If people then ask questions about the ethos, or are attracted to the way, then further exploration is possible.
I have not however formed new worshipping communities, which would be a different “Fresh Expressions” strategy. There have been glimmers of what this could look like, and I am keen to discuss how these could be taken forward, particularly in partnership with St Johns and the wider Church in the future.
I will finish with two overviews of wordsmithcrafts activity. The first is from 2007 when I opened the wordsmithcrafts workshop and was discussed with the rector at that time.
In it I attempt to separate business activity from the “pioneering ministry” aspects of what I am intending to do. Close reading will show that I do not quite manage this.
The following overview presents a sample of Wordsmithcrafts and voluntary activity, highlighting that which can be identified as supported by the Quartz partnership.
This diagram assumes a starting point of Wordsmithcrafts as a pioneer project, existing outside of traditional church activity. It then adapts spiritual practices that are discovered there to enrich church contexts. The diagram is not complete. It is hoped however, that by looking at it and the more detailed examples contained within this report, that you the reader will have a clearer understanding of what Quartz is and what I do.
If St John’s were to send missionaries to New Zealand, would the congregation expect numerical growth within the DG1 building as a result? The geographical distance would be too great.
Would they expect those interested in Christianity to wear British clothes, learn to speak English and adopt the economic models and values of middle class living in the UK? Perhaps, but how would they justify this imposition of cultural expectations in the light of passages such as Galatians 3 (especially vs 28)?
Historically the congregation of St John’s has faced the challenges of cultural and geographical distance within the Dumfries area by establishing new congregations in Maxwelltown and then NW Dumfries. The challenge to go and make disciples of all nations/ethnos has been met by going out and expanding the community, rather than reeling in.
The ideas and activities represented by Quartz have been experimented with in the St John’s context for over 10 years now. This follows on from Project Welcome activity. This report identifies cultures, opportunities and areas of possible growth. It describes shared spaces that have been created within and beyond St John’s. It also explains why this growth should be outside the current building and church culture. The harvest is plentiful, but we need a different methodology. It is time to plant seeds with an expectation of them growing but a willingness to let them sprout but then sink back into the soil and enrich the bio diversity of the area, if that is God’s will.
This post is part of a series forming a review of Quartz activity. For an introduction and overview of the report start hereat the“Sabbatical”post.
“Pioneers venture into the edges of postmodern culture exploring spirituality alongside fellow seekers and nomads“
The communities Quartz has walked closest with are the Heritage and Arts communities. Most of the Heritage activities fall into the next section, so I’m going to focus on the Arts for a while.
Outerweave is a general title to complement Interweave. The two activities used similar techniques to explore, understand and express spirituality. You can find out more on the Wordsmithcrafts website here. Or you could get a flavour by watching this video from an Outerweave at Kirkcudbright Arts and Crafts trail:
and YouthBeatz in the health and wellbeing area:
Walking with artists involves experimenting with art. A lockdown theme for my artwork has been drawn together from gazing into the river and reflecting. A range of work comes together under the term “Nith Mirror”:
I describe something of my motivation and process here:
And this is a day spent with Alison Fair Bixler exploring the relationship between words and peoples experience of Love on Valentine’s day in the Stove Cafe:
In these activities I walk with people who are exploring the edges of culture. They are passionate about ritual and ask big questions about the nature of the cosmos. Sometimes they do this in words, but more often it is following gut instinct and testing solutions to find out what works.
Presenting Christianity as a unique metanarrative which explains everything works for some people. They are probably already committed to a form of religious practice, or perhaps will respond well to an Alpha course. This is not an approach suited to post-modernity however, where global culture is normal and kids will live on LA time to keep up with YouTube stars if left to their own devices, as will many of their parents. They are skilled in building a raft of meaning, sometimes internally contradictory, but which floats enough to get them where they need to go. They will often be happy to add something new to improve this raft but are suspicious of the claims and demands made by institutions like the Church.
If Christianity is unique, then as long as pioneers are walking in the way of Jesus they will help people find their path over the rainbow bridge that promises to lead to one of the many dwelling places that are prepared.
There is no ready-made path in spirituality, even when we follow masters and schools, ancient or modern, and even if we feel ourselves clothed in the multitude of brothers and sisters who have gone before us or come with us on our travels. There is no ready-made path, but Jesus is the way. And he himself is the bread and wine we need for the journey. There is no need to wait for maps to replace our spirituality or to stop us from creatively exploring new heights or greater depths. Walking in him, according to his Spirit, we make a safe path by walking. (xxvi)
or more simply
There is no path. There is a Way. And we make the path by walking. (xxvii)
– Pedro Casalddliga, Jose Maria Vigil, THE SPIRITUALITY OF LIBERATION 1992 BURNS & OATES
The first thing developed to link this type of activity to St Johns church was a set of cards we could give to people we had conversations with. These cards featured the Scottish Episcopal Church and St Johns logos. The Quartz graphics were also developed to help make connections between the diverse activities carried out, and also to link to the online social media presence. These methods are designed to work with a digitally literate community, but are less effective at connecting with the bulk of the traditional church population. When this was pointed out I developed the following graphics and started to use them more consitently within St Johns communications, on e-mail etc. as well as externally.
The cross design used as the Quartz logo was part of the first presentation made to the Vestry around 2014. The four coloured areas represent four areas of activity which the project (briefly called a colony of heaven project inspired by St Ninians legendary work with Candida Casa at Whithorn). The inner circle represents core church culture activities, and the outer areas are examples of similar activities practiced by Christians in the wider community – “walking with”. The names used for the projects will probably be unfamiliar, but the intent was to try things out and see what worked.
Here is the original drawing with its labels.
Follow this link to get back to the“Sabbatical”post.
