Take a break

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As Third Space is by it’s very nature a small group, it is something of a commitment for those who agree to lead the weekly bandstand meetings. Many of the members of the group are either involved in education or have children who have school holidays. So it was decided at the outset that every seven weeks or so we would have a week when we did not meet. This we call a Sabbath. It means we can take a break away, spend time with our wider family or simply have a lie in.

Although we call this our Sabbath it is probably more like a Sabbatical which has it’s roots in the same Hebrew word shmita which literally means release.

We were advised by Ian Adams (http://inthebellyofthebigfish.blogspot.co.uk) who was our mentor when we began Third Space to take a Sabbath or Sabbatical and I would pass this advice onto others who may be thinking of starting to meet as we do. Nothing would be so disheartening as preparing a wonderful, inspirational time of worship (and believe me this is what they are) when most of the group are away on holiday.

So this Sunday 27th and next Wednesday 30th we have been released…

But the most brilliant thing is – it is amazingly good to start again after the break.

Life’s like that

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Ever found yourself making plans and then when you try to carry them out you get diverted or stuck and then end up in a place you didn’t want to be in?

Well our Third Space walk was a bit like that on Sunday. We set off from the Jug and Glass in Lea intending to do a circular walk, call at a tiny church and end our excursion with a pub lunch at the afore mentioned hostelry. We walked too slowly, got into all sorts of mud, missed a turning and ended up miles from where we should have been only minutes before the time our table had been booked for lunch.

Well if you end up in a place where you don’t want to be you can always call for help from your friends and that is just what we did. Rescue came in the form of two cars which drove us to the pub where we arrived rather red faced but then had a delicious lunch.

This is the Table

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It is our practise at Third Space to meet together for a meal every so often. These occasions are always very special as we sit with others with whom we can really be ourselves. Conversations vary from those that are deep and profound to those that are light hearted and full of laughter. Last night was no exception:

We began our meal with some lovely liturgy;

 

This is the table of new expectations

This is the table where everyone is welcome

This is the table for eating and drinking

This is the table for sharing stories, for laughter and fun

This is the table for honest conversation and being real

This is the table of friends and companions

This is the table where there is safety and acceptance

This is the table that is the natural place to be

This is the table where strength is restored

This is the table of Jesus our lord

This is the table of our community

 Jonny Baker (adapted)

People were asked to pen additional lines to this liturgy. These were read out at the close of our meal.

 

Soups, cheeses, home made breads and wonderful puddings followed along with prayer for those known to us who are in need at the moment. During the meal we shared bread and wine.

This is the Table Third Space Version

This is the Wabi-Sabi * table where the broken and bruised meet the God who upcycles

This is the table where Martin, and Francis and Desmond would feel at home  (ie Luther-King, Pope, Tutu)

This is the table where we practise for the Big Banquet

This is the table where we share lives …

This is the table where memories of past and present members of Third Space meet…

This is the table where we are joined by the Bread of Life

This is the table of laughter

This is the table of exploration

This is the table of NO homework!

This is the table of sharing

This is the table of the visionary united…

 

*  Wabi  connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or understated elegance. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object. Sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs.

 

Some truths are unbelievable

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As we left the pub last night the barmaid said “Your group sounded great fun tonight”.

What were we doing?

We were reading some crazy news reports that had some even more bizarre untruths added to them. We had to guess what was true and what was untrue.

It was a bit like “What the Papers Say”, but with impressions and stand up comedy added.

The subjects from the news;

  • super moons,
  • a record attempt to get hundreds of dogs to sit or lie down at the same time,
  • overdosing on Viagra
  • motorway speed limits
  • “Hitler moustache” on Nigel Farage
  • bugs from space
  • Scotty from Startrek having his remains sent into space
  • snakes on planes
  • a child called North West

 

Snowdrops and stones

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Well it was a stunning morning at the bandstand today. It was never truer to think of the words ‘Morning has broken like the first morning’, seeing the bright sunshine cutting through the layer of mist, hanging in the valley. Just exquisitely beautiful.

We began our time with words written by Steve:

Space for the 3

LEADER: Creator God, in this place and at this time, for this place and for this time

ALL: We praise you

L: For the richness of this precise moment – unparalleled in human history

ALL:  We are in awe

L: For the autumn palette, the falling leaves – each one if caught 7 lucky hours!

ALL: All this proclaims YOU – our Yahweh Creator.

L:   Creator God, designer, provider, nurturer

ALL: This is your space given to us and we thank you

L:  And for Jesus, your gift of yourself to us, our Saviour, our Redeemer

ALL: We praise you

L: For the wealth of his life spent in serving others and us

ALL: We are in awe

L: For carrying our burdens to the cross, for dying and rising

ALL: All this proclaims YOU – our Yahweh Creator

L: Jesus, born and baptised as one of us

ALL: This is your space given to us and we thank you

L: And for your hovering life-giving Spirit

ALL: We praise you

L: For your wineskin bursting, mustard seed growing, transforming work

ALL: We are in awe

L: For indwelling our lives, our bodies and drawing us to you

ALL: This is your space given to us and we thank you

L: Space for the 3 in our Third space

ALL: AMEN!

Then we referred back to our prayer evening on Wednesday – part of which involved holding stones and then swapping them for others to carry during the week, as we shared prayer needs and burdens with each other. We updated one another on those prayer needs and took 5-10 minutes to carry those prayers with us, stone in hand, reflecting also on the following verses and letting them inform our prayers:

Numbers 11 14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me…

16 The Lord said to Moses:.17’ I will come down…  you will not have to carry it alone.’

 

Psalm 68 19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour,  who daily bears our burdens.

Matthew 11 28 ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Galatians 6 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.

Isaiah 46  3 I… have carried since you were born. 4 Even to your old age and grey hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

 

Later we took snowdrop bulbs and planted them in various beds in the park, placing our stones next to them – as a symbol of hope and resurrection…

 

We finished with bread and wine, using words Steve wrote in the past for us:

 

Perspectives – bread and wine

Bread – in all its variety – wholegrain, white bleached, flat, mother’s pride, granary, unleavened, pitta and crusty, soft and seeded. It is just bread – a staple – food for all, for the rich and the poor.

But in your outstretched hands, in your body, you transform this element into spiritual nourishment which in turn transacts our horizontal dimension with your vertical reality. We thank you that we stand in that crossing place once again.

For on the night before he died….Jesus gave thanks….took and broke….and shared….saying, “Take, eat, feed and remember – it is my body.”

ALL: We share this bread as one people with the risen Christ in our midst.

 

Wine – in all its variety – white and red, flat and sparkling, oaky and tannin rich, young and old, chardonnay and merlot, grenache and cabernet, old world and new world. It is just wine – a staple of celebration for all.

But in your wounded hands you transform this element to seal the new transaction between God and us. This wine spilt opens the new way, curtains rent asunder, the mundane becomes translucent with your presence. We thank you that we stand in that place once again.

For on the night before he died, Jesus gave thanks….took the cup….and shared it….saying, “Take, drink, it is given for you. It is my blood.”

ALL: We share this wine as one people with the risen Christ in our midst.

So we have eaten and drunk this transforming meal which brings heaven to earth. As Kingdom builders, we journey with Christ our Lord.

ALL: AMEN!

 

Perhaps it was the beautiful sunshine, maybe the sharing of heart-felt concerns… but there was a real sense of God’s presence this morning and once again, my friends, it was VERY good to be with you at the bandstand!

 

Head Space

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Considerable discussion followed the questions drawn out of the hat. See what you make of these:

  • Is there hope for the institutional church?
  • What are you most grateful for?
  • If you were the leader of the Labour Party what policies would you introduce?
  • Is it acceptable for some Muslim women to cover their faces; (1) in public, (2) at work (3) in court (4) at the doctor’s?
  • What would your price be to: Pose nude for an art class? Bungee jump? Eat a live witchetty grub?
  • “In Jesus and the prophets’ critique, self-righteous religion is always marked by insensitivity to issues of social justice, while true faith is marked by profound concern for the poor and marginalised. The Swiss theologian John Calvin, in his commentaries on the Hebrew prophets, says that God so identifies with the poor that their cries express divine pain. The bible teachers us that our treatment of the poor and weak equals our treatment of God” Timothy Keller.                                                                                   How do evangelicals in general and Third Space in particular fare today by this standard?

Conversations varied from energy policy to body image, green issues to poverty, being brave about bungee jumping or eating witchetty grubs. Best excuse for not having a price for eating a witchetty grub “being a vegetarian” 🙂 erm… don’t think that one is good enough Grayden!

 

So what is so special about a coracle?

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Is this the original Celtic Monk design?

The symbol of a coracle is special to those of us who were founder members of Third Space. To ensure that the change of direction in our faith journey was not too crazy we sought some council from Michael Mitton (freelance writer, speaker and trainer, also the Fresh Expressions Officer for the Derby Diocese).  He was tremendously encouraging and said that we reminded him of the Celtic saints of old setting off in their coracles with a sail and no oar, which enabled the Holy Spirit to blow them where God wanted them to be.

 

We have held this image close to our hearts and often pray that we are indeed led and directed by God in our journey together.

 

 

Visiting Holy Island (Lindisfarne) recently (a place where an early Celtic Christian Priory was established in 635AD by St Aidan) I was very pleased to see this coracle in the church. It reminded me once more to – hoist my sail, test the wind (metaphorically speaking) and journey on.

Blessing for the Park

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We gathered in beautiful sunshine, shedding coats, sweaters and jackets. A warm September morning – a very welcome start to our look at the importance of blessing others. Grayden talked about John O’Donohue’s book Benedictus – A Book of Blessings.

He read part of the introduction for us. The parts that really stuck me were;

“A blessing is not a sentiment; it is a gracious invocation where the human heart pleads with the divine…A blessing can open doors to healing and transformation… When a blessing is invoked, it changes the atmosphere…It would be lovely if we could rediscover our power to bless each other…Always bless in the name and spirit of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the subtle presence and secret energy behind every blessing.”

 Opening blessing

I arise today: 

Blessed by all things, 

Wings of breath, 

Delight of eyes, 

Wonder of whisper, 

Intimacy of touch, 

Eternity of soul, 

Urgency of thought, 

Miracle of health, 

Embrace of God.

  

May I live this day: 

Compassionate of heart, 

Gracious in word, 

Courageous in thought, 

Generous in love.

 John O’Donohue

 

Words of blessing from the Bible.

Numbers: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace’

Psalms: The Lord remembers us and will bless us.

May you be blessed by the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

May God be gracious to us and bless us, and make his face to shine upon us.

Blessed is the one who has regard for the weak.

Blessed are those who maintain justice.

Romans: The same Lord is the Lord of all and richly blesses all who call upon him.

James: Blessed is the one who perseveres.

 

Wisdom sayings of Jesus from Matthew: 
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

 

We read this beautiful John O’Donohue blessing – asking each other what some of the verses were saying

Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore, 

May the music of laughter break through your soul.


As the wind wants to make everything dance,

May your gravity be lightened by grace.

 

Like the freedom of the monastery bell,

May clarity of mind make your eyes smile.

 

As water takes whatever shape it is in,

So free may you be about who you become.

 

As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,

May a sense of irony give you perspective.

 

As time remains free of all that it frames,

May fear or worry never put you in chains.

 

May your prayer of listening deepen enough

To hear in the distance the laughter of God.

Prayer using blessing stones

Our task for the morning was to write a blessing on a stone for the park and the people who visit, or take the stone away for someone.

We also wrote blessing for each other – each one of us was blessed by someone in the group.

 

 

The bread and wine of Blessing.

This is the bread and wine of blessing

This is the bread and wine where everyone can come to receive

This is the bread and wine for those who haven’t met Jesus yet

This is the bread and wine of belonging

This is the bread and wine of acceptance

This is the bread and wine of wholeness

This is the bread and wine of justice and generosity

This is the bread and wine of our community

This is the bread and wine of Jesus, our Lord

This indeed is the bread and wine of blessing.

Inspired by Jonny Baker

 

A Blessing for Third Space

May the blessing of God fall on our community,

May it be a safe place.

Full of understanding and acceptance.

Where you can be as you are.

May this place be one of discovery,

Discovery of the love of God,

The peace of Jesus and

The transforming power of the Holy Spirit

Where all can emerge

To deepen and refine

Their knowledge of your kingdom. Amen

 

May we all receive blessing upon blessing. And may we realise our power to bless and encourage each other.

A BLESSING. By JOHN O’DONOHUE, from ‘Benedictus – A Book of Blessings’

 

Colours of the Year

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God has blessed us with a wonderful spectrum of colours since we started meeting in the Park.

God laughs in colour and rejoices over creation

Colours surround the bandstand

This morning we met in among the flower beds, by the fountain and under a beautiful rose arbour.

I was sent an annual report from a vicar friend of ours called Tessa. It described everything in terms of colour. It was inspiring – so this is my version of the annual report for Third Space.

The Startling Red – Of the red shrub which shone out all through the drabness of winter which reminded Fiona of the burning bush and of God’s presence with us.

The Glowing Orange –Of autumns dazzling colours as the leaves change and fall.

The Soft Pink – Of the nodding begonias that smile at us from the flower beds.

The Bright Yellow – Of the sun we see rise on fine winter days and that shines down on us from the hills of Riber

The Restful Green –Hues of which surround us throughout the year on the grass, on leaves and on the hills.

The Clear Blue – Of the sky lifts our spirits both in the summer and winter when the day is bright and the weather fine.

The Dark and Sombre Black – Of the bin bags we lay on to watch the clouds, and the clock tower that marks the park head.

The Dazzling White – Of the snow we used to enhance our worship and the clouds we used to help us find peace and meditate.

The Gloomy Grey – Of the mists of autumn and winter that help us to feel encircled and enclosed.

The Shades of Brown –Of the branches in the trees where birds delight us with their song.

The rainbow spectrum of colour around our church glows in different shades of orange, red, purple, pink, green, blue and yellow.

God has given us such beauty, the natural world and the colours in it speak out His creative powers and sing of His glory.

 

We reviewed the year at Third Space since September and reminded ourselves of some of the highlights and then penned or painted what had been meaningful.


As we talked about our contributions on paper I was thinking I wonder how many people talk about their church so effusively and with such enthusiasm.

Barbara talked about the art work representing our world at Third Space, but we need to remember the wider world and so we wrote in words our prayers and thanksgiving.

Sharing bread and wine 

And so the story was told again

The Angel of Death passing over the mud brick dwellings that were smeared with the blood of the sacrificial lamb.

The unleavened bread hastily carried away as the children of Israel fled from Egypt.

And so the story goes on …

Escape and Salvation

Salvation from slavery and death

Escape to a new life

Escape to a new place

And so the story continues …

As Jesus celebrated the passing over of the Angel of Death and retold the story, he shared bread and wine with his friends, telling them to remember him whenever they met by doing the same.

We remember Jesus as we share bread and wine.

Your body broken (break bread onto the paper and sprinkle crumbs to represent Jesus coming into the world)

The bread of Freedom

Your blood shed (splash wine to represent Jesus blood being shed for the world)

The wine of Salvation

Closing prayer

God sent his blessing to a wondrous blue planet, the third rock from a sun.

Colours abounded on the planet and beauty and life filled the seas the land and the sky,

God sent his son as a blessing to all that dwell there.

May the God of colour, beauty and life bless us, our families, our communities and bless all who visit this park.

Amen

Holiday reads

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This week we met at Designate at the Gate again – and loved it. It was a fun evening of us all bringing books to recommend or lend for holiday reading. So for anyone out there who might be interested in the eclectic range on offer, here is our list:

The Holy Thief / The Bloody Meadow – William Ryan (set in Stalin’s Russia)

Before I go to sleep  – S J Watson (the haunting story of a woman with memory built up only in the space of a day)

Wabi-Sabi – for artists, designers, poets and philosophers

101 things I learned from Architecture School – Matthew Frederick (not as narrow as it sounds!)

The Book Thief – Marcus Zusak (set in war-time Dresden narrated by death)

The Apothecary’s Daughter – Charlotte Betts (about the Black Death – yes both of those death related novels recommended by the same person – counselling is still on the table Jane!)

The Road to Nab End – William Woodruff (growing up in Blckburn)

Unapologetic –  Why despite everything,  Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense – Francis Spufford (antidote to Dawkins et al – and quite brilliant and refreshing, looking at Christianity in the 21st Century)

Pay it forward – Catherine Ryan-Hyde – the novel that led to the brilliant film

The British Museum Dictionary of ancient Egypt – Ian Shaw and Paul Nicholson (no prizes fro guessing who brought that!)

The Girls – Lori Lansens (a truly brilliant story as if written by conjoined twins)

Mother Tongue / A short history of everything – Bill Bryson

Grumpy old men – David Quantick

Grumpy old women – Judith Holder

 

Never let it be said that we are narrow!!!