Weaving New Cloth

Weaving New Cloth

The other day I received an email from a friend of mine. 

In the email she had sent me this quote

We must try to understand the meaning of the age in which we are called to bear witness. we must accept the fact this is an age in which the cloth is being unwoven.
It is therefore no good trying to patch. We must, rather, set up the loom on which
coming generations may weave new cloth according to the pattern God provides.

These words were written by an Anglican nun 
- Mother Mary Clare - 
in her book ‘The Simplicity of Prayer’. 
The book was written in 1988, so this isn’t a statement on our current situation. 
How relevant this statement is though, to what we are all experiencing just now.



The coronavirus pandemic has completely changed the shape of our everyday lives, 
of our nation – indeed, of the world. 
For so many people, 
it will be impossible to try and patch up the tears that have ripped apart their lives. 
New cloth will be needed.



How will that be achieved I wonder. 
What shape will that new cloth – what shape will our lives have - in the future?



It’s a complicated question to ask, I know. 
I have no idea what shape life will look like in terms of our own nation even,
 let alone the world.



What might be possible though, is to think about what shape life will look like for us 
for you for me. 
I think the image of a weaver weaving new cloth, might help us to do that.



So, let me begin by briefly taking you through 
all the processes needed to weave a piece of cloth.



First of all, you need to decide what cloth it is you want to weave 
and what the purpose of that cloth will be.



Suppose you’ve decided you want to weave a scarf, 
to give to your friend to keep them warm in the Winter months. 
The next decision is the type of yarn you’ll want to use, and the colour. 
Then you’ll want to decide how wide and how long you want your scarf to be, 
and what pattern you want to weave. 
All of this information determines how long your warp (the vertical threads) 
has to be and how many individual threads of your chosen yarn you will need 
to achieve the width you want and the pattern you’ve chosen.



Having made all those decisions and calculations, 
the next stage is to wind your yarn around a warping board, to make a warp chain.

Next, you secure the warp chain onto the loom on the back beam  

and each thread is pulled through heddles, 
then through the reed 
and then tied onto the front of the loom 

Finally, you are ready to weave!











It’s a long and detailed process – but so worth it in the end.



As I reflected on this process and then on the words quoted to me by my friend, 
I began to see connections.



The other day, I was watching a video chat on Instagram 
between the Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas and the actor Joe McFadden. 
(you may be able to spot Shirley in the photo on my desk, 
it was taken in January when I went to see her in pantomine in Darlington)
Shirley asked Joe how he was coping with lockdown and with living on his own 
because, he told her, his family are all up in Glasgow.



His answer was really interesting, and one I wasn’t expecting. 
He compared it all to those people who go on retreat!



Now usually, people go on retreat to reflect upon their lives 
and seek God’s guidance for the future. 
Perhaps they want to change the direction of their life, 
or maybe the direction of their life has been forced to change, 
by situations outside of their control, 
and they want time to think things through and process it all. 
In their time of isolation 
– set apart from their normal everyday living - 
they seek God’s guidance, 
to prepare themselves for a new direction in life, 
or a new way of dealing with it.



Just like the weaver making preparations to weave their scarf 
so in retreat, 
a person makes their preparation for their new life 
 by spending time in prayer, in Bible study, in quiet reflection.



So, perhaps this is the way for us to shape our new life 
and to use this lockdown time more positively.



First of all, let’s think about the sort of life we want to lead in the future.



Then let’s spend some time each day preparing for it. 
By drawing closer to God 
– spending more time than we would normally do - 
in prayer, in the study of God’s word and in quiet reflection upon it.



Then, we might be ready to allow the Good Shepherd to begin weaving 
weaving into our lives the pattern God has provided 
the pattern that is just the right shape for each of us 
for our gifts and our personality.



In that way 
– when lockdown is ended – 
the new cloth of our lives will be ready 
ready to wrap around one another,
 ready to help us love one another more fully, 
as Christ commanded us.


+++

I wanted to change the world. 

But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.

 Aldous Huxley

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Lord, give us the courage and strength

to allow you to weave Your pattern into our lives

and forgive us when we mess up Your handiwork

Amen