by Carol Dixon
In May 2007 I stayed for three Days on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne living in the Bothy at St Cuthbert’s United Reformed Church Centre where the Director, helped me to reflect on ‘changing gear’ from working life to retirement. I spent the days walking and meditating, taking photos and trying a new venture – painting (not very successfully), using the trellis of set times of prayer as a framework. Each day also I went to look at St Cuthbert’s Isle, just off the coast of Holy Island to observe it in different lights and tides as well as from different angles to help me to reflect on the routine of life from different perspectives.
Cuthbert’s Isle
Each evening I re-membered my impressions of each day before sleeping – a kind of walk through the day with Jesus, ending with a prayer of dedication committing the coming night into God’s good keeping:
‘Stay with me, Lord, as another day living in your presence fades into darkness and silence.
This day leaves behind it reminders that we do not do your planning for you. I know that I was, and am, and always will be in your hands.
Carry me along the shortest route to your heart.’ [A prayer of Brother Lawrence]
During the day I also spent time apart with St Aidan, standing by the statue of him near the Priory, not far from the religious settlement he founded in 635AD when he first arrived from Iona to bring the flame of faith to the heathen Northumbrians at the request of King Oswald who had been raised on Iona.
During the day I also spent time apart with St Aidan, standing by the statue of him near the Priory, not far from the religious settlement he founded in 635AD when he first arrived from Iona to bring the flame of faith to the heathen Northumbrians at the request of King Oswald who had been raised on Iona.
Statue of Aidan Holy Island
As a way of reflecting I used a hymn I had written, meditating on a verse at a time:
- Behold the beauty of our God, in vast expanse of sea and sky, in bobbing seal and cuddy duck, in tern and puffin’s raucous cry.
As I sang the first verse, I thought of how Aidan must have immersed himself in the beauty of his surroundings. Although St Cuthbert was more associated with the birds and animals on Lindisfarne, they must have reminded Aidan of the island he had left to come to this foreign place, peopled by Anglo-Saxons, a totally different race from the Celts & Picts he was used to, and how in all the strangeness, he was able to feel at home in the beauty of God’s creation. When we find ourselves in a strange place, literally or emotionally, what do we cling to that reminds us of God?
- We sense the imprint in the sand Aidan and Cuthbert’s feet once trod, upon their daily pilgrimage to draw them closer still to God.
As I walked along the beach I felt as though I was walking on holy ground, where saints of old had passed. How many other pilgrims had following in their steps over the centuries, I wondered. Are there places where we feel closer to God?
- We catch the whisper of their prayers in gusts of wind on rippling dunes, and lapping waves on Cuthbert’s Isle dance to creation’s joyful tunes.
Perhaps Aidan felt the same wind of the Holy Spirit driving him on as he looked out over Hobthrush islet (as Cuthbert’s Isle was known). It seems as if it inspired him to walk alongside the poor and the downtrodden he met along the way, as well as when he was with the King and the court that he had come to serve? How does the Holy Spirit inspire us to bring the joy of Christ to our world today?
- We learn to praise the living God in service and in solitude, and draw aside from teeming throng to work and pray for greater good.
Window, St Aidan’s Roman Catholic Church, Holy Island.
- The Spirit wings across the air to touch us with God’s kiss of peace, and so renewed in heart and mind, our love for all will never cease.
I thought about Psalm 84 that I had learned as a child in its metrical version ‘How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts to me’ and as I sat on the grass beside Aidan I re-read it in my Bible:
How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blest are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.[c]
5 Blest are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the valley,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains cover it with pools.
- All glory be to Christ our strength, safe haven of the Father’s love, and praise to God the three in one, from saints below and saints above. © Carol Dixon
When Aidan left the ‘safe haven’ of the monastic life on Iona to set out on his missionary journey perhaps he felt all at sea. Yet following God’s guidance, he didn’t set up his church within the safety of the king’s stronghold at Bamburgh as he was invited to do. Instead he found himself close to the Triune God in the wildness of a tidal island out in the cold North Sea and the small settlement he founded there continues in different ways to this day.
What ripples do our Christian lives drop in God’s pool of love that resonate for others, I wonder?
Prayer: A meeting of earth and heaven…
I came – thinking I knew how to pray,
and discovered that all my preconceived ideas
crumbled to dust, and ran through my fingers,
like grains of sand upon the shore.
Instead I decided just to be, to wait
and see what happened, or not,
and not worry about the difference, indifferent
to feelings of whether God was present.
And God was here, was everywhere!
Whether my intellect, imagination, or spirit
could comprehend was of no consequence.
Deep down, beyond the depths of reason,
beyond fathoming, I know:
‘Surely God is in this place.’ © Carol Dixon
Music for hymn (Whittingham Fair Northumbrian Traditional) from CD Cuthbert’s Isle © Carol Dixon [click on link below]
(All photos by Carol Dixon)
By Lilly Lewin
It’s back to school time here in the States but this year looks very different thanks to Covid19.
In my part of the country, students have already started back, some virtually and some in person. In the middle of a pandemic there is so much to consider for administrators, parents, teachers and for students too.
So many emotions to add to our pandemic fatigue.
I have one son doing law school totally online this fall when he’d much rather be across the street at the law school going to class in person. I have a friend who chose to retire from teaching, realizing her health issues made it too risky to teach in person this year. I know of other teachers working extra long hours prepping for online learning, in person classes and a combination of both, while waiting to see what will happen in their districts. And already this month, my college alma mater chose to meet in person, but has had to shut down and go online due to an outbreak of cases of the virus.
And then there are the parents and grandparents trying to figure out how to make at-home learning happen if school doesn’t open in person.
As a former teacher, I know how hard it is to teach in the best of times, but if you are a parent, not planning on home schooling your kids, this is a lot to take on while trying to manage your own work either at home or at the office.
So what can we do besides feel frustrated or overwhelmed?
Just typing this makes me stress out on behalf of parents, teachers and students!
So that means it is time to pray!
SIT DOWN AT YOUR DESK…
Open your computer… consider all the people you know who are sitting in front of computers, laptops, iPads or even using their phones to learn or to teach.
Picture friends that you know who are students, friends who are teachers, friends who are parents.
Pray for them as they come to mind.
Make a list of their names to keep on your desk. Ask God to inspire them as they begin the new school year and to keep them safe and healthy if they are going back to school in person. Keep that list of friends on your desk or some where you will see it regularly to remind you to pray for them.
NOW CUP YOUR HANDS… FEEL THE WEIGHT OF….
The Frustration and uncertainty of starting school in the midst of a pandemic.
The Skill it takes to get students to look at screen beyond video games and Netflix.
The Patience it takes to wear a mask all day and try to keep students engaged.
The Intensity of Preparing lessons that are interesting when not in the same room.
The Desire students have to be with their friends and away from their families.
The Loss of ritual and routine.
The Frustration parents are feeling juggling work and teaching.
The Desire of everyone to have things run as normal.
The Loss of normalcy, sports, activities etc.
What else comes up as you consider the things teachers, students, faculty, staff, and parents are all feeling as school begins again?
NOW reach your hands across your desk and put all of these heavy things into the hands of Jesus.
LET JESUS HOLD ALL THE HEAVINESS OF TEACHERS, STUDENTS, PARENTS, PASTORS and ADMINISTRATORS and any thing else you are carrying around regarding the beginning of the school year in your area.
ACTION :
What can you do as a church community to help parents?
What can you do as an individual or small group even if you don’t have kids?
Some ideas:
Pay attention to the news in your area about how schools are restarting so you can pray about and even provide what people might need. Pray through the headlines as you read or listen to the news.
Cook a meal or order carry out/take away for a family or single parent
Open your bubble to include a family who needs back up for their students and help them with school work or provide a place to study online while parents are away at work or even at home working.
I know of Churches that are stepping up and becoming study halls for virtual learning as students need safe places to learn and need access to wifi while parents need to be at their jobs. Could your church do something like this?
Provide teachers in your church community and/or neighborhood with a meal, a care package, a note of encouragement as they teach online, or go back to the classroom under strained circumstances.
BRING JOY:
Imagine the positive. We will get through this. We will go on vacations. We will see better days. Maybe not this year but eventually, our lives will gather a rhythm that will feel much closer to normal than we do now.
Create a mental picture for this for yourself and ask others in your world to do the same. Create a collage, cut out words or phrases, pictures out of magazines to create a vision board type collage of favorites and things that bring you joy.
What do you need the most? Sunshine, A Walk in Nature? Are you dreaming of snow, a fireplace, Fall weather or Spring flowers? depending upon where you live. Do you need a long, social distancing walk with a friend? A Bubble Bath or a Nap? Make time for some of this.
And if something that you’ve been dreaming of or planning cannot happen now, remember that this is temporary and that we will get through this one day at a time.
Create groups, even if it’s on Zoom to both mourn, and to believe for the future with friends. Make sure to re-connect with friends you may have missed in all the stress and problems.
Stop attacking those who you think are doing it wrong. They may be wrong. But this is a long haul problem, and lasso-ing your mind to focus on the good, and on joy, will save you days of pain.
KEEP IT GOING:
Keep an apple on your Desk or near your kitchen sink, or somewhere you will see it often, to use as a reminder to continue to pray for teachers, students, and parents/grandparents, staff and administrators as school begins. And keep creating joy in the midst of everything, one day at a time.
Keep an apple near to remind you to pray for teachers, parents, grandparents and students
CLOSING PRAYER
Lord! Give us grace today to love as you love. Help us to love with extravagance. Give us hope today for ourselves and others. Heal our hurts and our hearts today, So we can serve and help those around us. Help us to know that you are enough. And help us live today and everyday in thankfulness.
For all you’ve done, and for all you bless us with. In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
When we can all meet again, check out the Back to School Prayer Experience where all the prayer stations are based on school supplies.
©lillylewin and freerangeworship@gmail.com
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” Galatians 5:22-23
How often have you sat in a church service and been told to ask for the fruits of the Holy Spirit? I’m sure, like myself, it has been multiple times. I remember a lovely cartoon I used to watch with my kids called “Benny’s Biggest Battle” and that was all about young Benny not having any self-control and it told how he managed to acquire it. For myself I used to ask for patience regular. I was a single mum homeschooling two bright, active children. I needed that patience. And I was told, when they had been particularly trying on my patience that when you asked God for something you got tested on it.
Well following on from the Beech Clump, Mere, I got a revelation about how produce growing. You don’t go up to your apple tree or courgette plant and tell it to give you apples or courgettes (zucchinis). You know it will give them to you in abundance if you give it the right conditions. So you need to water your plants, give them the correct fertiliser, but also clear the land of weeds and brambles to help them to grow to be what they are meant to be.
So surely if we want the fruits of the Holy Spirit we shouldn’t be asking for them but we should be clearing away the weeds, finding the correct fertiliser, and making the conditions right for them to grow. And giving them lots of water.
I know I keep banging on about QEC but it is being a great help in clearing my “land” and getting rid of the clutter that has been putting weeds around the Holy Spirit, not giving Holy Spirit enough light, having the wrong kind of fertiliser, and to nurture the real me. I’ve had to learn to love and like myself, to take responsibility for how I think and feel, clear away hindrances. Through doing all this I am finding that in a lot of areas I am kinder, more patient, more at peace, and more sex-controlled. And my husband is telling me he is seeing me as kinder, more gentle, and just easier to live with.
It hasn’t been an easy route finding out what has been getting in the way and keeping out the light, and would have been much easier to blame others and give them a hard time. But then that is the same with gardening. Weeding is really hard persistent ongoing work. But the more I weed in myself the more space there is for the light to get in and things to grow to a depth that cannot be shaken.
In fact more like “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drouth and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 that Sue reminds us of in Trust
So this has left me wondering if at times we have spent more time asking for fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit and less time praying and finding out what is hindering the growth of that fruit in our lives.
Feature photo by Diane Woodrow by the river at Betwys y Coed, North Wales.
Post taken from Aspirational Adventures.
Join us for this free webinar offered at two different times with Christine Sine:
September 16, 2020 at 3-4pm PDT (West Coast, USA)
or
September 23, 2020 at 11am-12pm PDT (West Coast, USA)
~REGISTER is closed for September 16, 2020 @ 3pm PDT~
OR
~REGISTER HERE for September 23, 2020 @ 11am PDT~
by Lisa DeRosa
The photo above by an unknown author shows a Women’s suffragists parade in New York City in 1917, carrying placards with the signatures of more than a million women. Today, August 26, 2020, we celebrate the 100th year of Women’s Right to Vote in the United States! Because of the activism and sacrifice of so many women, we can exercise this right for every election and celebrate Women’s Equality Day each year.
History.com points out the reality for women before the 19th Amendment was ratified:
During America’s early history, women were denied some of the basic rights enjoyed by male citizens. For example, married women couldn’t own property and had no legal claim to any money they might earn, and no female had the right to vote. Women were expected to focus on housework and motherhood, not politics.”
By League of Women Voters, 1920 – Public Domain
But on August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was certified by the US Secretary of State to now read:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
In an interview with Edna Mae Bucknam, a suffragist born in 1907, she shared:
How did the right to vote change your life?
I was 11 when the right to vote came out. It changed me to the extent that I more or less did what I intended to do. I wasn’t like a lot of people who did a lot of talking and not a lot of doing. The right to vote gave me the ability to look at things in a different way and it also gave me an opportunity to do a lot of things that made my life different.”
Since 2020 is an election year, I think it’s pretty neat that we can celebrate this right, a right that was fought for by the women who came before us. Today, I want to honor their amazing courage and efforts that have greatly impacted the world that I get to live in.
Resources to Check Out
- The official website for the Women’s Vote Centennial – learn, engage, shop
- For a timeline of the events of the women’s suffrage movement, read the offerings from the National Park Service and the National Archives.
- Christian Science Monitor has plenty of articles to choose from regarding women’s accomplishments
- 19 ways to celebrate brought to you by the Daily Herald
by Carol Dixon
In our lives plant seeds of hope,
In our homes plant seeds of love,
In our Church plant seeds of joy,
Tell the world about God’s love.
Tell the world about God’s love.
1 Jesus said ‘If you have faith
small as a mustard seed,
In my name you’ll do great things,
you’ll do great things indeed.
Refrain
Jesus said ‘Until it dies
2 ‘If a seed falls to the ground,
lies buried like the grain’
Jesus said ‘Until it dies
it cannot grow again.’
Refrain
3 Jesus told the story of
the seed the sower sows,
‘Listen to my Father’s words
and then your faith will grow.’
Refrain
4 ‘Some words fall among the thorns
and some on stony ground;
Some are carried off and lost
but others find good ground.’
Refrain © 1990 Carol Dixon
In 1990, I took part in a Churches Together event at the beginning of the Decade of Evangelism. The event was one of five Garden Festivals held in the UK to reclaim old industrial land for regeneration & renewal. I was working as Moderator’s Secretary at the time in the United Reformed Synod Office, liaising with the other church leaders’ offices to organise the churches presence, providing a quiet sanctuary and chaplaincy for the festival and also arranging the weekly service which took place at the main arena every Sunday.
I was invited to be part of the team planning the Women’s Service and at the first meeting of the group was asked if I would like to write a hymn encapsulating the theme of the Gateshead Festival ‘Good Ground’. I was delighted and terrified in equal measure and actually ‘wrote’ the hymn while driving back from the meeting in the car and on my arrival at home, I rushed into the house shouting to my family ‘Don’t say anything to me, I’m writing a hymn’ as I dashed for the piano & a pen & paper (we didn’t compose on computers in those days). The end result was ‘Good Ground’, a calypso based on Jesus’ statements about growth and new life and it was sung at the service by the African Women’s Choir, resplendent in their colourful national dress, who not only sang it with great joy but danced as they sang. An unforgettable experience.
Gateshead Garden Fesitval (Photos below by © Trevor Ermel. Used with permission)
Preparing the Ground
Derelict site before regeneration
The coal staithes in the background of both pictures opened in 1893 and closed in 1980 and were restored and opened to the public. The area had previously been the site of Redheugh Gasworks, Norwood Cokeworks and Norwood Sidings, once the main railway yard. More than 1,000 jobs were created in landscaping and constructing the festival facilities, with a further 1,000 staff to look after 200 gardens and 50 exhibitions. The festival’s main objective was the long-term redevelopment of former derelict land and it was a huge success. With new modern housing nearby, today this is a highly pleasant Tyneside setting. More than two million trees and shrubs were planted, 1.2m bulbs, three tonnes of grass seed used and 60,000 sq metres of turf – enough for 1,000 domestic lawns. The six-month festival brought together horticulture, art, sport and cultural events
I loved the analogy of the old run down places, having outlived their original purpose and left as waste ground being brought back to life again, not only for a festival of fun & celebration but with the long-term legacy of new homes and new garden spaces in a derelict part of the city. When we see regeneration initiatives it challenges us to look at our lives and the places where we live to see where we can bring the new life of Jesus into the broken and useless areas of our lives and our neighbourhoods, living out the Gospel message in the story Jesus told of the Sower.
Although reclamation of old sites can look spectacular, many of the signs of renewal can be tiny – as tiny as a seed and growth only becomes obvious after a long period of time. These signs of hope over time can turn into something beautiful for God and flourish in ways we never imagined… But God does.
Faith in a nutshell’ – meditation on a beechnut
Inside
this prickly shell
silky soft skin
cups
the sharp-edged nut;
slowly the petals of the pod
open
and release the promise
of new life.
In this sweet seed
hides a great tree,
the mystery of its pattern
dispersed
into the rich earth
to disappear and grow in secret;
To thrust bold shoots
through
the earth’s crust,
until
the sturdy sapling stands
unshaken and unbent;
striving
towards its proud
and ancient heritage –
a blueprint
traced
in the beginning
of time….
when God
Smiled. © Carol Dixon
One of my favourite prayers about growth is St Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3. May it be our prayer for each other, for our neighbourhoods and our world today. (Ephesians 3:14-21).
Rooted and grounded in love.
Feature photo above by Sorin Gheorghita on unsplash.
by Christine Sine
As I sit and look back over the last few weeks and all that I have learned from this time of discernment, I am more aware than ever that discernment is a way of life, not something that I do now and then put on the shelf for the next couple of years. Part of what I have been doing over this last week is bringing my thoughts together so that I can clearly see the next steps that I need to take.
What Have I Learned?
This time of discernment has had some wonderful outcomes.
- It has deepened my faith in who God is and opened up new levels of intimacy in my relationship with my divine companion.
- It has increased my confidence in who I am and who God has called me to be.
- It has stirred my creativity to consider new ways to express my love both for God and for neighbour.
- It has enriched my life journey and encouraged me to notice with wonder and awe things that in the past have seemed dull and lifeless.
- It has encourage me to take one step at a time, being patient for God as God leads me one step at a time.
This process has also led me back to a framework for ongoing discernment that I wrote several years ago with questions and practices that you might like to consider too.
What Is The Unique Gift You Bring To the World?
I believe my unique gift is The Gift of Wonder and through it, I give people a pathway through which to enjoy God. I talked about this last week in my post, Providential Encounters. Re-affirming this through my own reflections and the comments of friends was both encouraging and energizing as its helped me realize that this really is where my passion lies. This kind of revisiting of what God calls us to do is so healthy especially in a disruptive time like this. God doesn’t always say keep moving in the same direction. Sometimes there is a definite nudge to change.
So what is the unique gift that you feel you bring to the world?
However, having established this foundation, I realize I need to take some new steps.
How Do You Nourish This Gift?
This is probably the most important question for any of us to ask once we have discerned our gifts. It is not good to feel you have a gift without doing the hard work to nourish and strengthen it.
To continue effectively sharing the gift of wonder with others I must:
- Be self-aware and tend to my self-care. For me, this requires a balance of physical, spiritual and emotional care. My contemplative times in the morning, my awe and wonder walks, and regular physical exercise are all elements that contribute to my self-care.
- Name the tensions. What destroys my sense of wonder and how do I adjust? When I am distracted, what do I have trouble naming and how does this lack of self-awareness make me vulnerable? I have found that these are very important questions for me to ask myself and I have added them to my Sunday review of my week.
- Follow the stirrings. Be attentive to what your life says, maintain your freedom, enjoy God – only a few words but so much expressed in them. My attentiveness to my life can come through books that I read, people I speak to, imaginings that stir in my mind. It’s an exciting process but I sometimes think it isn’t one for the faint hearted. This discernment really is a way of life and we need to take it seriously every step of the way, painting the flexibility and resilience that it demands of us.
As a result of this process, I have decided to hold a new seminar on wonder – one specifically geared towards healing during this challenging time. I did it for Inhabit and for Word Made Flesh, but must confess I did not really take it seriously until this week.
Wonder in the Healing Process Webinar – September 16, 2020 at 3pm PDT. I hope that you can join me.
How do you feel you can nourish God’s gift within you?
Wonder in the Trauma Healing Process
(C) Christine Sine
A number of people have told me that The Gift of Wonder, and the online retreat that came out of it, have increased their joy and brought healing and wholeness to them during this challenging time. As a result, we have decided to hold a free webinar on Wonder In the Trauma Healing Process. For those that have not read the book, this would be a good introduction. To those that have, I think it will provide new dimensions for their own life.
Alice Walker, author of The Colour Purple says, “I think the foundation of everything is wonder.” She has grasped a reality few of us acknowledge in which the wonder of God’s presence in us, and around us is present at every moment and in the midst of every pain and joy. We underestimate the power of awe and wonder to transform and heal us. In this session, we will explore three dimensions of awe and wonder – the wonder of God hidden in every aspect of creation; the wonder of God hidden deep within our souls and the wonder of a God whose nature is laid bare in the pain of our world. We will discuss the impact various expressions of these, like awe and wonder walks, laughter, play and lament, have in bringing renewal and transformation and see how they draw us closer to God and can be used to help us heal the traumas of our lives.
Wonder is an attitude of life and we need to nourish it and expand it into every part of our life. I hope you can join us and look forward to helping you continue your journey of discernment too.
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