For the third time in less than a year people gathered at the Lodging House Mission, and then set out to spend a day on the streets of Glasgow as part of a Retreat on the Streets.

This time we were joined by David Rhodes, whose inspiration led to the original idea of holding retreats in Leeds - not in beautiful, peaceful countryside surroundings but in the middle of the noise and contrasts of city streets – where some people have to spend their whole lives, night and day, not just seven hours.

A new resource looking at fruitful friendships in the Bible was tried out at the Church of Scotland's Twinning Event in Perth on September 19th. Around 35 people reflected on how meaningful relationships develop and what happened during some Biblical encounters that took place at wells.

Download the resource WELLS AND WATERSHEDS if you want to try it yourself!

(31st July - 2nd August).

16 adults and one child came for this relaxed weekend.  There were Unlock workshops on the Saturday morning and afternoon, and an informal "ceilidh" in the evening with singing and an opportunity to tell stories.  There was plenty of free time too, to go out and to talk and exchange experiences. 

On Sunday some participants went to the local church, while others joined in worship together at Stroove, on the theme of listening.

New friendships were made, and the Unlock approach manifested itself not just in the workshops but also in the informal sharing of stories with each other. 

The participants helped with some of the practical household chores around the mealtimes, which created a feeling of shared responsibility for the weekend. 

Several people wrote afterwards to thank for the time and to say how much they had enjoyed it, as well as finding it uplifting.

The Canal walk in Maryhill took place this year on 22nd August – the fourth year running that Maryhill Churches have joined together to open their doors to welcome people from all over Glasgow. 

The walk started at Maryhill Parish Church, where again this year there was a space for reflection - walkers could follow footsteps in the church to five thought-provoking tables set up in different corners, each with a theme. There were very appreciative comments as people came out – saying how meaningful these were.

Unlock Glasgow had a very warm welcome at the Preshal Trust in Govan.  Preshal is the Gaelic for precious, and at Preshal every single person is valued and listened to.

Thursday 7th May 2009

Our second retreat on the Streets was well attended, and was even talked about in Glasgow presbytery, where the Moderator of Presbytery, Rev Tom Nelson, spoke of how meaningful he had found it to spend a day on the streets of Glasgow with only £1.50 in his pocket.  We had to leave our money, our plastic cards, our mobile phones at the Lodging House Mission, where we started the day at 9.30 with worship together.  We all ended up back there at 5pm, where we shared a meal, and shared our experiences, before sharing worship again.

An Unlock drop-in and resources exhibition took place on April 30th - see our resources page for free downloads!

From Unlock Glasgow April Reference Group report:

“Building, bricks and big hearts” took place at St Gregory’s RC Church Wyndford on 28th March, when we looked at how Nehemiah got the community together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

The resources for this event were developed in teamwork with Sonya who works for Unlock in Liverpool, and also in teamwork with Graham Mackie who lives in the Wyndford, and who shared the leadership both in the planning and at the event.

God’s Prodigal Sons was the subject for an Unlock group meeting at Drumchapel St Mark’s in February 2009.  An enthusiastic group discussed stories from the Bible, stories from Drumchapel, and issues of crime, the people affected by it and our responses to it.

During this last year our pilgrimage has taken us to Cranhill, Bridgeton , Garthamlock , Drumchapel , Provanmill and Ruchazie  - to read more about each event click on the place nam.

The following article appeared with a photograph in the Scottish Catholic Observer on Friday 6th March 2009

A key to unlock ecumenism

UNLOCK Glasgow visited the parish of St Philip’s, Ruchazie in February presenting their “pilgrimage work” to local parishioners.

Ross Lanmead Professor of Missiology, Whitley College, Parkville, Australia told this story last year:

Someone asked me recently why justice-seeking figured so strongly in my approach to mission. I think they meant "as distinct from evangelism". We were talking about asylum seekers.