Celtic retreat – Eucharistic celebration 2010
The retreat is only a few days ago. We are pulling out our tents, packing our bags and getting ready to head up to Camano on Friday. So many of you have told me that you wished you could come that I thought I would share some of the programme with you. (More to come next week). Hopefully you can be with us in spirit if not in person. For those that are undecided there is still time to sign up.
Here is the prayer that we will begin with on Friday night – a prayer to prepare our minds for a time of thanksgiving and gratitude towards God.
Friday Evening Prayers
God we gather this night to thank you for the many blessings in our lives,
We praise you for your generous goodness new every day,
To you our God we offer praise and thanks.
God to you who created the earth and the heavens,
To you who are always merciful and forgiving,
To you our God we offer praise and thanks.
God to you who call us into relationship with yourself,
To you who give us the gift of family and friends,
To you our God we offer praise and thanks.
(Pause to remind yourself of all you have to be thankful for)
For the universe immense and unknown,
For the earth on which we live,
For humankind made in God’s image,
Thanks and praise to God our creator.
For entering human history as one of us,
For your life poured out in sacrifice for us,
For dying that we might live,
Thanks and praise to Christ our redeemer.
For the comfort of your indwelling presence,
For the wisdom of your guidance and direction,
For drawing us together as one family,
Thanks and praise to the Holy Spirit our enabler.
Through your will we are made whole,
Through your love we are renewed in body, mind and spirit
Through you we become one community from every tribe and nation.
Thanks and praise to the Father, Son and Spirit through all eternity.
Psalm 92: 1-8 (NLT)
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
you children of his servant Abraham,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God.
His justice is seen throughout the land.
8 He always stands by his covenant—
the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke. Glory to you, Lord Christ.
Luke 22:14 – 20 (NLT)
When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray together now in the words Jesus taught us.
Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen
Pause to offer up prayers of praise and thanksgiving
Gracious and generous God we give you thanks
For the gift of life for we are made in your image,
We pray for all your loved ones in whom your divine image is still hidden and distorted,
We pray for your mercy and compassion to rest upon them.
God in your mercy be with all those you love.
Caring and providing God we give you thanks,
For our homes that shelter and protect us,
We think of those without shelter and water and protection today,
We pray for your provision to be poured out upon them.
God in your mercy be with all those you love,
Abundant and giving God we give you thanks,
For our food that nourishes and strengthens us,
We thing of those without food and nourishment today,
We pray that you will feed them with the bread of life.
God in your mercy be with all those you love.
Loving and compassionate God we give you thanks,
For our friends and family who love and comfort us in times of need,
We think of those who are alone and feel abandoned today,
God comfort and surround them that they may sense your presence.
God in your mercy be with all those you love,
Gracious and generous God,
We remember all the gifts you have given us,
We remember how lavishly you have provided,
We remember how lovingly you have cared,
We remember especially that greatest gift of all,
Jesus Christ our Saviour,
And we give you thanks.
Amen.
Aaron Strumpel on the mainstage
Tom and I and our MSA intern Chris Holcomb have just returned from the Creative World Festival in Mission British Columbia. It was a great opportunity to renew friendships with some of our Canadian friends and collaborators and to begin some new friendships as well.
I love getting together with friends
Such a great group of people – grassroots advocates for God’s concerns for justice and reconciliation. Great music by Aaron Strumpel, great poetry by Joel McKerrow and lots to think about from Pete Rollins and all the speakers.
Aaron Strumpel and Joel McKerrow at Creative World Festival
There was a particular focus on concerns for aboriginal people in Canada. My heart ached to hear about the thousands of missing and/or murdered women who have disappeared with little or no public outcry. And I wept to hear stories of the atrocities that have been carried out against aboriginal children in many countries who were stolen from their families and moved into residential schools. Many of them never saw their families again.
Praying for the missing, murdered and stolen ones
In justice comes in so many forms and I so appreciate those who keep us aware of these important issues and challenge us to respond.
Earth touches heaven – photo by Coe Hutchison
This week’s round up of prayers. I have added some of the links in yesterday’s post to alternative renditions of the Lord’s prayer too as some of you may have missed those.
Lord you have written your covenant of love
deep within our hearts.
You have written your kingdom ways of peace and justice
into the fabric of our world.
Lead us Lord to the place where evil no longer tempts us,
To where we desire your kingdom purposes above all else,
And reveal them in all we are and do.
——————————-
Our Father,
Not mine alone but stretching beyond family, race, class, and religion, reaching to everyone everywhere.
Hallowed be your name.
May we reverence in thought and word and deed your name, your character, the very nature of who you are.
May your kingdom come,
because we seek it above all else and put it in our prayers where Jesus did, first in consideration and allegiance.
(Today’s prayer is in response to meditating on the Lord’s prayer)
———————————–
Give us this day our daily bread,
not bread for me alone but for everyone,
not bread for the rest of my life but for today,
For we know that when we seek first your kingdom,
all these things – food, clothing, all we need- shall be added, as and when we need them.
——————————–
I love this prayer by Henri Nouwen
Praying is no easy matter. It demands a relationship in which you allow someone other than yourself to enter into the very center of your person, to see there what you would rather leave in darkness, and to touch there what you would rather leave untouched.
———————————
Your eternal word stands firm in heaven O Lord,
Your faithfulness is as enduring as the earth you created,
All you do flows from your heart of love.
May we seek only you this day,
And see that all you do and all you are is good.
——————————–
Alternative forms of the Lord’s prayer.
The Lord’s Prayer – An Adaptation – written by the Society of the Sacred Heart
Praying At Gethsemane – He Qi
Yesterday we posted John O’Keefe’s great narrative on the Lord’s Prayer. I, too, have been reflecting on this prayer over the last couple of weeks in conjunction with reading the section in E. Stanley Jones’ The Way, in which he unpacks the Lord’s prayer. I wrote this prayer/poem/discourse in response. I was particularly struck as read it this time by the corporate nature of the language. This is not a prayer that we can pray alone or live out alone. The language is “our” and us. Jones comments:
That “our” determines the nature of religion. Suppose it had been “my”? That would have changed the nature of religion. Instead of being social and we-centred, it would have been individual and I-centred. That would have started us off wrong, the whole prayer would come out wrong. That word “our” means a shifting of the emphasis from me to the Father and to my brothers (and sisters). p199.
Our Father,
Not mine alone but stretching beyond family, race, class, and religion,
Reaching to everyone everywhere.
Our Father,
The One who takes responsibility for us as family,
The One who cannot do anything but the loving thing,
Hallowed be your name.
May we reverence in thought and word and deed your name, your character,
May we see as holy the very nature of who you are.
Your kingdom come,
Your kingdom of peace, justice, wholeness and abundance.
May it come because we seek it above all else,
And put it in our prayers where Jesus did, first in consideration and allegiance.
Your will be done,
Your will for the only way that life is meant to work,
Your will for kingdom life to be revealed,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
Give us this day our daily bread,
Not bread for me alone but for everyone, your entire human family
Not bread for the rest of my life but for today,
For we know that when we seek first your kingdom,
all these things – food, clothing, all we need- shall be added,
As and when we need them.
And forgive us our sins,
Forgive us our desires for luxuries that make others do without necessities,
Forgive us our holding onto tomorrow’s bread that should be shared today.
Forgive us as we forgive others, not resenting what they have, who they are,
how you have gifted them,
Lead us not into temptation but away from evil,
Guide us, all of us, until evil is not longer a temptation for us.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory,
You still rule, now, in our world today,
You rule with kingdom power and kingdom glory.
Amen
Unloading the poles for the Mustard Seed Village
This morning was a momentous one for Tom and I. We left home at 5:30 am to drive out to the future site of the Mustard Seed Village on Camano Island. We were so excited because the poles for our first building – the pole barn classroom were arriving. This may not sound very momentous to some of you but for us it is huge.
From big truck to little truck – Tom helps to load
Tom bought the land 20 years ago and the dream for an eco-village that can become a centre for Christian imagination and innovation has slowly emerged. We believe that this is a vision that God has placed in our hearts. It is exciting to have a growing circle of friends and collaborators who share the same dream.
So that’s what those poles are for
This will be a place where people from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages can gather to imagine and create new possibilities for life and faith for the future. are so excited, in spite of the fact that there are still many obstacles to overcome – not the least of these is that we still need $100,000 to widen the road, bring in electricity and complete the first building. If you would like to help we would love you to join our team.
- Pray for us,
- Share our vision with your friends,
- Join us for the Celtic retreat August 17 – 19 and celebrate this project with us.
- Contribute financially to this project.
- Help us recruit students for the CCSP Cascadia semester away program
Check out more photos Pole arrival and information on last year’s retreat Celtic retreat 2011
Pole barn coming soon
Last week I posted a list of websites and other resources on community and urban farming. In one of the comments I promised a list of urban farming books. So here it is and to be honest I borrowed a lot from the list at crunchychicken.com, a site which I highly recommend to you as well. I have not read all the books (too busy gardening) but am putting some of them on my Christmas list so that I can go dig into them over the winter months.
1. The Urban Farm Handbook, by Annette Cottrell and Joshua McNichols: the authors share their own food journeys along with those of local producers and consumers who are changing the food systems in the Pacific Northwest. A great book whether you live in the Northwest or not.
2. All New Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew. I loved the original version and still find it to be an extremely useful book for planning my garden though I am not quite as obsessional with the grid as he is.
3. The Essential Urban Farmer, by Novella Carpenter: A helpful guide to all things urban farm related. “From day one to market day”, she gives full disclosure on everything you need to become an urban farmer.
4. Urban Homesteading, by Rachel Kaplan: Expert urban homesteader Sundari Elizabeth Kraft shares her hands-on knowledge of: growing organic foods and preserving them; composting; raising small livestock and chickens; generating electricity and biofuels; and other ways to cut costs and live green.
5. Your Farm in the City, by Lisa Taylor: This book is put out by my local Seattle Tilth. Their Seattle Tilth Northwest Garden Guide has been one of my favourite resources for years and I am looking forward to reading this one too.
6. The complete book of Edible Landscaping, by Rosalind Creasy. This was the first book that I bought on urban farming in the days when few people were talking about it. I still think it is one of the best resources available.
7. The Urban Homestead, by Kelly Coyne and Eric Knutzen: According to Crunchychicken.com, this book covers more than you can possibly imagine and will inspire you to try new things. I have not read it yet but have added it to my wish list.
8. Urban Farm Magazine, This is my favourite magazine on urban farming. (along with YES and Mother Earth).
9. Mother Earth News Magazine, This is another favourite which was the source for the no knead bread recipes I posted recently.
10. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Urban Homesteading, by Sundari Elizabeth Kraft: This book covers the basics as well as everything from composting to clean energy. Again I have not read this but it has jumped to the top of my wish list because of its broad base of information.
Would love to hear about your favourite books and resources too.
Chocolate mint makes great iced tea
Citrus and Mint Iced Tea
I make this tea throughout the summer, though with the way the weather has been in Seattle this year I have not thought about it until this week. It is both refreshing and thirst-quenching, and uses some of the garden produce. We always have an abundance of mint as I grow apple, chocolate and spearmint. All of them work well for this recipe though the chocolate mint is stronger in flavour and so you will need less.
I am hoping that when my seaberry bushes start producing I will be able to substitute their juice for the orange juice. If you grow it in the garden substitute lemon verbena for the lemon juice.
Last year I posted an article about how our food choices are manipulated by the global mall. I talked about Stevia:
which is 10 times sweeter than sugar, easy to grow and with virtually no calories. However it was banned from the American market about the same time that Monsanto introduced its artificial sweetener aspartame because an “anonymous firm” lodged a complaint with the FDA Read more
This year I don’t have any stevia plants because the harvest last year was so abundant. I miss the enjoyment of getting our visitors to sample the incredibly sweet leaves. So now I find myself needing to experiment with using it as a sweetener. I harvest the leaves when the branches look as though they are about to flower and dry them in the microwave – it only takes a minute or two. I usually start with 30 seconds then continue in 10 second increments until the leaves are just dry. When they cool down they will be totally dry.
At this stage I use stevia mainly for beverages, though my friend Cheryl has found that adding 5 stevia leaves straight off the plant to a pot of pears before she cooks them is ample to sweeten home preserved fruit.
I make a Ginger Stevia syrup that I then add to different summer beverages.
GINGER STEVIA SYRUP
- 2 cups water
- 1 – 2 tablespoon dried stevia, crushed – I use a mortar and pestle
- ¾ cup ginger root, finely chopped or grated
- 2 tablespoons vanilla
- ¼ cup lemon juice or 1/2 cup lemon verbena leaves chopped
- 1 cup mint leaves (optional)
Bring water to boil. Add ginger & stevia, as well as the lemon verbena and mint if you are using them. Boil for 10 minutes, strain into a heat resistant container. Add vanilla and lemon juice. This syrup will store in the refrigerator for several weeks.
Homemade Stevia ginger ale
I first started making this recipe when I discovered that most ginger ales have no ginger in them at all and were usually full of high fructose corn syrup.
Add 1-2 oz syrup to a glass depending on how sweet you like your drinks, top with 6 oz sparkling water and ice cubes. Enjoy.
Citrus/ Mint Iced tea punch
- 8 teaspoons Loose Leaf red or black tea Or 8-10 Teabags (I like to use fruit flavoured teas
- l cup (or more) Fresh Mint Leaves
- 8 cups Boiling Water
- 1 cup Orange Juice – or seaberry juice if you have this available
- 1/2 cup lemon juice – or use lemon verbena from the garden
- 1 Orange, Cut Into Thin Slices
- 1 Lemon,Cut Into Thin Slices
- 1 Lime,Cut Into Thin Slices
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup ginger stevia syrup
- 2 litre bottle sparkling mineral water or soda water.
This is a favourite for our summer BBQs & picnics. Put tea & mint in a heat resistant glass or ceramic pot. Pour in the boiling water & steep for 30 minutes. Strain & refrigerate. Pour into a large pitcher. Add orange juice. Add orange, lemon & lime rinds. Add ginger syrup & mineral water and serve with ice cubes. If you prefer a more lemony flavour add 1/2 cup lemon juice or a cup of lemon verbena leaves to the tea mix.
For more stevia recipes visit sugarfreesteia.net
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