Readings
The day after Good Friday
What was it like? After the death?
For those who had followed?
For those who had cared?
For those who had been so close?
For his mother, who had pondered the meaning of his life for so long, was it what she expected?
For Mary, his sister, who had followed him and loved him.
For
This day is warm
This day is warm
The air is still
Gone is the threat
Of thunder
And rain.
This day requires
A slowing down
A letting go
Of musts and
Shoulds and
Oughts.
This day
Is a day
Simply
To Be.
Today is a day
To open
Her good god
She lay
Exhausted,
Her good God
Abandoned,
Ravaged by
Her grief
The fragile cloth of her life
Torn and tattered
The tender flesh of her soul
Ripped and bleeding.
And the voice of the abandoned God
Spoke gently
Dropping still dews of quietness*
Into her fevered mind,
And
She
Rested
In the arms
Of her
Only a…
Those who say ‘it was only a dog’, or cat, or any other sweet companion,
Have never know the blessing of those who give love so generously,
Who forgive without regret. Lower our blood pressure, calm our anxieties, and
Their lives are the poorer.
We who know, grieve their loss, and hold them gently in
Many paths one welcome*
Welcome,
Welcome to this table,
Whatever path has brought you here,
Whatever load you carry,
Let us rest a while together.
May our hearts be open to accept what comes to us as a stranger,
May our minds be open to wonder at what we do not understand,
And may our spirits be nourished by our
Working with difficult people
A true story…
A few years ago I was going on a weekend course to learn more about ‘team work’. When I got the list of attendees a few days prior to attending, my heart sank. There was one person on the list whom I really found difficult. I had to admit that I didn’’t
Hope
This poem first appeared in the BUF News, June 2023. The author, Iris Jubb, was 11 years old when she wrote it, making her our youngest Worship Words author so far.
Hope is a sea birds eyes, cold and lost
Hope is a heartbroken love
High in the heavens above
Hope is the snow and
Waiting to be discovered
Spirit of Love that abides in all things,
We give thanks for beauty and grace unnoticed,
which lie like un-opened love letters *
strewn throughout our days…
awaiting a response.
May we be mindful of the prodigious gifts
that come our way.
Grant us the insight to see with fresh