Faith in the Forest – Autumn walk

On November 1st, KMT held its first ‘Faith in the Forest’ event, this is one of four planned events timed to co-inside with the changing seasons.

This Autumn meet was attended by 21 guys, mainly from the local churches, aged from high schoolers to 80!

The event was designed to give men a chance to connect with one another, with nature and with the Christian faith, through experiencing the beauty of God’s creation, by exploring scripture and through opportunities to reflect together, both in the wild outdoor Autumn weather and the peace and calm of our Chapel.

We gathered in the early afternoon at the interpretation Hub, where the Rev Stuart Lawson from the Oban Baptist congregation set the scene by challenging the guys regarding the journey ahead, highlighting both the physical demands of the hike as well as expounding on the spiritual journey that we would be going on.

From here we hiked up through ‘Plantation 2’ and into to the forest that connects to ‘Plantation 3’, the weather remained kind as we climbed up to one of the highest points on the estate and witnessed the incredible vista before us. Here there was a chance to reflect on the spiritual vision that God calls us to have before we headed back down.

At this point the heavens opened, and rain and hail accompanied us as we fought through until we came to the St Johns cross in our Island meadow. The skies then cleared, and we had the opportunity to stop again and talk about the significance of the cross in the Christian faith, how it is at the centre of the Bibles claim that God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that all who believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life! John 3:16

From here we walked along to the St Comghans chapel for a time of prayer and reflection together, a chance to dry off and warm up and a space to sit and reflect on all that we had seen and heard before heading up to the John Muir Lodge for a good chat and some great food around the fire pit.

These walks are a great opportunity to explore both the natural world and Kilchoan Melforts Trust efforts to help conserve and restore it, whilst always having the chance to go deeper in our relationships with one another and with God.

CHAPEL REFLECTIONS