Its been another week of extraordinary happenings and events that it is hard to get our heads around. I was in Canada for the start of the Olympic Games and enjoyed watching the spectacular opening ceremony that blew away all preconceptions of what an opening ceremony is meant to look like. As I shared in my Meditation Monday: Who Is Welcome At Your Table? I was saddened by the controversy that arose about the maybe/maybe not image of the Last Supper and the animosity it aroused in so many Christians. What happened to love I wonder? Surprisingly, this was one of the most popular posts I have ever written.
My brother Nick died on Thursday and so the last few days I have struggled with the emotions of loss, grief but also gratitude as I remember the wonderful, loving brother he was and the many ways in which he influenced my life. He inspired my gardening and photography in particular and now I feel he walks with me every time I wander round my plants or take a photo. Our trip to Canada and visit with good friends was very therapeutic for me. I took some of my photo albums in which he stars and loved sharing stories about our life together with them. Reminiscing is such an important part of grieving and I know I will do much more of it with my other brothers and their families when I visit Australia in October.
Today we launched the 13th Episode of Liturgical Rebels – Beyond Church with Martin Poole. Martin is a very creative worship curator and the author of Church Beyond Walls. As the founder of Beyond he initiated and curated hundreds of public art events on the seafront, in parks, in pubs and theatres and is the inventor of the Beach Hut Advent Calendar which ran for 11 years along Hove promenade. This is a fascinating episode that you won’t want to miss especially if you are looking for intriguing ways to reach out to your community with the message of Christ.
Each Friday, on Substack I either post a spiritual practice or our latest episode of The Liturgical Rebels. Last Friday, because of my travels and the loss of my brother, I decided to repost one of my favourite practices that I talk about in The Gift of Wonder – The Spiritual Practice of Doodling. These kinds of freeform activities are good for us in many ways. They help stir our creativity, reduce stress and often enable us to move more deeply into intimacy with God. I love using doodling as a spiritual practice and hope that you enjoyed the post as much as I enjoyed revisiting it last week. I am amazed at how easy it is to forget the practices that once sustained us. My use of doodling is a great example of that.
In Freerange Friday: Looking for Hope In A World of Fear Lilly Lewin talks about celebrating her father’s 95th birthday and asks some provocative questions. How do you express gratitude? Where do you find hope? Such good questions for us to revisit frequently as we negotiate the ups and downs of life.
We did not have a post for World Friendship Day yesterday, (July 30th) but have had several great ones over the last couple of years that you might like to revisit. A couple of years ago June Friesen shared about the history of World Friendship Day and the importance of it for all of us today especially as we seek to show love for all of God’s family and “friends” around the world. Last year Carol Dixon in her International Friendship Day post shared the delight of the many international friendships she has enjoyed and encourages all of us to think of the rich array of friends from around the world that we might like to give thanks for.
I appreciate your prayers as I negotiate my brother’s death and try to write my Advent devotional book Celtic Advent: Following an Unfamiliar Path at the same time. Not surprisingly my original outline suggestion did not work and so I am looking at other ways to integrate the lives of the Celtic saints into this season. Having a lot of fun doing and delving into my Celtic books as I do it. Don’t forget Celtic spirituality will also be the focus of the Liturgical Rebels podcast over the next few months. Starting with Celtic musician Jeff Johnson, followed by theologian John Phillip Newell and and spiritual director Christine Valters Paintner, this should be an interesting series. I am still working on lining up a poet and an artist in the Celtic tradition that I think will inspire us all.
Let me end with this poem I wrote as a tribute to my brother and the deep and abiding friendship we enjoyed.
Nothing can deny the pain
A loved one’s loss can bring.
Nothing will stem the grief
Of losing one who meant so much.
But memory will always bring
A spark of joy.
Remembrances grow stronger
As we share.
Smiles for times of laughter past,
Are lodged forever in my heart.
Many blessings
Christine Sine