It could all start with a cuppa
It’s so beautiful, but also so complicated. No, I'm not talking about with a cuppa. That's always welcoming. In our New Testament passage this Sunday, we are talking about John...
2021 in searches
We might all have our own way of considering the year just passed. Staying in bed might be one way - although getting into this bunk bed might cause some...
The Stable leads us outwards
Wise folk following yonder Star? from An Unexpected Christmas These Christmas Carols, the readings may seem to re-tell a story of old. A story woven into the history of the...
A meaning to this season
As we approach the end of Advent for this year, our focus might be upon which presents have we yet to buy? Have we bought sufficient food? - the answer...
The smelly Shepherds?
Shepherds always get a prominent role in the Nativity Plays. They get to clutch those wooly sheep, and they are always clean. They wear tea towels on their head, with...
being real is an amazing evangelism
It has been wonderful as we have created so many angels for those who might struggle with celebrations such as Christmas following the death of a loved one. It has...
Blue Angels
Why have a time reflecting upon Blue Angels when we are all gearing up for a wonderful #partytime? Well, for some, Christmas is a time when anniversaries appear on our...
Are we Anxious
I recently called into one of the local hospitals to visit a Church member. I recall starting a prayer with Do not be anxious... Of course being in the hospital...
Purl in the Field December 2021
Here is the latest Strathclyde Methodist Circuit's Knit & Knatter newsletter for December 2021, just in time for Christmas! https://issuu.com/deaconbobstoner/docs/knit_knatter_newsletter3
Joseph
Hi, I am Joseph. I have been away at Sepphoris, that new Roman city just north of Nazareth. It's huge. It's so busy they keep us there for days at...
Engaging with Glass
OK I may know how to check the fuse box under the stairs but how do we fuse bits of glass together? Additionally, how do we do this creatively, with...
Dawn is a-coming
Advent is that time of waiting but a dawn is a-coming. Do you recall that first light when the sun is still below the horizon but the sky is ablaze?...
Zech & Liz
To initiate thought and discussion; drawn from Stephen Cottrell's Walking Backwards to Christmas: Elizabeth is speaking :"I have always been waiting. My friends were always far more cleverer, more confident...
Jesus Saves, We spend
Storm Arwen has been and left a frosty covering everywhere. I wonder what might have happened to those glass slippers that Cinderella wore? I doubt there was much of a...
Advent Sunday
Advent First Sunday This, 1 Thessalonians 3: 9-13, is probably the first New Testament letter to have been written. I considered 'letters of the alphabet' previously in Advent. Paul is...
TDOR 2021
This year we have worked collaboratively with the University of Glasgow, as well as the Iona Community, members of the Woodlands Methodist Church, included a special message of hope from...
Party time!
Oh wow the last Sunday before we start Advent for this year. Time for a celebration? Could it be Party time? Perhaps it’s when important people might arrive, a celebrity...
A New World dawns?
Protests up and off to the right Local Methodist Protesters including the Vice President of the Methodist Conference, a District Chair and our own Superintendent Revd Andrew Baker The Circuit...
Remember and Watch
This week we recall, we reflect on the tragedy of the Wars now beyond the memory of the vast majority of folk. We may see imagery from World War 1,...
Fine robes
This week, having just left Bartimaeus a few weeks ago, who is following everyone from Jericho to Jerusalem, we, too, are looking with fresh insight. What fresh perspective are we...
Too much inconvenience!
No this isn't another yarn or an attempt to needle you into contemplating something different. We have been talking about today's "Question of the Fortnight" and whether it is all...
Are we close or there yet?
I recall asking that question in the car: "Are we there yet?" and being perplexed at my parents frustration in answering my plea. As a parent, I now know of...
What a place!
Wow, COP26 is fast approaching, the large exhibition tents are up and plans are being circulated for the divers to comb the River Clyde, which roads may be closed, and...
Human Trafficking
Having arrived in Glasgow a year ago I was astonished to find the legacy of slavery which abounds within the city. But that's in the past... surely...Here we interview a...
Angelic Purls
Our focus to offer Angels at a service near to Christmas to those who have struggled with the loss of a loved one during the Pandemic continues. Angels are now...
Harvest : Everyday
There is that annual service where we celebrate the harvest from each year. In the past, we might have had a few weeks off school to go out into the...
Purl in the Field – October 2021
Please find our latest physical newsletter sent out by post to those without computer access, and also released here online so that all are included. As Halloween and Christmas beckons...
Camels or Elephants?
So after packing your bags for a long journey, the doorbell or the phone rings : can I sell you insurance, or have you had a car accident? Do you...
Purling to the future
We have achieved much in our 8-9 months of Knit & Knatter. We have sought to bring people together from across Strathclyde and even the far flung corners of Yorkshire!...
Was it all about marriage?
What might the Old Testament say? Within Genesis 2:18-24 we have the first of two creation myths. Yes we are in Chapter 2 and another one is in Chapter 1...
Creation101
When we read of the creation in Genesis what are our thoughts? Is it factually correct or a metaphorical story? This week's Bible Study has allowed us to explore this...
It’s not what a Church would do
It’s not what a Church would do, is it? There was quite a hullabulloo years gone back when Sunday trading arrived in England – I wonder whether it had the...
I could have licked the plate!
A few of us have been able to celebrate with either a birthday, wedding or an anniversary recently. It's often strange as the quality of the food increases, the portions...
Which is it to be?
What with the Olympics and life in general, it is very much 'be the best'. What can we attain, can we reach higher than the next person? In today's texts:...
Who do you say that I am?
"Which one?" said one response, "the brown Jesus or the Republican version?" You can sense a certain political spin there. "What the guy from those misogynistic stone age 'reimagined' supernatural...
Out of Kilter
It's an interesting phrase as 'Out of Kilter' means a variant of an older English dialect word 'kelter', which means 'good health; good condition'. Is that how we might feel...
Holidays – when is the next one?
It was lovely to welcome back so many people to the Knit & Knatter meeting this morning. Often the focus can be upon the knitting or sewing but the nattering...
Rules Rules!
We have seen many Government signs over the past nigh on 2 years. That of Stay alert (never sure we could control a virus), and Hands Face Space, amongst others....
Where is God today?
Turnstiles photo by Vlad B on Unsplash I wonder if the Church is like a ticket gate, where there are spaces for people to move in and out, as circumstances dictate. It’s not...
What’s so important?
In Maslow's triangle the facets of life are organised in layers, with the most important on the bottom - that's wifi and battery isn't it? In my military survival training...
Freedom Day
It is said that: "Introversion is a personality trait characterized by a focus on internal feelings rather than on external sources of stimulation. Introverts and extroverts are often viewed in terms...
Scapegoating is acceptable?
The scapegoating of another seems a common place in today's politics. If we can ascribe something negative towards a group of people then we can make ourselves look better -...
Is the bread stale?
At the turn of the century – makes me sound old – I spent many a week in Italy, not on holiday but at work with the RAF. Given that...
Why is God on Mute?
Welcome to this last of the four short sessions exploring prayer. So we can pray wherever whenever; we can imagine even re-imagine scenes within Bible passages or contexts in our life...
Anyone for sausage?
The Strathclyde Knit & Knatter group have met again - and what might they talk about? Complicated programming? In this past few weeks of heat gardening has been the most...
Making room
Do you recall the Dursley's House? The one where Harry Potter was kept under the stairs - out of sight, out of mind. Yes, he was brought out for high...
Looking back
There's an adage don't look back we aren't going that direction. That might be a good thing when regarding the Pandemic and seeking to return to normality but we want...
Can I be?
In our journey through Mark's Gospel we often feel the pace of life, the immediacy of everything. There's not a pause, even time for Jesus to have a cuppa -...
Purl in the Field – August Newsletter
For those whom don't normally have access to social media we produce a regular physical newsletter. Here is August's edition which will be sent out later this week. Please share...
Using our imagination in a storm
Over the past year or so there have been a few storms in our lives - don't you agree? Here, in the second of the four sessions exploring prayer we...
What do we need this Summer?
The Knit & Knatter group met again this morning: to share what they have been doing and chatting about all and sundry. Some had been on their holidays, including the...
What price peace?
Psalm 85 is one which captures the feelings of those Jews returning from Babylon – years in captivity, subjugated, largely demeaned but now free to return to their homeland. Their ‘Church’...
Where could we pray?
This is the first of four sessions in the Strathclyde Methodist Circuit exploring prayer. The first session focusses upon where and when can we pray, looking at the various places...
The alternative is now ok
Prior to March 2020, the wearing of a face covering would have been unthinkable for most of us. If you did mention it, we might think of Muslims wearing the...
Trips to the other side
Imagine the time when the Roman Empire was everywhere - it ruled with a rod of iron. They were the other side. Our lives would have been heavily constrained, one...
Where is the barrier today?
The Sunday coming up is Conference Sunday, the day that Conference seeks to ordain those who they have discerned a calling to ministry. This year the Conference will vote upon...
It’s all in the rhythm of the needles
There have been a few blogs and webpages about knitting in Shetlands - here's one about Joanna Hunter-Coe who has a shop on Lerwick's High Street - so to meet...
To the Other Side
There's been much consternation with the breakdown of the MV Loch Seaforth from Ullapool to Stornoway. It crosses from the mainland to the Isle of Lewis, across the other side...
A story in a quilt
We were so pleased to have Deacon Sue Culver with us this morning. She explained how her quilt, which was based upon people's stories from the pandemic. The quilt that...
Unanswered Prayers – Why?
Wow, I feel this is an area which we are all experts but rarely do we speak about this. These sessions were designed to help our prayer life, where previously...
The obvious issue
I am struck by how many people use the Internet to communicate with others but we possibly don't understand how it works. That ability to really communicate, get the message...
Life is like a butterfly
Do you remember the programme Butterflies, the one on BBC, where Wendy Craig played a wife who 'struggled' to cook anything edible and drove a Mini with a Union Jack...
Voldemort – don’t speak of it
He who shall not be named In the Harry Potter series of films, books etc there was one character whose name was not to the spoken : Voldemort. It was...
What has just happened?
We have had Elections; then the opening of our houses to others or not depending upon where you live – talk about a postcode lottery; we have had Pentecost and...
Reset or Resume
At a recent Conference we considered Recovery- Reorientation - Renewal. This wasn't about a secular organisation's thoughts on rebranding but the Church's thoughts on 'what's next?' Was it to reset...
Childhood Hobbies
Mandy says that as a child she never mastered knitting or even had any interest in it. Now, it is very different. Do we have childhood hobbies that remain with...
Reorientation
PPL at 17 years of age I was never a pilot for long; however, my love of aviation still remains four decades later. In those days we had to learn...
Welcome the dove
According to many, a multitude of doves is known as a dole, dole or flight. As we come to Pentecost - fifty days, 7 weeks, the 7th Sunday after the...
What does this mean?
As wend our way back from the recently opened shops, we may weave past the discarded fast food containers, glance up at the traffic as we cross the road and...
Untangling a knot
This Pandemic lockdown has been for many a bit like a knot - restricting our movement. Today we find that those restrictions may have been lessened. Here in Glasgow, there's...
Knit & Knatter Worship
Here we link the hobbies of knitting, drawing, painting, cross-stitch, flower arranging, cooking and sewing plus knattering in our worship of our loving God. You can see what we weave...
Connections
I am pondering whether after dinner, Jesus has surprised many – well all really – with the washing of their feet, then he has given them a new commandment, and...
Reflective prayer – but when & where?
In our series of prayer explorations we have looked at how Jesus taught us how to pray; how we can find many opportunities to pray throughout the day (and night)...
Lover or friend?
There are umpteen websites available to offer advice on how to say whether we have a lover or a friend. Human interaction is one of the most complex arenas, so...
Bank Holidays, Rain and Hope!
I'm sure that statistically the chance of rain falling on a Bank Holiday isn't any higher than any other day - it just feels like it sometimes. We may not...
Inclusivity: for whom?
After taking some time to reflect upon the Good Shepherd last week, we note the suggestion - well more like a direct reference - to Jesus' call to more than...
Church is a loaded word
The word Church, in itself, means so much to every individual. To those whom regularly attend Church, it might mean that wonderful community where they belong, where they seek to...
So this is Christmas
Incredible cross stitch by Ruth We have been meeting online now since February this year, so we aren't at Christmas quite yet; nevertheless, that's some time knitting and nattering together....
Go Large!
We have moved away from the room where the disciples had secured, protecting themselves from others. We are now out in the fields, the sunshine on our back. You hungry?...
Amidst the fields of gold
As I reflect upon the Good Shepherd passage (John 10:11-18) I imagine that I am walking amidst the fields, possibly not yet of gold, but of new shoots. The soil...
Knit-a-Blob
How are you feeling? Sometimes we use our hobbies to take ourselves away from the thick of it - it's a distraction. We can lose ourselves for a wee while...
Do we have any fish?
On our post-Resurrection journey, last week we considered John's account of Jesus meeting with the doubt-ridden disciples in a locked room. Here in Luke's account describes an extra journey, that...
Praying with our mind
This is our third session of this course, one in which we seek to move away from a litany of petitions, a series of demands for God to perform upon...
New Start
Have you eaten all that chocolate? Really? So what of that new start we spoke of? Well it can start here, as we untangle the web that may have, possibly,...
What would have been our response….doubt?
Holy Week is one of reflection. What of that pain in Gethsemane, the word meaning pressing, the pressure that Jesus had to bear? The horrific tragedy of Good Friday and...
Have we misinterpreted Judas’ betrayal?
Introduction Judas is traditionally equated with the demonic, but may we see Judas afresh as in the ballad below? Whereas some authors may write his name it is often replaced...
Adaption is the new hope
Who would have thought that a year on we might possibly be able to congregate together to celebrate Easter in a Church? For some this is still not possible -...
What size needles does God use?
God is a knitter, too, just like my grandma.Being Unravelled by Kari Martin, a superb and challenging blog post - really worth a read This week one of us said...
How can you wash from six feet away?
When it was common place for travellers to be welcomed to each others homes - chance would be a fine thing today - it would be the hospitable thing to...
Jour-knitting?
Let me explain... Many might knit or sew or draw whilst they watch TV or have a conversation or watch the world go by. Personally I think it's astonishing that...
Listen carefully – that wasn’t thunder
In the last two weeks we have looked at the Cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem (or was it?) and then we looked at why God so loves us. It's...
Walking in the Darkness
This post and resulting Church service was all due to the impact of reading Barbara Brown Taylor's 'Learning to Walk in the Dark'. Without extracting swathes of text, I wanted...
We are Allsorts really
In our Knit & Knatter session today we looked briefly at creating an Allsorts pattern. It typifies us really: we are all one community but made up of various shapes...
For God so loved…are we comfortable?
Ah familiar territory here...John 3:16 and all that. For God so loved...are we comfortable? What's been happening? From a blog teaching about Nicodemus Our NT passage this week is John...
Is this prayer as well?
We all have an understanding of prayer - or do we? There's a great perspective upon prayer by George Lings entitled 'Seven Sacred Spaces'. I wouldn't wanted to remove the...
Knattering whilst Knitting
We are in the third week of Lent - have you 'relented' and eaten the chocolate you said you wouldn't eat? I have temporarily given up supporting my favourite football...
Why did Jesus get angry?
Yes you know the one, fair hair, blue eyes, even has birds that fly around his head, all goodness and kind - yup, That's Jesus. So who is this? Why...
What choices have we made?
What changes have there been over the past year. We have had a number of lockdowns where …we have looked to get fit, enjoyed too much food perhaps, found some...
Be a doormat?
Often Church folk are told that they should turn the other cheek, and love your enemies. It's quite a simple adage, possibly not so simple to apply to ourselves. But...
Knit & Knatter – more of the latter!
We shared a lot of what we are still doing each and every week. It's amazing what talents are possibly hidden but ever so present. https://youtu.be/PxwSdKegWOk We share this on...
Show the Love
Yes, I know Valentine's is over for another year... this is different. Really. COP26 is coming to Glasgow in November, so Climate could be a theme for this year. It...
How is this like a re-boot?
Lent has arrived for 2021. We thought 2020 was a rough one and now 2021 doesn't see to have been given a proper re-boot - to use a computer term....
Prayer Exploration #1
We have started to explore prayer. We could spend longer in what we already deem to know as prayer or pause - as is the thing in Lent - and...
![[Spoiler Alert] Easter](https://i0.wp.com/dbobstoner.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Easter-cross-religious-memorial-coathanger-clotheshanger-diy-make-tutorial-17-9617676.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1)
[Spoiler Alert] Easter
I know it's the first day of Lent...(by the way here's our Ashing Service that personal to you) but thinking of Easter...what about an Easter wreath? Here's one which has...
Have you ever washed a jumper too hot?
At our third session we had ten folk, from Strathclyde and South Yorkshire, who wanted to chat, share and link together with a common theme of knitting and sewing. It...
The Banner over me is love
On Valentine's Day we may seek to express that sign of love to another. Today that can be difficult, with lock down restrictions, we may not even be permitted to...
Let’s raise the roof!
Jesus has been creating quite a storm. Imagine someone, who has no known authority such as a Rabbi, or Pharisee might possess, starting to heal people across Galilee. As we...
That voice booms again
As we have move closer to Lent, the readings for this Sunday seems to jump a tadge, from Mark 1:29-39 to suddenly Mark 9:2-9. We have gone from the healing...
Mug Hugs
These could be great to send to someone we can't get to see currently. It might remind them that they are valued. And that could be vital these days, don't...
Crafting websites
In our discussions today we were reflecting upon the different things we could make. It's great that in the myriad of conversations we may find new ideas which might spark...
Making a Teddy Bear all in one go!
Wow, here's a pattern for a Teddy Bear where you complete it in one go! http://www.barddance.org/knittering/bluesbighugbear.htm. Here we can knit a bear from their feet up to their head and...
Welcome to the Knit & Knatter posts
These are posts also found on our Facebook group for those whom attend our weekly Knit & Knatter online group. The concept is to promote fellowship, especially in this pandemic,...
All within 24 hours
In these days of lockdown, 24 hours feels an age. So it may be surprising to find that Mark appears to record Jesus' activity all within 24 hours! Here, we...
Why do we do this?
Why should a church group start an online Knit & Knatter group? It's a way of sharing our experiences from within this #Covid Pandemic. What experiences? well those we have...
Hands together, eyes closed…
I always used to add "Don't forget to blow your nose"... The traditional form of prayer is one that is led from the front, but where today 'the front' is...
The start of the journey
Mark's job, apparently, was to provide us with a perspective on the journey of Jesus. However, even this early on in the Gospel, (Mark 1:14-20) we have lost a huge...
Where is the Trinity?
When discussing Baptism recently it was noted that we would use a form of words widely heard throughout Church services, that of the Trinity: Father God, Jesus, the son of...
Can anything good come out of Glasgow?
Well after a lengthy exploration of John the Baptist's work last week we are now nipping over to the Gospel of John yet again: John 1:43-51. We are moving from...
Why did John baptise Jesus?
This week's lectionary reading focusses upon a text we have partially considered during Advent. There, we wondered about pancakes in the desert. Now we'll focus upon the baptism (Mark 1:4-11)....
What a community!
Within Scripture there's a community which is described in Acts 2 which is something we might want to emulate. They don't go to a church or a synagogue primarily as...
Can Ctrl Alt Delete be a new start for us?
The National Lockdown has started...again. At least there is some certainty beyond the tiers. Nevertheless, all these restrictions do also bring more human tears, tears from misunderstanding, that burden we...
Light and Darkness
I awoke this morning to the lights not working - good start. At least the alarm clock worked....;-) A quick check of the fuse box and all was well -...