Category: Arts

Advent Angels

Post author By admin
Post date 12/11/2021
1 Comment on Advent Angels

This Christmas Quartz is creating a large scale installation in the roof of St. Johns Church Building.

In the run up to Christmas, we are going to fill the ceiling with a rainbow of Angels. Each one can be a response to Covid, a way to mark a memory, and a prayer carried in a message to God. Each Sunday in Advent we will add more Angels, and they will stay up throughout the Christmas season.

Interesting things are also being planned for Candlemas.

We are going to make the Angels using origami. They will be all the colours of the rainbow. For those who would like to participate but are worried about their origami skills we will have people to help you. We will also have Origami angles made you can write on, and shiny silver and gold angels ready cut out so that everyone can make this project sparkle.

Just as in the past when we have installed “Stars of Hope” and Pentecost flames in the building, we invite the whole community to be involved. We will produce an info pack with folding instructions and guidance on how to make this process a mindful moment. The Church will be open during services so people can see the canopy take shape, of course, and also at other times which will be advertised on this site and elsewhere.

To whet your appetite, here is a gallery of images of other Angel artwork and canopies around the UK and beyond.

“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.”
Matthew 18: 10

Arts creation Theology

Homo laudans

Post author By admin
Post date 28/09/2021
3 Comments on Homo laudans

The Cathedral of Creation

It has often been said that people have a God shaped hole they need to fill. The Gospel is then presented as good news, that the hole can be filled.

It is, of course, true that like the father in the story of the prodigal son, God rushes from the house to meet us in our need. Jesus became low in order to lift us up, and we should call on our saviour in times of need.

However, what if you are one of the people who experiences God in the sparkling of light on the water? Or for whom the joy of tasting brambles and of just “living life” is a constant reminder of the presence of God. Perhaps then the Gospel for you is not characterised by the filling of an absence.

When you read in the Gospel of John that “…But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, …” this can the recognition of an overflowing of abundance found within the core of your being. A natural inclination to praise God that finds it’s shape in the unfolding story of Christianity.

What if the feelings of disatisfaction many experience within their christian life could be described as a hunger to expand their awareness. Just as children experience an urge to grow beyond the familiar safe space that those who care for them create, if we are filled with potential by God then this will drive us to seek more of God in the unfamiliar.

Rather than wondering why the “God shaped hole” isn’t filled no matter how much you give up or deny yourself, perhaps it is time to rest and remember the confidence God has in you and in who you are becoming. Trust that the yoke is easy and burden light.

Take time to remember how the sunlight sparkles on water, gather brambles that grow wild in hedgerows, and discover new ways of joining with creation to praise God for the things that make your heart sing.

And for those who like reading theology:

John Reuben Davies, “Human being and the praise of God” ch2 in “Made in the Image of God” Ed. Michael Fuller & David Jasper Sacristy press 2021 www.sacristy.co.uk

Tags #sensingawareness, #SensingSpirituality, Knowing Jesus

Arts climate change Thought of the Day

Curiosity, Creativity and the Climate

Post author By admin
Post date 23/09/2021
No Comments on Curiosity, Creativity and the Climate

This is event is happening on the day I post it – so not much advance warning I’m afraid. Even if the event has passed by the time you read this though, follow the link and find out more. Perhaps it will encourage and inspire you.

https://www.christianaid.org.uk/events/curiosity-creativity-and-climate

Even just knowing that Christian Aid have a Prophetic Activist on their team might make your fingers tingle…

Arts climate change Fresh Expressions Thought of the Day

News and Updates

This post is a collection of the things which Quartz people have been sending in because they found them interesting.

Creation time

This year Eco-Congregation Scotland and Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) combine to provide a bank of resources of real value to congregations, in a variety of current media, to facilitate ‘Creation Time/Creationtide/Season of Creation’ as, with Christians around the world, we dedicate this short season to reflection on our often troubled relationship with the Earth.

Creation Time

Nature Focused Daily Meditation

Encountering Christ in Nature

Without a sense of the inherent sacredness of the world—of every tiny bit of life and death—we struggle to see God in our own reality, let alone to respect reality, protect it, or love it. The consequences of this ignorance are all around us, seen in the way we have exploited and damaged our fellow human beings, the dear animals, the web of growing things, the land, the waters, and the very air. My good friend and co-author Patrick Boland invites us to experience Christ in nature:

Unveiling the Universal Christ: Weekly Summary

Nomas

These guys are based in Dundee, you might find some of the opinions they express in their intro video a wee bit harsh – but will that stop you from hearing the points they are making?

About Nomas

Archive of artists talks

Contribute

If you have seen something you would like to show other people, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise – send the link in to Quartz

Tags #SensingSpirituality

Arts Febreflection Fresh Expressions

Transcendence

Post author By admin
Post date 01/09/2021
No Comments on Transcendence

There is a much quoted insight gained by Jeremiah when he watched a potter working away making clay pots.

This can be encountered in many ways. For a moment though, imagine what it is like to be the clay on a potters wheel.

Your centre is hardly moving at all, but travelling outwards the speed at which your substance moves increases. If you were standing, spinning and stretched out your arms they would fly at a dizzying speed. It would feel like every atom of your being had an urge to fly off into space.

(Please read the artists description as well as watching the film)

Tags #SensingSpirituality, Christfulness, Creative Worship, Ignation, poetry, rituals, Sprituality

Arts Fresh Expressions Thought of the Day

Finding the Depth

Humans are deeply spiritual animals. For centuries in Scotland this has been explored and expressed through the Church. In the last century however this has changed.

At one time the Church provided political authority, social services, education, healthcare, and the opportunity to experience the best of the arts. A church was the place to go to to access these things, or to contribute to the provision of them for those in need. When many of these tasks were delegated to secular authorities the Church remained as the spiritual specialist, proving access to deeper things.

Can a church so disconnected from secular life continue to do this though?

For some church life still blends seamlessly with their everyday life, and going to a church on a Sunday is like drinking deeply from a well which flows into every day and everywhere they go.

Others find beauty on mountain tops, mystery in forests, charity when they watch TV ads and Love in the extended family experience of a hobby club. They mark births and deaths through social media, and relationship changes with status updates. When they search for deeper spiritual experiences they have a global culture to explore. Here is an example – for these experiences to be genuine, do they have to be experienced through Church?

You try … you fail … failure is not bad … it is the way to grow.

Jesus talked about a shepherd leaving the bulk of his flock grazing where they were content in order to go searching for the one rogue sheep.

Read it here…

How much effort do our churches put into preserving buildings and the orders of service they inherited, while about 80% of the decendants of the people who built those buildings never enter them?

In psalm 23 the author talks about dwelling in the house of the Lord. If you read the beginning of the psalm though most of the time is spent on the move, finding new waters, seeking out grass.

Churches need caretakers who can look after the building and anoint tired brows with refreshing oils. They also need pioneers who will wander with semi-feral sheep and goats. Ones who carry big sticks to face the darkness, and who are skilled in diving deep in search of adventure.

Arts Creative Worship Fresh Expressions Mission Thought of the Day

Creative Worship

In the 1980’s and 90’s something called “Alternative Worship” emerged. What happened, where did the explosion of creative energy lead, how many of the communities are still recognisable and what are the people who were involved doing now?

As a start, here are some links to introduce readers who may be unfamilar with the concept. These are pretty much just a scattering of what I found quickly, there is a lot more from the UK and worldwide.

“God in the House”

A 1996 TV series filmed some of these services in operation. It was in 1996, and even then the introduction made me cringe. However after a year of lockdown and two seasons with the likelyhood of no festivals the atmosphere looks particularly appealing. This was in an era of slide projectors and VHS and while the internet was running on dial up …

“God in the House” on IMDB

An episode featuring the “Late Late Service Community” in Glasgow who I worshipped with for a while until I moved East to St Andrews.

Another one of the episodes, featuring “Grace”

The Wikipedia entry

Alternative Worship

“Grace” – as it is at the moment

Their website

Facebook

Small Fire

A photo image archive of Alternative Worship services – with links to the contributing groups.

Beyond Church

Based in Brighton, ten events a year, including an advent calendar in beech huts. BEYOND is an opportunity for people to explore
spirituality through a variety of creative approaches.

That is all for just now. Please use the comments to add links to any more that you know of.

2021 Review Arts Creative Worship