It rained over the weekend, the first soaking rain for a couple of months. As I walked round my garden, breathing in the invigorating aroma of petrichor, I felt as though the thirsty earth rejoiced with me in the refreshment it brought to everything around me. The colours looked more vibrant, the growth more vigourous, and in what had been a dry and dusty lawn, I saw the green sprouts of new life. It amazes me how quickly the earth recovers.
In Inheriting Paradise, Vigan Guiroian likens watering our gardens to baptism. He points out that water is the lifeblood of the garden and of all creation. It is also the element of baptism. He suggests that each time we water the garden we should acknowledge this and recognize that “we tend not only the garden we call nature but also the garden that is ourselves.” I love this analogy. One of the reasons I do much of my watering by hand is because of this reminder that it is a form of baptism and new life. This week I have felt a little as though I am living two lives. My public life of writing and podcasting and sharing from my garden, and my private life of grief and confronting the challenges of aging and numerous medical visits for my husband and myself. In the midst of this, it is often watering the garden that brings renewal and refreshment for me, washing away the stress as I tend to my plants.
Another stress reliever is my rock collection which I wrote about in my Meditation Monday – Rocks of Remembrance. Holding my serpentine rock from Iona in my hand this week as a reminder of God’s faithfulness in good times and in chilling ones was a huge boost to me this week. As I commented, “It is an important part of my prayer life.” My apologies to the paid subscribers who like to listen to the audio version of this post. With everything else on my plate this week I ran out of time to transcribe it.
I am making progress in my book Celtic Advent – Following An Unfamiliar Path Through Advent. On Saturday I posted the meditations for the first week of Celtic Advent, beginning on November 13th so that we have a couple of days to prepare before Advent begins on November 15th. I think I might have overwhelmed a few of you with the length of this post. On this coming Saturday, I will post a shorter section from the second week of reflections. Thank you to those who are reading along with me. I appreciate your feedback which has already resulted in changes to the original manuscript. Don’t worry, I won’t post the revised version. You will have to wait until the book is published in October to read the final version.
Last Wednesday we posted the Liturgical Rebels Episode 14 – Brian Edgar and The God Who Plays. It is obvious that many of you found this episode fascinating. I hope you share it with your friends. I think we all need a more playful view of God and God’s ways of working in our world. Next week we begin a series on Celtic Spirituality. Tom and I will kick off the series with reflections on our own journeys into Celtic spirituality. The upcoming sessions in this series include interviews with Celtic musician Jeff Johnson, theologians Christine Valters Paintner and John Philip Newell and Celtic artist Mary Fleeson. Make sure you tell your friends about this. It will be an inspiring series.
What is it about Celtic Spirituality that is so attractive to me and to so many others today? Why is there a resurgence of interest in this stream of Christian faith that thrived in Britain in the 4th to 8th centuries? Join me on September 14 from 9:30 – 12:30 PDT to find out about bringing the sacred in to wherever you need it. Sign up page will be up on the website soon. Look for an announcement with a link in the next couple of days.
In her Freerange Friday – Bread and Tables, Lilly Lewin reminds us that the gospel is about community, and bread. She asks another of her provocative questions “What have you noticed about bread lately? Is your bread in scarcity or abundance? stale or fresh? daily or only on special occasions? Is this how we view Jesus?” It made me think about the bread I ate this week, what it was like and what it could teach me about Jesus.
More people clicked on links in last week’s Keeping Up With The News than ever which made me realize how much people appreciate the great resources these links lead to so this week I am listing some that apply to the season of creation. The Season of Creation spans five weeks between the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (September 1) and the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4).. It is observed by a growing number of churches and denominations.
A couple of good sites to check out:
The Season of Creation Bulletin insert.
Season of Creation – has a great new downloadable resource for 2024.
You might also like to check out some of these godspacelight resources:
Simple Ways to Care for Creation – A free download.
My favourite books on care for creation
Holy Ground – a Six Week Course on Creation Care
Native American Prayers for Care of Creation
Let me end with a prayer I wrote this week:
My mind is stuck,
In sweet memories of lost ones,
Thoughts of the past,
And problems I cannot solve.
It is time to rest,
My body seems to say.
Time to take a break,
From the chaos in my mind,
And let the emptiness be filled
With God’s abiding presence,
That healing balm
Comforting and enriching to body mind and soul.
Many blessings,
Christine Sine