November Forest Church

20/22/22 2pm Outside the Crichton chapel

Peace

We meet in Jesus name. Whether you consider yourself a close friend or are just curious, we meet in Christs peace. Peace be with you.

Invocation

Creator of the seasons, as the cold and dark winter begin to surround us, we ask that you set in us the firmness of the roots of the trees. As they draw on the goodness of the earth to sustain them, may we draw on your goodness – the ground of being. As the trees let their leaves fall, and sleep deeply and soundly trusting that the sustenance they have within them will see them through to spring, may we trust that the sustenance that you place in us is sufficient for us.

With the firmness of the trees and the trust of the creatures, we look to you, Creator of life, to sustain and keep us.

Prayer

O star-like sun, O guiding light, O home of the planets,

O fiery-maned and marvellous one, O fertile, undulating, fiery sea,

Forgive

O fiery glow, O fiery flame of Judgement,

Forgive

O holy storyteller, holy scholar, O full of holy grace, of holy strength,

O overflowing, loving silent, one, O generous and thunderous giver of gifts,

Forgive

O rock-like warrior of a hundred hosts,

O fair-crowned one, O victorious, skilled in battle,

Forgive

attributed to St. Ciaran

Reading

⁷ Where can I go from your spirit?
    Or where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
    if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
    and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and night wraps itself around me,”^[a]
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

Psalm 139: 7- 12

Centring

Find a tree. Root yourself.

Allow yourself to become aware of everything which is going on around you, the wind, the sounds, the smells.

Draw back into yourself, like a tree shedding it’s leaves in preparation for Winter.

Rest

Receive sustenance from God, Become aware of the sustenance God has placed within you, draw sustenance through your feet and into your core.

When you are ready hold the memory and begin to walk.

Intercession

God of stillness, ruler over darkness, we pray for those places within our world which are in darkness in some way, whether through human action or natural means.

Lord have mercy

God of stillness, ruler over darkness, we pray for those places within our local community which are in darkness in some way, whether through the actions of local people or wider government decisions.

Christ have mercy

God of stillness, ruler over darkness, we pray for those places within our Church which are in darkness in some way, whether through selfish heard heartedness or the political decisions of hierarchy.

Lord have mercy

Reading

⁷ And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the Lord), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light.

⁸ On that day living water shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of it to the eastern sea and half of it to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter.

⁹ And the Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

Zechariah 14:7-9

Contemplation

(Please bring a lantern with you if you have one. We will bring some spares and the materials for making more. The extent to which we take time and care to shape our lanterns will be determined by the weather! We may seek warmth and refreshments to carry out this activity.)

Light your lantern

Consider the way in which the lantern is a boundary between the light and the dark. It shapes the way the light is seen. It keeps the flame lit and shielded from the wind. The lantern is scarred and pierced, but each wound lets more light out. The shapes add beauty and creativity to the world around the lantern.

In what ways do you hold onto and protect the light of the gospel within you. In what ways do you contribute light to the world around you, and with style…

Grace

May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Now and evermore,

Amen.