Author: Editor

October 10th

We continued our theme exploring “Songs of Faith”.
Today it was Charles Wesley 1701-1788 and the hymn –

Love Divine

 

First of all, following coffee and catching up time, Alex welcomed everyone to the gathering including more new faces, we commenced by singing two songs, followed by prayers.
Then, Jan B gave a most informative talk about Charley Wesley. He was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include “And Can It Be”, “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” and the carol “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”.
He led an interesting life and was obviously much influenced by his mother. We were intrigued by her practice of putting her cap over her face to show that she was taking time to pray in her busy life. We focused on what is, perhaps, his most famous hymn. After listening to Jan B’s entertaining words, we all sang ‘Love Divine’.

Sue described the activities for the morning. The writing focus was to take some of the words from “Love Divine” and arrange them so as to inspire creative verse or writing. The results were often very moving. Please do take time to read them.

The ongoing project is to make a large, cross shaped hanging, devised of individually designed and sewn hessian squares.

Each square is proving to be be uniquely beautiful and there are many techniques being employed. Splendid fabric, stitching and applique.

Alison brought back the gold wire and new models were made, some of which were stitched into the hessian squares.

Alison also introduced card making using “Brusho” an interesting opaque powder which when wet shows its colour, alongside watercolours.
The cards were mounted in a frame and looked stunning, a lovely keepsake or gift!

There were also the usual opportunities for quiet, contemplative, prayerful knitting.

Charcoal and large sheets of paper were also available, with a still life composed of models of hands to sketch. This challenged some of our artists.

The conversations abounded around the tables and we were kept refreshed with coffee, tea and biscuits. A ploughman’s lunchtime buffet was laid out in the Magdalene room and much enjoyed. Soup will most definitely make a return next month on November 14th!

---

We hope to see you again on Tuesday October 10th.
Please note the new start time.
From November on, we will be gathering from 10:00am for tea, coffee, and chat, with the morning’s programme beginning at 10.20am.

A warm Kingdom Arts welcome awaits all.

Barbara Rolison

oooooOOOOOooooo

September 12th

Well, a New Kingdom Arts Year began this week with a new theme looking at traditional Hymns, their authors and the stories behind the songs.

TODAY’S THEME

The story behind the hymn

It is well with my soul

Alex welcomed everyone to the gathering including some new faces; and, having had coffee and catching up time, we commenced with a short time of worship singing “Ten thousand Reasons”, followed by prayer and “O Faithful One”.
Jan K then told us the story of the American evangelist Horatio Spafford and his wife Anna and the enormous tragedies in their life. They lost one son to illness; and then, while Anna and their four daughters were travelling to England, the ship sank and their four daughters drowned with only Anna surviving.
Horation travelled to England to be with Anna and, as he passed near the spot where his daughters were lost, he wrote his poem, “It is well with my soul”, later set to music by Philip Paul Bliss. Horatio and Anna went on to have three more children. Unfortunately another son also died young. With their faith still strong, the Spaffords were able to continue in their ministry.

And, of course, we sang ‘It is well with my soul’.

Sue then introduced the morning’s activities:-

A new, ongoing project is to make a large, cross shaped hanging, devised of individually designed and sewn hessian squares. Each square will be unique and there are many techniques which can be employed. Fabric, beads, stitching and applique.

Activities inspired by Horatio’s words:

Alison brought wire and large templates to make model anchors! There were many amazing interpretations and it proved very popular.

CD covers were created using the words of the hymn.

Inspired by thoughts of peril on water, a Lego table produced a model lighthouse and a depiction of Jesus calming the waters and Peter’s attempt to walk on the water.

There were also the usual opportunities for prayerful knitting, a writing table to capture people’s thoughts inspired by the talk.

The coffee and cake through the morning kept everyone alert and the conversations abounded.

Also, today at Kingdom Arts we said farewell to our Vicar Jo, who retires next week. A handmade book, containing special items created for her from the Kingdom Arts Team was presented. She was thanked for encouraging and supporting the work of Kingdom Arts acknowledging it would not have started without her blessing and constant support. We will miss you, Jo!

As the kitchen was closed because of necessary building work, we were unable to have our usual cheese, bread, and hot soup lunch. Instead, the meal was arranged in the church with a table of delicious cold foodstuffs, plenty of fruit and cheeses to help ourselves and it was most enjoyable. Soup will make a return next month!

---

We hope to see you again on Tuesday October 10th starting at 10.00am with coffee from 9.30.

A warm Kingdom Arts welcome awaits all.

Barbara Rolison

oooooOOOOOooooo

June 13th

Alex welcomed everyone to our last session before the summer break.

We began with prayer and worship songs accompanied by our musicians, including “Make me a Channel of your Peace” whilst the display on the carpet was mostly fabric, with flowers and lots of birds, a clue to today’s theme based around

St Francis of Assisi.

 

Jan Kear in a new role, then began to unfold the life of St. Francis, Patron Saint of animals and the environment, and his inspiration and achievements. What an interesting and eventful life he had. [1182-1226]

Sue then introduced the activities available.

The bird feeder table led by Lyn and Clive was immediately very popular with different designs of feeder in different materials. Some assembly was required and was a challenge without instructions! The results were very professional and the birds will love them.

The clay plaque making of a model of St. Francis was tackled in different ways and there was much discussion. The results were wonderful, an inspired idea from Alison, who was there to help.

There was writing inspired by the theme of nature and God’s world.

To see this month’s creative writing, click here.

The ongoing project for book making with colourful covers and glued and stitched pages, with some completing a new Zig Zag book which opened like a concertina. We were guided by Sue who was on hand to assist and advise.

The colouring activity was popular and aided lively conversation.

 

The prayerful knitting was available as usual, which is a very calming and meditative activity with time to rest and pray.

Coffee and biscuits were available throughout the morning. Thank you, Carolyn and all who rallied around.

Finally, there was the opportunity to exhibit and share our art work before the prayer and the blessing. The gift of a special card with the prayer of St Francis was given to everyone who came.

St Francis of Assisi Prayer. [1182-1226]
You are Holy Lord;
the only God and your deeds are wonderful.
You are love, you are wisdom, you are humility,
you are endurance you are rest, you are peace.
You are joy and gladness, you are all riches and you suffice for us.
You are beauty, you are gentleness,
you are our protector, you are our guardian and defender.
You are courage, you are our haven and hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation,
you are our eternal life, great and wonderful Lord,
God Almighty, merciful Saviour.
Amen

There was a slight delay as we rearranged for the picnic as, amazingly, it was just too hot to sit outside. What a wonderful spread! sandwiches, sausage rolls and many other delicious savoury items and lovely strawberries and cream as well as mini Pavlovas and cheesecake.

Thank you to everyone who contributed and helped.

---

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday September 12th starting at 10.00am with coffee from 9.30.

A warm Kingdom Arts welcome awaits all.

oooooOOOOOooooo

May 9th

Normally, our sessions are led by Alex and Sue, but Alex was unable to attend because of illness, so Sue introduced today’s theme

The clue to today’s ‘Heroes of Faith’ was the display on the carpet: – emblems of a flag, a badge, photographs, quotations and tambourines.

This month’s “Heroes of Faith” was William and Catherine Booth, founders of the Salvation Army.

We began with a short period of worship which included singing and prayer. Then Barbara told the story of the amazing lives of William and Catherine Booth and the foundation of the Salvation Army and explained the symbolism of their emblem. Many of us were not aware of the important role Catherine had. It was a very interesting talk and you might like to search the internet to find out more for yourselves. If you search for ‘William and Catherine Booth’, you will find a wealth of information.

The morning’s activities included making family tree banners. This was prompted by the ‘Family tracing’ service offered by the Salvation Army’ and attracted several people. There was some inventive gluing rather than stitching and plenty of discussion.

The ongoing project for book making with colourful covers and glued and stitched pages was guided by Sue who was on hand to assist and advise, with some completing their book with inside pages which was so satisfying.

The colouring activity was popular and aided mindfulness and great concentration.

There was also much debating at the writing table.

The prayerful knitting was available as usual, which is very calming and meditative activity with time to rest and pray.

Coffee and cake were available throughout the morning. Thank you, Margaret and Carolyn.

Finally, there was the opportunity to exhibit and share our art work before we sang with an unusual accordion and tambourine accompaniment “I’ll go in the strength of the Lord.”

The prayer and the blessing completed our morning and we moved to the Magdalene room for Jan’s home-made soup, where we were offered a choice of tomato and apple, or spinach, with bread and cheese, cake and fruit. They were, as usual, delicious.

We all wish Alex a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her soon.

---

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday June 13th starting at 10.00am with coffee from 9.30, and a shared picnic lunch.
We pray for a fine day so that we are able to gather in the garden.

A warm Kingdom Arts welcome awaits all.

oooooOOOOOooooo