We are launching a new theme after Pentecost (June 9th) for the summer called, Reading Life Differently.
We live in a state of constant change – the seasons, the world around us, our lives are all in a rhythm of change and our faith needs to be able to change to adapt and help us move through the new landscapes we encounter. Spring will give way to summer, autumn will transition into winter. We need to know how to adapt and look with fresh and hope filled eyes at the changing landscape.
In The Gift of Wonder, I comment
To reshape our spiritual practices periodically, intentionally planning to give God delight and experience God’s delight in us is awe inspiring. Trips away, life transitions, seasons of the year, or the Christian Calendar all provide fantastic opportunities to create new and appropriate transformative spiritual places that draw us closer to God and into the beauty and joy of intimacy. (The Gift of Wonder 160)
Some of you are getting ready for summer. Others are preparing for winter. We are all preparing for change. So take time as you prepare for the changing seasons to think about how you need to see life differently and reshape your spiritual practices.
Where will we look for awe and wonder in this new season? What are the signposts that guide us? How will God be revealed? How can we help those around us get ready for the changes?
All of us need to read life differently and avoid becoming stuck in a rut or confined to a box. We need to look forward with anticipation and hope – not regretting the fading of spring blooms but rejoicing in the ripening fruit, not seeing trees stripped bare by winter’s unfolding but the magnificent skeleton of twisted limbs finally revealed to our sight.
What has helped change your perspective on life, faith and the world in which we live so that your cup is half full rather than half empty, full of love not burdened by hate? What advice do you have for those that are looking for a fresh and more positive perspective on life?
We are excited to share and have an opportunity to both explore new approaches and share the different perspectives that you have gained as you meditate, travel and encounter fresh experiences.
*If you’re interested in becoming part of the Godspace Writing Community, check out our writers guidelines to apply.
At the tips of her fingers
Weaving sticks and stories
Into a landscape of happening
For who, what, why…?
She delights in her creation
And Creation delights in her
May 18th, 2023 is Ascension day, not one that I grew up with or one that many protestants are familiar with. This is the fortieth day after Easter Sunday and we celebrate the ascension of Christ into heaven. You will find the Biblical accounts of the Ascension in Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11.
The day is also, and in some ways more importantly, a celebration of the new creation that Jesus’ resurrection brought into being. It seems such an appropriate celebration for those of us who are interested in sustainability and creation care. I prefer to focus on this imagery because so much of the language of ascent seems to focus more on the triumphalism of a militaristic parade rather than the ascent of a servant king whose advocacy will restore and renew all things.
In Sweden people go into the woods very early in the morning to hear the birds at sunrise. It is said to be good luck if a cuckoo is heard from the east or west. What beautiful imagery to carry with us for the rest of the season until Pentecost. I think this would be a wonderful tradition to incorporate in our Ascension Day celebrations. Go out into the woods, your local park or even the beach early in the morning. Listen to the birds singing the dawn chorus. Notice the beautiful sound that rises like a stream of praise and worship to God.
In Indonesia, in spite of the fact that 80% of the population are Muslim, Ascension Day is a public holiday, a day to go to church for Christians, a day to rest and enjoy life for Muslims.
I do not want to deny the exultant triumph of our risen Lord and the freedom his ascent has brought us. For the disciples this must have been an amazing day. They knew Jesus was alive. They knew he was the Son of God and the Saviour of the world, the long-promised Messiah. They knew that they would see him again when he returned, as he had assured them that he would, at the end of time and the day of resurrection. They knew that he still loved them, simply because he appeared to them after he rose from the grave and, most importantly, he had entrusted his mission on earth to them. They had begun to comprehend the nature of God’s love and power; so should we.
Ascension Day Customs
Various customs are associated with this day. In England, processions used to take place with a banner at the head showing a lion and a dragon at the end, symbolising Christ’s victory over the devil. In some churches the Ascension was re-enacted by lifting the figure of Christ through an opening in the roof of the church.
The Chapel of the Ascension in Walsingham, Norfolk, shows Jesus’ feet projecting from the ceiling.
Ascension Day Walsingham
Another English tradition – beating the bounds – the reaffirming of parish boundaries is a great to reaffirm, possibly as a prayer walk so think of adding it to your Ascension Day observances.
Celebrating Ascension Day at Home/with Kids
- Looking for ways to celebrate with kids? EverThineHome.com and BuildFaith.org have great ideas!
- Most of the resources listed below can also be used or adapted for your at home worship on Ascension Day.
Paul Neeley and Godspace Resources
A couple of years ago, I posted this very comprehensive and helpful list from Paul Neeley for Ascension day. Here are a few more resources he has added since:
- Ascension Reflections (sonnet, song, painting, litany, theology & more!)
- 4 Ascension Artworks from India
A couple more of my own prayers:
Here are some more of my favourite resources:
The United Methodist Church has some great resources. I love the exultant note of this prayer from Rev. Marilyn E. Thornton the Lead Editor for African American,
One: Let us gather as they gathered on the Mount of Olivet.
Let us remember the teachings of the law, psalms, and prophets.Many: Ride on King Jesus, no one can hinder you!
Here is another from the reformed tradition With A Shout
And this by David Diephouse who teaches history at Calvin College
Our God goes up with shouts of joy!
Our Lord ascends to the sound of trumpets!
All: Sing praises to our God, sing praises!
Sing praises, sing praises to our King!
The Almighty rides in triumph.
The Almighty leads captivity captive.
Who shouts for joy? Who blows the trumpet?
The hosts of heaven sing the honor of his name;
they praise him with an endless alleluia.
And this prayer from the Catholic service for Ascension Day
God our Father,
make us joyful in the ascension of your Son Jesus Christ.
May we follow him into the new creation,
for his ascension is our glory and our hope.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
- As usual John van de Laar at sacredise.com has some great resources – prayers, liturgies, even suggestions for hymns and youtube videos. You can check them out here.
- Here is a good set of videos/loops from re:Worship
- Don’t forget to check out textweek.com which has a very comprehensive list of resources for celebrating Ascension Day
Obviously there are lots of other great resources out there too so if you have found something that is particularly helpful please leave a link in the comments below.
Here are some more images of the Ascension:
Jesus asscensions scene. Golded mosaic from Neamt Monastery, Romania
Ribe Cathedral. Pulpit ( 1597 ): Ascension of Christ with the latin inscription “Omnes traham ad me ipsum” ( All people I will draw to myself ) via wikimedia.
Ascension – Jesusmafa
By Michael Moore —
As Christine Aroney-Sine reminds us in her most recent book The Gift of Wonder: Creative Practices for Delighting in God, God can be found in the most creative and often unusual places if we simply slow down and look with the eyes of our heart. In the hurry and scurry of the post-Holy Week and Easter season for this particular Padre, I have had to constantly remind myself to slow down and simply be still. One way that Denise and I have done that is by taking intentional time to simply “be” in our back yard, the Rocky Mountain National Park. One thing that we often notice is how so many visitors to the park are in such a hurry to check something off of their list. They rush up a particular trail or climb a particular peak simply to say they have done it. One of my dear parishioners who died this past March used to volunteer a lot at the Estes Park Visitor’s Center. He told me a story once about a visitor who came in and asked him a question. “I only have an hour to see the sights. What can you recommend for me?” His reply was, “Unfortunately, I can simply recommend that you need more than an hour to explore and savor this area.”
On May 3rd, we took an opportunity to go into Rocky for a bit of a wander. We came across this yearling Bull Moose when Denise just happened to see him and his Mama down in a valley off the road. We pulled over into a pullout, grabbed our cameras, and made our way to visit Mama and her Yearling. Just as we had come across this Yearling’s Father the previous October during an intentionally slow hike and spent some sacred time with him, we were able to spend sacred time with this Mama and Child. One young couple stopped because they saw us down in the valley. The four of us enjoyed this time and the couple remarked that it was sad that so many people drove by so quickly that they failed to notice what we had discovered. Unfortunately, the peace didn’t last long as groups of visitors pulled over and began making a bit of a ruckus which disturbed Mama and Child and they departed.
This is one of many lessons the Spirit has been teaching me lately. During Lent, I took an Abbey of the Arts on-line course which was a companion retreat to Christine Valters Painter’s book, The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seekers of the Sacred. One of the prominent features for me of this retreat was the invitation to slow down and simply receive the images the Spirit offered through my photography.
In this season of Awe and Wonder, I do hope that you will join me in slowing down to simply Be Still and receive what the Spirit is offering to you.
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by Christine Sine
As some of you know I have been struggling with some health issues over the last couple of months that seemed to have sapped some of my creative spirit. Much to my delight, this week that seems to have changed and I once more find God’s creativity bubbling up within me in prayers and reflections.
Today’s prayer was inspired by our church litany yesterday
Almighty God, whom truly to know is eternal life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
by Christine Sine
When the Bible declares that we are made in the “image and likeness” of the Creator, it is affirming that creativity is at our core just as it lies at the core of the Creator of all things. (Creativity – Matthew Fox)
This week has overflowed with awe and wonder for me because in the appreciation of creativity, I have encountered my Creator in a very special and intimate way. Creativity is not just all around us. It is also in us. It is a gift from God, and a gift that wells up and flows out of each of us, drawing us into intimate relationship with God. It is indeed” at our core”, meant not just to be acknowledged, but to be savoured, admired and expressed, enriching us, and those around us in the process.
Creativity – and with it creation – is still very much in process. There is a river of creativity running through all things, all relationships, all beings, all corners and centers of this universe. We are here to join in, to get wet, to jump in to ride these rapids, wild and sacred as they be (Creativity: Matthew Fox 66)
This week has emphasized this for me in many ways. The creativity of God, seen in the beauty of spring blossoms, unfurling leaves, even the changing light and shade of shadows sweeps us into a breathtaking display of awe and wonder, stirring us into our own expressions of creativity. This week as enjoyed my awe and wonder walks, my gaze shifted towards other aspects of life that instilled awe in me, and now I am surrounded on all sides with a spectacular array of awe inspiring stimuli and creativity.
More than anything it has been peoples’ creativity, this gift from God that also reveals God to us, that has caught my attention.
Colorful kōlams, such as this one by Godavari Krishnamurthy, are drawn during festivals. R. KRISHNAMURTHY/COURTESY OF KAVERI PURANDHAR
My eyes were riveted by this article that talked about the incredible artistic creativity of millions of women in India who use rice flour and geometric design to create pictorial prayers.
BEFORE THE FIRST RAYS OF sunlight stream across the rice fields and mud roads in the Nilgiri Mountains, before they force their way through the high-rises in the urban jungle of Chennai and Madurai, the women of Tamil Nadu are up for the day. In the dark, they clean the threshold to their home, and, following a centuries-long tradition, painstakingly draw beautiful, ritualistic designs called kōlam, using rice flour. Read the entire article here
Closer to home, I have been admiring this beautiful piece of art painted by Lara Cooper in Australia who used a photo I posted on Facebook last year for her inspiration.
Tom with Goldie – artwork by Lara Cooper.
Then there is this hymn that Carol Dixon sent me from the UK.
Signs of God ‘s glory (Tune: Bard of Armargh/Streets of Laredo)
What signs of God’s glory are seen in the city,
hemmed in by the buildings of concrete and ore?
For we cannot tread the rich earth on hard pavements,
or hear the sheep bleating above the cars’ roar.
Yet still we can scour the sky for God’s patterns,
or notice a flower blooming on some waste ground;
and glimpse in a spider web shimmering dewdrops,
for in the unnoticed our Creator is found.
We see God behind the sad eyes of a vagrant,
hear God in the cry of a child who’s afraid;
and in work worn features of stressed city slickers,
our God reaches out to the world that he made.
So help us to notice, great God of Creation,
your handiwork traces in country and town,
in city or wilderness, may we discover
that your living presence is always around.
© Carol Dixon July 2009
What is Your Response?
Where have you expressed your creativity this week?
What creativity of others has caught your attention?
In what ways have you been drawn into a more intimate relationship with God through this creativity?
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Thank you for supporting Godspace in this way.
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