April 5th

Today was the second of a series looking at the lives of influential Christians. This month Saint Aiden.

We began with music and joined in singing “I the Lord of sea and sky” which together with “When I survey the wondrous cross” set the scene for the morning.

Alex led us in a time of prayer and reflection, followed by the second of a series looking at the lives of influential Christians or “Heroes of Faith”

We had a very interesting short talk from Barbara R about St. Aiden, an early Celtic monk who founded a monastery on the Island of Lindisfarne and re-established Christianity in Northumbria around AD 535. Aiden was well known for his ascetic practices and great gentleness.

A reading from Matthew 28 verses 18 to 20 helped us to understand how he saw God’s purpose for his life.

There was a very popular table with Celtic patterns involving great concentration and repeated over and round, under and over again!
Some concentrated on drawing and design

Others tried their hand at weaving or stitching. Over and under and over again! Not easy!!

For those who preferred it there were Celtic patterns to colour!!

Whenever one needed a break, the coffee was plentiful with flapjack, crispy nests; also wonderful Celtic Knot cheese biscuits, thank you Vikki for designing and hand crafting them.

The Celtic Knot Biscuit

Intricate and intriguing woven knot, a circle encircled,
interlinking loops on an infinite journey,
leading me along the path of life with God beside me all the way.

Our deconstructed bits of life,
large or small,
curved and twisted
can be reshaped, reformed, regenerated
influenced by God’s purpose.

© Barbara Rolison April 2022 Kingdom Arts

To aid concentrated private prayer or meditation, there was a table with a wooden labyrinth for finger tracing.

A slide show with scenes from Lindisfarne and the surrounding area was for browsing along with a book with illustrations of the Lindisfarne Gospels.

The craft activity from last month continued with block printing, based on the designs on the colourful African fabrics, as well as a table with materials for applique, a beautiful and delicate stitch craft.

The designs were again taken from a small portion of African fabric pattern.

The creative juices flowed on the writing station and there are new pieces for you read.

Past Present Future

The expectation of Spring fills the air
Mixing up yellows and blues and swirling petals
In the gusts of God’s breath.
New growth, new life
Can we feel blessed?
Ignoring artificial trappings dispelling arguments and wars
Letting the shadow of the cross fill our lives every moment
Hearing those cries of understanding
And Jesus’ gifts of love comfort and forgiveness
Echoing from the past for us today
And forever.
© Helen Mc Nicholl Kingdom Arts 05/04/22

At the end of the morning there was the opportunity to share our work and feelings – plus a final song sung to a traditional Celtic melody which many of you will recognise.

for those who like to know – the song is accompanied by Sue on a penny whistle and Trevor playing a shruti (an Indian instrument, I’m told).

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Our next meeting is planned for Tuesday May 10th from 9.30, with the enticing prospect of a home-made soup lunch!!

Please come and join us, but do check this site or our Facebook page before your journey to make sure the session is not cancelled!

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March 8th

Today was the first of a series looking at the lives of influential Christians and we began with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Jan B talked to us about the life and determination of this most charismatic man – really interesting, and well worth researching if you know little of the man.

His influence in moving Christianity forward, particularly in South Africa, was amazing, from very humble beginnings which he never forgot.

Today’s theme was based on Africa

The morning’s activities included two activities inspired by African designs and prints:-

Printing by hand – based on the designs on the colourful African fabrics laid out in the centre isle with African artefacts. This will continue next month.

Appliqué – a beautiful and delicate stitch craft. The designs were taken from a small portion of African fabric pattern.

Rainbow spinners – as the colours of the spinners combined, they reminded us that all people, whatever their appearance or creed, can live together and share our world – even if it often doesn’t happen. An activity which took many of us back to childhood and caused much merriment and excitement in twirling a rainbow coloured revolving disk.

Work in progress:-

Finished:-

African drumming and songs – Sue led a drumming workshop in the Magdalene room where we learned two African songs and played a variety of drums and percussion, which became the finale at our sharing at the end of the morning with an opportunity for everyone to join in and sing and dance!

Rehearsal

Performance – including spinners (and dancing???)

Butterflies – a sign of hope – something we all need.

Carolyn was inspired to write this:-

When we see butterflies
And hear the hum of insects
As they hover among the flowers
And the tall, windblown grasses
And feel the gentle caress of the warm breeze,
Then, O Lord, our hearts are raised in joy
And thanksgiving.

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It was an uplifting morning with plenty of fun for all.

Unfortunately, our thoughts also turned to the world problems and Ukraine. Our time of worship including prayers for God’s support and guidance for the world leaders during this difficult time. Let us all pray that a solution may be found soon.

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Our next meeting is planned for Tuesday April 5th from 9.30.
Please come and join us, but do check this site or our Facebook page before your journey to make sure the session is not cancelled!

It is our aim to return to longer meetings including lunch as soon as we can.

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February 8th

Our first meeting of the year began with coffee [or tea], delicious homemade Shrewsbury biscuits, and a chance to meet with friends or talk with someone new; a most welcome interlude for those who felt able to join in.

Alex called us together to celebrate with songs of praise led by our musicians and we began with:

The light that shines is the light of love.
Lights the darkness from above.

This introduced the theme of “Light in our Darkness”. Readings and prayer helped us to be reflective, as we considered how God shone His light in our lives. Soon we were ready for a chance to express ourselves in art, craft or model making.

The Lego table was surrounded with enthusiasts in their eagerness to build a lighthouse! – proving a little more challenging than expected. The result was an unusually colourful structure but complete with an amazing revolving light.

The craft activity using black and white allowed free expression by cutting out shapes within a black square and displaying these on white paper.

There was a table with pastels for blending and also brightly coloured paper to make a picture.

These were all displayed at the end of the morning around a circle representing darkness into light.

There was a chance to talk about our work and how we felt. Sharing experiences with each other is a valuable part of each session and where we are able to show appreciation of skills and ideas.

The idea of a special Jubilee recipe book was discussed so watch this space!

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Our next meeting is planned to be on Tuesday March 8th from 9.30.
Please come and join us, but do check this site or our Facebook page before your journey to make sure the session is not cancelled!

It is our aim to return to longer meetings including lunch as soon as we can.

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December 14th

This month, our session began with a short period of worship to reflect the season of Advent and the forthcoming Christmas jubilations.

Songs -“Light of the world” was followed by “Adore”; a reading from a new translation of Luke, the more modern language helped us to focus anew on the story of the Birth of Jesus; and a time of prayer and reflection led by Alex; after which Sue and Vicky introduced a range of interesting Christmas crafts for us to try.

There were well spaced tables [with sanitiser] where crafting took place.
These included exquisite patterns for tiny cross stitch;

tissue paper for collage pictures on Christmas cards

and potato printing for home-made wrapping paper. Everyone enjoyed their activities and continued their conversations.

We also continued toward completion of the installation of strings of suspended flying butterflies. A delicate structure which will be truly lovely.

Also, we had a wonderful display of Nativity sets from countries around the world laid out before us on the floor and a warm welcome was extended to all who came. There were interesting stories about where they had come from or why they were significant.

At the end of the morning we gathered with lit candles in a quiet atmospheric circle to sing the Graham Kendrick song “Like a candle flame” and receive words of blessing.

We wish you all

A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Our next meeting is planned to be on Tuesday January 11th from 9.30.
Please come and join us, but do check this site or our Facebook page before your journey to make sure the session is not cancelled!

It is our aim to return to longer meetings including lunch as soon as we can.

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November 9th

A warm welcome was extended to all who came, with an eye-catching display of items and memories of the past 18 months and of course bottomless coffee.

Our Kingdom Arts worship began with a song of praise “Strength will rise” followed by “Faithful One so unchanging”. The wonderful musicians played and sang with joy and enthusiasm encouraging us all to join in.

We continued with words of Hope from the scriptures and I felt particularly moved by the words from Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Following a time of prayer and reflection we shared more wonderful stories and memories from lockdown – including painting, sewing, decorating, and learning to play music and sing.

We continued by expanding our collection of butterflies for an installation to represent Hope.

There were well spaced tables [with hand sanitiser] where crafting took place.

There were folded butterflies, cut out butterflies, paper, sewn and origami butterflies to name but a few methods of construction.

The collection is numbering hundreds and will look amazing.

We ended with a blessing.

It is hoped that this installation will be completed by our next meeting on December 14th from 9.30 to 12.30 when we celebrate with the theme of Christmas! Please come and join us.

It is our aim to return to longer meetings including lunch in the New Year (hopefully!)

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12th October

Eighteen months after our last meeting . . .

We‘re back!

This morning was a great occasion – meeting friends, chatting and feeling that warmth which is always present at Kingdom Arts.

A time of worship was followed by ‘Show and tell’ – an opportunity to share with others what we had been up to during our enforced separation. Nobody knew how the session would go. It had been decided that, for this first time back together, normal craft activities would be avoided as we worked out what everyone would be comfortable with. There were concerns that no one would appear and, even if they did, no-one would have anything to say.

Our fears were unfounded. The variety of activities was truly astounding. There were so many who wished to ‘show and tell’ that half of the items have been held over for next month, when we will also begin a project based on butterflies.

Meanwhile enjoy these pictures from our triumphant return:-

Shefali gave us a thoughtful poem

Death where is your sting

In the falling of darkness, as the sun slipped into the covers and sleep.
It’s last message of the day was the sheer presence of beauty spreading itself across the night sky as dusk took over.
Brilliant colours of the blend of red and orange and hints of mauve and yellow.
Weaving themselves like a blanket covering across the sky.
And I knew beauty had visited us.
But for a moment, and in that scene and excitement a wonder born-again within me.
Warmth of delight coming alive with a sense of celebration and delight.

We both looked in awe and wonder and spoke out our delight.
My heart recognising then, as we shared playful, dancing banter between us.
That the silent majesty of the ordinary, like things we often never notice.
Friendships and love,
Sacrifice that emerges for a moment from a subdued presence
that stand out like the night sky colours.
Standing in their true radiance as gifts we could never have earned or achieved.
Thank you for allowing that beauty in friendship to emerge.

Shefali

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Return to Kingdom Arts- How was it for you?

Here’s what Ruth thought:-

Hi,
I was truly inspired by this morning.
On returning home I thought I needed to write some of what I had experienced.
This is what I have just written without editing just straight from my heart.

The Return of Kingdom Arts

A symphony I thought, or symposium perhaps,
Splendid variations on a theme.
A theme of praise and thanksgiving to creator God
Who has proved himself faithful yet again-
Faithful through the Lockdown storm
As he was to Noah, in the days of the Ark.
The time came to open the door and let everyone out
Tentatively at first, in wonder that the waters had receded
-yet muddy pools and boggy areas remained.
A new beginning, having survived the rain,
New life, new ways lay before them.

And so, for us, as we venture out
After months of Lockdown and isolation.
We meet to share life that has grown in the darkness.
Painting, poetry, crafts and song,
Living beings amongst the memories recalled,
And we experience the Creator, the Image Maker.
We, the images, have created after His nature.
Our Father has expressed Himself through us
In diverse ways-thus creating a symphony
To Himself-different instruments creating a tune
Of thankfulness, glorifying Him who created through us
In the darkest of days.

Joy and blessings,
Looking forward to more Kingdom Arts.

Ruth

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Next time . . .

Our theme is HOPE . . .

. . taking the symbol of Butterflies . . .

If you have the time, we would like you to make a butterfly or two to hang within the church. Paper, fabric, etc. Make them anyway you like as long as they are light and can be hung. Bring them with you to the next meeting on November 9th. Not too big – you can get an idea of the size from this picture

Here are some instructions for one method of making a paper butterfly

You can find a video demonstrating this technique by clicking on this link:-

Easy Paper Butterfly – YouTube

If you click the link, you will leave the Kingdom Arts site and be taken to YouTube (you may well have to watch an advertisement – sorry!)

See you all in November

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HOT OFF THE PRESS

Hello to you all,

We are excited to tell you that we are starting KINGDOM ARTS again on TUESDAY OCTOBER 12th in Church at 10.00am. We have missed you so much and we are keen to make sure everything is in place for your first return so there will be a few modifications to our normal Gathering.   We want to reassure you that we will do everything possible to make you feel safe so the chairs will be socially distanced and hand sanitizer available. If you feel more comfortable wearing masks that’s fine especially if moving around the church. We will gather at 10.00 am as normal and will finish early. We have 1-1½ hrs in mind for this first occasion.

NO LUNCH – Sadly we can’t offer some of Jan’s amazing soups this month but coffee will be available. We need to take it slowly at first as I am sure some of you may feel nervous about mixing in groups again.  We will have a time of worship at the beginning but we feel we  cannot offer working on art tables and sharing of equipment this month but we are getting there, so………….

WILL YOU BRING with you to share anything you have been doing on the creative front during Lockdown ……….art, needlecrafts, poetry, photos of projects, music, models, stitching and so on. If you don’t have an “arty” item to bring, maybe you have something in your house which you treasure and which has a “story” or particular meaning to you that you could bring along instead. We can then have a good time connecting again with one another and do what we do best……. sharing and chatting in this lovely building and with you lovely people.

If you have nothing to bring, don’t let that stop you!
DO COME or let us know if there are any concerns you may have.

With our love to you and see you soon,

Alex x and Sue x

June 1st

Lemon Scones – we promised you this recipe last month, but we missed the deadline. Here it is now

Lemon Scones. Makes 8.

Ingredients

400 g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
100 g butter, cubed
100 g caster sugar
150 ml milk – not chilled (warmed slightly).
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
Pinch of salt

Method
1 Pre-heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2 Tip the flour and baking powder into a large bowl with a pinch of salt, then mix.
3 Add the butter, then rub in with your fingers until the mix looks like fine crumbs. Stir in the caster sugar.
4 Make a well in the dry mix, then add the milk, lemon juice and zest, and combine it quickly with a table knife until it makes a soft dough – use a little more milk if necessary.
5 Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, knead a little, then pat it out or roll it to about 3cm deep. Use a 7cm round cutter to cut out 10 scones.
6 Place on the baking tray and brush the tops with a beaten egg. Bake for approx. 12-15 mins until risen and golden on the top.

Eat with either butter or clotted cream and maybe some lemon curd. You may also like to top the cooled scones with lemon icing (made with icing sugar with added lemon juice).

Editor: As a complete novice, I tested this recipe. I used a food processor for the mixing in steps 2 and 3, then transferred to a large bowl for step 4.

Not sure I got the dough consistency right, but I coped. Couldn’t achieve the recommended thickness, so I used a smaller cutter (6cm) and ended up with 14 small scones of various sizes!

However, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”.

– They were really nice.

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June 21st

This month’s message is late. The Editor lost the plot!
(that’s me currently, although I may be removed from office. Sorry)

Here is some input from David for this month:-

Like many of you, Alex and I have been spending a little more time in the garden. I am reminded that the Bible story tells how God provided a garden for us when He first created humankind. Like the ancient hanging gardens of Babylon that seems to have been a garden largely comprised of trees. By the time of Solomon, if the Song of Songs is anything to go by, interest had moved on to any leafy or flowering plant that produced fragrant perfume.

Today we like the wide variety of the many shapes and colours of our flowers easily available in so many different garden centres. All this bears witness to our continuing creativity. It never ceases to fascinate me – humankind’s inexhaustible faith and hope that something new and good is always waiting there to be found and we shall always be provided with the arts and crafts and skills to handle it. And so, every year there are new bulbs, new roses, new clematis.

The Bible calls on us to seek and build the Kingdom of God. That is to do all we can to build a world, as our Bishop John expresses it, of love, compassion, justice and freedom. Everything we do out of faith or hope or love for Jesus and our fellow beings, (the gold, silver and costly stones of 1 Corinthians 3.12), contributes to that Heavenly Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth at the end of time. May the Lord bless as you continue to seek the well-being of those around you.
David New

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All this thinking about flowers, gardens, plants will hopefully kick start some creativity within you in art, needlework, poetry, photography, music, etc. . . . .

Send us your contributions as we love to add them to our ever growing website. It’s been so hard not meeting you all so we hope you haven’t forgotten us and will be eagerly awaiting some return to our creative monthly gatherings.

With our love to you and looking forward to meeting up again soon,
Love Alex x and Sue x

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May 5th

Hello to you all

Well! It’s May now although it’s felt like November lately with the hail and rain and winds! I trust all is good with you and your family and friends. This month, with lockdown easing, I thought it would be good to look at the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.Here Jesus invites himself into Zacchaeus house for a meal. I expect you are all looking forward to opening up your house and inviting friends and family inside for food. It’s been a long time hasn’t it? We can learn so much from this story of friendship, hospitality, welcome, forgiveness, and an openness to everyone whatever their background, race or gender. Zacchaeus was so ready to welcome Jesus into his life and to be changed by the experience. This is a real story of hope and transformation.

Coming this month:-

 

Jan Kear, our brilliant chef, has sent in a Spring soup recipe for us to try and a delicious zesty lemon scone treat for those tea parties you are going to plan. Maybe after all this time of restrictions and with so many people being on their own, it’s a good time to think about inviting people, maybe those you don’t know really well, into your home for one of Jan’s delicious scones. Hospitality was so important to Jesus in his ministry.

How about having a go at some creative writing too? Barbara has set you a challenge with some hints/ideas for this. It looks fun so do give it a go and send it to us. Your contributions are always so interesting, creative and thought provoking.

Do keep in touch with us as we love to hear your news and how things have been for you during this time. We WILL get together soon.

With love Alex x and Sue x

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May 6th

A Creative Writing Challenge!

As we are all looking forward to a face to face meeting our friends face to face for a cup of tea and a good chat, I chose “friendship”, for this month’s activity.

Jesus made friends with a wide range of people, including fishermen, (Matthew 4;18-23) a tax collector Zacchaeus (Luke 19;1-10), and Martha and Mary (Luke 10; 38-42)

He had many wonderful qualities: so, what do you think makes a friend?

Please will you write about your friends or friendships and why they are important to you. You might include their qualities, how you met, what you enjoy doing together, or a favourite memory you share.

For a real challenge how about putting it into a Haiku or a poem?

I look forward to seeing your thoughts in writing.

Good luck! Barbara

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May 11th

A soup for Spring

The colour of this soup is reminiscent of the new green growth of spring and is highly nutritious. It can be adapted for vegans by missing out the cream and eggs, milk or milk substitute could be used in place of cream, or just miss it out. It serves 4.

Ingredients

For the croutons:-
4 slices of sourdough bread., crusts removed and cut into cubes.
1 tbsp olive oil.

For the soup:-
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
2 celery sticks chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 litre vegetable stock
1 large broccoli head (350g)
250g spinach
100ml double cream
4 medium eggs
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Make croutons, preheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade, or mark 6. Toss bread, oil and seasoning, place on a baking tray. Cook for 10 min or until golden brown. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan over low heat and cook the onion for 5 min, add the celery and cook for 5 min. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 min more.

3. Stir in stock and bring to the boil. Chop broccoli including the stalk and add to the pan. Simmer for 10 mins. Stir through the spinach to wilt. Place in a blender or liquidiser and wiz until smooth. Stir through cream (if using) season to taste.

4. Poach the eggs for 4 mins, test by lifting out with a slotted spoon – the white should feel firm but the yolk remains soft. Drain eggs on kitchen paper.

5. To serve ladle soup into 4 bowls and top each with an egg, croutons and a sprinkling of chilli.

The soup can be cooled and frozen without the toppings.

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May 25th

We have a response to Barbara’s creative writing challenge:

Friendship

Fifty-seven years ago Rosemary and I met on a holiday in Norway. It was a walking holiday and we were both with elderly relatives. Later she told me that she had seen my walking boots tied onto my suitcase. She thought I was an avid walker. She soon discovered that I was no mountain goat, as we both usually took up the rear on walks, while our elderly relatives bounded ahead! That was the start of a very rich friendship, like a piece of colourful weaving.

Rosemary died last year, and looking back over the years I realise we both worked hard at weaving a good picture. We shared friends, holidays (not walking ones!), parents, interests, laughter and all the ups and downs of life. We knew when more caring was needed, and how to cope with each others idiosyncrasies, sometimes a challenge for both of us. The most precious thread we wove was the time we spent talking about the love of God. Latterly we could not visit one another, but long phone calls, and many prayers and poems bridged the gap. We both knew that all through our pains and joys, God was our rock. I so miss her, and still reach for the phone to call her, but I am confident she is now out of pain, and safely with her beloved Lord.

Her death has made me look at friendship more closely, and made me realise that good friends are a very precious gift from God. As in an Advent calendar each door opens onto a different picture, as we are all different, and we receive and give to each other in different ways, helping us towards the person we are. If our sights are on the glorious birth of Jesus as shown in the last door, then the friendship, however complex is rich beyond words.

Thank you, Lord.

© Helen McNichol

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