God and weed!

We’ve joked about the title of today’s post while wondering who such a title might attract and whether it was wise as I hope to continue to work in the diocese beyond September! The weeds refer, initially, to the weeds of the allotment while god refers to … well God!

Once a month chapter meets and on those mornings I stay at home and pray. A few years ago I went on retreat with the Northumbria Community for a week. They set me the task of weeding and planting potatoes as I prayed and listened to God. So … this week I have conducted my own mini retreat / quiet space on the allotment while weeding.

I have noticed in particular that having a fairly mindless and repetitive task to complete over an hour or two seems to free the mind from clutter and creates space to reflect. I felt a great symbolic sense that as I was clearing a patch of ground to reveal bare soil so I was clearing the weeds of thought and personal opinions that have allowed to develop and hide or disguise or prevent the development of new ideas.

While contemplating and weeding I developed a prayer:

As I clear this space
remove the clutter from my mind.
As I extract these weeds
unload those deep rooted thoughts and opinions
that are asphyxiating  growth and maturation.
As I expose fresh soil
return me to the naked space of creativity.
In this crisp original arena
propagate the unseasoned seeds of dreams.

I’m finding that weeding with God is a really valuable experience. if you’d like to try out a mini retreat in this space then get in touch – this could be easily arranged.

touching the tent

Today I attended the annual Diocesan New Year service. THis is a service when Diocesan staff and cathedral staff get together, worship and hear from the Bishop. It’s quite a cool occasion and a chance to meet new people and catch up with friends.

This morning Bishop Brian preached. He told us he was going to preach about something that was important. Something that was universal. Something that lots of people admitting to doing in surveys, whether they were Christian or not. He was talking of prayer.

Bishop Brian spoke well and provoked discussion as we walked away from the church this morning. One description of prayer that particularly grabbed my attention was his description that prayer was ‘touching the tent.’

To put this in context he spoke a little about camping. He asked the question, ‘when it rains, what must you never do in a tent?’ The answer, of course, is that you must never touch the tent. If you do you make a connection that allows the water to come through and soon you have a very wet tent.

I like that gift of an image of prayer. Prayer is touching the tent to allow God to flow into an otherwise dry situation. Touching the tent makes a difference, a connection is made … what follows may be a drip, a trickle or a flood … but there is no doubt … the tent will have been touched!

to comfort all who mourn

This morning Jean led morning prayer.

I have grown to acknowledge this group of words as being words of value and sustenance.
Today’s liturgy included this canticle:

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The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
because he has anointed me.

He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken-hearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
to comfort all who mourn,

To give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit,

That they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

For as the earth puts forth her blossom,
and as seeds in the garden spring up,

So shall the Lord God make righteousness and praise
blossom before all the nations.

You shall be called priests of the Lord;
they shall speak of you as ministers of our God.

It’s a sobre reminder that in confusing and saddening times, that we are called to bring good news, to comfort the mourning ….. in short, to be helpful in thoughts, words and actions.

Following this Jean invited us to light candles which symbolised those who had been killed in Norway as we prayed for the bereaved, the survivors, the nation and those charged with bringing justice in this horrendous case.

We continue to hold the people of Norway in our thoughts and prayers

blessed

I have an interesting job.
On occasions I have chance encounters in which I think I touch the divine.
Yesterday I had one such encounter.
It just so happened that before this encounter I was reading The Irresistible Revolution.
My mentor thought it would be useful to read.
In a coffee shop I just finished the first chapter.
It ends with this Mother Teresa quote:
‘in the poor we meet Jesus in his most interesting disguises’.

I left the coffee shop and walked thought he cathedral on my way back to the office.
This is my normal routine.
Immediately the stewards directed me to the rear of the cathedral.
A man had come in who had been beaten, mugged, and hospitailised a few days ago.
The guy was clearly distressed and wanted to get home to London.
He had been discharged but had no resources to get home.
I think he was intending to walk home.

He was directed to the cathedral as a place that might help.
That thought brings a tear of joy to my eye.
Someone ‘out there’ thinks the cathedral is a place of help.

After a little chat I offered to walk to the station and buy a ticket for him.
He accepted happily and we walked together down the High Street.
We talked a lot and the guys life story was a privilege to hear.
He was an HIV counsellor who had lost his job due to funding cuts.
(the politics of cuts are for another post!)

As I walked with the man a verse from the Emmaus story in Luke 24 hit my heart.
‘We’re not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road…’

My heart burned
I was intrigued by this man’s presence.
As I handed over the ticket he shook my hand
He looked me in the eye
held my gaze
and said
‘I’ll pray for you’

Strange …
I was going to offer to pray for him

humbled ..
and a little watery eyed …
I waved goodbye ..
and returned along the High Street

blessed

‘my bowels …’

The morning tends to start for me in the cathedral at 8am with Morning Prayer from Common Worship. I have come to find the receptiveness and the rhythm to be a real support for me. My one complaint would be that there are a lot of words and loads of scripture, much of which can wash over me a lot of the time, but nevertheless the rhythm and the discipline is a powerful way for me to start off my day.

In the cathedral we have the privilege of being able to move around different parts of the cathedral to help us pray during different seasons. During Lent we pray in the starkness of the crypt – not the cosy Ithamar Chapel which many will know and where the gathering gets together … but in the larger body of the crypt. It tends to feel very wilderness-y and is sparse, bare, grey etc etc etc.

To mark the 400th anniversary of the King James version this Lent all the BIble readings during morning and evening prayer are from the KJV. It’s been a long time since I even looked at the KJV but I have to admit that there is something about the poetic language of the version which can give a whole different image or impression to think about.

This mornings reading brought a smile to our faces: Jeremiah 4: 19 – end. In our normal NRSV version the reading starts ‘my anguish, my anguish’. The King James starts …’my bowels, my bowels’  … which produced a snigger as well as getting us to engage with the reading in a fresh way … certainly expressive! Maybe there is something in this ‘older’ language after all ….

simply hanging out or prayer?

Normally on Mondays we have a staff meeting.
Yesterday was chapter which meets for the day once a month.

I’m not a member of chapter so on these Monday’s I have started to have a prayer morning. I have become conscious of the need to pray more in what I am doing – it’s quite strange how it seems since being ordained I have prayed less than when I worked with YFC … and that can’t be right, can it?!

Yesterday morning I prayed. There was silence, there was asking for guidance, there was praying for people from the gathering and the places I hang out.

I was hoping that God would give me some revelation.
I was hoping God may give me a picture, a verse, a vision … but
God was silent!
God said nothing!
nought!
zilch!

I gave up a morning to pray …. and God was silent.

Silence …. but not nothing!
I came from the morning ‘refreshed’
ready to get on with things!

God was there, well God is always there … that’s obvious
But yesterday morning, in my simple action of slowing down to pray,
I became much more aware of God with me
God never said anything
But I felt I could hear God breathing
God listening
God waiting

Was I praying?
Or was I just hanging out with my creator?
Is there even a difference?

what’s coming through the door?

On Tuesdays and Thursdays my day starts with Morning Prayer (as it does most days) before I then walk around Rochester praying. Rochester High Street at 8.30am is an interesting time,  quiet, although never empty with deliveries happening or people rushing for trains.  I tend to take my camera with me on my prayer walk as I find having a camera with me helps me to look around what has become a very familiar environment in a fresh way.

Today I took this picture of Deanery Gate as I was wandering on my prayer walk. I find gateways, doorways, quite ‘interesting’ as I walk around this historical place of Rochester. As I was looking and contemplating this morning I was struck first by my thinking of how many thousands of people have walked through this gate since it’s 15th. century installation, each on their own personal journey.

I was then struck my a new thought. Doors are two-way. Often I think about what is on the other side of the door, and walking through doorways. This morning, however, with the sunlight pouring through the gate towards me, I started to consider what might be coming from the other side of the door towards me.

If we simply walk through doors in search of our ‘destiny’ or the next job then we may be in danger of missing something. That something or someone could be in need of our attention, or be in possession of something to pass on to us.

In the past I have always thought about pushing doors and see if they open for me. It has been a language that has been used with me, and I have used it with others, when thinking about our life journeys and decisions and such like.  I think God may have challenged me on that today.

Maybe, just maybe, he is calling me to simply wait on this side of the door and see what comes through.
Exciting and scary at the same time …. so … for now …. I dwell by the door and wait …. wondering!

the Father’s letter

I caught this over on Rachel’s blog and I simply loved it. Not sure where t comes from, but it’s a great collection of scripture.

My Child..

You may not know me, but I know everything about you.Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways .Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake.Psalm 139:15-16

For all your days are written in my book.Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live.Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother’s womb.Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know me.John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love .1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you..1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father.1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect Father.Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore.Psalm 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you .Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession . Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul.Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me.Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart . Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine.Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles .2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you.Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart.Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.Revelation 21:3-4

And I’ll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.Revelation 21:4

I am your Father and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus.John 17:23

For in Jesus my love for you is revealed .John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.Hebrews 1:3

And He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you.Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.Romans 8:32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me.1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again.Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen.Luke 15:7

I have always been Father and will always be Father.Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…Will you be my child?.John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.Luke 15:11-32 .

Love,

Your Dad Almighty God

prayer stool

This week I got a prayer stool delivered.

I have been looking for one of these for a little while as I like to be kneeling when I pray compline at night as, for me, it seems to concentrate my mind.

I know there is no need to pray and in fact people can pray in whatever way they wish. I regularly pray with a cup of coffee in my hand, while walking down the street, swimming in the pool or driving the car. I also believe it is ok to keep my eyes open when I pray! But, for me, kneeling at key times in my day is very symbolic of my relationship with God. For me the symbolism is about reminding myself who I am before God and I like to end my day in particular recognising that the relationship I have is of Creator and created, or King and subject, Rabbi and disciple.

Anyway … David at Just Crosses was very helpful and made me a stool with 2 pairs of legs so I could experiment which height was more comfortable for me. On his website you can see other simple but well made things that david makes … but of you are looking for a reasonably priced prayer stool why not check out him out.

be careful what you pray for …

caught this the other day from Naked Pastor …