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If you want to see the earlier entries,
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for September
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for August
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for July

October 28th

SADNESS
It is with sorrow that I have to tell you that lovely Janet Hastings, after losing her courageous battle with cancer has now gone to be with the Lord she loved and served all her life. We will so miss the beautiful creative writing that she shared with us and her amazing smile and attitude to life. Pauline, a good friend and regular attendee at Kingdom Arts used to send her butterfly cards every day since her diagnosis. ….what a lovely, thoughtful gesture. Pauline always made butterfly cards as Janet loved the butterfly symbol of Resurrection New Life. I asked her to let me see one and here is one she made. So beautiful. Thank you.

Alex

You will find examples of Janet’s writing in the Creative Writing section

February 2019 : Living Water

January 2020 : The Temple

October 19th

A harvest poem from Helen

It’s easy to forget the importance of harvestime in our urban world, yet it is vital for the well-being of all living plants and creatures, including us. Helen’s poem is a beautiful reminder . . .

Read it in the October Writing page

October 13th

Today should have been our October gathering and a chance to enjoy fellowship and one (or two) of Jan’s delicious soups. Here’s one you might like to try at home:

Curried Pumpkin  Soup

This autumn/ harvest soup is full of goodness and is delicious. Pumpkins will be plentiful this autumn; it could be eaten at lunch or in the evening, it is sure to warm you through the season.  It is high in fibre is free from dairy, nuts (provided you remove all seeds), eggs and wheat. It is easy to make and can be frozen. It serves 4.

Ingredients

1 medium pumpkin, de-seeded and chopped.
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or substituted by oil of preference)
½ tsp ground cinnamon
750ml vegetable stock
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tbsp curry powder
Coriander chopped to garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Reheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade.
2. Remove seeds from the pumpkin, chop into chunks and place on a lined baking tray.
3. Drizzle the coconut oil (or substitute) over the chunks, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. Using your fingers, massage the oil and spice into the pumpkin.
5. Roast for around 35 mins or until the orange flesh is easily pierced with a fork.
6. Place the pumpkin into a blender or liquidiser. Add the vegetable stock, lemon juice and curry powder and blend until smooth. Add water until the consistency is right.
7. Place in a medium sized saucepan and heat on the hob for a further 5 mins.
8. Serve and garnish with coriander and pumpkin seeds ( if liked).

October 7th

Falling?

A ripe rosy apple has fallen from the tree
It lies alone, glistening in the rain-soaked grass until
A small brown black slug slides across the skin looking for
A place to enter and spread the rot
Like the doubts and anxieties entering my thoughts to spread discontentment
Shall despair takes hold?
No!
I remove the slug
I wash the apple clean then
Like Eve I invite you to share it.

© Barbara Rolison, Kingdom Arts, 2020

Trees

Two images of my take on the autumn colours.

One: Colours on the tree…..

The other: A tree hand . . . with the leaves falling through . . .

can be a tree . . . or my hand trying to catch them . . . colours are vibrant reflecting God’s gifts of nature and colour and Glory.

Shefali

October 6th

The days are changing and the nights are drawing in. Autumn is here, all those gorgeous colours appearing on the trees as they change colour, those wonderful reds, golds and yellows. Our minds turn at this time of the year to Harvest. No Harvest suppers for us all this year, I am afraid! However this lovely very old Harvest Hymn came to mind as I was walking along today in the late burst of sunshine…

“All good gifts around us are sent from Heaven above, then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all His Love ”

So we take Harvest as our theme this month and especially Psalm 65:6-13… a psalm that depicts a world alive with the Bounty and Glory of God.
Here we read about the abundant harvest that God provides and the psalmist is giving thanks to God for pouring out His Blessing on the Land.
This makes us think and be aware, even in the midst of our upside down world at the moment, that if we take a moment to look we can see the world around us is alive with the beauty and splendour of God. Do as the psalmist says at the end of the psalm, “shout and sing for joy”.

How about capturing something of this beauty and Glory in word, or music, or art using the glorious Autumn colours, or fruits, or vegetables?
Send them to us for our delight and encouragement. Make our October webpage a feast of colour and praise to God.

Sue and Alex.

If you want to see the earlier entries,
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for August
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for July
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for June

September 23rd

Unknowing Time

Window on the World

Exploring thoughts and new ideas moves us on . . .

Frances wrote:

I went to a virtual workshop with St Martin in the Fields, ‘Window on the World’ about disability and lockdown.

The advisor spoke about the different ways we view the world due to disability – for people who were lying in bed, those who experience sensory differences, who are neurodiverse, etc. Then a vicar showed us some photos that he had taken where the camera was either looking through objects, at windows to capture a reflection, or pointed at something at an unusual angle, or activities seen out of their windows – wildlife or the swaying of flowers and trees. Then we were asked to respond to the title ‘Window on the World’ in poetry, prose, video, photo. We had only 45 mins!! I was totally flummoxed!! So, I went into my spare room and I found a chess piece, some blue-tac, a stone with ‘wisdom’ engraved on it and some thread. Finally, there was 30 mins of ‘show and tell’.

The idea is that you finish your piece of work and then it is displayed in the church at an event of some sort about disability and lockdown. I can’t remember what or when exactly. Anyway, this is the ‘write-up’ I have sent to the St Martin in the Fields session leader about the video I made:-

The video shows us all in our own castles, leaning on wisdom whilst the world is spins. During lockdown, there have been times of darkness and light but also a sense of the beyond which has meant that we have all had a period of re-prioritising aspects of our lives. The video was taken with the camera looking into a mirror. The mirror reflects the castle and stone with wisdom engraved into it as well as the window. At times, you can see outside of the window.

“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”
—Psalm 139:11-12

The video itself is in two halves. The second half is the reverse of the first half so, in effect, it is a reflection of what you have already seen. Both ends of the video are in darkness but, at the core, the light shines through and I resonate with its sheer strength and beauty. I downloaded a video editor during lockdown but I only started trying to learn what to do with it this week. I had no idea that it’s possible to rotate it, reverse it, etc. It’s mind-blowing!!

Frances.

Frances’ video:

September 21st

Two pieces of writing concerned with this month’s theme of New Beginnings.

Starting Afresh by Rosemary – Moving home and settling in.

Beginnings: Taste, Touch and See by Shefali – Thoughts from everyday happenings to the Creation.

Read these in the September Writing page

 September 15th

I am sure you realise that Kingdom Arts gatherings are currently cancelled, and it will be well into 2021 before we can even consider starting again. This, is of course a huge disappointment to us all. We do miss our times of worship, prayer, creating arty things and lunch with you and of course, the laughs along the way. However we will not despair as we have a God who watches over us, loves us, and promises us New Life in all its fullness, whatever we are experiencing.

Our theme for this new season is about New Beginnings. Each week we are experiencing new government restrictions that has an impact on our lives, new ways of meeting family, new ways of working, new ways of shopping, new ways of doing Church, we have to find new beginnings for so many things.

We can however, take heart with this lovely encouraging verse from Lamentations 3:22-23 that will give us encouragement, and Hope and Joy.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness”

Maybe this will spark some creative writing or music or painting that will inspire you and which may speak to others. Please have a go as we love to receive your work. So many people comment on the variety when they look at our website. If you don’t feel like doing any creative things do drop us a line to assure us you are well.

With Love from all of us at Kingdom Arts.

Rosemary Orr has submitted two short pieces of writing

Conquest and God’s Garden

These can be found on the September Writing page

Some of us enjoy our music -listening, singing together and, sometimes, creating.

You made the heavens

A celebration of God’s world. Enjoy the photographs

September 8th

Hello Everyone. Today should be our first meeting of the new ‘season’, but it was not to be.

David New has continued to ponder the theme of creation from previous months and has called to mind trees from various periods of his life that have been significant for him:-

REMEMBERED TREES

Seven stately Ash
marked the path that ran
beyond the end
of my childhood garden.
Gentle southwest winds
rustling the branches
“had language for me.”

Pollarded willows
edged the banks
of the old mill stream
while we lazed
in the water-meadow field
with vetch and buttercup and buzzing bugs,
eating double-decker sandwiches.

Towering Elms
crowning the hill of
Beckenham golf course
with trunks too big to be hugged
even by us two boys.
Alas the nineteen sixties
swept them all away!

Golden pendules of Laburnum
overhung the pavement
from garden fronts
of suburban brick-box homes;
brightening up
the daily walk to school.

One big Chestnut tree
covered the corner
of the school playground.
Elegant white candles in the spring;
Abundant summer foliage;
And in the autumn,
Conkers galore.
Overwhelming generosity
from the Creator.
And all for fun!

Bright white slender trunks
mark the parking lots
for fossil-fuelled family cars.
But tiny dancing leaves
are no match
for the carbon-footprint need.
Yet still the white bark shines.

David New 2020

Do we have any budding artists out there who might like to illustrate David poem?

. . . or anyone with reminiscences of days gone by?

If you want to see the earlier entries,
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for July
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for June
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for May

Hello Everyone,

The holidays are here. Are you managing to get away somewhere or are you off visiting family and friends? It certainly feels a strange Summer this year. I do hope you can enjoy the sunshine and manage to get out a bit now the restrictions are lifted a little.

Sue and I are taking a break from sending you a theme for the month of August but we want to encourage you to take part in Sue’s challenge to us from last month. Look under “July Coronavirus Journal” and find the heading Psalm 133…..an Activity. Sue has given you ideas and descriptions on what to do so please have a go and send us a photo of the results. We’d love that.

We will contact you all again in September so have a lovely August with lots of space for creativity, family and friends and exploring more of God’s amazing creation.

We miss you and look forward to the time when we can be together again. We have no idea when things will get back to normal. Everything has changed beyond all recognition. However through it all we know that God is with us. May you know the depth of His love and His protection now and always.

A lovely passage from Isaiah 40 :26
“Look up at the sky! Who created the stars you see? The one who leads them out like an army, he knows how many there are and calls each one by name! His power is so great–not one of them is ever missing”

With our love,

Alex x and Sue x

August 19th

A collage from Frances

I have spent a long time on an allotment so there are lots of images of flowers.

I’ve added the apple to represent the fruit and veg’ we have grown.

The rice represents fleeting moments of motivation to cook and I have achieved more dishes in lockdown than previous significant durations of time indoors at home.

A bag of fruit tea for cold drinks – to represent the need for water in the heat we have experienced this summer. Grocery shopping has been interesting – queuing, social distancing and wearing masks.

The hair clips and band represent my sheer desire for a hair cut.

πr2 represents home schooling.

Welfare for Healthcare voluntary work to fundraise for the NHS.

The calligraphy pen represents 5 weeks of sitting down whilst my foot was healing, prior to and after lockdown began. The pen gave me hours of fun and I only bought it because we did some calligraphy at Kingdom Arts which was a super introduction to calligraphy.

I’ve also put ‘vocation’ down because I have spent a long time wondering about what to do with my career because things haven’t gone exactly according to the original plan – but I think the new plan is much better.

August 15th

A collage or ZOOM screen, based on recent times

by Helen

August 8th

Creative writing by Helen McNichol

Two pieces inspired by plants.
Click here to read >> August 2020 Writing

If you want to see the earlier entries,
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for June
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for May
click here >> Coronavirus Journal for April

On we go. Another month, another opportunity to do some of those jobs , or find excuses to ignore them . . .

Our journal continues, hopefully with more examples of people’s creativity – craft, painting, written word, and hobbies. Some directly connected to worship, others just giving important time to reflect on life today and God’s part in it.

July 28th

• Prayer
• High Street Antics
• Returning to Worcester Cathedral, open for prayer in Lockdown.

Three short pieces of writing from Rosemary Orr.

Click here to read >> July 2020 Writing

July 19th

Everyone Matters

The first piece of creative writing for this month. A powerful reflection on the attitudes of societies around the globe and a plea for friendship and tolerance.

Click here to read >> July 2020 Writing

July 14th

The Kingdom Arts ‘Choir’ debut

The idea was to create our own sung version of the Lord’s Prayer.

After much ‘encouragement’, we found a band of ‘willing’ volunteers –

“I can’t sing”;
“I can’t cope with technology”;
“Ooo, I don’t think I can”;
. . .

Here’s the result. Judge for yourselves:

July 13th 

A message from Alex and Sue

Hello to you all,

It’s difficult to believe that it’s 4 months since we last met as a group in Church. We trust you are all keeping well and maybe venturing out a little or even seeing family and friends… at a distance! We will continue to keep you in touch about when we can begin Kingdom Arts again… It may be some time before we get all the rules and safe guarding measures in place.

We often think of you and wonder what creative activities or projects you may be embarking on. Maybe some of you have been doing some sewing, or patchwork and others of you leaving out a long unfinished jigsaw on the table to put pieces in place as you pass by. It is very satisfying to find the correct piece that fits together or the patchwork shape that fits perfectly in place.

Think about all the news that we have been watching about the riots in Hong Kong and USA and the Black Lives Matter campaigns … What the world would look like if we cared properly for one another, respected one another, loved one another irrespective of race, creed, background, education……where Everyone Matters . If only we could fit together like a piece of patchwork or a piece of a jigsaw, just as God intended!

Psalm 133 came to mind…

How very good and pleasant it is when people live together in unity

Wow! That’s the theme for July!
Read the psalm and get your creative juices flowing.

With love to you and hope to see you soon,
Love Alex and Sue x

Psalm 133 – An Activity

Sue has had an idea to do with the theme, to kick start an individual project for you try… send it in for us to see….. Have fun!

Lockdown has given us all time to think and reflect upon the value of maintaining unity within the family, and with friends. We have been confined to our ‘boxes’ like a ZOOM screen. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could represent our thoughts and ideas in a ZOOM picture?

This activity brought into focus the loss of physically meeting up with friends and family, though technology has brought us all together in ways we could never have imagined years ago.

Our spiritual community has taken a knock but with love and hope we will break out of the confines we have endured and reunite with renewed conviction.

You decide how you want to portray the psalm and what has been significant for you during lockdown. You may want to focus and reflect on your personal experiences in the last four months, or represent the wider aspects of community worldwide and the huge problems faced by humanity.

There are no rules. The interpretation is yours. The choice of materials is yours. This is just a starting point for you to try. It would be great to see your results on our website.

SUGGESTIONS:
1. Find a piece of strong paper or card of a size you can cope with.
2. Colour the card randomly, or use a plain favourite colour, to make a background.

3. Cut out some plain pieces of paper. I cut 15 pieces about 10cm x 7cm.
4. Draw on or decorate each rectangle with an image that is significant to you that somehow reflects unity in this strange time of lockdown.

5. You could collect objects or use photos and found images, or add text.
6. Arrange your pieces as a ZOOM screen.

7. If your background is interesting you could leave some gaps to allow it to show through.
8. Have fun cutting and sticking!

July 7th

July 3rd

My Favourite Loaf

by John Butler

The perfect complement to Jan’s wonderful soups is of course bread. My own personal favourite, which I bake most weeks, is seeded half & half.
This is a tasty light loaf which is not too filling. The ingredients below are sufficient to make two small (400g) loaves or one large (800g) loaf.

Ingredients
300g strong wholemeal bread flour
250g strong white bread flour
7g table salt
1 tbsp (10g) olive oil
7g dried fast action yeast
350ml lukewarm water
Half a cup of sunflower seeds

Method
In the past I have occasionally started to bake only to find I am short of an item or two. So now I always gather everything I need together first.

Place a large mixing bowl on your scales and add the flour. Now add the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl.

Now start to mix the ingredients, into a dough, using a clawing action while adding the oil and then water slowly as you mix. (you may not use all the water). I tend to use a mixer with a dough hook as this part gets a little sticky (understatement) until the mixture begins to bond.

When it begins to combine tip onto a lightly dusted (flour) surface and knead, by stretching and folding in, for around 5 mins (I find this the fun part). You should end up with a tight ball of dough.

Place in a large oiled bowl and cover with a damp tea-towel.
Leave to rise in a warm room for about an hour or until doubled in size. Well-oil your bread tin(s) or pay the consequences!
Once again tip out onto a lightly dusted surface and ‘knock back’ until all the air is out. Sprinkle seeds on the dough and fold together.

You can now either split into two, as I have, or shape to suit your bread-tin. Place into your tin(s) seam down and cover with damp tea-towel.

Leave to rise. This depends on the room temperature but don’t rush, it will take at least 45mins, have a cup of tea.
It should now be about 1 in above the tin.

Uncover and place in a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees C or 200 degrees C (fan) for 30/35 mins or 35/40 mins for a large loaf.

Now the important part, especially if you are a man! Set your phone alarm. Experience tells me that I get distracted on some other task and forget. Unless of course you are fond of crusty bread! Oh, and take the phone with you.

Remove from oven and place on cooling rack, enjoy the smell, get the butter ready!

I love experimenting with other flours, seeds etc.

It’s a great activity if you have grandchildren – add different flavours and try creating shapes. Be bold – enjoy!

See you all soon – John