I am on holiday on Tiree, the most westerly of the Inner Hebrides in Scotland. It is the windiest place in Britain, the first land encountered by Atlantic gales. Today I walked to the remains of a monastery, well over 1000 years old. It is perched beneath cliffs facing the sea, a collection of stone huts housing a community of perhaps 10. Even in the sunshine today it was wild, it would have been a very hard place to live in 1000. What drew monks to this place of isolation? Perhaps as they gazed out on the Atlantic , I wonder if they saw the wide ocean and the sweeping horizon as a worthy altar to offer their praises to the Lord of sea and sky?<br>
As I said morning prayer today, I was pleased to find that one of the Bible passages re-acquainted me with two of my favourite characters from the Old Testament; Bezalel and Oholiab. I first came across these around 15 years ago, in the farewell sermon of a previous vicar of Highley, Clive Williams. They were not great prophets, priests or lawgivers; they were not fearsome warriors or might smiters. They were craftsmen; Bezalel was a wood and metal worker, Oholiab was a weaver and embroiderer. In the story in the book of Exodus, they were chosen to work on the tabernacle; the tent in which the people of Israel believed that God would dwell in when they themselves were nomads, wandering in the wilderness of Sinai. As many will know, my father was an accomplished wood worker and I read this passage at his funeral. I have inherited from him his enthusiasm for wood working, his workshop and tools, but sadly not his skill. No matter, the fact that I need to use screws and glue to hold things where he could rely simply on joints simply increases my admiration of real craft workers. There is something uplifting about admiring finely crafted work; indeed there is something uplifting simply about trying yourself, as my colleague Angie Foster (soon to be a Rev) will testify. I would suggest that these activities can be spiritually uplifting, as we appreciate skill and beauty and perhaps get a glimpse of the source of all beauty.ReplyReply allForward
We are delighted to welcome the Rev Kina Robertshaw as our new rector, who was formally installed as rector of all the parishes in our benefice on April 18th. Kina was previously Associate Minister at Bromyard where she gained considerable experience of working in rural communities. Kina was born in Angola and left home at 17. She was a successful entrepeneur in the fashion industry until she started to train for full-time ministry. She carried out research on Christian entrepreneurs for a master's degree and has co-authored a book on the subject. Kina can be recognised by her broad smile, her enthusiasm for meeting and talking to people and her dog, which she takes for walks. For those who want to know more about Kina, her website is Kina Robertshaw