“English” language resources
A man of peace
This originally appeared in The Inquirer, Issue 8028
https://www.inquirer.org.uk/pages/
On a freezing-cold day some 20 years ago I stood well wrapped in winter gear amongst followers at Plum Village gathered for the morning walking meditation. Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) suddenly appeared beside me, clad in brown robes, so small in height I thought for a moment
What does church mean to me?
This originally appeared in The Inquirer, Issue 8024
https://www.inquirer.org.uk/pages/
I was brought up going to church. I was taken every Sunday,
week by week, sometimes once, sometimes twice a day.
I never liked it. For some reason it was just the Sunday
services. I don’t know why I was never sent to Sunday School,
maybe the
A solstice ritual, as darkness falls on 21 December
This originally appeared in The Inquirer, Issue 8001
https://www.inquirer.org.uk/pages/
We gather at the winter solstice
We extinguish the old candle
There is darkness – the days of light are shorter, the night
is longer, the trees are bare, and the cold bites into us.
We have reached the low point, the midwinter point, the
longest night
When God was pregnant
when god was pregnant
her belly swelled up like song
’til she was rounder than the seasons of the world.
her legs grew larger than the questions
raised by wondering boys,
her breasts filled the emptiness
of one moment’s yearning for another.
when god was pregnant the angels
fetched cold towels and practiced breathing,
learning anticipation:
When the world hurts, a prayer
This originally appeared in The Inquirer, Issue 8041
https://www.inquirer.org.uk/pages/
Let us join together in a time of prayer and reflection.
Let us turn our minds and our hearts to that which is, for us, sacred, and let us draw ourselves into the
presence of that spirit which some of us call God.
And let us
When the world hurts, a story for all ages
This originally appeared in The Inquirer, Issue 8041
https://www.inquirer.org.uk/pages/
This is a story about Sam.
Sometimes, Sam feels really sad.
Sometimes, Sam feels really scared.
Just recently, Sam has been feeling
really sad and really scared .
Sam’s only small, and when you’re
small, you can find big feelings a bit
much to deal with.
The
We have many springs
We see the promise of Spring even in November. Spring, from
November.
That promise is given to us more clearly in January.
And we see it in February, at Imbolc in the beginning, and in the middle,
when the geese arrive back on the lake.
In early March, the news tells us we are in
My mind’s eye Christmas
My mind’s eye
Holds tears and fears
Angers and resentments
Past and present .
My mind’s eye
Feels hope and acceptance
Acceptance of all this
Hope in experience
A past and present future.
My mind’s eye
Is no longer blind, I
Can see my role in the laughter in the pain
My mind’s eye is