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!

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.

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’

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

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 21^st 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!!!

Steve led us in prayer at the bandstand – still in the process of being repainted but we started there. He shared what he’d learned from Philip Roderick on Wednesday up in York at Ian Adams’ conference last week, concerning body language in prayer. We started folding our arms with hands place on opposite shoulders and took time to look at the beauty of our surroundings and still ourselves to meet with our Creator. it felt very moving to stand, so positioned, in silence together, on the most glorious of mornings…

From there we did some slow walking, through the park, along the river to a weeping beech on the other side, whilst reading Isaiah 40, broken into suggested themed sections. For instance, v1-3 ‘for the people of Syria, Egypt, Turkey and elsewhere…’ v4-5 ‘For God’s long unfolding plan… for our prophets… For those with vision… For those with hope…’ and above all challenging us not to diminish God who is God!

At the beech tree, a cross had been placed in the tree and bread and wine set out on a folding table.

There we assumed our second prayer position with hands raised as we named aloud all those we held to God who need him now.

And finally to share bread and wine, we took up the cruciform pose as Steve read his specially written words:

Take this bread because it sustains us. It reminds us that whilst God is God is God, he took flesh in Jesus and more than that took on our burdens and more even than that took on our brokenness. And so in eating we remember with our arms in cruciform the cost of God’s all-enveloping Shalom. Amen!

Take this wine because it transforms us. It is the new wine of the Kingdom given that we might stumble through the curtains into the sacred place of God. And so in drinking we remember with our arms in cruciform the cost of God’s all-enveloping Shalom. Amen!

We go from this place as people who are like grass and yet made for glory, worshipping a God who is utterly Transcendent and yet utterly Immanent, sustained and transformed by the meal we have eaten. Shalom to one and all! Amen!

Can you imagine hearing those words with everyone’s arms outstretched in the form of the cross?

Steve – it was poignant and powerful and reminded us all of the potency of God’s Word – and personally, I reckon Isaiah 40 is almost unrivalled by any other chapter in the Bible. Thank you. I LOVE THIS CHURCH!

What an evening!

Cheeses and wine, pavlova, cherry and amaretti cheesecake, lemon posset, chocolate and peanut butter cheesecake, poached peaches… and yes- we tried them all!

The ‘Companions’ liturgy was poignant, with memories of sharing those words with Frances and Charlotte in times past… but most moving of all were the words accompanying a Welsh love spoon written by Steve:

With this spoon we grant you the freedom of Third Space! You were there at its inception and in so many ways have nurtured and developed who we have become. Thank you for sharing yourselves and your gifts and your lives.

Spoons are for stirring and sampling, for tasting and creating.

This spoon is Trinity-hewn and eternity-endowed

because it comes with our love and God is love

and it comes with our hope firmly nailed to the cross of CHRIST who

renews all things, reunites all and reconciles all in Him.

You have JOURNEYED with us,

built our COMMUNITY,

broken bread and shared wine in our CELEBRATION together;

you have acted JUSTLY,

shown us the way of SERVICE

and demonstrated CONNECTEDNESS.

And so we commission you with this blessing:

May you know the rootedness of Christ the Protector,

be infused by the wild indwelling of the Holy Spirit

and be steeped in God-shaped hope all your days.

May all your stirring and sampling and tasting and creating be exuberant!

AMEN!

So hard saying goodbye. We love you guys. Always part of us, held in prayer and a constant source of reason to give thanks to God.

You know what it is like when you have planned to do something and then the unexpected happens and your plans fall apart.

Well this morning at Third Space was a bit like that.

What was planned? Well I will save that for another day, but let me just tell you that it would be a lovely thing to do in the sunshine, but NOT in the RAIN.

So although rain in this climate is not totally unexpected we had to change our plans and come up with Plan B. We tried to use the rain to enhance our worship.

I came across this song by a woman called Laura who wrote it after much prayer for her husband’s healing.

Laura Story – Blessings

search YouTube clips to listen to song and story.

The chorus of the song goes like this;

What if your healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near?

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?

What if trials of this night, are Your mercies in disguise?

We spent a few minutes walking in the rain after hearing the words of the song – using the rain to remind us of the cold, damp, disappointed feelings we get when things in life go wrong.

What struck me as I walked in the rain and raised my head to let the rain splash on my face was – the rain is not so bad if you are prepared for it.

Sometimes as Christians we feel that we are protected from catastrophe. That is wrong theology. Jesus never promised a life without problems. What he did was to experience the sort of things we go through for himself so he can understand and empathise with our suffering: Betrayal, poverty, humiliation, pain, death, homelessness, rejection, bereavement, anger, sickness, temptation, exhaustion and loneliness.

In fact he talks about suffering bringing blessing in the Beatitudes in Matthew Chapter 5

4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We thought of those who needed to know blessing in suffering and collected a raindrop for each person we prayed for.

Those people who we prayed for need friends, companions to walk with along the difficult road they travel – we shared bread and wine and used our companions liturgy.

Small Beginnings

“Things great have small beginnings. Every downpour is just a raindrop; every fire is just a spark; every harvest is just a seed; every journey is just a step because without that step there will be no journey; without that raindrop there can be no shower; without that seed there can be no harvest.”
William Wilberforce

Jon led us in Third Space a few weeks ago on the theme of clouds. He had been inspired after coming across a plaque for Luke Howard the namer and classifier of clouds. Intrigued he investigated further…

  Luke Howard named clouds in 1803.

We spent some time lying on our backs looking at clouds, praying, meditating and being still. It was a beautiful morning with blue skies and, yes, clouds to ponder. Such a peaceful experience.

Jon had talked about the tremendous energy and power that clouds contain and yet they looked so fluffy, gentle and harmless. It made me think about the gentleness but powerfulness of God.

What we did that morning has remained with me and I find myself lifting my eyes to the skies and looking at the different kinds of clouds and reflecting on the presence of God with us.

Exodus 13:21 – 22

“God went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud during the day to guide them on the way, and at night in a pillar of fire to give them light; thus they could travel both day and night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left the people.”

God is present right here, right now.

God leads us on our journey.

Exodus 14:19

The angel of God that had been leading the camp of Israel now shifted and got behind them. And the pillar of cloud that had been in front also shifted to the rear. The cloud was now between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. The cloud enshrouded one camp in darkness and flooded the other with light.”

God has got our back.

God shields us from that which we fear.

 Clouds are everywhere even in St Pancras Station, London. So when you see clouds be assured of the presence of God.

“I will not forget you. I have swept away your offences like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

Isaiah 44:22

On the Sunday before Pentecost  we remember that the disciples were all locked away, scared and wondering how their future life would pan out, but have you ever considered actually how old those disciples were? We looked at this question, which we have no answer for, but it proved quite interesting to think about.

We are not told how old the disciples were when they started following Jesus, but there is some evidence that some could well have been quite young. Perhaps 15 or even younger.

In Jesus time young boys would be educated from the age of 5 and would only continue in further education at 15 if they were rich enough or an outstanding scholar. Young men in this category would then continue under a rabbi until they were 30, when they themselves would take on the role of a rabbi.

At 15 all the remaining boys would be apprenticed to a trade. Jesus chose his disciples from those the rabbis had rejected as they were neither rich enough or thought to be outstandingly bright, but we do not know at what stage he chose them. Some were brothers and had varied ages, but some could have been chosen by Jesus at the age of 15 when he became their rabbi.

Barbara said “My thinking about how old the disciples were started after reading Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis and when I started to look on the internet I discovered there was lots of discussion about it there.”

Here are some further things to consider from biblical sources:

• Most men would marry at 18 we know of only Peter who was married.
•  The Temple Tax  – This is based upon a tax from Exodus 30 v 14 – “All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord”.  There is a story in Matthew 17:22 – 27 where Peter is asked about paying the Temple Tax. At the end of the story the tax is paid only by Peter and Jesus. Were they the only ones over 20?

• In John 13:33 Jesus refers to his disciples as “my children”. Isn’t this a bit demeaning to say to mature men?
• Also when you consider how long John survived after Jesus death could he have been a really young disciple of Jesus? Does this put a different complexion on the understanding of Jesus words on the cross to John and his mother in John 19: 26 – 27
• It also might explain why John is described as the disciple who he loved.  A special care for a younger member of his followers.

If the disciples were so young – it puts a different complexion on them hiding away behind closed doors, without their teacher and leader and life mentor.

And,  what happens after Pentecost was even more remarkable!

*****

Poem/Liturgy...

Waiting, Waited,

Flame Breather, Life Teaser,
Sweet Essence, Hard Presence,
Pulsing Blood, Sweeping Flood
Storm Force, Water Source,
Deepest Kiss, Draining Bliss,
Motivator, Love Creator,
Hearts Gripped, Conventions Ripped,
Fire Poured, Winds Roar,

Whisper, Whisper,

Shalom,
Life Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit.

Jonny Baker worship trick 89

We used a parachute to show the movement and emotion of the poem and then blessed each other while standing under the parachute with the words;

(name)        Shalom, Life Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit

Prayer – We prayed for those who feel locked away and frightened, either facing persecution or because of circumstances in their lives using a prayer from St Hilda Community;

..be silent
be still
alone empty
before your god
say nothing
ask nothing
be silent
be still
let your god
look upon you
that is all
she knows
she understands
she loves you with
an enormous love
she only wants to
look upon you
with her love
quiet
still
be….

Sharing Bread and wine.

To a world dry and thirsty

God has poured out Living Water;

To a world weary and breathless

God has stirred a mighty wind;

To a world cold and dark

God has ignited the flame of the Spirit;

Let us worship the Lord for the Spirit has come

– hallelujah!

Jesus, on the night before his death,

gathered his friends for a meal.

During supper, He took a loaf of bread,

and gave thanks for it.

Then he broke it

and passed it among them

with these words:

This is my body

which is broken for you.

Take, eat and remember me.

(share bread)

After the meal, Jesus took a cup of wine

and gave thanks for it.

Then He passed it among his friends

with these words:

This is my blood

which is shed for you.

Take, drink and remember me.

(share wine)

Jesus, we thank you

For this bread and wine of remembrance;

And for coming to us,

Through your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Closing Prayer.

May the love we find in this community

make us peacemakers and justice-seekers;

and may the Spirit who fills us again

lead us to be those who proclaim God’s Kingdom

in every word we speak

and in everything we do.

Amen.

A Communion Liturgy for Pentecost

©John van de Laar