Prayer or meditation
The same stars shine: Christmas 2020
The same stars shine on us
as shone on Bethlehem
when Jesus was born.
They shone on the same world
with light that even then was
ancient beyond comprehension.
It was a world of misery and unrest,
beset by war and pestilence,
oppression and bitterness,
cruelty, grief, and pain.
It was a world not so very unlike
our
These are the times – a meditation on truth
` Beauty is truth, truth beauty,- that is is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.`
John Keats (1820) from Ode on a Grecian Urn
Truth is unblemished and clean,
like a snowdrop piercing the hard earth,
or a slender branch or leaf,
or a curlew`s call across the dark moor.
Truth arrests
A prayer for Lent – beauty for ashes
Here in this meeting place where many others have been before us,
we surrender ourselves to a stillness of Spirit – a stillness of mind and body
that connects us to the Eternal Spirit of God.
Even though it is beyond our complete understanding, there are many things which speak to us:
In times of stillness
Late autumn meditation
Autumn falls into winter,
its beauty drifting down
to be a carpet for the drowsy earth.
It is a time of remembrance –
for all saints and all souls,
for all the dead of war,
and for all the dead of peace.
It is a time to remember those once close to us
who have lived their
Another autumn
Another autumn.
Another season of melancholy
and remembered loss.
Another season when Nature teaches us
that we are mortal.
Another time when we know that we are travelling
on a one-way ticket.
Another season when beauty mingles with tears.
Another autumn.
The clarity of winter
The Old Year and its turning is behind you.
In the spareness and clarity of winter,
see the promise of a New Year.
Sense the possibilities forming within you,
feel the silent stirring of life beneath your feet.
The nights are still long, but they’re getting shorter.
The days are still dark, but they’re getting lighter.
Nature
Pastoral prayer for unsettled times
You might want to adjust your position for comfort, close your eyes, or soften your gaze. There might be a posture that helps you feel more prayerful. Whatever works for you. Do whatever you need to do to get into the right state of body and mind for us to pray together – to be
Meditation, prayer and silence
In our time of prayer now, may we bring our contemplations into the stillness, and know that in that place we may hear the deeper stirring of the soul …May we remember the simple words of Psalm 46 verse 10 ‘Be still and know that I am God’…The place of the spirit can be a