Readings
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
All that is
I close my eyes with gratitude
I open my ears to hear another’s voice
I let go of what I think of how things should be
I feel the wind or rain or sun if I make sure that I do
I dance I move I take heartbeat shaking actions
And beauty
I create
I
The gift of land
I am alive and I am grateful for every breath, every moment, every step
These gifts are given to me, thank you for these gifts.
I am awake and I am in awe of each vision, each experience, each placed foot
These gifts appear for me, thank you for these gifts.
The greatest of all
Imbolc blessing
May the ashes of all our fires replenish
May the snowdrops inspire our presence
May the soils sense the poetry that we all are
May fire hold and heal our community
May we walk our path with the knowledge of light
May we open willing and forever unafraid.