January 9th
TODAY’S THEME
Fanny Crosby
Have you ever wondered about being blind?
Our current theme investigating the stories behind the songs we use to worship continued. Today, we learned about Fanny Crosby, whose hymns were familiar but we certainly didn’t know her history.
We welcomed old friends and more new faces, and began the morning singing two hymns with words by Fanny Crosby –
“To God be the Glory”
“Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine”
. . . followed by prayer.
Jan K then gave a talk about the American, blind hymn writer who died aged 95 years. [1810-1905] and what an interesting woman!
Sue then described the variety of unusual activities for the morning, highlighting the other senses we use.
There were blindfolds so that we could experiment drawing the profile of a face blindfolded, leading to amazing results, which were then added to by colouring.
There was a collage activity using music sheets which were cut and reassembled into amazing pictures.
Alison led a craft table involving sewing or gluing eye shapes on felt and embellishing them, some with buttons or sequins or net.
Kitchen foil was also on hand to squish and mould into 3D figures, great results and what a satisfying feeling!
The writing was very different from usual, as there was the opportunity to work in pairs, with one person as scribe while the other dictated what they were thinking about once their eyes were closed! Some also chose to write independently and the creative juices flowed.
There were also the usual opportunities for quiet, contemplative, prayerful knitting.
Another aspect of sight was introduced by Alex – an optical illusion. The ‘victim’ had to concentrate on an image for about 30 seconds, then close their eyes, and an unexpected image appears. Several of us were very surprised by the result!
It’s difficult to describe the quiet, relaxed atmosphere of the morning. The conversations buzzed around the tables and we were kept refreshed by Pam and Carolyn with coffee, tea and biscuits. The only way to discover what it’s like would be to come along and join in!
We ended the morning’s activities by gathering to share our efforts and how amazing they were. It is wonderful how openly people will share their feelings about the experiences of the morning.
A lunch followed with soup, lovingly made by Jan K. This month it was tomato & basil, or leek & potato. There was bread, cheese, fruit, and home-made cakes too around the tables. The whole morning was a welcome opportunity to catch up after the Christmas/New Year break.
We hope you will come next month on Tuesday 20th February 2024.
Please note that this is not the usual second Tuesday of the month due to the timing of school holidays and many with family commitments on the usual date.