contemplative prayer tomorrow night

yep, tomorrow night at st mary's walthamstow, 7pm, (6.30pm for tea and cakes) i'll be leading an evening of contemplative prayer ably assisted by U2 and the man in black, the late, great mr. johnny cash.
come and be at peace....

Tags: contemplative, prayer, U2, johnny cash

a week's sailing to inverness.

just come back from a week sailing as crew on a mate's boat. the trip was from tollesbury in essex to inverness in scotland - up the east coast.

i couldn't start the trip with them, so joined them at lunchtime on monday last in scarborough. overall, it was an uneventful trip - that is, it went very smoothly.

my first night on board was a bit rough, especially as i was off-watch between 2000-0000. it was a job to stay in the bunk sometimes, and i could feel my innards rolling around as the boat fell off some swells and was tossed and rolled regularly. then, when i came back on watch at 0000 the sea calmed down - typical! but i wasn't sea-sick (thankfully, its not something i've suffered from, though there were defintiely times i had to stop reading or looking at the chart and get up on deck).

as it was a passage- making trip (time-limited to making the end of the trip a necessary thing by end of friday) as opposed to a pleasure cruise with no real timing issues, we had to have the engine on most of the time to keep an average speed of 5 knots. there just wasn't enough wind to sail for most of the time, although we did have enough for a little bit of the time that allowed the sails to go up and peace to descend on the boat.

on the way we sailed through fog, saw birdlife of gannets and puffins mostly, a big dolphin, and several pods of porpoise.

i love being offshore and out of sight of land. i can't recall how many times i found myself saying, "i LOVE this sailing lark!" its the kind of thing that brings me alive. even though the watch system was 4hrs on and 4hrs off, its a rhythm that i quickly get used to.

once we left scarborough, we only made land again twice: at edinburgh, and then inverness. we called into edinburgh because after that, there is very little protection and nowhere to go in case it gets very ugly at sea, and the forecast at that time was not looking too good. so the skipper and owner, andy challis, decided to take no risks, and we had a night in the marina - and a shower! the forecast ugliness didn't come through though, and next day we headed for inverness.

the trip ended in the caledonian canal on friday afternoon, and i stayed on board until very early monday morning when i got the train back to london.

the photos are: the bridges into edinburgh, the sunset coming into inverness, the boat in the marina, and peace at sea. i'll upload the rest onto flickr soon, so check the sidebar from time to time.

you can see some more photos of another trip the boat did here.

kenya, merton, and lives fully lived

“If we want to be spiritual, then, let us first of all live our lives. Let us not fear the responsibilities and the inevitable distractions of the work appointed for us by the will of God. Let us embrace reality and thus find ourselves immersed in the life-giving will and wisdom of God which surrounds us everywhere. “

From Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Publishers, New York, 1958) Page 46-7.

merton gives words to the spirituality of the christians we encountered in kenya, people unafraid to live their lives as fully alive human beings loved by god in order that they may love others in god's name.

some of them like those in this photo, give of themselves with no thought for their own welfare. they have nothing materially, the hiv positive kids they take care have nothing materially and very little relationally, but a more hospitable welcome to complete strangers - us visitors - you could not imagine. tea and mundazi (a triangular-shaped donut kinda thing) had a heartfelt prayer said over them in god's name before we had our 'second breakfast' for the day. the plaque on the wall says it all....

the children are taught school by these lovely folks in a tin, open-sided extension so that if the anti-retroviral drugs work, at least the kids will have some kind of chance at making life more than a survival begging or digging through other peoples' rubbish.

please pray for these folks, and the kids they love. and pray for yourself, that you may have their courage to live fully spiritual lives here on earth.

Tags: kenya, merton, spirituality

back from kenya

yep, am back safe and sound.

had a most fantastic time, and like any trip to somewhere very culturally different, its difficult to begin to describe the vast array of experiences. will try to do that over the next few weeks, as i think it will take some time to process my thoughts and feelings.

but to give a little taste, i've uploaded some photos onto flickr, so click on the side bar to have a look. they've loaded back to front, so the trip begins on page 2 and moves to page 1. i've used up my monthly allowance with these, so it will take some months before i'm able to load the rest.

hope you're all well, and thanks for keeping on with supporting this blog.

Tags: kenya

bono as editor of the independent

(from U2.com)
This is just a quick heads-up to check out The Independent newspaper this Tuesday.

For one day only the paper has a new editor - Bono!

The Independent, one of the UK's leading quality newspapers, has become a media partner of the Red Campaign, the organisation founded by Bono and
Bobby Shriver to get the weight of the corporate world behind the fight against HIV/AIDS in the poorest countries.

On Tuesday the paper goes RED when Bono takes the editorial chair. He has already been commissioning articles - word is that these feature the designers Stella McCartney and Giorgio Armani and a conversation between Bono and the comedian Eddie Izzard.

New photographs by the artist Sam Taylor-Wood will be published for the first time while the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, will choose her Ten Best pieces of music.

According to the Independent website, 'Bono expects to do everything an editor does, from chairing the morning editorial conference to writing headlines and choosing pictures.'

On Tuesday half the paper's revenue will go to RED to help fight Africa's Aids crisis.

Pick up a copy on the day and support RED yourself.

More about RED - http://www.joinred.com/

Tags: bono. independent

slow blog

have had a week off on hols - my first real break with zoe since last summer. went to stay in a mate's place just out of woodbridge in suffolk. had a fab time, and suffolk's luvverly - no-one there! will put a few photos up when i get a chance.

have come back to incredibly full weeks, and more people dying that i need to be involved with at various levels.

so the blog is taking a low priority, and actually, will continue to take low priority until the end of this month, as i'll be heading over to africa soon.

thanks to those who continue to look in, and i hope you'll be ok with me being slow for this month....

2 shots of happy, 1 shot of sad...

on the 18th, our youngest, josiah turned 21. he's a great guy, and we're so happy and proud to be his parents. 21 is always a great milestone for anyone - god bless you mate.

and then, a day later in new zealand, zoe's gran died at the great old age of 98. she was a fabulous lady, tough little liverpudlian who went to new zealand as a teenager, and brought a family up in the goldfields of otago while living in a tent through the heat of summer and snow in winter. she was very independent, would always tell you straight, and had a wickedly funny sense of humour that came with a twinkle in her eyes and 'knowing' kind of smile. gran was instrumental in bringing up zoe too, and was a like a second mum to her. so many happy memories of gran, a life well lived. her name was ada findlay. please say a prayer for her, and for those she leaves behind.

2 shots of happy, 1 shot of sad...

Tags: family

open-handed prayer

i remember when i first became a christian, 25 years ago, a friend told me that coming to god is a bit like holding your hand out with the palm held upwards, so that god could take all of your life from your open hand, and then give it all back to you again along with everything else he wanted you to have. but if you only offer god a closed fist, he can take nothing away and cannot give you anything as you won't be able to hold it in a closed fist.

mark e. thibodeaux, s.j. says a similar thing in his wonderful little book, 'armchair mystic - easing into contemplative prayer'. "my task in prayer, then, is to learn to approach god with open hands, so that god can place his gifts there".

but open-handed prayer is a risk, as it requires faith and trust in a god you can't see. though, that's the magic of a life of faith, and 25 years later, i have learned that this invisible god is trustworthy as he takes my life and gives it back to me along with so much more than i could ever have imagined.

it makes sense to me of jesus' words in john 10:10 when he said, 'i have come that you may have life, and have it in all its fulness'.

johnny cash

itunes are promoting 'the world of johnny cash' here.
they say they're not just a doing a greatest hits thing, but have included playlists that reveal the musical roots of his sound, and of those who have been influenced by him.

but if you want to see something stunning, recorded not long before his death, check this out - be sure and put the headphones on! (thanks to bree for the reference).

Tags: johnny cash, music

risen!

this painting is by one of my old mates from christchurch, new zealand. check out his work here at kees bruin.

crucified

Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow,
Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect man on thee did suffer,
Perfect God on thee has bled!

(from: Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow
Words: William John Sparrow-Simpson, 1887
Music: John Stainer, 1887
This hymn was created for inclusion in Stainer’s oratorio, “The Crucifixion.”)

ron bright, r.i.p.

today my boss and i took the funeral of the husband of one of our dear old ladies from church. they had been married 60 years, and zoe attended their 60th wedding anniversary party last year.

the local paper did a story on them here. below is something i wrote...

Funerals are one of the few events we attend where we give serious time and attention to death. In spite of all our knowledge, it still remains the greatest of mysteries, and most feared of human experiences. Strange that we should fear death, when it is the common experience for all of humanity, and has been for all of time. And the fact is, that fear in itself can rob us of the beauty of the present.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 forms part of the Wisdom literature of the Bible. It talks about there being a time for everything, and that everything is not apart from God. There is a rhythm and a depth to all of life that is found in the rhythm and depths of God. Trying to hide or ignore the realities of the rhythms of life is like trying to hide or ignore the fact of life itself. And so to be afraid of death is also to be afraid of life; which robs us of the beauty of the present. There is deep wisdom in this.

I suspect Ron (real name, Horace) intuitively understood this, as he took hold of life and engaged with it so that he enjoyed life. The writer of Ecclesiastes said, “I know that there is nothing better for anyone than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil – this is the gift of God”. Ron was a man who had found contentedness in life, and so he did not allow fear to rob him of the beauty of the present while he lived it.

The Christian hope of the resurrection for all who put their faith in Jesus enables us to live fully now, to die well, and to expect to be re-born into a new life that is found in the eternal rhythms and depths of God himself.

This dear man’s life showed us something of what that is about. May we honour his memory by how we live our own lives. Amen.

Tags: funeral, death, fear, wisdom, god, resurrection, contemplative

f for forgiveness

ben witherington has a good post here on the movie, 'v for vendetta'. and damaris trust has a study guide here that helps look at some of the themes, and open up questions for debate.

while i have said in my previous post that i love these kinds of movies (and i do), the big impression it left me with was around the question of whether 'the ends justify the means'.

in holy week, we remember that jesus' means to achieving peace between god and humanity were peaceful from his perspective and his actions. he did not call down upon his killers the wrath of god in the form of legions of angels to deliver him (matthew 24:53). instead, he suffered the violence and cruelty of others, that those very others may have the possibility of reconciliation through him with god. he prayed for the forigveness of his own killers in the famous prayer, 'father, forgive them, for they do not know what they're doing' (luke 23:34).

in the words of the late great dr martin luther king jr., 'the ends must be consistent with the means. so peace must come through peaceful means.'

the 'f word' as an ideal lived out is incredibly powerful, and its legacy is enduring as witnessed by the life, death, and resurrection of jesus the christ.

Tags: forgiveness, v for vendetta, holy week

church services this week

below is the list of what's happening around the parish of walthamstow this week.

Monday 10 April

8.45 am Morning Prayer, St Luke’s
9.30 pm Night Prayer, St Mary’s

Tuesday 11 April

8.45 am Morning Prayer, St Luke’s
9.30 pm Night Prayer, St Mary’s

Wednesday 12 April

8.45 am Morning Prayer, St Luke’s
9.30 am Holy Communion, St Stephen’s
7- 9 pm Prayer Labyrinth, St Stephen’s
9.30 pm Night Prayer, St Mary’s

Maundy Thursday 13 April

8.45 am Morning Prayer, St Luke’s
1-3 pm Prayer Labyrinth, St Stephen’s
8 pm Agape Supper, St Gabriel’s
9.30 pm Night Prayer, St Mary’s

Good Friday 14 April

10 am All Age Worship, St Luke’s
10.30am Reflection, St Gabriel’s
10.30am All Age Worship, St Mary’s
12-3pm Time with Jesus, St Mary’s
1-3 pm Prayer Labyrinth, St Stephen’s
7.30 pm Stainer's Crucifixion, St Mary’s

Easter Day
Sunday 16 April

8am Holy Communion, St Mary’s
10 am All Age Communion, St Gabriel’s
10 am Prayer in the High Street
10.30 am All Age Communion, St Mary’s
10.45 am All Age Communion, St Luke’s
11.15 am All Age Communion, St Stephen’s
7 pm Celebration Praise! St Mary’s

on being human

i've just discovered that i've been recommended on another blog! check out 'you duped me lord', by mark mossa s.j. i'm always amazed that other people reckon my blog is worth looking at...

fact is, i've been feeling uninspired blogwise, and therefore considering whether its worth continuing with it. but then a recommendation happens, and the world gets bigger again. i've often noticed that when life gets uninspiring, or more melancholic than usual, or even mildly depressing, the worst place to go for help is yourself. yourself is so small in the world, and when you're not feeling good about yourself or life, yourself is no place to look for resources. all you tend to find when you look inside yourself is something resembling an old downward-leading spiral staircase, heading off into somewhere dark that has the smell of an ancient dungeon full of hopelesness.

a better place to go is outside where other people are, and these days, that even includes cyber-space. other people make the world bigger. other people see the world in ways that i don't. other people know god in ways that i find helpful. other people is where i find resources to live. other people is where i find who i am. i become more fully human as i relate to other people.

i think that's where jesus is genius, coz he said, 'love god with all you've got, and love your neighbour as yourself'. and even if you don't love yourself, his words are not a cop-out for not being with others, coz he also said, 'do to others as you would have them do to you'. that's about being proactive with other people, rather than the reactive attitude that says, 'don't do anything to others that you wouldn't want done to yourself'.

when mark mossa, s.j. (society of jesus) recommended my blog (and therefore me), he proactively did what jesus said to do and without realising it has blessed me and made me feel a little more human and worthwhile in my humanity. thank you mark.

why don't you pay mark a visit, or ring up a friend, or even take some flowers around and bless them too. we could all do with being a little more human, don't you think?

Tags: human, jesuits, contemplative

sella-what?

no, cellardyke!

so now we have bird flu. dang! (as the tsk would say).

check out the man on the ground - or in the potting shed - for a first hand view of the day.

'twill be interesting to see how this one pans out....

Tags: environment, cellardyke

developments and greenbelt

today i got the latest greenbelt mailing. looks like it will be another great weekend in august for about 17,000 people at cheltenham racecourse on the august bank holiday weekend. check out their website here for details. i won't be attending this year, as i've decided to go sailing instead with fellowship afloat on the annual volunteers' cruise.

but anyhoo, inside the greenbelt mailing was an advert for a magazine i hadn't heard of before, but which looks like it would be worth subscribing to - and it's free! its called 'developments'. here's part of their blurb:

a 'lifestyle' choice for too many people in developing countries is about which child to send to school or how to make the food last. in the poorest countries 'life', not 'lifestyle', is at stake. and that's what 'developments' magazine is about.

why not subscribe and develop your global education...

Tags: greenbelt, developments, fellowship afloat

soul space

tomorrow night is soul space at st mary's walthamstow, from 8.30pm-9.30pm.

come and enjoy the peace....

Tags: contemplative, peace, prayer

i'm back!!

have been away for a few days doing a mixture of things: on retreat, introducing a young friend to fellowship afloat with a view to her checking out the volunteer post of 'assistant cook' (which she didn't take, and so its still vacant - check out the fact site here for details, and pass them on to anyone you think may be interested as they need someone quickly); put my boat, 'blue vinney'', in the water for an early start to the season (see the picture taken just before she went in); attended bishop's council away day; and then helped a mate to put his boat back together.

back in the saddle now.

merton website

for all you thomas merton fans, check out this website.

Tags: merton