Quartz
A picture, or a poem, is the death of possibility. A great and terrifying cloud of potential, collapses. The dead scales of art are experienced, while the artist struggles to shed skin. To hold a cloud of unknowing in tension, and sense the moment of rain. All are able, Some have skill, Make the time.
Artists can help us stretch our minds. This exersize can take effort. Making the effort has rewards though. Just as a runner trains for a race, we can train our minds to be flexible and resiliant. There is Truth in the solidness of stone, but a skilled artist can make it look like a pillow. […]
Easter 2025 Quartz Forest Church Walking out from St John’s on Sunday I wondered about how long we have been doing this, and whether we should continue. The weather was was certainly great! But it had been a long day starting at 20.30 the previous evening, with an 08.30 gathering the next morning and then […]
March 2025 Forest Church Our last post describes what we set out to do, this one is a small insight into what happened. It is written from my perspective, but if you were there or joined in online please use the comments to add to it! We read from texts and creation. It interests me […]
Yesterday evening at the Contemporary Service in St Johns we reflected on the theme “God is good”. We were encouraged to think about where and what we recognise as good. As part of our creative response we spent some time reflecting on where we see good things. We used a drawing of a tree to […]
Walking with the Saints (Ash Wednesday is the 5th of March, Easter Sunday is 20th April) We have been looking at a book called “Restoring the Woven Cord” at our CLC meetings. The book introduced themes like creativity, or community and using the life story of a saint. Each time we meet one of us […]
Yesterday was the autumn equinox. Day and night balance each other. It is celebrated in many ways. Some of these are flourishings from Christendom, some look for earlier roots and others might just be instinctive urges to drink something special and warming. At the contemporary service in St John’s we built a machine. The processes […]
When words run out. Can we pray in colours? If God is Love, and we are Loves children, then when we are caught up in moments of immersion in beauty and the experience of Love are we praying? The sunset over an ocean. A moment of noticing the character of light on the leaves of […]
The most common comments I receive about creative worship fall into two categories. “How can I be more creative?” and “That must take a long time to do”. I think both observations are true, so here are some thoughts from a lifetime based on reflecting about them. From the beginning God is described as creator. […]
A spirituality of making The scars on the Ruthwell cross are witness to the troubled relationship Christians have with art. We are physical beings who need a world of sensations, we are also spiritual beings who can sense a realm that is more than simply physical. The Bible is filled with references to God crafting, […]