Material Manifestation - Onespirit Ministers in Connection
Material Manifestation ~ OSMIC Minister gathering March 2021

Material Manifestation

As we prepared for the One Spirit Ministers in Connection gathering in March 2021, a suggestion was made for something to be created to represent the weekend. The vision was of combining words and textile to capture the essence of the meeting in a piece that could be retained post-event. One Spirit Ministers Barbara Payman, a poet, and Maureen Pelling, a textile artist, were approached and both readily took up the invitation. After much animated and enjoyable discussion the concept of the Material Manifestation, in the form of a wall-hanging/alter cloth, was born.

The main ethos behind this hanging is the gathering of individual ministers working and flowing both as individuals and as one as we work in a myriad of different ways in the world.

We hope this Material Manifestation will bring joy and inspiration and a sense of deep connection.

Maureen says

As textiles have always been part of my life I was delighted at the suggestion ofworking with Barbara in the making of, what has now been called, a Material Manifestation; of the OSMIC retreat earlier this year. While Barbara was working with words to represent the essence of weekend, I felt drawn to finding a way of representing all of the participants in textiles. As ideas came up so my enthusiasm rose. I love to touch and feel fabric, especially silk, so to represent everyone at the retreat by a small piece of silk really excited me. On the second day of the retreat we asked everyone to name a colour to represent themselves, and what a beautiful array was given! How these pieces of coloured silk could be used gave much food for thought. It was when Barbara gave me the first draft of her poem that the ideas crystallised: to have the poem as a central panel with a piece of silk in each person’s chosen colour creating a border around the words, spreading out from the centre to encapsulate the whole.

My excitement for this project kept growing as time went on. A few doubts crept in from time to time but once I was handling the silk and feeling the presence of everyone who was at the retreat it all fell into place and my enthusiasm was reignited. I loved doing this project and trust the hanging will continue to be used representing our first online retreat of gallant ministers.

Maureen

Barbara says

It has been a deep privilege and pleasure to work on this project with Maureen. As a poet, this was my first collaboration with a textile artist and it has been an exciting and inspirational new venture!

I really appreciated being part of the dynamic and heartful OSMIC gathering: I much enjoyed wearing my poet hat throughout, trying to capture the themes and noting my felt experience of all that was happening. The presence of everybody there contributed to the poem.

The process of writing was at times challenging but really enjoyable. As I worked with finding words to capture the essence of the weekend, I was very aware of Maureen’s vibrant array of coloured silks representing each individual present. Hard to describe, but this in some way added to my experience of writing… as if the textiles were somehow contributing to the words even as they were being written and before the two had met.

Once the poem was finished, the conversations between Maureen and I about how the piece could come together were a joy to me. Maureen’s expertise and love for the materials led the way. For one call, Maureen had handwritten the poem on a big sheet of paper and laid out the silks alongside: to see the wonderful colours alongside my words for the first time was so moving. It was clear that it would be in Maureen’s working with the materials that the final form of the piece would emerge.

Barbara

And what a beautiful piece it is.


Rev Maureen Pelling

After returning to study and obtaining a BA(Hons) in Art and Religion in 2004 followed by a year at the Cyprus College of Art I was unexpectedly drawn to embark on the OneSpirit Interfaith Foundation training. I was ordained as a minister in 2010 and having worked with textiles all my life I made my own robe and stole.  It was the first of many and the beginning of my small business making stoles for individuals of all faiths and none. For full details please see my website www.ceremonialordinationstoles.co.uk


Rev Barbara Payman

After thirty years as a psychotherapist, I retired from this profession in the summer of 2020, to allow more time for other things that I love: writing poetry, teaching meditation and being out in Nature. In late 2020 I became the Kindness coordinator for the Kind Mind Academy, a meditation centre of excellence, focussing on teaching mindful self-compassion. All these aspects of my ministry have felt such a privilege. I was ordained as a OneSpirit Interfaith Minister in 2012, having felt deeply drawn to this training. It continues to support me in all that I do and am.

barbarapayman.co.uk

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