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!
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.
Cathbad set up in a school classroem
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.
On Saturday the 24th of June Quartz will be presenting the opportunity for people to walk a Labyrinth. We will also interpret information about the first recorded farmers of the land. These were monks from Holme Cultrum Abbey across the Solway, which was at that time part of Scotland.
We will be doing this from 13.00 to 16.00 as part of the Creative Caerlaverock project which is exploring ways in which the community can engage with the castle and its grounds. The Castle itself is closed for safety reasons, but the grounds are open and access is free. If you are in the area, drop in. If you are reading this online and can’t travel hopefully you can try things out where you are.
The Labyrinth
We will be laying out a rope labyrinth which will hopefully be around 10m in diameter. Walking outdoors where the wind, birdsong and feel of the ground immerse you in the landscape is a special experience. We will encourage people to become aware of two of their abilities to sense which we think this activity is particularly suited to.
Some experiences are special. Life is more than just it’s physical components. There can be moments where we sense something that can be described as sublime. Mystics experience transcendence, and then spend the rest of their lives trying to explain it in a way which avoids disrespecting the experience. Whatever metaphysics you use to understand these experiences, taking time out to become mindful of the otherness of where you are, the specialness of this particular moment, can help enrich your ordinary experience of everyday life.
On this day it might be helpful to think about the length of time this site has been used (This land was once below the waves, could a roman soldier have walked here?)
The Monks at Holme Cultrum lived a lifestyle which cultured an awareness of otherness. This contemplative life was balanced with an active life though, where the presence of God is experienced in daily life. The Practice of the Presence of God is an account by the C17th monk known as Brother Lawrence. You can find a copy here.
More fully this is described as “Sensing a changed quality in Awareness”. If you can walk the labyrinth laid out on the grass then you might sense a change in the quality of your awareness of yourself and surroundings. The labyrinth restricts the path you walk, but perhaps this can free your mind to wander. By walking the labyrinth your experience of the lawn at the castle is changed. Perhaps you will experience inner change from walking.
Perhaps it will be as simple as having the opportunity to experience a moment of peace in what would otherwise be a busy day.
If attending a church service or singing beautiful chantshelped the monks experience the transcendence of God, perhaps working in the fields, healing a sick person, or walking simply along a leafy lane, gave them moments where they sensed “Uncommonly good days” or the kingdom of God like salt in food or yeast in bread.
Walking
The days have been getting longer, now they become shorter. The sun stands still. It can be recognised as a time to pause, rest, and mark the change in the year. A labyrinth can help you do this.
Place your finger at the entrance to the Labyrinth.
As you follow the path to the centre, let your mind wander. If something worries you, acknowledge it and lay it to the side for just now. Unwind.
In the Centre, take time out to rest in the light of creation. Light shines in the darkness. You are loved. You have the potential to do what is needed and are free to choose not to reject that which is laid on you.
Follow the path out again. If you meet something you let go of on the way in, aknowledge it with peace. Choose to pick it up – or not!
Return whenever it might be helpful!
Why not save this to your phone or print this and go outside? Follow the path with your finger.
At one time Labyrinths were used by people as mini pilgrimages. Some were drawn on the floors of cathedrals, and may have represented a journey to Rome, or Jerusalem. They are much older though and have been a game played by children leaving winter and greeting the spring. This one is drawn by Simon Lidwell and is inspired by Iron age mirrors and wild geese swimming on the water.
Monastic life
As well as the labyrinth, we will also be presenting a collection of chants, prayers and readings from the history of monastic life in the area, from the 4th century to recent compositions. Monasteries used to regulate their pattern of life with special activities at certain hours. We will draw on this tradition by following a pattern throughout the time we are there. There will be a bell, the readings, some chanting and the opportunity to walk the labyrinth.
A very brief introduction…
Around the time that legal protection was extended to cover Christians in the roman empire, Christians also started to leave ‘normal’ society and seek the wilderness. Desert dwelling hermits and communities like those established by St Martin at Tours inspired Christian monasticism. The first example of this in Scotland is represented by St Ninian at Whithorn. This was probably followed by Portmahomac and Iona and then Lindisfarne. The way of life in a monastery was regulated by a rule, usually attributed to the founder, and these helped the community find a single-hearted focus on seeking God. Monks from the skelligs in the west helped rebuild culture after the destructive migration period, taking their customs and rules with them. Traces can be found in medieval manuscripts in the Italian alps.
The Benedictine rule then washed back into these island, and it is still the basis many communities of monks live by. Cistercians were the ones recorded as owning the lands around Caerlaverock and you can read more about how this continues to this day.
If you are interested, then community of Pluscarden abbey in the north of Scotland is a living example of monastic life in a building originally founded only a century or so after Holm Cultram.
This is the page of the Iona community. The combination of spiritual seeking and hard labour rebuilt the monastery there with trainee ministers and unemployed workers working alongside each other.
And here is where you can find out more about another contemporary approach which draws inspiration from early communities on the Farne islands of Northumbria.
We will be holding a Midsummer Forest Church service on Sunday the 25th of June. We will meet at the castle road end car park near Caerlaverock castle at 3pm. (54.97845046765338, -3.5229645328674453)
We will walk up the hill to Wardlaw iron age fort. This is a farm track with steps. There are no facilities at the top, so please dress appropriately and bring a snack!
Sensing a changed quality in awareness. Often described as the feeling of being ‘at one’ with nature, oneself and others.
We often slip quickly into thinking about ‘things’, or thinking about or experience of things. #SensingAwareness is more about being in a state of awareness of direct experience, mindfulness. The Divine in the world, creating and sustaining all things in being.
The Christian tradition would perhaps describe this as Christfulness.
The voice of God in stone is saying solid
The strength of heaven, The light of the sun, The radiance of the moon, The splendour of fire, The speed of lightning, The swiftness of wind, The depth of the sea, The stability of the earth, The firmness of rock.
Did you know that part of the inspiration behind the name “Quartz” is the shining or sparkling white of St Ninians foundation at Whithorn?
It can be argued that the whole of the British Isles gained the name “Alba” in antiquity because of the “chalky white” cliffs in the south. “Candida” Casa uses a word which can mean “sparkling white”, and the way in which Quartz crystals shimmer can be a reminder of this.
Christmas Light installed in St John’s Dumfries
The Christmas Light installation is now in place. Drop in between 10.30 and 4 to contemplate how light is received and reflected, shaped by all those who have contributed.
The deeper meaning for christians, especially at this time of the year, is for us to reflect on how we respond to the eternal light which has always surounded us. Recognising, Recieving, and then shining as Nuggets of Joy wherever we find ourselves.
For some better video clips – find us on facebook or Instagram!
This month at forest church we engaged in a wee bit of displaying arboreal affection (DofAA) and made some lanterns. The framework for us meeting to work together to worship can be read here, so I won’t repeat it.
Instead, here are a few of the photos and insights from our experience.
As we have been meeting in the same location for a year, we have become quite familiar with the area. This Sunday we took some time to centre ourselves and then focus on which ever particular tree we were drawn to. It is very refreshing to take some time out to reflect at a speed approaching the speed of trees.
I was struck by the amount of life held in the moss on the bark of the tree I spent time with. A rolling stone gathers no moss, but this tree was a haven for frail small fungi even when it had drawn back into its trunk and shed its leaves.
We also wandered down past the Sunflower field. Whilst most of the sunflowers have died back and are becoming mulch, there are still a few blooms and splashes of colour. I wonder how many flowers there will be next year?
As the sun began to set we used a craft activity to respond to our experiences. Taking used tin cans we experimented with the material to contemplate the boundaries between light and dark. As the gashes we made in the thin fabric of the container were opened, they became doorways through which light could shine. The lanterns shelter the flame inside from an outside where it could easily be extinguished by the hostile environment. Plenty of food for thought! We also shared each others company and a drink to keep us warm.
And then it was time to wander out into the rest of the week, carrying the light within us.
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.
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.
