March writing 2023

Your Word

Your Word
Your work is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path
It draws me
Embraces me with a warmth that
sets my heart aglow. Ever since I heard it.
A treasure in my darkness….

It’s the spark that fuels my day
And set my cold feet on the long path to gain a copy of my own.

A set of words – the Bible-
and I heard, I listened even hungered after it.
Fills my often-empty belly with nourishment.
I have found I can’t live without it.

My mind dreams of your word,
Passages surface from the deep within and brings me joy —
Others need to hear, to know the truth to share —

As your word rumbles from the bowels deep within me,
A vision is born
and I find myself walking for miles across rough terrain,
Challenged, yet a fire burns within,
that others can also have copy of your word – to feed on,
when nothing satisfies ……

How many miles will you travel a similar path to complete the vision??

© Shefali


Weaving Threads

We weave our threads of life into the tapestry of life
We don’t see it as we weave
But he sees it in all its glory punctuated with jewels
Those experiences of a thin place, of sacred space, of silence
But also of pain, suffering hardships.
And bring us a depth to our faith a purpose of drawing near.
Of a lesson learned at his knee, a sharing of a Christ’s love
A love that is extended to us, that a love that is extended to us
that weaves the jewels of sapphires, emeralds and diamonds into our living tapestry.
Weave with joy,
Weave with hope,
Weave the healing we need into our life’s tapestry.
All glorifying to his name.

© Jenny English


Mary Jones and Her Bible

I remember well young Mary. How she longed to own God’s word.
As a child I read her book And my heart within was stirred.
I walked that journey with her And shared her trust in God,
I felt the loneliness within, Call out from the self-same sod.
A lonely little Welsh girl Whose father had passed on,
Spent many hours all alone, Wondering – “What went wrong?”
I could not understand the pain, The hopeless cry for hope.
Why was I so alone, so sad? I needed a way to cope.
And I knew that Mary’s faith in God Had kept her all along.
Had paved the way, fulfilled her dreams. Her life had become a song.
I read her book in Nanna’s home and silently cried out,
“Can you do the same for me?” “My child,” He said. “Don’t doubt.”
So I began to trust Him, Put my life into His hands.
Twists and turns awaited me Unveiling life’s greater plans.
But Mary and her simple walk of trust that led the way,
Remained a beacon in my life, and still inspires today.

So Thank you Kingdom Arts, For this hero from the past,
Reviving childhood memories of finding faith which lasts.

© Ruth Campsell


 

 

 

March 2023 Gathering

March 14th

This month’s activities were inspired by the life of

Mary Jones (1794-1864)

who lived in Abergynolwyn, Wales. As a young girl, her desire to possess a bible of her own caused her to save for 6 years, walk 26 miles barefoot to meet the only individual in the area who sold Bibles – the Reverend Thomas Charles.

He was so impressed by Mary’s visit, he proposed the formation of a society to supply reasonably priced Bibles to the people of Wales, eventually leading to the ‘The British and Foreign Bible Society’ – now ‘The Bible Society’.

An array of Bibles was displayed, [the oldest dated from 1611] with Welsh symbols of fabric, flags and daffodils, not forgetting leeks and a photograph of Mary Jones.

They indicated that the theme would reflect the passion of this amazing young woman and her barefoot walk to buy a bible.

As usual, we began our morning with a short time of worship including song and prayer.

Jan B gave a very heart-warming talk about Mary Jones and others who were so desperate to have a bible and to use it. The story of a young Ugandan boy who Jan and her husband had visited, to take him a bible which was what he really wanted and was delighted to receive, was the most touching.

CREATIVE WRITING
The theme certainly inspired some wonderful and deeply thoughtful writing.

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

All manner of other creative activities was on offer this morning, including an ongoing project for book making with colourful covers and glued and stitched pages this was guided by guided by Sue and Karen.

 

RAG RUGGING TABLE WORKSHOP
We were shown how to make Welsh Daffodil and Easter Cross cards using a rag rugging technique by prodding strips of coloured material into small squares of hessian . The hessian was then mounted onto a folded card.

WELSH DAFFODIL SUNCATCHERS
Painting some suncatchers with acrylic paint to hang in the windows at home.

BIBLE SOCIETY
The “6 Beats One Story” was played during the morning. This is a journey through the Bible in spoken word poetry. Beat 1 “Origins” was watched which was the first 3 Chapters of Genesis.
We hope to bring a different “beat” each month.

You can watch and listen to this presentation on The Bible Society website.

The link below will take you to the correct page (please note if you click the link, you will leave the Kingdom Arts website), then you just need to scroll down to find “Beat 1 – Origins”

Click here >> Bible Society : Six Beats One Story

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

Coffee and biscuits were available throughout the morning. Thank you, Pam and Carolyn.

Finally, there was the opportunity to exhibit and share our art work, and talk about how the activities made us feel.

Sue enthralled us as she played the harp and filled the church with music and we finished with the Lord’s Prayer in Welsh (a recording as no one present could speak Welsh!), and a blessing.

Jan’s home-made soup offered a choice of red pepper or pea and mint. They were flavoursome and warming. The selection of cake was also much enjoyed, with the addition of home-made Welsh cakes especially made for the occasion. Thank you, Christine.


Unfortunately, the meeting on April 18th has had to be cancelled.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday May 9th starting at 10.00am with coffee from 9.30.  The theme of Heroes of Faith continues and the ever-popular soup lunch and a warm Kingdom Arts welcome awaits all.

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February writing 2023

Onward

The Holy Christmas Light
has shone its message
of love, peace and hope
over the World once more,
amidst all the difficulties
and tears of pain and joy.
Now we must travel onward,
believing in God’s purifying, endless
LOVE.
Feeling worthy to be part of that
MESSAGE.
Learning to love one another.
Searching, and using, our God-given gifts.
Finding strength to break up unploughed Earth,
and moving prayerfully into life ahead.

© Helen McNicholl


The Jug of Tulips.

Tightly closed they rise to a pointed tip as if hiding a secret.
Petals enfolding petals like Christ’s love wrapping around us.
Is faith like these tulips?
Does faith grow as slowly as the petals?
Carefully, cautiously opening.
Taking time
Until our inner selves are revealed like the stamens?
Affirmation that only now, like the tulips, we bow to his will
By dropping our petals at his feet.

© Barbara Rolison


Tulips

A land conquering tides
And building dykes and wind mills
To let the water flow
In tune with man and God
As lowing cattle grow
And bulbs of every hue.

The canals like ribbons
Alive with boats, flowers and ducks
Beneath an open sky
A backdrop for Gods glory
Feasts of cheese and pickled eels
Armies of bicycles
Tandems challenge
Who’s in charge?
May God lead the way
Across this land of scents and beauty.

© Helen McNicholl


Why worry?

Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow
It empties today of its strength.
So why worry?
Worry is my way of anticipating the worst scenario.
A self-protecting shield against disaster
No better than a reassuring plaster.
A fret that picks my brain not to forget that happiness is not a given.
But it shuts me off from Heaven.

Self-concern that seeks to stand apart
A little lost sheep bleating in my heart
I weaken and I writhe inside
It makes me want to run away and hide
Alarmed and caught in a thorn bush of my own making.
I see my shepherd, staff in hand He’s coming.
He is goodness and mercy overwhelming
What a relief as he speaks love for me
Such love, such truth, such strength and security.

© Chris Graham


A Million Tears

As distant on-lookers
what can we say,
what can we do?
We are horror-struck.
Even from afar
our senses are numb and shaken.
Sights beyond our understanding.

Help us Lord
to feel their plight,
their anguish,
their brutal pain.
Torn families,
shattered homes,
the penetrating cold.

But our Lord understands.
He lives with every soul,
Alive or risen.
Strengthening every helping hand,
driven by love for humankind.
Blessing heart-felt gifts
from far and wide.

He knows our prayers.
Oh Lord, let them feel your balm:
Nightmares calmed,
Healing tears shed
Hope kept alive,
Fears quietened.
Comfort them Lord
With Your unfailing love.

© Helen McNicholl


 

February 2023 Gathering

February 14th

A Dutch theme was evident this morning with clogs, tulips and delft patterns on display alongside an array of handmade books.
Alex offered a warm welcome to all and we gathered to sing “Christ be our Light “and “Such Love”.

 

Alison G gave a talk about

Corrie Ten Boon

a brave Christian, and watchmaker, who hid Jews in her house in Holland during the war as part of an escape route, until she and her sister were arrested and taken to a series of concentration camps. Following that experience Corrie continued her long life as a Christian speaker and writer.

A time of prayer and reflection followed, where we prayed for the earthquake victims, survivors and aid agencies.
All of the creative activities centred around the Dutch theme.

Cherry led a group in Origami where the task was to fold the paper into a tulip. It transpired that this was “open to interpretation” and some of the group’s tulips had a slightly different design.

There was a table for book making with colourful covers and glued and stitched pages and this will be an ongoing process with more to learn each month guided by Sue.

The free art table gave opportunities to experiment with the Delft pottery palate of blue and white.

The card making with Alison G featured cogs and wheels to reflect the work of our Hero. The designs were imaginative and the card could be used to write a memorable phrase or a message.

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

For those who wished to express themselves in writing, there was the creative writing table, a jug of tulips to provide inspiration and jog memories.

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

Coffee and biscuits were available throughout the morning. Thank you, Pam.

Finally, there was the opportunity to exhibit and share our art work, talk about how the activities made us feel and finish with a blessing
The home-made soup offered a choice of sweet potato or broccoli soup, with optional additions of peanuts or Spring onions. They were pronounced delicious! The selection of cake was also much enjoyed, the lemon drizzle was moist and yummy!

Our next meeting is on Tuesday March 14th starting from 10.00am with coffee from 9.30. The theme of Heroes of Faith continues and the ever-popular soup lunch and a warm Kingdom Arts welcome to all.

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January 2023 Gathering

January 10th

Our first meeting of 2023 started off with a very ‘buzzy’ feeling as we had new people and many old friends who came. There was even a queue for refreshments (many thanks to Pam and Carolyn) before we started.

The life and work of
Gladys Aylward
in China

 

Following our theme of ‘heroes of faith’, we reflected on the life of Gladys Aylward, the British missionary who went to China. Jan K. gave us a lively overview of her life and pointed out some of the discrepancies between it and as depicted in the film of her life ‘The Inn of the 6th Happiness’.

As she helped to stop the practice of binding the feet of little girls in China we used shoes as our prayer focus and imagined what it would be like to walk in the shoes of others. It was a ‘pass the shoe’ prayer time which gave us an opportunity to reflect on the lives of others through footwear.

We had a wonderful choice of Chinese themed activities to participate in including ‘willow’ art with Karen,

making Chinese lanterns and concertinaed dragons with Alison,

Chinese characters and cutting out

Chinese symbols organised by Sue.

When we gathered together we shared what we’d done and heard some wonderful creative writing inspired by our reflection on Gladys.

Shafali shared memories of hearing Gladys speak when she was at school and how hearing about her had inspired her in later life.

The soup, as usual, was delicious. An old favourite, leek and potato, and tomato and basil. It was very welcome and warming. We also had some delicious cakes to finish off.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday, 14th February starting from 10.00am with coffee from 9.30. A warm Kingdom Arts welcome awaits you all. We look forward to seeing you then.

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December 2022 Gathering

December 13th

 

The wonderful display of many different Nativity scenes from across the world greeted all who came: sets from Peru, Germany, African countries and Bethlehem were laid out.

Alex offered a warm welcome to those who were making their first visit and we began with some joyful seasonal singing and then followed a “Drama” about the Incarnation, to start everyone thinking.

All of the creative activities centred around the Christmas theme.

There was plenty to make: tiny matchbox cribs, made by decorating a matchbox and a small pebble.

The hanging decorations of folded paper angels, were described as “easy” by Alison who was fortunately on hand to assist the group.

Lego sets were available to encourage creative building of the Nativity with added scenic extras and an Angel on horseback!

Beautiful pastel pictures of mother and child were drawn [please do look at the pictures]

The prayerful knitting was available as well as a colouring activity, both of which are very calming and meditative.

Coffee and mince pies were plentiful and certainly helped to keep us warm, thank you Pam and Carolyn.

For those who wished to express themselves in writing, there was the creative writing table, others became more divergent! and an oral discussion exploring the meaning of “Fear Not “ensued, which added something different to the shared session.

At the end of the morning there was the opportunity to exhibit and share our art work, talk about how the activities made us feel and celebrate together by lighting candles and singing.

The home-made soup offered a choice of either purple soup, or parsnip with walnuts and maple syrup if it took your fancy. The latter was unusual and delicious!

The festive selection of cake to follow was also much enjoyed, thanks to Jane.

Our first meeting next year is on Tuesday January 10th starting from 10.00am with coffee from 9.30, the ever-popular soup lunch and a warm Kingdom Arts welcome to all.

We hope you had a Merry Christmas and you have a Happy New Year.

Our first meeting next year is on Tuesday January 10th starting at 10.00am with coffee from 9.30, followed by the ever-popular soup lunch. A warm Kingdom Arts welcome awaits you all. We look forward to seeing you then.

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