Readings
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
Never again
Never again, I said
It hurts too much to lose.
But then time passes and
My arms reach out
And take another
Rescued dog
With wide and worried eyes
To heal and hold
To love and nurture
To laugh at and with
To cry with
Share joy with and
Be comforted by.
I count the
Dear old friend
Dear old friend
I stand here lost
Your collar and lead in hand.
What do I do now?
Tears fall silently
Into the silence
Where you are not.
Where are you now?
I close my eyes
I let my body feel you
Soft against me
As you used to do.
And as the days pass
And I carefully
War
It is strange
How times change
What once was
Considered outrageous
Into what is now
Deemed
Right.
When I was 15
In school one day
When asked to find a simile
For war
I said
Futility.
And uproar then ensued;
For
I had failed
To see
How that would
Sound
To those
Who had
Returned