What activities would you like to see Quartz getting underway? Art installations in St Johns building and elsewhere? Outerweave #SensingSpirituality in community settings? Forest Church? Ignation Spirituality? Blended online/physical housegroup? The Floating Monastery? Other ideas … Please comment below.
Category: Mission
In the 1980’s and 90’s something called “Alternative Worship” emerged. What happened, where did the explosion of creative energy lead, how many of the communities are still recognisable and what are the people who were involved doing now? As a start, here are some links to introduce readers who may be unfamilar with the concept. […]
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Time to Reflect
There is a flow between thinking and doing. It is good to plan ahead, but sometimes you just need to get stuck in and get on with it. This was the approach we took with Quartz. The time has come now to sit back and reflect on what has happened, remember why we started out […]
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50 days later
The festivities of Easter weekend, and the Easter holidays are over. Scotland is still constrained by lockdown precautions. What did the first Christians feel like during the days between pascha and pentecost? After around 2000 years you might think that the surprise is worn out, but has it? All living beings adapt to survive. I’m […]
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Hurt
Today’s lent thinking revolves around Jesus praying in Gethsemane. The story describes him feeling powerful emotions as he anticipates where his path will lead him. Most people avoid fear and anger and the situations where we may experience these emotional states. There is a tradition of “Via Negitiva” though. I react badly to (hate?) Disney […]
Today is the day (16th of March) The Eco Congregation Scotland network are running a series of events to help you think about things you can do in response to climate change. Especially since representatives of the current ‘winners’ in the status quo are gathering in Glasgow this year. You may wish to sign up […]
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Stewardship
Our stewardship course met on Burns night this recently. The text we looked at was about bickering pharisees and a man who tried to hoard his wealth rather than share his windfall. (read it here) It seems that if Burns invested in anything it was in experiences, and the words to describe them. His sponsors […]
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Something for Epiphany
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Learning to love
“Raising kids during climate catastrophe” (a point of view from the USA) How can something as simple as lighting a candle move you from one ‘bubble’ of normal into another? Well, it takes time, but our hearts will learn to lie where we spend our time – whether that’s in a building we say is […]
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Progress
When the Israelites decide that they want a king, like other nations, they are told by their prophet that the king will take their children, their wealth, and the best of their produce. They go ahead with it anyway and choose Saul. The idea that the rich get rich from the work of the poor […]