I have just returned from a couple of wonderful days at Lake Ketchum visiting a good friend. We went kayaking, created hypertufa pots and we observed morning and evening prayers each day from the Northumbria Community‘s wonderful book Celtic Daily Prayer. In the mornings I sat and drank in the beauty of Lake Ketchum and the delight of being so close to God’s creation. The dragonflies fascinated me and the deer feeding her young by the lake was an absolute joy. In between time we talked about life, spirituality and the tools we need to remain resilient and grounded in our faith. We also ate lots of good food, including this wonderful Norwegian bread recipe my friend often makes.
Mixing hypertufa mixture
The richness of this time of hospitality was refreshing and renewing, as good hospitality always is. And the hospitality was expressed in so many ways. There wasn’t just the hospitality my friend offered, there was also the hospitality of the beautiful place in which she lives and of the creatures that inhabit it. There was also hospitality expressed by her sister and friends who invited me into their friendship circle for a little while to make the tufa pots. And there was the generosity of another friend who came to visit while I was there.
Our hospitable garden
When I returned home I embraced yet another form of hospitality, the hospitality of returning home. The warmth of my welcome by my husband Tom and our dog Goldie made me aware of how easily we take the hospitality of a good home and relationships for granted. The delight of walking round the garden to harvest beans, tomatoes, squash and basil added to my sense of welcome. The generosity and the bounty was a wonderful gift of hospitality from God whose gifts of good food we eat every day and often take for granted.
Being a good guest, as Diane Woodrow suggested last week, is to delight in being in a place. To delight in the experiences, the food and the friendships we are presented with. And as I discovered this week, being a good guest is just as important at home as it is in someone else’s home. We are all guests, not just of God but of our families, our friends and of our world. Accepting the bounty that is provided and thanking those who have tended it in our absence is as important as thanking those we visit and share fellowship with.
Watch this video of morning prayers from Northumbria. The Celtic saints who inspired these prayers were very hospitable people. Take time to contemplate their lives and the ways they reached out to both people and the creatures of God’s world. During the time for scripture and meditation, reflect on Hebrews 13:2, here quoted from The Voice, Don’t forget to extend your hospitality to all – even to strangers – for as you know, some have unknowingly shown kindness to heavenly messengers in this way.
May God bless you and enrich your faith through this short time of worship and contemplation.
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A contemplative service with music in the spirit of Taize. Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756.
“Down in the River to Pray” Traditional American spiritual, public domain
Arrangement by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
“Bless The Lord” Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé
“Be Thou my Vision” Traditional Irish hymn, public domain. Arrangement by Andrew Myers and Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY)
“Tis a Gift to be Simple” Traditional words and music from the American Shaker tradition, public domain.
Thank you for praying with us!
reflection, prayers and photos by Carol Dixon – feature photo of St Aidan’s statue, Lindisfarne
I was first introduced to St Aidan when I attended the Duchess’s Girls’ Grammar School in my hometown of Alnwick, Northumberland and was put into St Aidan’s House (the other ‘houses’ were St Oswald, St Cuthbert & St Paulinus). I proudly wore my blue sash for 6 years as part of my school uniform and although I wasn’t taught much about him, I did discover that following his consecration on Iona in 635, he came to our area to found a monastery. It was Aidan’s arrival on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne that rekindled the flame of Christianity in Northumbria and his influence was much wider encompassing the whole of the north.
Many years later I discovered more about St Aidan while reading David Adam’s book Flame in my heart – St Aidan for today. David describes how Aidan and his small band of monks first settled on the island and marked out the land for the monastery around the edges with a low turf bank. Aidan couldn’t wait to clear the land and raise the buildings within the ‘vallum’ – a place of peace and regeneration, where locals and pilgrims could be welcomed in the guest house and given hospitality, where bread could be broken together and bread shared together in communality, where they could serve each other as they served God. But first, they must claim this wild landscape for God and banish all negative forces; and that meant prayer, an intense time of prayer to consecrate this enclosure for God.
The kind of boat Aidan may have arrived in (St Aidan’s RC church, Lindisfarne)
In his book, David imagines how the days of prayer would have unfolded (based on stories circulating about Aidan’s life written shortly after his death) and he includes his own prayers in the Celtic tradition which follow the pattern that Aidan and his brothers might have used. Most powerful was the Celtic prayer tradition of praying to God of the Seven Directions and seeking God’s blessing.
I was inspired by this wonderful way of praying – so different from my Presbyterian upbringing – and from time to time I have used this style of prayer in my own devotions. So when I was preparing some worship for St Aidan’s Day (31 August) I decided to try and write my own version of what Aidan may have prayed, based on those used by David Adam.
First Aidan would have looked eastward over the land to the sea, praying in the direction of the rising sun:
Praise God for this new day
For the blessing of the rising sun
and for the light of Christ shining in our hearts.
Bless all that come from land and sea
May they find welcome and peace and hospitality.
There would have been a time of silence, each brother adding to the prayer, letting it fill his heart: May this be a holy place, a place of peace. Let the peace be in beauty that surrounds us, a place that is a joy to the eyes, a place where heaven and earth meet.
Bamburgh from Holy Island
Next Aidan would look southwards in the direction of Bamburgh, where his friend, King Oswald (whom he had known as a young man on Iona) and his court made and maintained the laws of the land. He prayed:
Praise God for the noontide
and the powerful shining sun.
Praise God for each day and for the growing things
that flourish in its warm brightness.
May the blessing of God pour out on all near and afar.
As they prayed each brother tried to picture some of the people at the palace, not only the king and the leaders but servants and slaves, women and families, praying that all may know the liberty and joy of the children of God.
Aidan then turned to the west, to Ireland which had been his home originally and to Iona, the isle he loved and had left to answer God’s call. If the tide was in, he could still see the sun set over the sea dividing the island from the low-lying coastal flats and imagine the communities of prayer he had left.
Praise God for the evening, for the twilight calm,
the settling of the sea and the winding down of the day,
and the evening murmurings of seals and sea birds.
Praise God for times of rest and restoration.
May God’s peace surround us and keep all from harm.
Aidan turned to the north, the area of darkness and the unknown and prayed:
Praise God for the mystery of the darkness.
May the Spirit’s gentle presence illumine us in our doubts and fears
and protect us from evil this night and all nights.
May this Holy place be a place of healing and tranquillity
and all who are ridiculed, ignored, or persecuted find this a place of sanctuary.
The pilgrims’ way across the causeway from the mainland
The brothers prayed for protection and made the sign of the cross, asking God to shield and guard them. Here was a spiritual battle to be fought, every bit as real as the battle Oswald had won for God at Heavenfield near Hadrian’s great wall inland. Aidan’s thoughts too went out to the indigenous peoples, the Britons whose land had been taken, those who had been driven from their homes by the conquering Anglo Saxons and was saddened by the thought of all who had lost their lives on both sides, Christians among them.
The circle was complete, the area within the enclosure where the monastery was to be built was dedicated, but there were still three directions to be acknowledged as God’s own.
Bending to the earth he prayed:
Praise God for soil we stand on,
for the bounty of the seasons
and for Christ, the living bread, our sustenance.
May the ground beneath us be fruitful and grow
And may we be faithful stewards of this precious earth.
Next he lifted his arms heavenward and prayed:
Praise God who raises us to life in Christ, for the vast beauty of the heavenly sphere.
Praise God for vision and imagination, for the faith of our fathers
and mothers gone before, who surround us with their prayers.
May this sacred space be a place where we touch the hems of heaven
and the veil between earth and heaven parts.
Aidan, Flame of the North
The last direction was inward. Aidan listened to the waves in the silence, touched his head and prayed a prayer that would become an ancient prayer of the church through the ages:
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at my end, and at my departing.
[Old Sarum Primer, also attributed to Pynson’s Horae, 1514]
Aidan knew that each of them, called as he had been, to serve this bare island must respect all who came to this holy place, high born or low born, for with them came Christ – Christ in each meeting, Christ in the other, best expressed in the Communion (Common Union) and in the breaking of bread together. He recognised that all who believe in God are fellow members of Christ’s body whatever their ethnicity. Aidan’s heart was aflame with love for God, for creation, and for all his fellow beings.
Holy Island bay and the cross on the heugh
So what is the relevance of this type of praying to those of us living in the busy world of the 21st century?
I believe that we can use the example of the prayer of Seven Directions, taught and lived by the Celtic saints, and adapt them for our own situations.
We can take this strange and powerful kind of praying to our hearts, into the sacred space that is within us, and pray them for our own places, for our own communities, our countries, our leaders, for our beautiful earth which we have been commissioned to care for by God and for our fellow human beings whom we have been called by Christ to love and serve. And when better to do it on and around St Aidan’s Day.
May we be richly blest as we emulate the examples of these prayer heroes of old.
My friend, retired minister Revd Stuart Brock, puts it so ably in his hymn celebrating the saints:
All Saints (Tune: Streets of Laredo. trad)
With thanks we remember the songs and the stories
of saints and great heroes from long ago day,
of Aidan and Cuthbert, of Hilda and Caedmon,
who lived out the Gospel and walked in the Way.
They followed the calling of Jesus their Master
obeying the teachings they found in God’s word.
They preached and they practised the love that they found there;
By rich folk and poor folk their teaching was heard.
And saints there are many right up to our own day,
who live quiet goodness and love in Christ’s name.
Their unsung devotion and generous giving
Seeks no recognition, publicity, fame.
We follow the footsteps of these saints and heroes
as we try to follow our Lord in our day,
and with all God’s people, both well-known and unknown,
we love and we care and so walk in Christ’s Way.
© Stuart Brock 2006 Used by permission
(written for a service for All Saints in St George’s United Reformed Church, Morpeth)
And finally, a prayer attributed to St Aidan
‘Leave me alone with God as much as may be.
As the tide draws the waters close in upon the shore,
Make me an island, set apart,
alone with you, God, holy to you.
Then with the turning of the tide
prepare me to carry your presence to the busy world beyond,
the world that rushes in on me
till the waters come again and fold me back to you.’
Statue of St Aidan
The iconic statue of St Aidan on Lindisfarne is slowly crumbling away and there is an appeal by the villagers and churches on Holy Island to raise funds to repair it. Anyone interested can look on St Mary’s Parish Church Lindisfarne Facebook page to find out how to support the appeal. https://en-gb.facebook.com › StMarysHolyIsland › posts
Flame in my Heart – St Aidan for today by David Adam publ. by Triangle ISBN 0-281-05033-3
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Celtic Prayer Cards include 10 prayers inspired by ancient Celtic saints like Patrick or contemporary Celtic writers like John O’Donohue. A short reflection on the back of each card will introduce you to the Celtic Christian tradition, along with prayers by Christine Sine and beautiful imagery crafted by Hilary Horn. Celtic Prayer Cards can be used year-round or incorporated into various holidays. Available in a single set of 10 cards, three sets, or to download.
Editor’s Note: The following reflection has been excerpted from Meditation Monday – Doorways To The Kingdom. The accompanying recipe is from Hospitality for the Gluten-Free. We hope you enjoy this series of seasonal hospitality reflections and recipes!
The kingdom of God is the ultimate place of hospitality. It is the place where friend and stranger from different cultures, ages and social strata all sit together at a great banquet feast, just as we have done with so many over the last month. It is a place where there is much fun and laughter and celebration, where barriers of class, culture and misunderstanding are broken down. Where fear becomes love, indifference becomes caring and enemies become friends. It is a place where hospitality and welcome beckon all of us towards healing and wholeness.
It is this kind of feast that I think is previewed in Isaiah 25:6
In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will spread a wonderful feast
for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
Years ago, I remember seeing a painting that supposedly depicted this banquet feast of God. I say supposedly because it was a very formal dinner table set with beautiful plates and lots of silverware. But there were no people at the table and, to be honest, I cannot imagine most of my friends and acquaintances feeling comfortable with such formality anyway.
The kingdom banquet feast will be a place where not only do all feel welcomed but all feel honored and respected. None of us will feel out of place because we don’t know which utensils to use for which course. None of us will feel conspicuous because we don’t eat meat or dairy or gluten. There will be something for all of us to enjoy. And who will be serving the meal at that feast? Jesus our great and glorious servant king will.
Some of the last and most enduring images we have of Jesus combine hospitality and service – washing feet at the last supper, cooking breakfast on the beach for his disciples after his resurrection – hospitality and servanthood, the culture of the kingdom, the rich and enduring signs of welcome that we have experienced time and again over this last month.
These are the images that come to my mind as I think of Lilly Lewin’s question When you think of the kingdom of God what comes to mind? For me the kingdom of God is like the banquet feasts we have experienced in so many places on our travels. But it is not just a feast for us and a few friends, it is a feast for everyone.
~ ~ ~
One of the aspects of hospitality that I am grappling with these days is how to make meals that are inviting for my gluten-free friends. Bread and cheese have always been staples of lunches for us and the moment the basil is ready for harvest I am making pesto, but what can I make that is equally as appetizing but acceptable to my gluten-free friends?
Dried Tomato, Olive Tapenade is one possibility. Even those that don’t normally like olives love it.
I have adapted this recipe from one I found in the Australian Women’s Weekly Tomato Cookbook. Also I use tomatoes I dry from our garden rather than bought ones which are always soaking in oil that then needs to be discarded. The recipe is also at its best when the basil and oregano are picked straight from the garden.
- 1 cup drained sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
- 2/3 cup pecans
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
Process all ingredients until smooth. Spoon tapenade into cold sterilized jars; seal immediately or store in the refrigerator (stores 4-6 weeks).
How do we approach the world with gratitude and delight even in the midst of the most challenging situations? What if gratitude is more than an emotion? What can we do to bring more gratitude into our daily lives?
Enjoy 180 days of access to this popular online retreat with Christine Sine and Lilly Lewin as they grapple with those questions and more. This fun and interactive course will help you bring gratitude to your daily life and enjoy the upcoming season of gratitude. Check it out in our shop today!
It’s a brand new month! And the beginning of many new things… a new season, new school year, a new calendar page! Maybe you aren’t feeling the newness. Maybe you feel stuck somewhere back in May. Maybe you feel stuck somewhere in 2019! I had to look back through my photos today to remember if something took place in 2021 or 2022! and I realized just how much has happened in the last couple of years! I am finding that I really need to practice self-compassion!
I need to remember the compassion of Jesus. I need the reminder that our God is a God of compassion.
So however you’re feeling today at the start of September, PAUSE, TAKE A BREATH, and BREATHE in DEEPLY the great compassion of God.
READ the Scriptures…
1 Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.
5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.
7 When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead.
MATTHEW 14:13-21 NIV
When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
“Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes by JAMES TISSOT
READ OR LISTEN TO THIS PASSAGE IN DIFFERENT TRANSLATIONS
What is God’s Word for you today? What is God speaking you about today through these passages?
Use the psalm and/or the Gospel passage as your inspiration. Write, Journal, or create in Art, or Just BE with Jesus. Allow the Holy Spirit to inspire you! Feel free to use these questions the rest of the week.
- What is God, the Holy Spirit speaking to you about today?
- What do you notice that you haven’t noticed before?
- What questions come up for you from this passage?
- What part of this story do you relate to in your life right now?
- Jesus was trying to get away from the crowds.Trying to retreat. His plans got interrupted. How have you needed to get away recently? Maybe, like Jesus, your plans have been interrupted by the needs of others, or the needs of the crowd. Talk to Jesus about this. How can you put time and space in your schedule in the weeks ahead to have time to retreat, time to process.
- What do you need to take time to grieve?Jesus was in need of time and space to grieve too. See the beginning of Matthew 14.
- Jesus doesn’t get mad at the interruption. Instead he has compassion on the crowd. How do you deal with interruptions?
- What is your definition of compassion? What helps you have compassion for other people?
- Why is it so hard to show compassion for yourself?
- How can you allow Jesus to have compassion on you or how can you RECEIVE COMPASSION from Jesus and provide what you need just like he did the people in this passage?
- The people in this passage were hungry and needed food. What are you hungry for today?
- What do you need to bring to Jesus to have him multiply it?
In Matthew 9:35-38, Jesus also has compassion on the crowds.
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
I’ve been working through Joyce Rupp’s Book Boundless Compassion
Joyce Rupp says there are FOUR SEEDS OF COMPASSION… Four Spiritual qualities necessary for compassion’s growth:
NONJUDGEMENT
NON VIOLENCE
FORGIVENESS
MINDFULNESS
Which one do you need more of right now?
“ The Four Seeds/ Spiritual Qualities of Compassion ….The more the seeds are nurtured, the better the harvest of compassion. Enlivening these four aspects requires deliberate practice, interior stamina, and trust in the power of the Holy One to assist in their development.” Joyce Rupp
“Compassion can never coexist with judgement because judgement creates distance and distinction, which prevents from really being with the other” Henri Nouwen
Since this is a season of Gardens, a season of harvesting, what does God want to harvest in you in this new season?
What does Jesus want to grow in you in the new season ahead?
GRAB A VEGETABLE ( or a Piece of Fruit) Consider the seeds. Consider all that went into the planting and harvesting of this produce. Thank Jesus for all the people (maybe yourself) who helped get this food to you!
When you wash a vegetable, pick one from your garden, see them in the store, or eat them for dinner, consider what Jesus is harvesting and ask him to show you!
Pick one if the ” compassion seeds” and ask God to grow this in you in the days ahead!
You might pick one for each week between now and October.
God of Compassion..help us to receive the abundance of your love. Help us to receive your gift of compassion for ourselves so that we may be more compassionate to others. In Jesus Name. Amen
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
Just a few months away and it will be time to celebrate Advent and Christmas. Let Godspace be a resource to you as you prepare! We have many devotionals, gifts, prayer cards, free downloads, retreats – and more – to offer. Check it out in our shop under the category of Advent!
All photos and writing by June Friesen; Scriptures from The Message Translation.
THEME: “Listen to the voice of creation” is the theme and invitation of this year’s Season of Creation. In his message for the World Day of Prayer 2022, Pope Francis calls us to use the season to “cultivate our ecological conversion” and to pray together in “the great cathedral of Creation”. (taken from a website on World Day of Prayer for Creation)
World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation is September 1, 2022. This annual day, established by Pope Francis in 2015, is an opportunity to pray, reflect and act to care for God’s creation.
“We can hear the planet’s “cries of anguish”, Pope Francis said in his message for the celebration of World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, set to take place on 1 September. Mother earth, he said, “implores us to put an end to our abuses and to her destruction ”’ (taken from a website on World Day of Prayer for Creation)
So, one may wonder – how can creation talk to us? Plants are a major part of creation, and they are basically silent. And while the plant/plants themselves are silent at most times they can make themselves felt/heard with stings, pokes, etc. And if they are ignored such as they do not receive proper nutrients, water, light and temperatures their growth is stunted, disease may set in and they may just die. Another part of creation is animals, and one may ask, “how do animals talk to us?” Or can animals talk and/or communicate with us and if they do how? As an animal lover and one who grew up on a farm let me tell you animals can communicate and depending on the kind and size of the animal, they can at times be very vocal. I have seen animals vocalize if they sense it is feeding time. Young calves will head butt, nuzzle and try their best to communicate their need for milk or water. Dogs will bark, birds will chirp, cats meow to name a few. Animals also can also let us know they care about us or if they dislike us. As I am writing this, I am also reminded that the weather can communicate at times too so it is heard with heavy winds, rain, hail, thunder etc. In our country especially we hear about how we should pay attention to the weather and how we may improve on some of the issues at hand.
In Psalms 145 and 65 the Psalmist addresses the wonder and beauty of creation and how it gives praise to God.
9 God is good to one and all; everything he does is soaked through with grace.
10-11 Creation and creatures applaud you, God; your holy people bless you.
They talk about the glories of your rule, they exclaim over your splendor…
9-13 Oh, visit the earth, ask her to join the dance!
Deck her out in spring showers, fill the God-River with living water.
Paint the wheat fields golden. Creation was made for this!
Drench the plowed fields, soak the dirt clods with rainfall as harrow and rake bring her to blossom and fruit.
Snow-crown the peaks with splendor, scatter rose petals down your paths,
All through the wild meadows, rose petals.
Set the hills to dancing, dress the canyon walls with live sheep,
a drape of flax across the valleys.
Let them shout, and shout, and shout!
Oh, oh, let them sing!
Oh my, those words just make me want to go and find a beautiful place in nature and dance and sign praise and glory to God for all the beauty everywhere. You may wonder, well, I live in the big city and do not see much to get excited about. I have not yet been to a city that did not have parks, go to a park – walk or run or sit or lie down or put your toes in a stream if there is one – watch for birds, watch for bugs, watch for children at play, watch the clouds, etc. Imagine God creating or being involved at that moment in whatever you are observing – and how can you be involved in embracing it or maybe even improving it. And if there is something(s) that need correction or attention if you cannot do it let someone know who can. Meanwhile, say a thank you prayer to the Creator for being able to embrace His beautiful creation.
104 1-14 O my soul, bless God! God, my God, how great you are! Beautifully, gloriously robed, dressed up in sunshine, and all heaven stretched out for your tent.
You built your palace on the ocean deeps, made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings. You commandeered winds as messengers, appointed fire and flame as ambassadors. You set earth on a firm foundation so that nothing can shake it, ever.
You blanketed earth with ocean, covered the mountains with deep waters;
Then you roared and the water ran away— your thunder crash put it to flight.
Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out in the places you assigned them.
You set boundaries between earth and sea; never again will earth be flooded.
You started the springs and rivers, sent them flowing among the hills.
All the wild animals now drink their fill, wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Along the riverbanks the birds build nests, ravens make their voices heard.
You water the mountains from your heavenly reservoirs; earth is supplied with plenty of water. You make grass grow for the livestock, hay for the animals that plow the ground.14-23 Oh yes, God brings grain from the land, wine to make people happy,
Their faces glowing with health, a people well-fed and hearty.
God’s trees are well-watered— the Lebanon cedars he planted.
Birds build their nests in those trees; look—the stork at home in the treetop.
Mountain goats climb about the cliffs; badgers burrow among the rocks.
The moon keeps track of the seasons, the sun is in charge of each day.
When it’s dark and night takes over, all the forest creatures come out.
The young lions roar for their prey, clamoring to God for their supper.
When the sun comes up, they vanish, lazily stretched out in their dens.
Meanwhile, men and women go out to work, busy at their jobs until evening.24-30 What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
Oh, look—the deep, wide sea, brimming with fish past counting, sardines and sharks and salmon.
Ships plow those waters, and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.
All the creatures look expectantly to you to give them their meals on time.
You come, and they gather around; you open your hand and they eat from it.
If you turned your back, they’d die in a minute—Take back your Spirit and they die,
revert to original mud; Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—
the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.
WOW! Just wow! I was going to only put part of this Psalm in but I could not – and my heart just wants to burst with praise as I read this and realize the wonder of all creation and to embrace a God who had the ability to create it all and then to create humankind with the ability to care for as well as find sustenance from creation. So today I share a prayer with you for Creation.
PRAYING FOR AND WITH CREATION
For the tall trees, with leaves, needles, seed pods and more I thank You God,
For the flowers so many kinds, shapes, colors, fragrances and all-around beauty I thank You God,
For the grasses and reeds and even the things I call weeds, I thank You God,
For the fruits and nuts a plenty for humanity and animals alike, I thank You God,
For the forests, the woods, the mountainsides and cliffs, I thank You God,
For the rivers, the lakes, the streams, the oceans and oh yes, God those awesome waterfalls, I thank you God,
For the sandy shores where I can sit, make sand castles, and breathe fresh air, I thank You God,
For the veggies like peas, carrots, beans, lettuce, tomatoes and so much more I thank You God,
For the peaches, pears, strawberries, apples, and oranges so many more, I thank You God,
For all the grains like corn, wheat, barley and oats, I thank You God,
For the gardens, farms, orchards, fields and yes, the green houses too, I thank You God,
For the birds that sing and fly through the skies, I thank You God,
For the birds that give us eggs as well as meat, I thank You God,
For the bees that pollinate our fields and make us honey so sweet, I thank You God,
For the butterflies that also pollinate but also beautify our world, I thank You God,
For the animals so many, I thank You God,
For the cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats that supply us with meat and milk, I thank You God,
For the horses, dogs, domestic cats that provide pleasure and companionship, I thank You God,
For the fish, the seal, the whales, the anemone in the oceans I thank You God,
For the lions, tigers, camels, elephants, foxes and wolves I thank You God.
God, I am sure that there is something in Your vast creation I have missed today but what a blessing it is to be able to sit with You embracing and praising You for Your great creation. And now may I not walk away from this day to forget all these beautiful treasures that I enjoy but rather to remember to care for each part of it as best that I can to bring honor and glory to You wherever I am.
Did you know? If you visit our Seasons and Blessings Resource Page, there is a whole section on Back-to-School resources listed under the Autumn column! We have gathered prayers and practical resources to help you mentally and spiritually prepare yourself and your kids for the school year ahead. You might also enjoy checking out this free downloadable book of prayers for children, found in our shop.
by Elaine Breckenridge; Photo Credit: Randy OHC, CC BY 2.0 St. Aiden. Holy Cross Monastery Chapel, West Park, New York
Happy St. Aiden’s Day! My first introduction to St. Aiden was through reading A Holy Island Prayer Book by Ray Simpson. In the book, Simpson includes stories of some of the saints associated with Holy Island, Northumberland, England. As the founder of the monastery called Lindisfarne Priory and St. Mary’s Anglican Church on Holy Island, stories of St. Aiden figure prominently in the book.
St. Aiden was born in Ireland in the seventh century and spent his formative years as a monk in Iona, Scotland. In 635, he was called by King Oswald to bring Christianity to what was then Northumbria, England. Ordained as a Bishop, Aiden centered his ministry at first on the island but his mission extended as far south as London. He and his monks were faithful in corporate prayer and practiced solitude and seclusion, often praying on this small island opposite Holy Island and cut off twice daily by high tides.
St. Cuthbert’s Isle, Holy Island
He is credited for bringing Christianity to the English people. He also established the first school in England on Holy Island, training new monks who could carry on his ministry after his death. He died in the royal city of Bamburgh in 651.
Biographers agree that Aiden was both a humble and compassionate person. St. Bede in his book, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, written in 731, tells us that Aiden made an intentional effort to reach out to all the people he met, “whether rich or poor. If they were unbelievers, he encouraged them to embrace the mystery of the faith, or, if already Christians, he would strengthen them in the faith and stir them up, by words and actions, to alms and good works.”
Aiden preferred walking on his mission rather than riding a horse. Walking among the people Aiden could identify their exact needs and minister to them in specific ways. When he was given money, he gave it to the poor or often went to the slave market to purchase a slave’s freedom. And he was bold enough to rebuke kings.
There is a story that King Oswin, son of King Oswald once presented Aiden with a fine horse as a gift. Aiden immediately gave it away to the first person he met on the road. When the King heard about this, he chastised Aiden. In reply, Aiden said: “What are you saying, Your Majesty? Is this child of a mare more valuable to you than this child of God?” After that response, the King humbled himself before his Bishop and said, “I will not refer to this matter again, not will I enquire how much of our bounty you give away to God’s children.” As Ray Simpson says, Aiden had both the boldness and the gentleness to unlock the hearts of those he encountered.
After praying with and reading from this book, I decided to take a pilgrimage to Holy Island and the surrounding area in 2010. A highlight of my pilgrimage was to visit St. Aiden’s Church in Bamburgh.
St. Aiden’s Church, Bamburgh
As I entered the church there was a sign welcoming me which read: “Welcome to St. Aidan’s whoever you may be—a casual visitor, a tourist fascinated by this beautiful historic building, a believer seeking an oasis of silence and prayer, a pilgrim in search of truth, a traveler hoping for healing and consolation.” What a beautiful word of welcome and gesture of hospitality that was.
In the entryway, there were displays which detailed the church’s current ministries. In the back of the church there was an entire children’s corner, with blankets, books, toys, and a rocking chair. This place obviously cared about welcoming children.
Then, I noticed all the women. I found panels of stain glass dedicated to women saints, from Mary and Martha of Bethany, to Brigid, Hilda, Ebbe, all Celtic saints, and more contemporary saints like Florence Nightingale. In another corner their needlecrafters had created a huge and marvelous history quilt, depicting the centuries of the ministries of women in that congregation, including what their women’s guild was doing in real-time.
A large central and freestanding altar draped with contemporary fabrics, fresh flowers and candles beckoned me to come near. As I walked behind the altar, I saw that I was in the presence of St. Aiden’s Shrine which I did not know would be there.
St. Aiden had died leaning against one of the buttresses on the outside of the church. A beam from where Aiden rested had survived unscathed through two subsequent burnings of the church. At the church’s third rebuilding, the beam was brought inside the church and many reported miracles of healing by touching it. It was touched so often that a decision was made to attach it to the ceiling to protect it.
St. Aiden’s Shrine, Bamburgh Photo Credit: Russell Wills
I sat down by the shrine. I was deeply moved to be there. After a period of silent meditation, I realized that it was St. Aiden himself who was embodied in the ministry of the church so many centuries later. The hospitality of St. Aiden was genuinely manifest in the things and symbols of this church building. Though I did not see a single person, I felt surrounded by the saints of God; both the living saints who were a part of that congregation and the love of the many saints who had followed Aiden and prayed at his shrine. Like Aiden, the members of that congregation were offering the hospitality of God, Christ and the Spirit to any stranger who crossed their threshold.
As a believer, I felt that here was a living and dynamic faith community, a place where I would have enjoyed worshiping and participating in their ministries. As a pilgrim, I was free to wander around the church, alone and at will. There were no ropes or rails that prevented me from exploring each nook and cranny. As a traveler, a side chapel, offered me an oasis of rest for prayer with soft cushions for meditation. As a tourist, I felt welcome indeed because another wonder was a sign which read,
“Looking for internet? Free access to the internet is available across the street, in the lobby of the Bamburgh Hotel. Just mention that you saw this sign at St. Aidan’s Church.” I went to the Hotel and the sign was correct. Gratefully, I was able to get online and connect with friends and family back home!
I experienced and learned that a church building can indeed be a sanctuary of divine, saintly and human hospitality. A stranger can grow nearer to the love of God in the fellowship of all the saints in any church that cares about the ministry of hospitality. And so, I offer this prayer for all of us by Ray Simpson from, A Holy Island Prayer Book.
“Lord Jesus, simplicity and a deep love for people shone out of your apostle Aidan. Grant that, like him, we may be gentle in our loving and bold in our speaking. May we inspire others to learn your ways, and so pass on the fire of faith. Amen.”
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