A few photos from our time reading creation and reflecting on words from the bible.
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November Forest Church
Category: Fresh Expressions
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QFC November
Sunday 19th of November
This forest church meetup will be at the Crichton as usual outside the chapel main door at 2pm.
Greeting
We meet in Jesus name, and share his peace. Whether you consider yourself a close friend, or are just curious, all are welcome.
Pause
Take a moment to look around. Be mindful of where you are and when you are. What do you sense in this moment as it connects to all moments, past, present, and future?
Reading from the collection of books.
The SEC lectionary reading is Matthew 25: 14 to 30. The story is called the parable of the talents, or the bags of Gold.
Reading from Creation.
The reading from creation will be autumnal, wintery even. Please dress for the weather and we will walk or sit as suits the day and those who gather.
What does what you sense physically help you know about what you can sense spiritually? What does the nature of creation tell you about the artist creator?
We are in Winter, what has been gathered in that we can treasure, use – what do we need to let go of?
What do you observe that reveals the relationships between humans and landscape, what warnings or encouragement does this inspire for you personally?
Time for Reflection
We will gather to discuss what we have sensed.
Prayers
Jesus you are the light of the world,
A light that no darkness can quench.
Upon your church
Wrestling with the darkness of evil,
battling against doubt,
let your light shine.
Upon the worlds governments
facing gloom and despair
battling against disaster
let your light shine
Upon those who live in the shadows
caught up in sorrow and strife,
struggling against oblivion
let your light shine
David Adam “The Open Gate” Triangle 1994
Blessing
We beg you, Lord, to help and defend us.
Deliver the oppressed.
Pity the insignificant,
Raise the Fallen,
show yourself to the needy,
Heal the sick,
Bring back those of your people who have gone astray,
Feed the hungry,
Lift up the weak,
Take off the prisoners’ chains.
May every nation come to know that you are God alone,
That Jesus is your son, that we are your people, the sheep of your pasture.
St Clement of Rome
Go in Peace, to Love and co-create with God
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FX Cumbria
There is a lot going on just south of the border. This map shows where fresh expressions activity is happening in Cumbria
View the map on the Northern (England) mission centre website.
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Time For Forest Church
There is a time for everything, is the time right to explore the idea of Forest Church in Scotland?
This article form the church of England discusses the question further.
https://www.churchofengland.org/about/fresh-expressions/could-now-be-moment-forest-churches-grow
Quartz Forest Church meets every month on the 3rd Sunday at 2pm outside the Crichton chapel. We also do something special about four times a year.
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QFC October review
What’s been happening in October with Quartz Forest Church
The harvest is gathered in and the leaves are beginning to fall from the trees. Here is a quick overview of how we have been responding to this time of year.
Tabernacle trip
Here is a collection of photos and reading from the special forest Church day we held in October. We visited Cairnholy to “Feel small, but in a good way” as we reflected on the passage of time.
We also drew on the Jewish tradition of setting up tabernacles/booths after harvest for the festival of “Sukkot”
Quartz Forest Church at the Crichton
On the third Sunday we met at the Crichton as usual. We took time to notice the change in the season as we move into autumn. We used the fallen leaves to create a wheel. This was divided into four, to represent the seasons, and then we walked round the wheel to reflect on our passage through time. At each point we stopped and thought about that particular seasonal change and our relationship to it.
Some Taize also featured!
School Visiting
When Simon goes into schools to help with history lessons, sometimes he will adopt the character of “Cathbad” from the Viking Era. The (primary school) pupils get to meet someone from their past. This is used to help them think about differences and similarities between their lives and people from the past, as well as find an interest in learning about the places they live in.
You may notice some similarities between the shelter used at QFC and the shelter in the school! This is one of the ways in which the Cluaran heritage work of Wordsmith Crafts CIC harmonises with the Quartz project.
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October Forest Church
Change
Continuing a theme of transience and permanence. We will look for signs of change in our surroundings and in the Bible.
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Tabernacles plan
Saturday the 14th of October
Timetable
9.30 am Meet at St Johns and shuffle for car sharing.
Leave at 10
11.30 Get to Cairn Holy
Stop to wonder about who built them, why? #SensingMystery
(HES site) (Megalithic Portal)
Look at the view, close up with the stones and then far out to sea. #SensingOtherness
Cairn Holy II reminds some people of Aslans stone table. In the books this has laws written in “deep magic” written in it that are older than anyone remembers.
Gloria and Andy have prepared some readings, prayers and activities to explore the history of Sukkot.
Sukkah is the Hebrew word for ‘booth’ or ‘tabernacle’. ‘Sukkot’, the plural, is the name of the festival of booths. Sukkot were the shelters in which the Jewish people lived during their years in the desert after they left slavery in Egypt and before they arrived in the Promised Land (Israel). Sukkot comes at the end of the High Holydays (Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur), which are the most serious days of the Jewish year. It is a joyful pilgrim festival
find out more on the day…
12.30 to 13.00 ish
Return to vehicles and drive to the beach, which will hopefully be Carrick beach (https://maps.app.goo.gl/8eG8AupjEBF2NeL89) as the weather forecast is good.
13.30 ish
On the beech we will build shelters. Gloria and Andy tell the story of why we are in tents, and the link of the day to the Jewish festival of Sukkot. Hopefully we can sit and eat lunch in the shelters. (Bring a packed lunch! or pick something up on the way)
For those that choose we can also pray (in the way each is accustomed to) for peace and all those who work for it.
Hopefully there will also be the opportunity to make sand moulded candles as a reminder of the journey. Taking something permanent home from the shifting sand, that can be lit to let out some light.
3.30-ish Return to Dumfries for 5pm
There are no modern facilities at any of the locations, but we will pass several towns. The weather forecast is good, but it might be a bit chilly.
Can’t make it on Saturday? We will meet as Forest Church as usual on Sunday the 15th outside the Crichton chapel at 2pm
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Tabernacles
Saturday the 14th of October
The theme for this day is drawn from the Jewish festival of Tabernacles known as sukkot
We will be exploring Permanence and Transience using a very ancient place and temporary shelters on the beech to raise questions about experiences of eternity and the present moment.
More information to follow, register your interest and join the mailing list here:
Our plan would be to meet up outside St Johns in Dumfries to share cars and head out by 10am.
We will travel to Cairnholy which is a visually stunning location. There we will reflect on the solidness ancientness of stone and the contrast this has with the transience of a human lifetime emphasised by just how much we don’t know about the people who built the structures. These is a song to sing here.
We will then travel to a shoreside location. If the weather suits the plan is to have a picnic on the beach, but we will adapt!
On the beach we will build a shelter, and use it as a venue to share food and hear the ancient story that is still remembered every year at “Sukkot” . Without too many spoilers the main ideas are God’s provision and presence, harvest, celebration with everyone, and inclusiveness.
To remember the day, and draw things together with an action we hope to make wax candles to take home. This will use the sand as a mould.
The candles might not be as permanent as the stone of a chambered cairn, but when you burn them the light which is released will hopefully be a reminder of the light which has been and is part of the human experience since the dawn of time.
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Connections
When the Israelites stop wandering and have the resources to find a king, then build a temple, they are reminded that this does not box God in. When we hear the story of Jesus talking with the woman at the well are we reminded that God is at work beyond our boundaries * *
How many people already live their lives in a relationship with God, connected through the presence of the Holy Spirit, but unseen?
Those who have access to Wi-Fi and a smartphone are connected globally. It is possible to feel a part of K-pop fandom or keep up with the Kardashians 24/7. If people are searching for spiritual nourishment they might choose to go somewhere (gone fishing!) as an antidote to the technology, or perhaps turn to YouTube to feed their hunger for knowledge from a global choice of institutions lecturers. Even if you are miles from a town you can join in with 24/7 live Christian worship (Vinyard). Most people probably use a combination of things like this, and this post has only a small selection of what is out there.
As you are reading this, at this stage of your life, are you more drawn to the story of a shepherd leading a flock to still waters, or to the story of Jesus preparing his disciples to face the challenge of feelings of loss and despair, (but with the promise that they will be connected in ways they cannot yet understand)? The good news is that Jesus meets us where we are, and God is everywhere. For those who are able perhaps though like Heracles this is a time when you can choose the tougher of the two paths. Instinctively we might imagine the harder path to be like rugged mountains and challenges to be overcome. However what if the struggle is to let go of the customs and institutions which shape our perception. If rather than being exiled and needing to replicate our home, we need to be inwardly transformed to adapt to new ways of connecting.
When you are walking the Way beyond boundaries how will you recognise God at work in preparation for your arrival, what truths about your path will you be told by the people you meet? Here are some stories told by people who have made connections with Jesus, but perhaps not with Sunday congregations.
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Crichton Events
Monthly Forest Church
At Forest Church gatherings we have spent our time getting to know the Crichton estate. This has been quite informal, but now we are on their website as an official event.