On Sunday the 30th of October 2022 at 6pm we will be gathering in St John’s church building.
The clocks will be changing to mark the end of British Summer time. The Nights are getting longer and darker, and the trees are drawing into themselves, letting go of their fruit and leaves. Seeds are buried and the end becomes the beginning of something new.
We have prepared a large lantern with light shining through fallen leaves and symbols of harvest. This reminds us that the cosmos declares the glory of God. On the evening participants will be invited to take a word or phrase and ‘plant’ it in their own wee lantern as a prayer.
While making these lanterns we will discuss our memories of #SensingSpirituality over the last year. Especially moments experienced during Quartz Forest Church activities. There will be some projected images as reminders!
While the lanterns are drying, ready to take away, we will rake these thoughts and chats together.
To finish, a wee word of warning, this is not an event to wear your Sunday best to. It will involve leaves, glue, and pens.
Quartz has been using Haiku this weekend as part of the Wordsmith Crafts CiC setup at Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts trail.
The following is taken from notes written by Kate, who has been leading this activity.
A selection of Haiku
We have been giving people a space to stop. The whole of Kirkcudbright becomes a walking trail and on Friday we had a couple of chairs to rest in which were appreciated.
I have experienced people being surprised by what they have achieved, that they have come up with such a profound haiku. One lady took ages, told me lots about her life and the struggles she faced. She was in tears when she finished her poem, and it was a lovely poem for her sons.
Another experience I have enjoyed was asking children if they know what haiku were and wathcing their parents being really impressed that their child knows all about them.
We have a bowl full of words on cardboard strips. Having words provided means that people encountered words they weren’t expecting. One lady was ambushed by the word forgiveness- we had a brief conversation about it but I suspect more thinking and heart-searching happened after she left.
In addition, giving people the opportunity to write their own words allowed one girl to ignore all the rules and simply state “My name is Bee”. One man wrote a lovely poem about someone special in his life. Young twins who hadn’t learned to read yet enjoyed picking up words they liked the look of, and then the adults watching re-ordered them, #SensingMeaningfulness.
Saturday was wet and windy to start so there were no haiku for the first few hours, but some lovely ones arrived with the sunshine later on. It was great to see parents and children working together – parents were happy to help without taking over or changing things that they thought weren’t quite right.
During the morning haiku hiatus, the finger labyrinth we also have on the table, being made of glazed pottery and therefore much more waterproof, came into it’s own. Some had seen one before, but many learned to use one for the first time. I had a great half-conversation with a lady who was trying to get her son to do it as he had had a difficult day and she thought it would help him.
Not everyone felt able to stop for long, but we had many brief conversations about laying burdens down safely and picking them up in a different mindset. I felt able to say that I speak to Jesus in the middle.
The labyrinth of chairs we set up in St Johns, linking activity inside the building with activities like this in the wider community.
More to follow! Sunday and Monday still to go.
As well as the Quartz area Wordsmith Crafts has a workshop where people can become 5 or 10 minute apprentices and learn to make copper armbands. This is a hands on encounter with millennia old skills. Conversations about value, time, and our relationships with the people who have contributed to making the Scotland we know today.
There is also a shop area where artists associated with WSC can exhibit and sell their work. This helps support the artists, and fund the installation at the trail – any surplus will be directed to helping people access the full resources of their Heritage through other projects.
Just some Iron Age folk discussing heritage, in between customers.
A busker sets up on the high street. Some people nod and keep walking, some pause to listen, some start dancing. Still more record and share on their phones, or go home and find some piping. Others find some string and a box, or spoons, or even click on a digital tip jar.
The music can linger in your mind like an “earworm”. There are, of course, also those who hurriedly cross the street and mutter about “proper music” or “noise polution”.
If the music is divine potential placed in the pipes waiting to be revealed, where are you in the story?
Use the resources here in your own time. Join us online between 7 and 8 pm on Sunday evening to discuss the theme of “How can we describe a relationship with God”. We may even have some musical worship too.
How to do this will be published on the facebook page (which shows up on this page). Or Email us quartz(AT)wordsmithcrafts.co.uk to be sent an invitation by e-mail.
Resources These resources can be used just as they are, or might help you reflect on themes which feature in the book “The Shack” and the film of the book. These are themes like: suffering, the ups and downs of a personal relationship with God, how do we imagine “The Trinity” as three persons, and one being?
They will all benefit from taking time to do them, either before or after the meetup online for a discussion, so don’t feel pressured to rush.
Reflect Joan Osborne wrote a song called “What if God Was One of Us”. This link will take you to a YouTube video, with the lyrics listed. Listen to the song, watch the video. Some questions to help you reflect: * How does thinking of God as “one of us” make you feel? * Read Philipians ch 2 vs 1-11 and listen to the song again. If God is close, in everyday life, does this tarnish our image of God or does it elevate the ordinary as an antidote to idolatry?
Discuss Online! with a group of us using jitsi The name of the meeting is QuartzCreativeWorship. The song we will be using can be found on YouTube https://youtu.be/6fak-h9_o4w
Create Art is frustrating! The process of producing works of art takes skill and effort. Your perceived lack of success, especially if you invest yourself in the process, can completely undermine your self confidence. However, to not create can be just as bad. You may appear to be successful and conform to everyone’s expectations, but at the expense of suppressing your inner being. The author of “The Shack” uses his imagination to describe his relationship with God in strong images from his culture.
Here is a guide to some activities you could use to explore and express your relationship. Or you could just play with some clay and work through the meanings in Isaiah 45 5 – 13
Learn What does the word “Theodicy” mean? If you enjoy using your reason to wrestle with complicated thoughts and discover #SensingMeaningfulness then it’s time for some theological research. *An introductory essay to “Theodicy” can be found here “What is Theodicy” *A broader discussion can be found here “Theodicy – A Brief Overview”
