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.
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 …”
St. Bride, or St Brigit of Kildare, is a category 6 saint in the Scottish Episcopal Church Liturgy. For those unfamiliar with the number categories, this means that she is recognised as a person worth special recognition but that remembering this every year is a matter for local discretion.
So why is she significant for Quartz Forest Church?
The day she is remembered on is the 1st of February. This is associated with the first signs of spring and is one of the Scottish Quarter days which marked the change of seasons in the agricultural calendar. It is the promise of new life returning, if not altogether obvious unless you look out for it. We have been walking around the Crichton estate to get to know the place, and there are a few wee signs like snowdrops and bulbs breaking the soils surface.
The Gospel according to John starts with a retelling of the story of creation. In it the cosmic Christ, the Logos, the organising principle and light through which everything can be understood, enters the world as Jesus the human. This light should be recognisable to all Gods children, but some of those who you’d think should be aware of this miss it completely, and yet all those who recognise the good news can be born as children of God. Light is something which helps you to see things as they are, and the act of lighting a candle to look at something is very similar to having someone help you ‘see’ the truth.
Since there have been about 1500 years since the Abbess of the dual abbey of Kildare walked in the fields around it, the historical truth of her life is difficult to discover. The transformation of beliefs about the daughter of the Dagda, or good god, of the De Danan into the stories of the life of St Brigit took place long before the earliest record we have. There is more to truth than historical facts however, and the stories have survived because people recognise a sense of meaningfulness within them. They illuminate aspects of human being which they wish to be reminded of. It is worth taking some time to think about this and to learn to recognise the eternal truths, Logos, that can be found in them.
These truths can be markers of a shared space, where people of peace can gather. Rather than engaging in conflict about whether Christians stole Brigid to fool people into joining the Church, or complaining that neo-pagans are fabricating a pseudo history, why not recognise that this is a good time to clear out clutter to make room for new growth. Search the stories in the confidence that they are pregnant with the seeds planted by God ready to come to term within the womb of time. Have confidence that as you recognise truth the light which it sheds on your assumptions will transform you and set you free to be reborn. Reflect on the words, and find those who will be generous nursemaids to help with this process.
While you are doing this, perhaps you would like to weave a Brigits cross or four to place around your house to remind you. (6Mb download)
Simon will be participating in a gathering at Allanton Peace Sanctuary On the afternoon of Sunday the 30th This is the second of 8 events set equally throughout the year, based on the solar solstices and equinoxes.
Following the devastation of the Second World War, Mr Goi looked for a way to bring peace to all people, and the prayer and affirmation May Peace Prevail On Earth came to him in a moment of great inspiration. He realised that these words express the common wish of all humanity, transcending all boundaries of race, religion and politics. He envisioned that their gentle, yet powerful, effect would activate global peace consciousness.
Allanton website, describing the aim of the founder of their organisation
There is an open invitation to join online.
Imbolc Gathering at Allanton (online)
Sunday the 30th of January, 2022, from 2 – 3pm UK time.
A time to mark the strengthening of the light, as we in the Northern Hemisphere approach spring, in the Wheel of the Year, an auspicious time between the Solstice and Equinox.
Simon will show us how to make St Brigid’s Cross, representing the strong feminine energy of nurturing, hearth and home
This is participatory so if you would like to have a go, bring straw, or long grass, or just paper (A4 cut into strips of 2cm on the long side)
Kirsten will tell us a story, while we weave our crosses.
We will have a short meditation, followed by the Divine Spark Mudra, a prayer/meditation of the breath and movement.
The Zoom Room will be open from 10 minutes before. Join us round our fire and hearth. If possible, we will be outside, and will be delighted to see you,
We will meet outside the Crichton church at 2pm on Sunday the 16th. So that you know what to expect – a rough order of service will probably include:
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.
A chant to set our minds
Led by Kate
Reading the book
When reading, please remember the context within which this is written and who it is being written to. Some of the words in this translation are often used quite differently nowadays.
You might be someone for whom the recognition of beauty is like a flower blossoming in your mind, or someone who seeks it like the dawn breaking on a distant horizon. Or perhaps you find understanding when patterns of words make meaning fall into place in a beautiful harmony. It might simply be that beauty inspires you to make the world a better place.
Whatever the primary way in which you encounter beauty is, once we examine our experience, and recognise it’s reality, then we are better able to recognise the validity of another persons experience. Then, if reassured, we can develop our abilities more broadly to sense genuine spiritual experiences. This may be in a traditional setting, or it might be in an unfamiliar place.
Spend some time looking around the physical environment we live in, and take time out to reflect and become aware of all that you can sense beyond the five physical senses. The world of the knowable and known. You may be able to describe the experience, but it might also be something which is beyond words. That is fine. This could be described as the numinous, the unknowable, or mysterious.
If you would like help in finding words though, this page describes 5 beyond the physical senses. There are many more of course – but it is a start.
#SensingOtherness tags experiences of sensing an aspect of human being which is more than just its physical elements. People also talk of #SensingAwareness, experiencing a changed state of awareness that could also be described as “being at one” with Nature.
These sensations can be very personal and difficult to discuss, or even describe. When you look at a sunset and describe it as beautiful, what are you recognising?
The author of Wisdom chapter 13 contrasts the experience of sensing the creator in the created with the practice of those who make something and declare that people should worship it. The way it is written could be read as an attack on pagansism.
However, in 21st century Scotland, the emerging spiritualities called pagan are often the ones that are leaving the recieved trappings of religuon behind. They are abandoning the constructs of modern society and searching for something ‘other’. Whilst Christmas has been gift wrapped and is sold on the high street they gather round fires and look into the stars, perhaps like the magi in the gospels, who journeyed out in confidence but without knowledge of their destination.
Hopefully we are not all called into the desert to wear animal skins and eat honey and locusts like John the Baptist, but to what extent do we genuinely preserve our traditions to hand them on to future generations? or do we bind ourselves to the human constructs in order make us feel secure, and remind ourselves of the church of our childhood.
Jesus is described as discussing worship with the Samaritan woman at the well, he says that people will worship in Spirit and Truth. He contrasts the known and the unknown. The high places (often condemned by the prophets, but also a place of spiritual searching) and in the temple in Jerusalem (often condemned for legalism and false religiosity, but where God can be known). He is positive about both. It is also another example of God going out and meeting people where they are, with something to offer and to do something new.
You might be someone for whom the recognition of beauty is like a flower blossoming in your mind, or someone who seeks it like the dawn breaking on a distant horizon. Or perhaps you find understanding when patterns of words make meaning fall into place in a beautiful harmony. It might simply be that beauty inspires you to make the world a better place.
Whatever the primary way in which you encounter beauty is, once we examine our experience, and recognise it’s reality, then we are better able to recognise the validity of another persons experience. Then, if reassured, we can develop our abilities more broadly to sense genuine spiritual experiences. This may be in a traditional setting, or it might be in an unfamiliar place.
Forest Church is an attempt to go outside not only the buildings to worship but also our habits, in the confidence that God is already at work there. By leaving the known and familiar behind, we hope to discover Jesus at work, creating and sustaining all things in being. Re-wilding domestic religion so that we can find our spiritual homes.
The next Quartz Forest Church will be on Sunday the 16th of January. Meet at the front door of the Crichton church in Dumfries at 14.00 We will adapt what we do according to the weather, and using the passage from Wisdom and the lessons in the elements we explore the relationship between knowing and unknowing.
There is a story told of an estate owner. He managed his land by letting it out to tenants. Each one held a plot, and they had freedom to develop it as they saw fit. The story doesn’t say how much help each of them got in establishing themselves, but other stories let us assume that the owner was generous. They knew they were tenants, and that the owner would one day decide to collect the return on his investment.
However, when the owner sent other servants to claim the rent, the tenants had changed. Some had sublet the property, others had automated production. All of them had forgotten the owner of the land. the servants were abused and sent back empty handed.
The estate owner sent out more servants to remind the tenants and collect the rent. This time the tenants abused the servants and filled social media with posts to sway public opinion. The servants’ reputations were attacked and they were portrayed as foolish idealists.
So, the estate owner sent his son and heir. The reckoning was that this would remind the tenants of how it had been in the beginning, and give them one last chance. Like going himself, but leaving an opening to show leniency.
Even then, however, the tenants closed their minds to the reality of the situation. They killed the child and claimed that the land was their freehold. Confident in their control of the narrative they edited the owner out of the story, and sought to continue their lifestyles in comfort for perpetuity.
How do you think the landowner acted?
Of course he kicked the tenants out, their anguish and frustration was epic. They were in the wrong though, and once this came into the light no amount of PR or spin could cover up their treachery.
This is the way it is with all political and religious leaders who forget where authority lies. This is the message of Saturnalia, or the baptism of John and something Dickens tried to tell his readers. Those who seek to gain the world will lose it, but those who are willing to be broken will find life. It is a story for those who are in positions of privilege, may all of us be given the grace to see ourselves as we really are.
There is another story though. This is a story for those who are broken, all who seek, and everyone who wanders with their eyes open.
Even in the mirk there is light. This light has always been here, and it distinguishes those who have their eyes open from those who choose the wrong pill. This light is a seed at the beginning of time. It is God herself pregnant with creation. The quantum of solace that links heaven and earth. Not everyone recognises it, and those you might expect to get it, are often the ones who find it hardest to adapt their lives to this deep old magic in the present moment.
For those that can though, it is the baby’s cry at the birth of Love itself. It is the light from a star formed by the conjunction of heavenly bodies becoming visible in the humblest of places. With even just the smallest amount of humanity shared in a relationship, many frustrations can be worked through. This story is the good news that God shares humanity with creation, and has placed the seed potential to become children of God within the womb of time. The most ordinary thing we know of can become divine.
So today is an invitation to co-create. Follow the star, and see where it leads.
We will meet again outside the front door of Crichton church for a 2pm start, (The Crichton, Dumfries DG1 4ZZ) Find it on google maps
Please dress for the weather, and don’t rely on there being any indoor (or any other) facilities available. Once we meet we will walk to an appropriate location depending on the weather and the abilities of those who turn up. If you want us to wait for you, please let us know that you are coming!
So that you know what to expect – a rough order of service will probably include:
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.
A chant to set our minds
Behold the night,
There are gifts here in the dark,
and soon the Sun returns.
Learn it here…
Reading the book
(and Mary sang)… ” and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
This might be round a fire, bring a percussion instrument if you have one. Or you could pick up a stick and find something to make a noise if you have confidence in the environment to provide.
This is an activity of listening, participating. Sensing the rhythm of the whole and contributing to it.
We will head over to the Crichton central cafe for a cup of something warm.
And to finish…
At 5pm Dumfries museum is being lit up as a tower of light. It seemed very appropriate to be there, socially distanced, so all who wish can round the day off with a visit.
This is, of course, subject to Covid regulations in Scotland, but we will be outdoors and can limit close contact. There is no need to book, but if you’d like to let us know that you are coming we can keep an eye out for you.
If you sign up for the mailing list you’ll find out when the next one is happening.
You can also subscribe to the Quartz weekly newsletter/e-mail.
Please send a message to introduce yourself, – and let us know what interests you in particular!
There was a wind blowing through the Crichton today. The fallen leaves were rustling, dried by a sunny day and drifting around the contours of the grass.
Our attention was drawn to a dandelion, a last bloom of yellow on the green looking up at the yellow on the blue. There was a rhododendron in bloom as well. We explored the sounds, sights, smells, and textures of the area. With the taste of winter in the wind.
The whole area was buzzing with life, with several events taking place over the weekend. Dog walkers, concert goers and children playing in the leaves. I wondered what patterns are there waiting to be discovered, and what ones do we make ourselves. Or is the process of making a visible pattern an act of recognising, becoming aware of, an unseen reality which reveals and forms itself in and through the process of becoming? Like leaves settling on a landscape in the wind, held by the contours of earth and air pressure.
Sometimes instinct draws us to run through the pile of leaves and enjoy the sensation as they scatter. Sometimes we catch a glimpse of something which leads us to wonder about a deeper meaning. It could be patterns in leaves, or texture in bark, or the particular light cast by a winter sun illuminating that particular moment.
Today we made it to the central cafe before it closed. It too was bustling and as we sat and folded paper angels we continued to chat on the veranda watching the sun set behind a one tonne willow bull. This is Kelton the belted galloway, a woven sculpture wandering around Dumfries and Galloway.
Another work of art has found its resting place at the Crichton. This is a life Totem which has travelled over the sea for COP26. It has become a focus for meaning, discussions and hopefully inspired insight on how to respond to climate change. It is now returning to the earth. This is a planned letting go of the artwork. The material will decompose and return to the soil it came from. This contrasts with the ways in which cultures that obsess with preserving works of art can loose the spiritual significance of it.
Those for whom power is found in this world, fight to retain it. Jesus however has confidence that all who belong to the truth will listen to his voice. Can you hear it in the wind?
The next Quartz Forest Church will be on Sunday December the 19th.
When I am physically illuminating a text with ink, I use pigments like ground up soil, or oak galls and Iron salts. When I am digitally illuminating I use a colour pallet from a photograph of a place. Alison makes paper where the leaves become one with the page, and has a catalogue of colours where fabric has been dyed through using the plants and water where she lives.
This artist uses sound. Here is a short introduction:
We come from dust, we return to dust – but every grain can be where the substance of life finds a home.
In what ways will the potential placed by God within you be revealed? Do you dare to seek out a conversation with the source of everything, and co-create as a child of God?
Read more in the air you breathe and the texts which we have inherited.
