This Sunday we met away from the bandstand at  Cromford Meadows for a mini pilgrimage / prayer walk. It was especially good to have our good friend Chris join us and to see Michele, post-thesis – well done! We shared some opening words and then everyone followed a route with some suggested ideas to stimulate prayer. These are the ideas that we were given:

The Tree                               Take a moment to look at the new buds opening on the branches of the tree at the start of this reflection. Marvel at this new life.                            What are you saying to me Lord?

As you walk across the meadow towards the river, let Psalm 100 inspire conversation with God.

On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.

Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we didn’t make him.
We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.

Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.

For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.

Follow the river embankment and use any of the following to inform your thoughts / prayers

Psalm 25:4-5

Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.

Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Saviour,
and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalm 23 :1-3

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.

Take time to look at the trees – the deadwood, the signs of new life… to listen to the birdsong… become aware of all creation praising its Creator…

Turn back towards the car park.

Psalm 121:1-2                                    

I lift up my eyes to the mountains –
where does my help come from?
 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

As we see homes and buildings we turn to the needs of the world. We name those places in the world where people are crying out for help.                       Jesus help, be close, save…

Go through the Gate towards the Canal

We remember Jesus saying that he is the Gate – the way in and the protection for the sheep… As we go through, we quietly name those we know who have not yet come to that gate or entered through it, for those searching for the way, for those oblivious to the way, for those lost… May they find the gate opening before them, enclosing them…

The canal

As we come to the canal we think back to the days of horses pulling the canal boats along.  We turn to intercession – we cannot change the journeys that others find themselves on, but we can ‘pull them along’ in the prayer support we offer.  Perhaps some slow walking here – any direction you wish, as you draw these people to Christ – to still waters, for the restoring of souls, to comfort…

We gather around the picnic tables to share Bread and wine… (Using  Steve’s words from a couple of weeks ago)

We finished by walking to Colin and Michele’s for coffee, tea and cake.

The sheet concluded:

Jesus met his friends at Galilee after his resurrection and called to them:

‘Come and have breakfast!’

Come and eat, drink and discover Jesus amongst us…

And we did!

We should have put this summary of our time together onto our blog a couple of weeks ago – so apologies all!

Steve and Harry led us in worship, centred around their recent trip to Nepal.

After starting with words from Psalm 19 about all creation praising God, we were shown an image of the Fishtail mountain (a sacred mountain to the Nepalese) and then Harry showed us a picture he had taken of an elephant’s skin. This had been awe-inspiring for him and Steve explained how other teenage boys on the trip had had similar responses to the elephants on their short safari in the jungle.

When they  bathed the elephants, they bowed down and raised their arms to touch as if to worship.

As Steve explained, so much in our Post-Enlightenment thinking dulls us to the wonder of God’s Creation (rather it objectifies, analyses, dissects and exploits it). Creation speaks to us of the creator if only we have our ears attuned and a worldview to recognise this.

In the light of this we were sent out of the bandstand to take photos of things in nature that spoke to us of God. The wonderful thing about the feedback session was that everyone had something poignant and significant to share whether it was about the sun, sky, a red-leafed bush, a daffodil, blossom, shadows… Every contribution was different and truly inspiring. Yet again – the joy of meeting in amongst nature in the changing seasons and weather…

We prayed then for Nepal and for others….For Steven and Bina, Ashok, the Anandaban Leprosy Hospital…. All in need and all who make a difference there… and we named others known to us who need Jesus now before sharing bread and wine, using words written by Steve:

An invitation to the Table:

To this table in this place we invite:

The created order – pronounced GOOD by the Creator, suffering fallen-ness and awaiting eagerly for liberation in the renewed earth.

To this table in this place we invite:

Every living creature – included in God’s covenant with Noah and pronounced GOOD by the Creator, the variety of which inspires our awe and stewardship of which requires our care.

To this table in this place we invite:

The poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame – as Jesus invited to his banquet upturning the Pharisaic tables, insisting the first shall be last and the last first.

To this table in this place we invite:

The saints of old who have fought their good fight – we are honoured by their presence and inspired by their example.

To this table in this place we invite:

One another – each one endlessly precious to the Redeemer Jesus and each one a fellow pilgrim in faith.

L: This is the Body of Jesus broken for us

ALL: This is our body

L: This is the Blood of Jesus shed for us

ALL: This is our life blood

L: Then the Master told his servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.” We are sent out to be co-workers in building God’s Kingdom.

ALL: Amen!

It was good to hear something of their amazing adventures (we heard and saw more on the following Wednesday), of inspiring Christians further afield and to be included in an awareness of this bigger God that we so often lose sight of…

Head Space found us pulling the following questions out of the hat:

• What do you understand by the term post-evangelical?
• Is Christianity compatible with the Theory of Evolution?
• If Jesus of Nazareth is not “God made man” are all his teachings irrelevant?
• Who is your favourite biblical character (excluding Jesus)?
• What objects in or parts of a church building inspire you?
• Which people have been most influential over the past 2000 years in Christianity becoming a world religion?

Discussions were as always thought provoking, full of further questions, fun and laughter with no need for us to find THE answer.

We met in the park and it was WARM – Hallelujah!

Opening Worship

We gather this morning in the name of the Creator,

who creates time and space,

galaxies and stars and planets.

In the name of Jesus Christ, born on planet Earth,

and in the name of the Spirit who fills Earth with his presence.

Creator God,

in this time we call “now”

and in this space we call “here”

we worship you.

Make you presence felt among us.

Connectedness

Grayden introduced the subject by saying he often felt nostalgic for the 50’s and 60’s – an era of steam trains, children playing out rather than being plugged in to computers, good manners (treating others with respect) and school reports in which a teacher was allowed to say just a few words about a pupils’ progress rather than a short essay. For example, you might get excellent work, good, satisfactory, always tries hard, good oral work, but sometimes the teacher would write – could try harder or could do better.

Well in January we looked once more at our values, and both Barbara and Grayden thought in the area of connectedness – we could “do better”.

This led us to planning a Sunday morning in which we allowed time to think about our own connectedness as Third Space, but also as individuals. This mornings warm weather provided just the right conditions to do some self examination.

Prayer stations and instructions

1st Space – home and family

Sit on a bench in the park

• Think about your close family and thank God for each one of them
• Pray for any members of your family who are in need in any way
• Think about ways in which you and your family could be better connected to your neighbourhood or town

2nd Space – work or school

Walk down to the bridge and watch the water as it flows towards the sea

• Think about your friends at work or school and thank God for them

• Think about those you come across that you find more difficult – ask God to help you feel more connected with them

3rd Space – Third Space

Stand under a tree with bare branches and look up – think about the interconnectedness of all in Third Space

• Think about each member of Third Space

• Thank God for Third Space
• Think about any ways Third Space could be better connected in the town

4th Space – Your community

Walk slowly around the park for a few minutes, looking at buildings and people

• Pray for your neighbours
• Pray for your town / village
• Think about the different ways you are connected within your community
• Think about new ways you could be connected within your community

Sharing Bread and Wine with An Emerging Creed.

         We are people who……

Have found Jesus to be beyond compare.

Invite all to join us without insisting they become like us.

Find more reality in searching and questioning than in certainty and absolutes.

Realise that how we treat others is the greatest test and expression of what we believe.

Firmly believe in the equality of men and women, that no-one is greater than another and that all people bear God’s image.

Recognise that following Jesus is costly and we need to support each other in the work we feel called to do: being peacemakers, striving for justice, befriending the lonely, healing the sick, serving the hungry and destitute, visiting the sick and the elderly, inspiring children and young people, caring for God’s creation……………….

In sharing bread and wine together look back to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection and look forward to God’s feast for all peoples.

This is the bread of Christ, the bread of Community, the bread of Justice, the bread of Celebration, the bread of Service, the bread of Journey and the bread of Connectedness.

This is the wine of Christ, the wine of Community, the wine of Justice, the wine of Celebration, the wine of Service, the wine of Journey, the wine of Connectedness.

We ended our session with an entanglement of ourselves and string attached to the bandstand and said together:

 A Blessing for Your Community

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,

Without the need of any mask

or pretence or image.

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 from the clay all can emerge

To deepen and refine

Their knowledge of your kingdom

Amen

Sunday morning found us constructing a huge cube made out of canes.

Is that corner stable?

Jon must have designed this for a team building exercise????

This corner needs more

Laughter, co-operation, vision and initiative isn’t that what fellowship is all about.

Thank God for those among us that are tall…

and those that can bend down low.

Almost there

Jon explained that the cube we had constructed was the same size and shape as Nelson Mandela’s cell, shared by three people.

Inscription at the Archiepiscopal Chapel at Ravenna:

  Aut lux nata est aut capta hic libera regnat

 The light is either born here or imprisoned, reigns in freedom

Some quotes from Nelson Mandela

“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountain top of our desires.”

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

“I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”

Often credited to Nelson Mandela  – but a quote from Marianne Willamson

“We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

We all had a poem to take away and read to help us reflect on freedon

My FREEDOM –  Glamorous Enigma

Freedom To … Raymond A. Foss

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou

Frederick Douglass Robert Hayden

Underwear – Lawrence Ferlinghetti

The Weight – Linda Gregg

Prayer – Jorie Graham

A light exists in spring – Emily Dickinson

 Autumn Conundrum – Michael R. Burch

Freedom

Freedom comes from God:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there

is freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:17 (NIV)

Freedom to talk to God:

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom

and confidence.

Ephesians 3:12 (NIV)

Freedom to share it around:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to

preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom

for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the

oppressed.

Luke 4:18 (NIV)

Freedom to follow:

And I’ll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth

and your wisdom.

Psalm 119:45 (The Message)

Prayer

Lord,

Thank you that you are the source of our freedom even when we choose to walk in darkness.

Thank you that we are free to talk to you any time we want without fear of imprisonment.

We remember those who are not free and who are persecuted

for their beliefs.

Thank you that we are free to come into presence because you removed the roadblocks.

Thank you that you make wide open spacious places for us to dwell in.

Help us not to abuse our freedom and follow our own selfish desires.

Help us to use our freedom wisely and walk in the light.

Give us courage to speak words of life which set others free.

Thank you that you were imprisoned and died for us so that we may be set free.

Amen.

We all met in the bandstand (welcome to Jon’s family who have not been before and Anthony).

After most of us tried ice skating on the frozen puddle we stood together in the sunshine.

Easter Sunday morning views of Riber Castle

This is the day:

When tears are wiped away,

Shattered hearts are mended,

Fears are replaced with joy.

This is the day:

When the Lord rolls away the stone of fear,

Throws off death’s clothes,

Goes ahead of us into God’s future.

This is the day the Lord has made:

Death has no fear for us,

Sin has lost its power over us,

God opens the tombs of our hearts

to full us with life.

This is the day – Easter Day!

Christ is Risen

Hallelujah!

Easter Eggs – Fairtrade of course!

Have a guess how many chocolate Easter eggs are sold each year in the UK.

(Answer, more than 80 million.)

Easter Eggs are an Easter tradition – why?

Christians have been very clever at taking over existing symbols and making them their own. Eggs were used in Pagan times to symbolise new life and fertility in a spring festival. So early Christian missionaries used the symbol of the egg to tell the story of Jesus death and resurrection.

Throughout history there have been lots of different stories that have added eggs into the Gospel stories, but the main Christian symbolism of the egg are as follows:

• The egg represents the stone that was rolled away from the front of the tomb.
• The egg should be empty as it represents the empty tomb.
• The hard shell has to be broken to demonstrate that the power of death was broken through the resurrection of Jesus.
• Eggs represent new life through Jesus. The new life Jesus had when he rose from the dead and the new life that is offered to us when we become Christians.

Eggs were traditionally given up during the fast of Lent – so they are used once again when feasting to celebrate that Jesus had risen.

Chocolate is used today as it is a real luxury and again something some people give up during Lent.

It takes the whole crop from one cocoa tree to make 16 Eggs of this size.

To make The Real Easter Egg one cup of Fairtrade chocolate (125g) is melted to 28 degrees (like a warm bath!). The liquid chocolate is dropped into two half-egg moulds which are pushed together and spun, very fast, for 20 seconds. When the two moulds are separated, the hollow Real Easter Egg is released. So Chocolate eggs are made by melting chocolate and placing it in a mould.

The Jews were expecting a messiah very different from Jesus .

 His life and teaching broke the mould.

He spent time with the poor, needy, sick and socially unacceptable.

Jesus death and resurrection also broke the mould –

smashing the power that sin and death have over us.

We broke the egg and ate some remembering that today we celebrate

Jesus is risen 

Nurtured, cared for, loved

So Jesus died for us and nurtures us through our lives.

Paul gave out the sunflowers, now growing –  with a plant label which read – nurtured, cared for, loved (Seeds having been planted a few weeks ago and they were thriving).

Michele shared a brilliant piece of sand art by Joe Castillo on a youtube clip

                                                                       He is Alive

HAPPY EASTER!

Easter coming…

Spring is in the air …

What’s that Soul Space cancelled because of blizzard conditions?

Snow underfoot actually in the bandstand.

Snow usually stays on the outside of the bandstand. We will have to start a collection so we can purchase some walls – heaven forbid!

Unheard of in the three and a half years we have been meeting and its nearly the end of March.

Have a happy and blessed Easter.

I hope that we won’t be being fooled on April 1st!

The latest questions we pulled out of the hat at HEAD SPACE in the pub were:

• Who was the last person who made you laugh out loud,? What happened?
• What bad habits in other people annoy you the most?
• Who has made a positive difference in your life and why?
• What is so good about celibacy, could you cope with it?
• If you could be someone different for a week, who would you be and why?

and the most spiritual question of all…

• What is the stopping distance of an 860 ton, 1/4 mile long Eurostar travelling at 200 mph?

answers on a post card please !!!

We’re sorry to have to cancel our Easter Soulspace – the snow just makes it so unlikely that many will be able to come and some of us who would be setting up might struggle too! We wish everyone a truly joy-filled Easter and will be in touch about future dates!

Wendy

I received a certificate yesterday in the post saying we are a Fairtrade Church.

Fairtrade Church Certificate

We are pleased on two fronts.

• The work we have done to promote Fairtrade has been recognised.
• We have been recognised for what we are, and that is a church.