Readings
The ongoing quest
We gather this morning to share a particular kind of community – a community of faith in which each of us is free to quest for our own ways of being spiritual and religious.
We gather this morning to think about how we have done this until now, and how we might do this from now.
We
A prayer to the cosmic christ
O you who animate the universe
You who are mother and father to us all
You who give us the blessing of life
You who live inside us and without
May we learn to see You in creation
And may we find in this a comfort
And a celebration.
May we find a name for you
An alphabet of life and living
A is accepting that there are other points of view to be considered.
B is recognising what is beautiful in ourselves as well as in others.
C is nurturing curiosity in all and everything around us,
D is daring to be brave and speaking out against injustice, not easy to do.
E is enjoying what
Death
Death is an unbearable shock. It can hurt us to the very core of our being.
It can steal a parent; child; partner; lover; family member; dear friend at any time it chooses, often without warning.
It can visit someone whom we only know from a distance or someone we don’t know at all. The news is
What is Christmas?
Candles herald the advent of the child of sorrows.
Twinkling lights challenge winter’s darkness and our own.
Green trees, red berries, tell of nature’s endurance.
Carols evoke praise and celebration and sweet nostalgia.
Old tales speak of magic and miracle and human redemption.
The sugared story of a teenager, pregnant out of wedlock,
of a family
Snowflakes – nature’s hidden beauty
“The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper” (Eden Phillpots)
A week before Christmas I wake to snow. There has been a light sprinkling for several days, but today the ground is carpeted in white. I resist the urge to launch into tasks and reflect on the scene unfolding
Winter blessing
(Written during a winter of discontent)
Taste winter – let it nourish you.
Drink deep from the icy draught
the frozen lake holds out;
it is medicine for the soul,
more potent
than the sugared promises of summer.
Let the broken trees,
made wise by their losses,
cradle you in skeletal arms.
May the open
Come in to the circle of community
Come into this circle of community. Come into this sacred space.
Come into this circle of community. Come into this sacred space.
Be not tentative. Bring your whole self!
Bring the joy that makes your heart sing.
Bring your kindness and your compassion.
Bring also your sorrow, your pain.
Bring your brokenness and your disappointments.
Spirit