In this conversation, Tony shares his journey from being a pastor in the Emerging Church Network to finding solace and connection with God in the wilderness. Tony emphasizes the importance of nature in spiritual experiences and how it can be a place to interact with God. He explores the presence of death in life from composting and gardening to hunting. The conversation explores the paradox of valuing animals and of hunting and eating them, the responsibility humans have for the death of animals, and the need for honesty about animal deaths. The conversation concludes with a discussion on mortality and the focus on living the best life in the present.
Tony Jones is the author of The God of Wild Places and contributing writer to several outdoors periodicals. He’s written a dozen books, including Did God Kill Jesus? and The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life, developed the iPhone app, hosts the Reverend Hunter Podcast, and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary and The Loft Literary Center. He writes a weekly newsletter on Substack. He holds an A.B. from Dartmouth College, an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary.
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Takeaways
- Tony’s journey from being a pastor in the Emerging Church Network to finding solace and connection with God in the wilderness
- The challenges and advantages of being an Enneagram 8
- The importance of nature in spiritual experiences and connecting with God
- The metaphor of composting for the cycle of life and the interconnectedness of all creation.
- Humans are responsible for the death of animals, whether we eat meat or not, and it is important to be honest about our choices.
- Respecting and caring for creation is an important aspect of our relationship with the natural world.
- Focusing on living the best life in the present and embracing our mortality can lead to a deeper appreciation for life and the world around us.
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Contact Information for Tony Jones
Email: tj@tonyj.net
Mobile phone: 612-597-0441
Website: ReverendHunter.com
Facebook: facebook.com/jonestony
Twitter: @jonestony
Instagram: @TheReverendHunter
By Lynn Domina
originally posted in 2018
Difference, Glorious Difference
We could have been alike. By “we” I mean all of us. We could have been imagined into being as multitudes of the same creature, each one of us identical, our DNA exactly the same, our appearances distinct only because that one spent more time in the sun, this one ingested less calcium as an infant, the other one failed to catch a ball and so has a scar on his cheek. We could have been called to duplicate each other in a preference for oranges over pears, basketball over football, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire over Jeopardy. Instead, we’re unique, our skin bronze or olive or ivory, our voices rumbling or breezy or hushed, our dominant responses patience or fear or nonchalance.
What was God thinking? Life would be so much easier if we all wore the same size shoe and so didn’t have to spend half a morning wandering from store to store, searching for a pair that was narrow enough at the heel and wide enough at the toes. If our taste buds were all the same, well-meaning friends could stop trying to foist brussel sprouts on us, convinced that in this recipe, we’d come to love them. Ditto tofu. Ditto oysters. And what was God thinking, creating us all so different and yet so opinionated? We argue about baseball teams, cookie recipes, whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son or only from the Father, daylight savings time, guns, beer, abortion, rock and roll or rap, and who makes the best pancakes. Why didn’t God just create us as more similar and more agreeable?
As a writer myself, as someone who enjoys bringing poems and stories into being, creating something out of—if not nothing, then language alone, I appreciate the pleasure of creation. I like to imagine God’s joy and astonishment every time God brought something new into being—a three-toed sloth, a hippopotamus, a flowering cactus. The color blue and the color green and the color teal. Cinnamon, fennel, turmeric. People with freckles, people who can curl their tongues, people with bushy eyebrows. What diversity I imagine God thinking, what fun. When God called everything good, maybe God was thinking only about morality, but I think God was filled not only with satisfaction but with delight, observing all of creation, the yellow and purple, the light and darkness, the males and females. God called it very good our Bibles tell us, but I think God meant, “This is great!”
But, alas, of course, arguments ensued. Adam, Eve, the serpent, and their short debate followed by that first juicy bite of a Granny Smith. Cain, Abel, the grain, the flocks, Cain’s left hook, Adam’s corpse. If only God had created us to be alike rather than different, maybe we’d all still be living in paradise. Perhaps all this diversity is just a foolish result of a foolish decision.
Or not. Perhaps, as is so often true, we’re the fools. Some of us see difference and feel fear. Some of us feel anger. Some of us feel disgust. Others of us feel surprise or excitement or wonder. Let’s be like those people. God called all of creation good. Let’s receive it that way. Good. Good. Good.
This bundle includes items to enrich your Spring experience: the Godspace Community Cookbook, a copy of Digging Deeper: The Art of Contemplative Gardening by Christine Sine, and a set of Gift of Wonder prayer cards.
by Christine Sine
We just completed a bathroom remodel. The room has probably not been touched for 70 years or more and was desperately in need of a redo. It may be the smallest room in the house but boy has it challenged us to lose our use of it for the last 2 weeks. The whole process was exhausting yet filled with expectation and anticipation. There was much noise, hammering and unexpected discoveries. Along the way I find myself reflecting a lot on the lifelong repurposing and refurbishing God does in all our lives.
Think Refurbish not Demolition.
We love watching house remodel shows on T.V. but always get frustrated when demo day means everything is destroyed. We may have stripped it to the bare bones, but I made sure everything that was still functional in our bathroom was kept whole either for us to repurpose or to go to someone else who could repurpose it.
Question: How often I wonder do we want to come in with a sledge hammer to someone’s life, even to our own life, and totally demolish it it when God is saying no, no no, there is perfectly good stuff here. All it needs is some repositioning and refurbishing?
Preserving
Several years ago we were gifted a new toilet by some young men who stayed with us for several months. They came to our door one day and asked if they could sleep in our backyard. At the time our basement apartment was empty (which it is now if you know anyone who may be interested in living in community). When the apartment was rented they move up into our prayer room and slept on the floor… for almost a year. They were so grateful for a place to stay that they did lots of jobs around the house including re-polishing our dining room table, and replacing the toilet. For a few days this still perfectly good toilet sat in an otherwise totally demolished room waiting to be surrounded by beautiful newness. It’s good to know we were able to preserve it.
When we embarked on a kitchen remodel seven years ago we were even more concerned about preserving parts of the room that evoked good memories. We did not touch the backsplash behind the counters. It is made from tiles we purchased in Jerusalem on our honeymoon 32 years ago. They are made by Armenian Christians who have used the same patterns for hundreds of years. One of the challenges the remodellers faced was ripping out the old counter without breaking any of these tiles. Then they had to finding matching tiles for the new countertop. Not easy 24 years later. Tiles are fragile. It took more work to preserve them, but now they stand out like new.
Question: Some things from the past need to be held on to. What aspects of your life and history are need to be preserved? What are the fragile memory objects from your past that are worth saving? How would God like to enhance and highlight these so that they stand out more beautifully in your life?
Avoid Future Disasters.
One of the reasons for our remodel is that Tom and I want to be able to stay in this house for many years to come. Yet we know that 80% of falls occur in the bathroom and in order to “age in place” we needed to make changes to keep us safe. In the process there were other unexpected surprises that could have caused catastrophe in the future. First when the walls were pulled out, two electric wires hanging free but alive were exposed. A fire waiting to happen. Then when they pulled out the toilet temporarily and exposed the pipes to it, we discovered the sewer pipe was corroded. It could have caused a disastrous leak into the basement.
How has God prepared you so that you are less likely to face disaster in the future? What unexpected surprises has God exposed in your life that can be repaired now but could have had disastrous consequences if left hidden into the future ?
Repurposing
We did rip out the old bath. It is at least 75 years old and weighs about 250lb. The construction workers put it by their truck ready to go to the dump but I didn’t let them. It now sits in our side garden with wildflowers growing in it.
Question: Are there aspects of your life that needed to be saved from the garbage and repurposed? Perhaps you have found healing for past traumatic experiences. You have ripped them out and are ready to throw them away, but is it time to think about repurposing them instead?
Recreating
Just before our kitchen remodel 7 years ago, we were on vacation on Mayne Island Canada. I found a bone on the beach, probably from a dolphin, bleached by the water and sun for many years before it was washed up for me to find. It still sits in my sacred space as a reminder that God is in the business not just of remodelling but of recreating all things.
Today, as we finished the bathroom remodel, I pulled it out again. After all we took our bathroom back to dry bones and it seemed like an appropriate reminder of the whole process. I then read through the words of Ezekiel 37:5, 6 when the prophet sits in a valley of dry bones and God asks him: Son of man, do you think these bones can live? then says:
“Dry bones, I will breathe breath into you, and you will come alive. I will attach muscles and tendons to you, cause flesh to grow over them, and cover you with skin. I will breathe breath into you, and you will come alive. After this happens, you will know that I am the Eternal.”
Question: We have remodelled and repurposed our bathroom and transformed it into something beautiful, and as I sit with a dry bone in my hand I wonder, in the renewal of all things, what beautiful thing will God be able to recreate from it? When God once more breathes life into it what will the renewed, restored creature look like?
Sit quietly for a few minutes and think about your own life. Do you feel you are sitting in a valley of dry bones or somewhere like our old dilapidated bathroom longing to see it renewed and restored? I dreamed about this remodel for years before it was accomplished and now as I look at the beautiful transformation I am amazed and delighted at what I feel God is able to do with dry bones.
God Can Renew All Things
What is your vision for the transformation God would like to accomplish in your life.
- What do you think God wants to refurbish in you?
- What does God want to preserve in you?
- What does God want to repurpose in you?
- What are some of the unexpected surprises God exposed in your life but was able to “fix” now that could have had disastrous consequences?
- What does God want to give new life to and recreate in you?
by Joy Lenton
Then…
We’ve gathered together for the feast of Pentecost, like bewildered sheep who have lost their shepherd. An air of uncertainty hangs over us. A frisson of anxiety haunts our days and nights. What will happen next? Will the authorities come after us?
Jesus has ascended to heaven, left us feeling bereft even though He promised us His Peace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. But we’re unsure what that means for us. Meanwhile, we take comfort from one another as we reminisce about the good old days when He was still with us, and the great miracles we witnessed.
Tears and laughter mingle as we share our stories. It feels good to look back because looking forward is much scarier. We’ve already lost Judas and appointed Matthias in his place as one of the twelve disciple witnesses of our beloved Teacher and friend.
As I rub my beard and muse into my drink, there’s a sudden rushing noise outside. A strong wind or a violent storm seems to be developing. But wait a minute… it’s in the room we are in! How can it be? And oh my goodness, the place is on fire. It must have been struck by lightning!
However, as I anxiously search for the exit and check on those present, I realise these tongue-like flames are not burning anything. Instead, they settle over our heads like a benediction kiss. A warm glow develops inside, and euphoric joy rises in my heart and mind.
Our tongues loosen themselves into languages we are unfamiliar with, yet they appear to be understood by those listening outside. Some are awed and amazed to hear us simple Galilean fishermen speaking their own native tongue, while others are convinced we’ve become drunk.
We’re awestruck by these events but I somehow discover I have the courage, wisdom and words to speak to the gathering crowd and explain what is happening. As I speak, passages from Scripture resound in me with a deeper understanding than ever before.
Now…
Like tongues of fire
You came like licking tongues
of fire, alighting lightly,
mimicking a devastating
forest inferno that clears
the undergrowth, sweeps through
with great power and might,
makes way for new plants to grow.
But you swept into a room,
into tongues, minds and hearts,
filling them with power
as you cleared out the cobwebs
of fear and uncertainty,
made way for the new, the brave,
the strong, the hope-filled and free.
Oh Holy Spirit, how we need
you now to return in power,
fire up the fading embers
of our hearts, refuel us
inside with holy hope and joy,
increase our love for man and God
provide your wisdom and insight.
— joylenton
A Meditation Exercise:
Pause—linger a while—with open hands, open heart, and open mind.
Catch your breath—inhale the fragrance of Spirit—an unseen, invisible, yet immensely real presence.
Let it flow—right through your lungs—like liquid gold, filling and spilling, unlimited and uncontainable.
Hold it fast—so it can leak freely into your heart— beat strong, invincible, giving courage as your soul’s true North Star.
Exhale slowly—a holy wisp of wind—let it blow wherever and however it wishes to a place of hopeful, faith-filled waiting.
Begin again—gently inhale and exhale—until you find a releasing, an outpouring of joy and peace seeds in the mind.
* * *
Photo credit – both Pentecost images by Gerd Altmann @pixabay.com
I’m sitting on my deck trying to type this post…I had to move inside because a cicada landed on me and wouldn’t go away…I’m not scared of them but I don’t like them crawling on my computer! And the loud noise of their friends and relations has caused my ears to ring!
Today is the noisiest day of the cicada invasion so far. The sun is out and it’s 80 degrees here in Nashville so the weather has all the bugs a buzzing. I think the second group of them might have emerged from their hibernation to add to the cacophony of sound. It’s most deafening ! Earlier today I was babysitting for my godson and while he napped I was attempting to read a book out on his back porch. His house backs up to a hillside of trees and these woods were filled with extremely noisy bugs! I only lasted 15 minutes before retreating inside to escape the racket!
Cicadas, large bugs that usually remind us of summer nights have chosen 2024 to do a double launch! According to CBS news “This year, both the 13-year and the 17-year cicadas will emerge, arriving in numbers that have not been seen in generations.”
Cicada tree
Thus all the noise!!!
Which today reminded me of the noise of Pentecost!
The day the gift of the Holy Spirit arrived and the arrival was not a quiet one!
ACTS 2:1-21 THE MESSAGE
When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.
There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were blown away. They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, “Aren’t these all Galileans? How come we’re hearing them talk in our various mother tongues?
Parthians, Medes, and Elamites;
Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia,Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene; Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; Even Cretans and Arabs!
“They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works!”12 Their heads were spinning; they couldn’t make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?”
The SOUND of the rushing wind of the Holy Spirit was so loud that it attracted a huge crowd of people and was heard all over Jerusalem.
As I listened to this passage in ACTS 2 at our thinplace gathering this week, I wondered if everyone ran outside rather than running inside from the noise.
If it was so loud that the whole city was aware of it…it must have been rather deafening in the upper room where the disciples and followers of Jesus were.
We know what happened, but imagine the surprise of those followers when this really loud sound arrived and rushing wind and then tongues of fire! I’m not sure I would have felt inspired but rather more likely afraid!
I picture them running outside into the streets so that all the various nationalities heard the wonders of Jesus and his love spoken about in their native tongues.
Small groups of Romans, huddled around Mark speaking Latin or some early version of Italian! Matthew speaking in Egyptian and Arabs hearing about Jesus in Arabic from Mary! That must have truly been amazing! To everyone! Disciples included!
When you think of the Holy Spirit, what image comes to mind? Do you imagine the wind, the tongues of fire, the dove of Jesus’s baptism, the breath of Jesus breathing on and into his followers, or speaking in tongues ? I honestly had NEVER thought about the SOUND until this week! Thanks Cicadas!
Read the ACTS 2 passage again and imagine yourself in the scene. What do you notice? Where are you during the event? Are you outside or inside? What questions do you have? Are you wondering if the disciples are drunk on wine or are you amazed by the WONDER of hearing about Jesus in your own unique language?
The Disciples and Followers of Jesus were beginning a whole new season, a NEW adventure in their lives with Jesus. They were never the same after Pentecost…they were no longer uncertain about who Jesus is. They were no longer afraid. They were ready for what was next.
How are you feeling as you start this new season?
What are the fears you need to lay aside?
What are the uncertainties that you need to give to Jesus?
Spend time talking to Jesus about these things and invite the Holy Spirit to FILL YOU AGAIN.
These Followers in Acts 2, received the Holy Spirit and were able to speak in other languages. The people in the streets heard the news of God’s love for them in their own language and were amazed and changed. Who in your life needs to know about Jesus? What “language” do you need to know in order to tell them about God’s love for them? What things and what ways could you personally use to tell others about the love of Jesus? Not just words.
Who are the people it is hard for you to tell about the love of Jesus? Talk to Jesus about this. Pray for this person/ persons or this group of people.
The Day of Pentecost celebrates the Birth of the Church…it’s the Church’s Birthday! It’s a day many congregations dress in red, the color of the feast day and have a celebration! You might dress in red or pink or orange or yellow to celebrate the colors of Fire to represent the Spirit! You could bake a cake or make cupcakes and actually sing happy birthday to the Church!
We blow out the candles on a birthday cake or cupcake and make a wish. What is your wish, YOUR PRAYER for the Church right now? Talk to Jesus about this and really spend some time praying for your church community and for the Church at large.
What is your Prayer wish for the Church?
PENTECOST …..The Birthday of the Church
The day the Holy Spirit was poured out on the people, God’s promise Fulfilled.
The Holy Spirit arrives with wind!
The Holy Spirit arrives with fire!
The Holy Spirit arrives with Power And the People are never the same! Open your heart today!
Allow God to speak to you!
Open your heart, be willing to receive more of the Holy Spirit!
AND
Like the people in ACTS 2, LISTEN, PAY ATTENTION and
Be Open to the Great Adventure that lies ahead!
***Main image is El Greco’s THE PENTECOST
Did you get your dose of awe and wonder over the weekend? Did you have the opportunity to look up in wonder at the glory of the heavens? I woke at midnight on Friday night to the sound of laughter in the neighbourhood and decided to go outside to see what all the fuss was about. I looked up and then I saw it. Hazy, not very spectacular to the naked eye, but when I got behind my camera lens it was unbelievable. The sky was full of red and green and blue and yellow. Changing patterns whirled across the heavens. I almost felt I could hear the angels sing as the aurora borealis burst upon us in all its splendour.
On Saturday I was mesmerized by the myriad of photos posted on instagram and Facebook. They came from Sweden, Norway and Spain, from England, Scotland and Ireland, from Canada and the U.S. and even Mexico. And in the southern hemisphere from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. All around the globe. Our brains knew that it was was explosions of plasma and magnetic material shooting out of the sun, colliding with Earth’s magnetic field but our hearts and our spirits told us this was the glory of God dancing through the heavens. It was one of the most awe inspiring sights I have ever seen, worth waiting a lifetime for. A firework display like no other, and unlike the fireworks humans create this wonderful display caused no pollution or nasty smoggy haze.
This global display in the heavens, followed so closely on the solar eclipse which already had many of us looking up in wonder and considering the awesome nature of our God who created these vast heavens beyond our planet Earth. We are so small and insignificant in the great expanse of our universe and yet God cares for each one of us. I love the way this is expressed in Psalm 8, especially in The Voice translation and heartily recommend that you spend time meditating on this scripture as I have done this week.
Sunday is Pentecost, one of my favourite celebrations of the year as we celebrate the emergence of the church and our call to “love one another” out into the world. I suggest you check out the vast array of posts and resources we have for this season. Melissa has been working hard to update the links as we realize lots of people take advantage of our resources as they look for help with creativity, sermon writing and worship. I must confess my favourite post is the one I wrote last year Meditation Monday – Pentecost Has Come in which I comment “Pentecost Sunday is about far more than wearing a splash of red to church. For some it is about celebrating the birth of the church, for others its about the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and for still others it is about praying for peace, but for me it is an invitation to see the world differently.”
This week’s Meditation Monday – Life Lessons from the Garden has a different focus. My life lessons include learning to share, live sustainably, plan for surprise, look and listen, and build up the soil. My favourite however is the recognition that “there is no failure in the garden”. The garden has given me the confidence to experiment without worrying about whether the outcome will be “successful”. This week the audio for this post is only available to paid contributors to Substack. I really appreciate those of you who have taken the plunge and upgraded to a paid subscription. However, if you would like to access the paid subscription and cannot afford to pay please contact me about a complimentary subscription.
My 2 recent ventures – moving to Substack and the launch of my podcast “The Liturgical Rebels” are for me great examples of the “no failure” principle. I started them both very nervously as I was not sure how well they would go. Fortunately they are both proving to be very successful. I am thoroughly enjoying these new ways to engage my followers and hope that you are enjoying them too. Make sure you don’t miss my recent interview with author and activist Shane Claiborne which was posted on Wednesday last week. It is very thought provoking and inspiring. Coming up next week is my interview with Tony Jones and after that Brian McLaren. I encourage you to help me spread the word and let your friends know about this podcast. If you have missed any episodes check them out here: https://liturgicalrebels.
Godspacelight continues to thrive too, in spite of the ongoing challenges with links. Melissa’s task to fix these is monumental. On Saturday we posted the Mother’s Day litany which I posted on Substack on Friday. This has been extremely popular at both locations and I would hate you to miss it. I love the “Maternal Images of God” video which concludes the post. Make sure you read and listen to the end.
Yesterday we posted another beautiful litany Devotions for Springtime by Carol Dixon’s friend Margery Tate. I love these litanies for different seasons which help us ground ourselves in the world in which we live.
On Friday, Lilly Lewin posted Being Still in the Land of Waiting about living between Ascension Day and Pentecost. I love her question “What do you think the disciples thought they were waiting for?” And her follow up questions “Is your waiting room filled with worship or worry? Is it filled with hope or fear?” Great questions to spend time reflecting on this week.
On Thursday we posted June Friesen’s post in honour of Arbor Day admittedly a little late, for Arbor Day. Like her, I love trees and the gifts of beauty, hope, strength and healing that they provide for us. I enjoyed reading her reflection and poetry. Another great post to read, re-read and reflect on.
NOTE: We have now disconnected from MailChimp so you will not get any daily or weekly emails from there. All future correspondence will come through Substack. Thank you for your patience as we negotiate these changes.
Many blessings on you as you negotiate the week ahead. Let me end with a poem that flowed out of my reflections on the aurora borealis this weekend.
The skies above
Are full of reds and gold and green,
Flickering beneath the stars.
Changing patterns of breathtaking beauty
Dance across the heavens.
Aurora borealis
Bursts across the skies,
And fills us with delight.
I sense the angels sing,
And all of heaven shouts
A joyous chorus
Of unending praise,
To God eternal.
Christine Sine
Gift of Wonder
Gift of Wonder Book
“Can you imagine a God who dances with shouts of joy, laughs when you laugh, loves to play, enjoys life, and invites us to join the fun? I couldn’t until recently. I grew up with a very serious, workaholic God. Even when my theology changed, I struggled to live into my new way of thinking. Then Jesus words, ‘Unless you become like a child you cannot enter the kingdom’, began to resonate in my head.”
by Margery Tate friend of Carol Dixon
“Then came the healing time, hearts started to shine, soul felt so fine, oh what a freeing time it was.”
Aberjhani, Songs from the Black Skylark
Scripture Reading
Song of Songs Chapter 2 v 10 – 12
(New King James)
For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
Song of Songs Chapter 2 v 10 – 12
The Message
Look around you; Winter is over;
the winter rains are over, gone!
Spring flowers are in blossom all over.
The whole world’s a choir – and singing!
Spring warblers are filling the forest
with sweet arpeggios.
Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed
and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms.
Prayer Poem – Spring by Fiona Straw
(From “Please God I’m listening”)
In winter the branches are stark, like scaffolding. but in spring along their bareness tiny buds break through, and with them grow our dreams of sunny leaf – spread days. A field of grim sheep, woolly coats parted by hard grey wind, but soon, for each one there will be another – a tiny pipe cleaner lamb : total newness staggering into bewildered activity.
How many miracles you strike in spring Lord, out of the hard winter’s earth!
I glimpse your great love, planning, re forming, renewing.
I see a pattern of newness – pale spring colours, the delicacy of harebells and primroses, tiny fledgling birds.
I thank you Lord for all I see in spring: your power to create, not just “in the beginning”, but now, your loving plan of new life, which spreads beauties everywhere, your gentleness, each detail of a tiny, new born thing planned and guarded by your care.
I want to praise you Lord,
and I long for this freshness,
new birth and joy in my life now.
Time of reflection
Ponder on what spring means to you.
What has touched you in the words and images?
Hymn – For the beauty of the earth
Companions Prayer
O God here we are all devoted to you, make us according to your heart.
Prayers for ourselves and our fellow Companions
Creator God we thank you for the spring, for the rebirth
and the renewal which we see around us in Nature.
We thank you for reminding us that you are the One who is making all things new.
When we see the new leaves misting the trees with green,
when the first flowers bloom in the shelter of a wall,
when the morning air is alive with birdsong, may hope seep back into our souls and warmth into our hearts.
Renew us; restore us; redeem us! “for see, winter is past, the rains are over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth, the season of glad songs has come.
(Olga McKellar
Mt Carmel-Zion United Church, Ontario)
Extract from The Wind in the Willows Chapter 1 by Kenneth Grahame
Mole had been working very hard all the morning spring cleaning his little home…
Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with a divine longing………
Something up above was calling him imperiously…
“Up we go! Up we go!” .. at last pop! his snout came out into the sunlight and he found himself rolling in the warm grass of a great meadow. “This is fine!” he said to himself. “This is better than white washing!”
The sunshine struck hot on his fur, soft breezes caressed his heated brow, and after the seclusion of the cellarage he had lived in so long , the carol of happy birds fell on his dulled hearing almost like a shout. Jumping off all his four legs at once in the joy of living and the delight of spring without its cleaning, he pursued his way across the meadow………..
Hither and thither through the meadows he rambled busily along the hedgerows, across the copses finding everywhere birds building, flowers budding, leaves thrusting – everything progressive and occupied.
Like Mole, let us too respond to the divine longing within us this springtime.
Thoughts of Brother Lawrence Day 6
The key to living in the presence of God is putting behind you everything that you realise is not leading to Him. Only then will you become aware of his presence within you.
Only then can you enter freely and simply into a continual conversation with him, asking for his help, seeking his will when you are in doubt, doing well what he wants of you.
In every case, aware of his presence, dedicate your deeds to him before you do them and give thanks when you are done.
Living in the Presence of God The Everyday Spirituality of Bother Lawrence
Ave Maria Press
Hymn – Great is thy faithfulness
Spring Blessing (Kate McIlhagga)
God bless to us each sign of spring, each new green shoot,
each brighter day, each warmer wind.
God bless to us rebirth.
Prayers for the Day, Prayer Cards – Download
These beautiful prayer cards include 11 prayers by Christine Sine and crafted by Hilary Horn with watercolor succulent design and contemplative imagery are available for download. Each card provides a prayer on the front with a photo for reflection as well as a scripture and suggested meditative response to the prayer. Allow yourself to relax, refresh, and commune with God through each prayer. Immerse yourself in the reflection as you give yourself space to enter into God’s presence.
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