Barbara Daniels – Promoted to Glory!

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It is with the deepest sadness that we have to share the news that our dearest companion, Barbara, died peacefully, without warning, at home this week. Although we were due to have a Sabbath this Sunday, we met with other close friends of hers at the bandstand, where she had been with us just a week ago. The following are the words we used….

So, this is so utterly surreal.  Barbara was standing here with us this time last week…. We are all still reeling and struggling to compute what has happened.

Before we begin – thank you to all Barbara’s friends who have joined us – you know how special this time and place were to her – and whether you share her faith or not, she’d be delighted that you are here and would want to say to you to feel at ease here – feel the peace here – this is a thin place where the gap between heaven and earth is less…. Join in or opt out as you feel fit. And be assured we are all on the edge – if not over it already – so tears are Ok – let’s see how we go!

We usually start with a time of silence and stillness, so let’s do that and take a few deep breaths. We are all in this together – we are here because of love.

Almost 3 years ago to the day, we stood with Barbara here 2 days after Grayden had died. We used words similar to those on the sheet you have – which tried to express how devastating it is to lose someone whilst clinging onto the hope that we share that death is not the end. We have changed the words for today. Please join in the bold words if you are able.

Today we stand in the tension of sadness and hope                                                         

We come to you Lord Jesus

We come to protest against how suddenly Barbara was taken from us

We set our hope in you

We protest against the distress felt by Matthew and Emma, Liz and the grandchildren and all of Barbara’s friends in these last few days

We ask for your comfort, healing and hope

We affirm that we cannot pretend, and will not pretend, that death is anything less than an affront to you, Bringer of Life

We stand defiant in the hope that you promise to make all things new

We give you thanks for the life and witness of Barbara, for her unshakable commitment to the poor and the marginalised and to Kingdom Justice

May her example spur us on to live authentically like her

We thank you for the courageous way she adapted to life apart from Grayden and for her determination to say yes to life, to creativity, to relationships, to adventure and joy.

May we strive to live WELL as she has done

We thank you that Barbara is reunited with Grayden and those other resurrected saints that she has loved and journeyed with. Thank you that she is alive in and with you, loving God.

Neither death nor life can separate us from your love.

And we thank you for the privilege of knowing our companion Barbara, for her part in the founding of ThirdSpace and its direction and essence, for all we have learnt from her, for the times spent together, for the overlap of our lives

We look to our reunion with her in the renewed earth, to drinking wine exceeding the finest Barossa and to feasting at the table prepared for us all

Let us hold firmly to this hope

The One who promised is faithful.

***

Words of soothing and consolation:                                                                                         

In the vastness of the universe, or even the vastness of our own planet and of our species, we are made significant and of value in him and by him.

In God we live and move and have our being

Take time to listen to the birdsong….

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.  (Matt 10, 29)

In God we live and move and have our being

Take time to look around at this special place…                                                                   

1 Lord, our Lord,                                                                                   
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
    in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
    to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?

5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honour.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!   (Psalm 8 (Barbara’s favourite Psalm)

In God we live and move and have our being

Close your eyes and be mindful of yourself…                                                                         

23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,

“All people are like grass,
    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25     but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.  (1 Peter 1:23-25)

In God we live and move and have our being

God is here – be still…                                                                                                                   

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.    (2 Cor 4. 7)

In God we live and move and have our being

We are made significant and of value in God and by God.

***

Paul then invited us to write things we associated with Barbara…

We shared bread and wine – as we have done with Barbara each week over more than 15 years here each Sunday and at each shared meal.

***

And I closed with a blessing using the words below:

We finish with words of blessing from a book of blessings that Barbara used often and loved. Barbara loved to write and give blessings – she was passionate about them. Indeed I stongly suspect that each of us here was a recipient of a blessing by Barbara, whether we were aware of it at the time of onot. This blessing ends with the concept of Anam Cara – which means in Gaelic ‘soul friend’. The anam cara was a person to whom you could reveal the hidden depths of your life. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. And I suspect that the capital A and C at the end, hint of the ultimate Soul Friend that Barbara loved and served so well, most of her life.

This blessing exemplifies who she was as a friend and what, I think, she would want to say to us and bless us with today:

For friendship.

May you be blessed with good friends,

And learn to be a good friend to yourself.

Journeying to that place in your soul where

There is love, warmth and feeling.

May this change you.

May it transfigure what is negative, distant

Or cold within your heart.

May you be brought into real passion, kindness

And belonging.

May you treasure your friends.

May you be good to them, be there for them

And receiving all the challenges, truth and light you need.

May you never be isolated but know the embrace

Of your Anam Cara. (Benedictus – John O’Donohue)

No words can express how much we love you and will miss you Barbara – our companion on the jounrey. We take comfort that you are another resurrected ThirdSpace saint, reunited with Grayden and Tony and Chris…

Orthodox Epiphany

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Happy Epiphany – in the Orthodox tradition and for all those church traditions which follow the Julian Calendar as opposed to the Gregorian Calendar. Steve led us this Sunday.

Epiphany of course marks the visit of the mysterious Magi. Traditionally their names are thought to be: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. Who were these wise men. Were there only three? Or is that based entirely on the number of gifts? What did they believe? Were they monotheistic? God-fearing? Zoarastrian priests perhaps? What was revealed to them and what did they think they were about to see upon arrival?

  • READING – Mt 2 v. 1-12
  • Epiphany or Theophany or Revelation. Orthodox Christians celebrate the visit of the Magi AND the baptism of Jesus by John AND the wedding at Cana. All revelatory events – 1. JESUS FOR THE WORLD – 2. JESUS THE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY – 3. JESUS FIRST PUBLIC MANIFESTATION.  

And the traditions in the Orthodox communities include: Epiphany singing, chalking the door, having one’s house blessed, consuming “Three Kings Cake”, blessing the waters and winter swimming. (PUTIN ice plunging.)

  • Chalking the door – looks like  20 + C + M + B + 25  

2025 – CMB names of Kings and/or Christus Mansionem Benedicat – may Christ bless this house. 4 crosses represents the wish that Jesus will be at the centre of everything this year. So folk were given chalk to write on and around the bandstand and to take home to sign the doors of their homes.

  • Little Epiphanies this year. May we be blessed with mundane and revelatory little epiphanies this year.
  • Bread and Wine

The trouble with ritual is it can all become so very mundane, ordinary, predictable, un-noteworthy. The liturgy seeps unconsciously through us. It’s wallpaper noise. We sleep walk through it. It’s just bread and wine we’re sharing – as we do every week. Nothing special. As common as seeing a pigeon. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing very impressive.

Just God with us… in the mundane and ordinary and emanual way that God meets with us – or wants to meet with us if only we had eyes to see the little epiphany here.

Emanual. God with us. Here. Now. For all peoples. Everywhere. Happy Epiphany. In Bread. In Wine. Amen.

New Year at the bandstand

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This morning we met for the first time this year at the bandstand, due to the wintry weather of recent times. We kept it brief due to the freezing  temperature but had a special time, revisiting our annual tradition with the shepherd’s crook which is laden with luggage labels containing our prayers from last year.

We began thinking about the past year and the year ahead. For some of us, this year holds some daunting challenges to navigate, but for all of us, the future is unknown. God does not promise that things will be easy for us, but the gift of Immanuel is that we are assured that God is in it with us – that God is for us. And that is the good news we hold onto as we go into 2025.

We read 3 short selected passages from the Bible which were printed off for us to keep if wanted, as reminders for us into the coming year:

Isaiah 43

This is what God says…
“Forget about what’s happened;
    don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present.                                                                                                                              I’m about to do something brand-new.
    It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?

John 10

I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me.

 My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. 

Phil 4

6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life.

8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

We then looked at our prayers from last year and burned them before writing our new ones and attaching them to the shepherd’s crook, trusting our Good Shepherd to keep them close…

Barbara had brought the same Philippians verses to share (!) and also Jesus’ warning that it is not what goes into our mouths that is the problem but what comes out of them – a reminder to be mindful of what we say and how we speak this year.

We shared bread and wine and then Fiona finished with a prayer found in the pocket of the assassinated French Algerian nun – Odette Provost:

Live today’s day. God gives it to you, it belongs to you. Live it in Him.

Tomorrow’s day belongs to God, it doesn’t belong to you. Do not impose today’s worry upon tomorrow. Tomorrow belongs to God. Hand it over to Him.

The present moment is a frail footbridge. If you weigh it down with yesterday’s regrets, tomorrow’s anxiety, the footbridge gives way and you lose your footing.

The past? God forgives it. The future? God gives it. Live today’s day in communion with Him.

Amen.

Bring and share at the bandstand

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This morning , being the first Sunday of the month, we brought different contributions to the bandstand. We’d had a special evening at Sarah’s on Wednesday night colouring in Celtic letters to introduce our favourite Bible verses and one of the things that we did today was to share what those verses were and why we so loved them. Various folk were away today and not everyone came with a contribution, but it was lovely hearing each other’s stories. Here are some of our favourite verses:

Isaiah 43: 1 ‘I have called you by name, you are mine’

——————————————————————————

Psalm 16 :5-6 ‘Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;

You make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

Surely I have a delightful in heritance.’

——————————————————————————-

Two chose this same verse from Micah 6:8:

‘He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.’

Or in the paraphrase of The Message:

‘But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
    what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour,
    be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
    take God seriously.’

————————————————————————–

Hebrews 12: 1 ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…’

————————————————————————-

Malachi 4: 2  ‘But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves’.

————————————————————————-

Romans 12: 1 ‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.’

————————————————————————————

And Sarah shared a blessing with us from the Irish Council of churches, as we contemplated the state of the world and all who need God’s goodness:

Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth.

Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust.

Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace.

Let peace fill our hearts, our world, our universe.

Peace. Peace. Peace.

and a song based on the traditional Irish Celtic blessing, Lisa Dawson Deep Peace

We finished by sharing bread and wine – hope and nourishment and provision for us, for those we know and for our broken world.

It really was rather special.

Running the race

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This morning in a very autumnal morning at the bandstand, we reflected onthe beauty of the trees and Julian of Norwich’s emphasis on God delighting in us and in the ever-close idea of being in a thin place, joined by the communion of saints, in the company of all heaven!

We heard read the opening verses of Hebrews 12 in both the NIV and The Message – about running the race and not giving up before I shared that a few months ago Steve and I had gone to Sheffield to see the stage production of Chariots of fire. We hadn’t been able to imagine how it could be pulled off – yet it was frankly one of the most powerful, moving and best pieces of theatre we have seen. I found myself in the standing ovation involuntarily saying out loud  (and a little tearfully) ‘Thank you’ – I think to those who had made this story public again – and to Eric Liddell. I came home to read up more on Eric Liddell – mostly from Wikipedia (!) and various aspects got me reflecting on my own story / faith journey /race.

I shared a reminder of Liddell’s story and then everyone walked with the following words – without direction – but to allow any of them to lead to prayer – for ourselves or ThirdSpace or others:

  • Liddell was described as ‘Entirely without vanity’ and ‘the finest Christian gentleman it has been my pleasure to meet. In all the time in the camp, I never heard him say a bad word about anybody… absorbed, weary and interested, pouring all of himself into this effort to capture the imagination of these penned-up youths… overflowing with good humour and love for life, and with enthusiasm and charm…’
  • Liddell was inspired by someone writing him a note and, no doubt, by the band playing for him outside the stadium.  That made all the difference.
  • ‘He that honours me I will honour.’
  • In the play, ‘Chariots of Fire’, Harold Abrahams is repeatedly asked what his motivation is for running. It seems he doesn’t know how to answer that until he says to Liddell, ‘To win’. Eric’s reply is ‘To win what?’ He himself speaks of honouring God by using the gifts God has given him, saying, “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
  • Liddell said, “It has been a wonderful experience to compete in the Olympic Games and to bring home a gold medal. But since I have been a young lad, I have had my eyes on a different prize. You see, each one of us is in a greater race than any I have run in Paris, and this race ends when God gives out the medals.”  
  • ‘A huge cloud of witnesses is all around us. So let us throw off everything that stands in our way’. Hebrews 12:1

We returned to pray. Just as Eric Liddell and Hebrews 12 urge us not to give up, Luke 18: 1 says, ‘Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.‘ So we brought the needs of the world and of individuals, to God, not knowing what difference our prayers can make but doing it anyway! At the risk of sounding like I was hosting The Weakest Link (!) I asked

Who would we like God to honour?

Who needs Jesus now?

We spoke of the floods in Nepal, war in the MIddle East and Ukraine, of folk known to us i need and wrote these things on individual cards, headed Always pray, don’t give up! The we received bread and held that bread on those names and prayed for Jesus to be close. We drank wine too – sustenance for the journey – for the race, for ourselves and for others.

The cards have gone home with each of us for prayer throughout the week. We finished with words from Julian of Norwich:

‘So, when we are finally brought face to face with God, we shall behold in God with clarity and the mysteries presently concealed from us, will be uncovered. And no-one will want to say then, “Lord, if only things were different, it would have been well’. Rather, shall we shout with one accord ‘Lord, blessed be your name!”’

Amen to tthat! Thanks be to Eric Liddell and Mother Julian – cheering us on in that great crowd of witnesses!

Celebrating 15 years at the bandstand

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Fiona kicked off proceedings in our time of celebration and thanksgiving:

Welcome!

I can now confirm that as one gets older – time really does speed up – it definitely was only a couple of months ago that we celebrated 10 years of Third space – but here we are today celebrating that we’ve reached the ripe old age of 15.

We are officially adolescent  – which presumably gives us permission to … (various adolescent rebellions weere shared here!) 

15 years ago we tentatively stepped into a metaphorical coracle and to  ‘being’ Third Space – the name to reflect that it was a space that was shared but ‘other’ to home and work space. The place -outdoors -this park, this bandstand ; a sense that Church could and should not be behind doors  – a place where every week, (whatever the weather, ) the Glory of God would be  demonstrated by the ‘Big Book” of creation.   We would have no walls – no premises – no statements of belief that must be signed up to, no leadership teams and no 5 year plans.  What kind of church do you call that?

Third space is My Church – a church that has blessed, challenged, taught, delighted, comforted and unsettled and  widened my narrow vision – sometimes all at the same time. Saints, pigeons, lamid vavniks (and tattoes that nearly got me a divorce) , shepherds crooks,  bread and wine and the creativity,  insight , prayers and Christ-like examples of everyone here today, have been for me a life-saver and a life changer.  I don’t know where I would be ‘at’ if I had remained in a regular church  – I suspect it wouldn’t have been a good place or a God place –  and although I am naturally risk averse, I am so glad we took that leap of faith (hanging onto the caveat ‘we could be wrong’! to begin Third space so  please join with me in the Litany of thanksgiving that I’ve mucked about with to make it specific to today.

Litany of thanksgiving

For this time, this place, this day, these people


We give thanks to God for he is good

For the changing seasons, light and weather,


For  the trees and birdsong and the river and skies


For needless beauty and endless diversity…


That the sun sings and the earth hums…


If we were silent the very stones would sing his praise


Holy, holy, holy is God Almighty, 
the whole earth is full of his glory

For those we love, for those who love us
For those we struggle with and those who struggle with us


For old friends and new ones, for friendships yet to be made and for reunions
in this world and the next

For all human goodness that speaks of your presence


For our frailty that drives us to acknowledge our dependence on you

It is you who made us and we are yours

For the shalom you promise


For your foundational underpinning, support, comfort, direction and strength


For your constant presence – your very name spoken with each breath we take


For Jesus – for all he has done, all he does, all he will yet do for us


For loving us

Amen! Amen! Amen!

…

Paul took over then, introducing something symbolic for us all to do:

So, from the concept of stones singing that we’ve just read, we’re going move on to  the biblical practice of placing stones as memorials.

Bethel was the place Jacob had his vision of angels on the stairway to heaven and received the promise God made to him about his descendants, so he set up the stone he had used as a pillow into a pillar.

Gilgal was where Joshua commemorated the Israelites’ long-delayed entrance into the Promised Land by taking 12 stones from the bed of the miraculously-parted Jordan river and setting them up at their camp site that night.

 Samuel erected the Ebenezer stone of help, after God thwarted a Philistine attack.

So today we’re going to set some stones, and we are going to do it in the context of those Third Space experiences we asked you to bring which have resonated for you over the years, be it remembrance, gratitude, faithfulness or ongoing support.

Some created glued cairns of stones, others wrapped stones in twine.

Harry read a poem by Godfrey Rust, which he felt spoke hugely of ThirdSpace

‘God is a verb’

Church mice,
church music
and church history
all tried to tell us it’s an adjective.

Others have chiselled
or boxed it into a noun:
a building or a social club,
even an event
that’s set in stones –
but don’t be fooled:
church is a verb.

It’s something that we do.
It won’t work in the singular.
I can’t church,
you can’t church
he, she and it can’t church.
It only takes the plural: even God
can’t church alone.
We church
(and they can do it too,
whatever we may think of what they do).

It works best in the present tense
and not with a prefix like un- or re-.
Don’t say Let’s church again,
like we did last summer.
It happens now, not then.

It’s not a complicated verb.
It comes in simple sentences
like How are you?
and Can I help?
and Let us pray.

It’s often passive, and just sits and listens.

It’s a highly irregular verb
and won’t do what it’s told.
It turns up anywhere
with the most unlikely subjects.

It can be said
in any language
or in none.

We can’t easily go
to look at church.
We only find the evidence
that church has happened somewhere.
Something broken has been mended.
Someone is alive.
Two are at one.
More is here now
than there was before.

In one case only,
this verb is transitive:
God churches us
and also churches through us.
When we ask Christ
to be among us
or make him known to someone
it’s then that we are churching.

There will come a time
for church to get dressed up
ready for its marriage,
ready to settle down and become a noun –
but until then
church is the living Word
spoken in verbs.

…

Steve then read something he had written for the occasion:

15 TODAY!

We are heliocentric creatures it seems

Intent on marking the day when

15 earth circuits ago…

We gathered first to make the Celtic twig cross – not knowing

Launching the coracle – not knowing

Awaiting the divine dove in pigeon attire – not-knowing

Defiantly hoping companions – not knowing

Restlessly searching doubters – not knowing

Looking back to whence we came and looking forward – not knowing

Yet yearning still and weeping and rejoicing and journeying towards…

Perhaps we are, hesitantly, theocentric creatures

Discontent with a silent universe

Seeing the world charged with the grandeur and mercy of God.

And so we commune, in our tradition, with Jesus

…

And we finished sharing bread and wine with the following words:

Far We have Come, Far we Must Go

(with thanks to “Grace-pocket liturgies)

We stand on the threshold of another year of Third Space

We offer you our thanks for the last 15 years – years full of good things.

Gifts of friendship, laughter, creativity and imagination

We give you our memories of times when there has been struggle and sadness

The loss of people dear to us

Times of disappointment and frustration

We recognise that you continue to call us on.

We offer you our hopes, aspirations and plans

God of transformation, we look forward to what you will do with our lives and with Third Space.

And once again, we climb into our coracle and wait for the Spirit.

This is the bread of Christ.

The bread of community,

It is bread for the journey

and it is bread for celebration!

This is the wine of Christ.

The wine of community,

It is wine for the journey

and it is wine for celebration! Cheers!

And then it was off to Cool River for a marvellous celebratory breakfast and much chat and laughter and gratitude. 15 wonderful years. Thanks go to those who joined us over the years – those who are still in touch, those we have lost touch with…. and to Ian Adams and Michael Mitton for wise advice and support in early years (Outdoor church, meals, Sabbaths…. Emulating St Brendan in his coracle…) we are indebted to you!

Exploring the Kingdom of God

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Barbara led us at in the park, beginning with these words:

Live Simply

Compassionate and loving God,

you created the world for us all to share,

a world of beauty and plenty.

Create in us a desire to live simply,

so that our lives may reflect your generosity.

Creator God,

God of peace and justice,

You give us the capacity to change,

to bring about a world that mirrors your wisdom.

Create in us a desire to act in solidarity,

so that the pillars of injustice crumble

and those now crushed are set free.

Amen.

Linda Jones / CAFOD

I have been thinking a lot about the Kingdom of God recently and although I understand something of what Jesus means when he talks of the Kingdom, to me it is still something of a mystery.

When I first became a Christian, I thought you joined the Kingdom of God automatically and pledged fealty to God.  As someone who loves history, I knew people in the past knelt at the feet of the king and pledged to serve him, and in doing this they became faithful members of his kingdom. As a new Christian I thought my task was to bring as many people as possible into that Kingdom.

That was my simple way of understanding what the Kingdom of God is.  

So, what about the mystery?

Well Jesus says a lot of things which to me seem to say it’s more than just doing evangelism.

“The kingdom of God is at hand.”          

“The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that grows into a huge tree”

“The kingdom of God is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

“The kingdom of God is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

What is Jesus saying?

To me, he seems to be saying that being part of God’s Kingdom means we should act to spread something of God’s love in all that we do. It might mean we have to sacrifice; it may only be little things; we might not even realise we are having an effect.

I came across a Dave Tomlinson video on Work of the People which I found interesting. He calls the Kingdom of God “The Quiet Revolution” and talks about the butterfly effect.

He says, “part of the programme of God’s Kingdom is to be devoted to a programme of change, both within ourselves and in society as a whole.”

Yeast put into bread and mustard seeds planted are small things that grow. We must embrace our smallness, ineffectualness and hopelessness, and give our widows mite so that it can be part of something greater.

We think of movements that started small and grew into something great. The ending of Apartheid, the fall of the Berlin wall.  Lots of people committing themselves to doing little things who brought about massive change. When Rosa Parks refused to sit at the back of the bus, I don’t think she could imagine the effect that had.

Desmond Tutu said:

“The biggest defining moment in my life was when I saw Trevor Huddleston and I was maybe nine or so.

I didn’t know it was Trevor Huddleston, but I saw this tall, white priest in a black cassock doff his hat to my mother who was a domestic worker.

I didn’t know then that it would have affected me so much, but it was something that was, really – it blew your mind that a white man would doff his hat.

And subsequently I discovered, of course, that this was quite consistent with his theology that every person is of significance, of infinite value, because they are created in the image of God.

And the passion with which he opposed apartheid, and any other injustice is something that I sought then to emulate.”

The Kingdom of God comes in littleness but can have great impact in the end. As with the chaos theory – small things have a greater effect down the road. Having faith should lead you to doing little things, knowing that something can come of this.

Task

If we remember the “Love is” cartoons …

My task is for you to come up with your own saying to follow on from The Kingdom of Heaven is …

Take some time and write it on the butterfly shaped paper.

Prayers based on the prayer of St Frances.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Like that of Christ, our mission on earth is to bring to others God’s peace. God’s state of “perfect well-being” and completeness. Shalom is the Hebrew word for this rich concept of “peace.” Often used as a greeting of peace, Shalom is a wish that those so greeted will find healing and fullness of life.

Pray that you can bring Shalom to those you meet this coming week.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Saint Francis tells his followers, “Our Lord says in the Gospel, Love your enemies (Matthew 5: 44). If we feel offence, injury, anger, hurt or rejection how do we handle that is the light of loving our enemies.

Pray for those we know who need to know love.

Where there is injury, pardon,
During the violence-ridden Crusades, Francis discovered a path of peace, pardon and non-violence. The “little poor man” went to Egypt to engage in a peaceful dialogue with the sultan, a meeting in which a spirit of forgiveness, respect and understanding prevailed. Francis would have the same message for those in our times who are so quick to see violence as the only cure for terrorism.

Pray for the miracle of God’s peace to be in the hearts of those who lead in our world.

Where there is doubt, faith,

Pray for those who have lost faith or who have their faith sorely challenged ask God to show you ways that can restore faith to those people.

Where there is despair, hope/Where there is darkness, light,
Think of Saint Francis following Jesus example and embracing lepers and lovingly washing their sores. Surely, many of those suffering souls felt an inner surge of hope and human dignity when they experienced care.

Pray for the strength to show care and love in difficult situations

And where there is sadness, joy.
Francis used to say that he wanted his followers to go about the world like strolling minstrels, “to inspire the hearts of people and stir them to spiritual joy.” They give us an example to follow in our own day!

Pray that we will be like those strolling minstrels and inspire the hearts of people we meet who feel sadness

For ourselves we pray

Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand and to be loved as to love

Pray for awareness that

It is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned ,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Bread and Wine

Jesus – bread breaker, wine pourerTable sharer, life giver, poor blesser, storm sleeper, blame taker,Scroll reader, mask exposer, sheep steerer, wave treader,Tempest calmer, truth wielder, light extruder, crowd amazer,Life enhancer, peacemaker, grace ladler, Spirit breatherTruth teacher, friend maker, bread breaker we remember you. Food blesser, cross bearer, law revealer, temple cleanser,God revealer, story weaver, hurt healer,Desert victor, death drinker, justice bringer,Sight restorer, sin forgiver, wine renewer.Death defeater, foot washer, wine pourer we thank you.   

I don’t have the examples everyone came up with for their ‘The Kingdom of God is like…’ but they were amazingly creative and thought-provoking. Have a go! The morning left us freshly inspired and we agreed later in the week that we were still thinking about it! Thanks Barbara.

Companions learning to saunter

Posted by & filed under General.

We began our time at the bandstand listening to the birdsong and sounds of people and vehicles as we stilled ourselves before Steve spoke the following words:

We have learnt that as we gather in the bandstand each Sunday,

We meet with God

We meet with God’s Creation

We meet with God’s People

We need to slow ourselves to become aware of this,

We need to slow our breathing, to focus our thinking, to attune our spirit – otherwise we will miss the thinness of this time and place

Great and wonderous is God               

Great and wonderous is God’s Creation

Great and wonderous are our companions here and elsewhere                     

Blessed be our Father/Mother God

Blessed be Jesus

Blessed be the holy and wild Goose                  Amen

We then read the following:

On Sauntering…..

There are always some people in the mountains who are known as “hikers.” They rush over the trail at high speed and take great delight in being the first to reach camp and in covering the greatest number of miles in the least possible time. They measure the trail in terms of speed and distance and difficulty and time.

One day as I was resting in the shade, Mr. Muir* overtook me on the trail and began to chat in that friendly way in which he delights to talk with everyone he meets. I said to him: “Mr. Muir, someone told me you did not approve of the word ‘hike.’ Is that so?” His blue eyes flashed, and with his Scottish accent he replied: “I don’t like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains – not hike!

“Do you know the origin of that word ‘saunter?’ It’s a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, “A la sainte terre,’ ‘To the Holy Land.’ And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not ‘hike’ through them.”

John Muir lived up to his doctrine. He was usually the last man to reach camp. He never hurried. He stopped to get acquainted with individual trees along the way. He would hail people passing by and make them get down on hands and knees if necessary to see the beauty of some little bed of almost microscopic flowers. Usually, he appeared at camp with some new flowers in his hat and a little piece of fir bough in his buttonhole.

Now, whether the derivation of saunter Muir gave me is scientific or fanciful, is there not in it another parable? There are people who “hike” through life. They measure life in terms of money and amusement; they rush along the trail of life feverishly seeking to make a dollar or gratify an appetite. How much better to “saunter” along this trail of life, to measure it in terms of beauty and love and friendship! How much finer to take time to know and understand the men and women along the way, to stop a while and let the beauty of the sunset possess the soul, to listen to what the trees are saying and the songs of the birds, and to gather the fragrant little flowers that bloom all along the trail of life for those who have eyes to see!

You can’t do these things if you rush through life in a big red automobile at high speed; you can’t know these things if you “hike” along the trail in a speed competition. These are the peculiar rewards of the man who has learned the secret of the saunterer!

Albert W Palmer 1911

*John Muir (1838 –1914), also known as “John of the Mountains” and “Father of the National Parks“, was a Scottish-born American  naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States.

We walked without words to read, then, sauntering and observing and lingering… before returning to prayer and then sharing bread and wine with our Companions liturgy

Prayers

As we saunter on our pilgrimage, we open our eyes to the needs of this world, to the needs of others and to the transforming power of God around and amongst us. We offer our prayers to be agents of change even when we feel powerless to be so. And so we ask:

God of love and justice comfort us where we are unsettled and unsettle us where we are comfortable

…

We offer you those we know who need Jesus now… (we name them now)

God of love and justice, comfort those who are unsettled and unsettle those who are comfortable

…

We offer you our planet, its health, its life, its turmoil and we pray for all those affected by climate change, for those working to reverse the damage that has been done and for those in positions of power and influence

God of love and justice, comfort those who are unsettled and unsettle those who are comfortable

…

And we offer ourselves. Send us out to be Lamed Vavniks in the places we find ourselves and for the people we encounter. That we might live abundantly, generously, gratefully and openly. We invite you, Mother-Father, Saviour-Friend, Spirit-Companion to work in us, through us, for us, despite us.

Amen.

A gentle, reflective morning which felt very special.

Art and Mediation on Wednesday night

Posted by & filed under General.

Sarah B led us in a wonderful evening of creativity and reflection. We began reading the following words:
breath
Genesis 2 v 7
Then the Lord God formed a human from the dust of the ground and breathed into their
nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living being.


Then with a pen in hand, we drew lines up and down as we breathed in and out, helping us to be aware of our breathing…

On a new piece of paper we drew a straight line a third of the way up. Taking 2 pens, one thicker and one thin, we drew 5 thin loose lines across the top and 10 heavier lines below the horizon, adding water colours

lights in the vault of the sky

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night,
and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights
in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.

Then we added to the piece made before to add stars and lights using spatter metallic paint


the light shines in the darkness and the names of god
(NIV degendered John 1)
in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. They were
with God in the beginning. Through them all things were made without them nothing was
made that has been made. In them was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Instructions were:

  1. Write a list of words that you feel are connected to God, the spirit, characteristics, don’t overthink
    it, just jot down what comes to mind.
  2. Art – centred circle painted in water and colour, loosely draw round with a black fineliner allowing
    the lines to loop and overlap in a loose form
  3. Now go back to your word list and select three that pull you most strongly. Select and area in the
    art and slowly with care write the letters of the word – add colour if desire.

An amazing evening – heartily recommend doing this!!

Spring at the bandstand

Posted by & filed under General.

Julie and Steve led us this last Sunday in a very special time together. Here’s their stuff!

RULES FOR VISITING AN OUTDOOR CATHEDRAL (POEM) Dorothy Woods

Please remember to leave your anxieties

As you make your first foot step on the path Feel the warm greeting

The sun’s got your back.

Listen to the birds sing:

They’re pleased to share life with you

Don’t be surprised

If you seem to understand their voice

It’s the joy of living.

Walk with rhythm,

pace and purpose

Remember many feet have touched

Where yours do now

Silence your thoughts

And let your Maker

Fill your ears with

the language of his love

Receive this, soak it in

Let you eyes feed on

Lime and emerald greens,

and cerulean blues,

brown and chestnut ochres

nature’s dazzling hues

Fill the pockets of your

hungry soul with spring’s abundance.

Taste the air – breathe it deeply

and receive again the glad invitation to the dance,

in step with God beside.

(with acknowledgement to Andrew Rudd, ‘Rules for Visiting a Cathedral’ 2018)

Spring is finally arriving, gardens need tidying, plants need feeding, shoots are poking through  and blossoms are beginning to show. So today I want to think about nurture,  feeding, pruning, watering and preparation for growth.

The last two times I have shared with you I have used ‘the woman at the well story’ and  guess what: I’m going to start with it again today.

John 4 10-15

10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.”

11-12 The woman said, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?”

13-14 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”

15 The woman said, “Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!”

Song of Songs 2:11-13

11 See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.

12 Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
    the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
    my beautiful one, come with me.”

So I have  a visual aid- “The tree of life” to  help us think about our  thirst and our hunger.

The tree of life (and the rivers flowing from the throne of God) mirrors the original tree in the garden of Eden, providing hope of sustained life with Yahweh. In this way, the tree both recalls the garden story and also provides an expectation of future hope.

So take ten minutes to walk or stand

 Be  brave and  try taking your shoes and socks off to  stand on (holy ) ground. Feel your roots going down deep connecting with Gods good earth.

Know that you are unconditionally loved.

Think about what you hunger for, what you thirst for and ask Jesus to be your nourishment and the Holy Spirit to fill you with living water.

Do we  need to be pruned in order for our roots to go deeper to allow us individually and as a group to flourish ?

What might our flourishing look like ?

You might want to look around for symbols of God’s nourishment to attach to the tree of life on your return or you might like to choose a symbol from the box to stick on the tree or write on a post it to share your thinking with the group.

Time for feedback

 Prayer for ourselves and others

Communion

Blessing

Open hearted God

Who welcomes with arms flung wide

Like doors slung open in excited haste,

We pray you may bless this place,

That it will be a space of open doors and open hearts. That it may be a place of welcome, love and hospitality and that it may offer sanctuary.

Open our hearts

That we may be a people of welcome, love and hospitality. That we may offer sanctuary.

That we may bless others.

Keep our hearts and our doors open to your Spirit

In the name of Christ

Who stands at the door and knocks willing us to open up.

 Amen