Rector’s Weekly Letter – 9th July 2020

One of my earliest memories is sitting on the sgiw, the old pine settle, in my grandmother’s farmhouse kitchen unravelling an old jumper under her watchful eye. I remember well the enjoyment of pulling at the loose thread and transforming the crinkly yarn into tight balls of wool ready to be knitted again into a new garment. Unravelling or being unravelled can be a positive or a negative experience. At the end of March, many of us were bereft when our tightly-knit plans unravelled into loose threads. Some of us at St Mary’s may feel that our church community is unravelling at the moment with the deaths of three much-loved members in such a short space of time. But at other times we need to be unravelled to allow God to work new patterns in our lives. Sometimes in our unravelling, life surprises us with unexpected joy, love and hope and provides a new beginning we couldn’t have imagined.

For the next few months, we will be exploring Bible stories of unravelled dreams, expectations, identity, grief, fear, shame. The resource we will use, Unraveled, has been created by four young American Christian artists, Lisle Gwynn Garrity, Sarah Are, Hannah Garrity and Lauren Wright Pittman, who form a collective called A Sanctified Art. Their aim is to bring scripture and theological themes to life through the use of visual art, providing opportunities for deep reflection and meaningful connection. For more information visit www.sanctifiedart.org

Everyone who wants to be involved will be provided with a beautifully designed journal containing twelve short Bible passages, works of art inspired by them, reflections by the artists and opportunities to respond. This journal can be used as a personal devotional to be completed in your own time, as a basis for a group study series or as a response to a time of worship. There will be an opportunity to meet for an hour or so on-line every other Friday evening from 24th July to share our thoughts and pray together. As restrictions are eased, some of us may even be able to meet in person and use this exciting and timely resource in our worship.

If you would like a journal, please get in touch with me at rector @ stmarysdunblane.org

If you would like to attend the introductory Zoom meeting at 7.30 p.m. on Friday 24th July, please contact Martin Wisher at martinwisher @ hotmail.com
(If you haven’t used Zoom before, Martin or John Hamilton can help you.)

You don’t need to be a member of St Mary’s to be involved. Everyone is welcome.

With love
Nerys