Tag: #mindfulness

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Thought of the Day

Everything is Permissible

‘All things are lawful’, but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful’, but not all things build up.

1 Corinthians 10: 23 (read more here)

There is a shift in thinking from living bound by law to one where faith provides your rule.

Those who have been brought up Christian often feel frustration as Christmas approaches and the streets fill up with tinsel, and advertisers ramp up the pressure to consume – all with the branding of Christendom.

How should a follower of the way respond?

Everything is permissible. Laugh in the market place with those who love joy, weep with those who mourn. We are free from the need to moralise or preserve the worthless religious practices* of even our recent ancestors. But we must prayerfully consider what choices are most beneficial.

Our faith is not in a set of beliefs and practices. Faith in Jesus is belief that through genuine loving we will build up ourselves and those around us. Transform obstacles into opportunities, and show things in a new light which brings peace, change, growth.

Living a rule to give this constancy is much more demanding than conserving a moral code. The freedom requires each of us to judge ourselves rather than just conform to expectations.

In a place where bibles are banned you can be a hero lawbreaker smuggling holy contraband. Where sectarian or nationalist violence mars the daily life of ordinary people you can transgress religious boundaries to display love like the good Samaritan. In a high street that no longer feels like it is your own, is it time to turn over tables and protest the against the cultural appropriation of Christian symbolism by secular society?

Who would that benefit, who would it build up?

What are people celebrating at Christmas, and why are they choosing to do that online, in their homes, and on the high street but less and less in church buildings?

Is our own house in order, are we truly welcoming of people of all ages, sexuality, and cultures who choose to celebrate significant moment as Church?

What are the rules you set for yourself to make the journey toward Christmas, and the festival itself, spiritually significant? please use the comments!

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Thought of the Day

Heritage

Each one of us scratches their mark as a passage through time. Sometimes grasping to hold on, sometimes filled with the joy of living.

What if time itself is the womb of God. When our creation reaches it’s term will we be able to step back and find peace after the trauma of birth?

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#SensingSpirituality creation

Water II

Continuing the theme of water.

23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.

Psalm 107:23-31
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised

Give yourself time to be aware of the vast range there is in the human experience of water. From resting beside calm pools in leafy burns to vast expanses of ocean.

Exercise your ability to wonder.

Jesus teaches that God is both creator of the cosmos, and comforter. Examine your life story so far. Where do you sense the cosmic presence of God in awesome things? Where do you sense God close with you?

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Arts Creative Worship Forest Church Interweave

Forest Lanterns

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.

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Outerweave

Local connections

Sunday at Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts trail.

It was a busy day, with three of us working all the time. Since it was so busy, there have been less words written to describe it!

– no rain so we were able to put up the bunting and have the tent fully open with the chairs out. The Haikus were a bit more random, and the syllable rule was not always followed, Nonetheless we had some good conversations.

A highlight of the day was when a person picked up the postcard of part of the Dream of the Rood and I said that this was the poem on the Ruthwell cross. Her eyes lit up and she said she had been christened at the church there! It was a bit spine-tingling for both of us. The labyrinth also provided some people with time and space to reflect, it is a very accessible activity and they were able to use it on their lap whilst sitting on a chair. 

Faith, Hope, Love, Prophesy
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Arts Fresh Expressions Ignation Spirituality Outerweave

Wordsketching

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.
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Forest Church

Tree Trail

As Quartz Forest Church we are spending a year exploring the Chrichton Estate in Dumfries. For many of us, even though we live in Dumfries, the grounds around the university are not a familiar place.

We started in autumn, and are seeing signs of spring now. We have also been meeting some of the other people who inhabit this space. Some are ‘residents’ like the veterans garden, others passing through and walking their dogs.

An important theme in forest church is getting to know the natural environment. Which is why this trail in particular looks interesting.

Click to view The trail website