Tag: #SensingMystery

Categories
Forest Church Fresh Expressions

Forest Church Special

February Stargazing

We will gather as usual at 2pm on Sunday the 18th of February outside the Crichton Chapel to practice #SensingSpirituality

We will also have a spring special. Before the clocks change we will have an evening looking at the stars. Thanks to the hospitality of Ann Shuckman we will hold this at Elsieshields just outside Loch Maben.

People are invited to gather at 6.30 and acclimatise to the dark skies.

At 7pm Mark Toner will introduce us to what is going on in the night sky. If the weather is too cloudy and wet we have the technology to go indoors and show what is happening above the clouds using a projector!

We will take a break to reflect, and perhaps walk the illuminated labyrinth in the garden, then head indoors.

After the break Mark will use software to show what the sky would have looked like to the wise men/magi two thousand years ago, and which could have inspired their journey as recorded in Matthew. He will also help us discuss the ways in which religious authority has responded to practices like astrology and astronomy.

As usual, we will adapt to the weather. Please wear stout shoes and warm clothes. Torches, lanterns, and telescopes also encouraged – but please respect other peoples night vision.

There will be accessible activities indoors to compliment the activities which require walking over uneven surfaces in the dark – so plenty for everyone.

Directions to Elsieshields:

Elshieshields Tower DG11 1LY

We are situated a mile and a half outside Lochmaben on the north west side 

Our road  is called

Nethermill road and it starts by the

Mill Loch in Lochmaben.

If you’re coming from Dumfries when you get to Lochmaben on the A709  take the left turning opposite Crown Hotel. This road is signposted to Templand

Carry on through the town over a junction. In half a Mile you will see Nethermill road on your left. Turn down here ,

Carry on for a mile or so.

Entrance to Elshieshields Tower will be on your left. Drive up the bumpy drive and turn into the courtyard. You’ve arrived!

Categories
#SensingSpirituality Thought of the Day

Language and Liturgy

The relationship between the language we use to describe what we see, and the way in which we see things is an ages old topic of study. Think about the sentence you just read. When I used the word ‘see‘ you hopefully understand I mean more that just ‘visually observe‘. Sight is a very important sense for humans, so much so that when someone says “I see your point now” we understand that they understand. However we do not intend to imply that those who have visual impairments are unable to understand. Or that those who are unable to tell you what colour the horse they are imagining is, do not know what a horse is.

Consider then the importance of liturgy. If the use of words to describe everyday things is prone to misunderstanding, how much more so when we are thinking about divinity? Imagine the words used are like a scaffolding to help people hold together while we build each other up, constructing a house of prayer, what happens if there is a wrongness in our use of language? Simple mistakes might be quick to observe and remedy. Long term systematic wrongness might be more difficult to identify, and like the famous leaning tower, still hold together but be wonky. The building still holds together, but would you want to move there?

This video is a discussion that takes time to step back and think about ways in which language has been used. Recorded during lockdown it is an example of how stepping back to reflect helps us transform our experiences.

Categories
#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?

Categories
Forest Church Thought of the Day

Markerposts

“we are held here by all the things I cannot see”

some words and music to contemplate today.

https://findingthewords.online/index.php/2023/05/16/markerposts/

Click the link for music ans lyrics once you are in a place where you can sit back, listen, and contemplate.

Categories
Forest Church Fresh Expressions

Sabbath

Forest Church, Mothering Sunday

I wonder what your experience of mothering is?

Or how many various experiences both positive and negative contribute to your understanding of what mothering and motherhood is?

How does that relate to husbandry?

As Quartz Forest Church we have been meeting in a very managed estate for over a year now. The grass is mown, the flowerbeds weeded and it is as well managed as a family offered up for a morning service in their Sunday best clothes.

Even in the most pristine and culturally conservative setting though, verses from the bible challenge the status quo. The rich and respectable are warned that it is the poor and marginalised who more often recognise the prophets. Those who lead armies are reminded that the king of the world won through mounting a cross and in dying fulfilled the promise of creation. Even in the texts there is a wildness that challeges human rationality. An earthy humour that pokes fun at us when we elevate our religion to an untouchable status and make it sterile.

Likewise, even within this managed estate, whether that is described as husbandry or mothering, there is an uncontrollable energy. We will take time out this Sunday to look for the deep green and echoes of wild vitality. We will pause to sense ways in which the landscape reminds us that we are participants in our relationship with the rest of creation. Even though we shape the landscape, our environment also shapes us.

Please join us at 2pm if you are near Dumfries, or send comments from wherever you are in the world!

The next Forest Church gathering for April will be on Easter Sunday

Categories
Theology Thought of the Day

Pelagius

Hope, a sunrise in the forest
Hope !

To what extent is salvation given or worked out through living?

I suspect that the issue of how “Grace” and “Works” relate to one another is an example of #SensingMystery, although like all mysteries it involves a confusion of certainty that keeps us going and awareness of the unknown so we have to keep asking questions.

Particularly in discussions with those interested in ‘Celtic’ spirituality the names Augustine and Pelagius are important. Learning more about the views they expressed is also a good ‘mirror’ within which we can explore our personal beliefs and received teaching about the issue too!

In Scotland most church members who have even heard of Pelagius will remember him as being refuted by Augustine. Augustines understanding of human nature dominates reformed thinking. This article introduces Pelagius and gently encourages us to question our assumptions.

https://newedenministry.com/2020/08/30/hope/

This article explores the subject more closely, from another perspective.

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/pelagian-controversy

This is a discussion about the nature of human being. The Augustine position combined with a dualistic understanding of human being leads to problems with pre-destination, and the tendancy to dehumanise such as explored in the book “Scarlet letter”. The Pelagian position is open to the accusation that it puts too much emphasis on the ability of humans to save themselves, rather than rely on Jesus death and resurection.

Where do your beliefs place you, and how does that position influence your understanding of salvation? Is there an integrity of belief when you apply this and think of children, convicts, the unborn in the womb, your neighbour?

Categories
#SensingSpirituality Fresh Expressions

#SensingMystery

Experiences of awe, wonder and mystery about the natural world. Often also sensed when contemplating human achievement and for some divinity.

This pot was buried containing objects which were significant to their owners, but what did they mean?
Galloway Hoard. Balmaghie. Castle Douglas, Dumfries.