Christmas Prayer

Give us a heart for simple things:
Love and laughter
Bread and wine
Tales and dreams
Fill our lives with
Green and growing hope
Make us a people of justice
Whose song is Hallelujah
And whose name
Breathes Love.
 
- A Prayer by Walter Wink

Henry J.M. Nouwen, Advent prayer

Lord Jesus,
Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy
Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your
voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your
coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy
of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.
To you we say, 'Come Lord Jesus!'" 


- Henry J.M. Nouwen, Advent prayer

Blessing from Ireland

May the blessing of light be on you,
Light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine upon you and warm your heart
Till it glows like a great fire,
And strangers may warm themselves as well as friends.

And may the light shine out of the eyes of you
Like a candle set in the window of a house,
Bidding the wanderer to come in out of the storm.
May you ever have a kindly greeting for people
As you’re going along the roads.
And now may the Lord bless you,
And bless you kindly.
- Irish blessing

Irish blessing for a journey

"The love and affection of the angels be to you,
The love and affection of the saints be to you,
The love and affection of heaven be to you,
To guard and to cherish you.
May God shield you on every step,

May He aid you on every path,
And may He hold you safe on every slope,
On every hill and on every plain;
On earth and on sea until you are home again."
- Irish blessings for those taking a journey

 

   Image courtesy of chanpipat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The bible

"People always took the literal sense of the Bible seriously, but a literal reading was only one of the senses in which they took the Bible... What is new in our era is the idea of isolating one, single literal sense of the Bible -- and declaring that the only way to read the Bible is literally. That's actually new in the whole history of the Bible." ~ Karen Armstrong 

Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A Hasidic Tale

'How can we determine the hour or dawn, when the night ends and the day begins?' asked the Teacher.
'When from a distance you can distinguish between a dog and a sheep' suggested one of the students.
'No' was the answer.
'Is is when one can distinguish between a fig tree and a grapevine?' asked a second student.

'No.'
'Please tell us the answer then.'
'It is, then,' said the Teacher, 'when you can look in the face of a human being and you have enough light to recognise in him or her your brother or sister. Up till then it is night and darkness is still with us.'

 

Image courtesy of dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Prayer for calm

 

May God grant you and yours
the peace of all things calm,
the place to hide from harm,
the light that shines in dark,
the heart's eternal spark.

A door that's open wide to
the guest who waits outside.
Hospitality, warmth and cheer
by your hearth, no matter where.
O, oft and oft and oft, goes Christ
in the stranger's guise.
He is the light, the truth, the way
May He be with you this very day.
- Prayer from the 1st millennium Celtic Oral Tradition

Being right

 Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"The desire to be right, the need to be right are very important in the lives of most adults. This is no less true of religious adults..... The need to be right carries with it the fear of being wrong. In the lives of many Christian adults this factor prevents learning. To be ready to learn is to be ready to admit that there is much one does not know, that one may not be entirely right. There is even the risk that one may be proved wrong."

John Hull in "What Prevents"

St Columba's prayer

The path I walk, Christ walks it.
May the Land in which I am in be without sorrow.
May the Trinity protect me wherever I stay;
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Bright angels walk with me.
Dear presence – in every dealing…
May every path before me be smooth;
May man, woman and child welcome me.
- St. Columba

  Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Journey prayer

Father, bless to me this day,
And Jesus, bless to me this night,
Spirit, bless each hour of life,
Bless me, God of grace we pray.

Bless the path on which I go,
Bless the earth beneath my sole,
Bless me God and give Your love,
Bless my rest and my repose.

Father, keep me in Your eyes,
Jesus, keep me in Your love,
Spirit, keep me in Your Truth,
Bless me, God of grace I pray.

- Journey prayer (Celtic tradition)

  Image courtesy of chanpipat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Morning prayer

Thanks to Thee, O God, that I have risen today,
To the rising of this life itself;
May it be to Thine own glory, O God of every gift,
And to the glory of my soul likewise.

O great God, aid Thou my soul
With the aiding of Thine own mercy;
Even as I clothe my body with wool,
Cover Thou my soul with the shadow of Thy wing.

Help me to avoid every sin,
And the source of every sin to forsake;
And as the mist scatters on the crest of the hills,
May each ill haze clear from my soul, O God.

- Celtic morning prayer

(Image courtesy of Evgeni Dinev / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

My book on wholeness and the fruits of the spirit

In the letter to the Galatians in the New Testament St Paul outlines the fruits that can be expected to be present in the lives of believers as a gift from the Holy Spirit.

In this book I look at what each of the gifts of the spirit involves and how together they indicate what to be fully human means.

Wholeness is a word often used today and I explains that wholeness is the result of these spiritual gifts becoming our normal way of life. Jesus came to bring fullness of life and in this book this special life that is open to all is explained.

This book has been described as a spiritual treasure, and though it is a short book ( just under 16,000 words) it is full of practical wisdom that comes from my long experience of ministry in the church.

To purchase for your kindle in the UK click here

To purchase this book for your Kindle in the USA click here

The book is now available on Amazon in paperback as well as a Kindle download.

To see the amazon page in the USA click here

or to see the Amazon page in the UK click here.

The kindling prayer

 

I will kindle my fire this morning
In the presence of the holy angels of heaven
Without malice, without jealousy, without envy,
But the Holy Son of God to shield me.
God, kindle Thou in my heart within

A flame of love to my neighbour,
To my foe, to my friend, to my kindred all.

- Celtic prayer from 'Carmina Gadelica'

  Image courtesy of twobee/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Celtic benediction

For the might of your wind on the waters
for the swelling of the open sea
and the rushing of crested waves
thanks be to you, O God.

For the strength of desire in my body
for the sap of life that flows
and the yearnings for birth and abundance
thanks be to you.

Restore me in the image of your love this day
that the longings of my heart may be true.
Restore me in the image of your love this day
that my passions for life may be full.

- From "Celtic Benediction: Morning and Night Prayer"

Celtic prayer

I am bending my knee
In the eye of the Father who created me,
In the eye of the Son who purchased me,
In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me,
In friendship and affection.
Through Thine own Anointed One, O God,
Bestow upon us fullness in our need,
Love towards God,
The affection of God,
The smile of God,

The wisdom of God.
The grace of God,
The fear of God,
And the will of God
To do on the world of the Three,
As angels and saints
Do in heaven;
Each shade and light,
Each day and night,
Each time in kindness,
Give Thou us Thy Spirit.
- A Celtic prayer from 'Carmina Gadelica'

   (Image courtesy of ahmet guler / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Northumbrian celtic prayer

May the Father of Life pour out His grace on you;
may you feel His hand in everything you do
and be strengthened by the things He brings you through:
this is my prayer for you.

May the Son of God be Lord in all your ways;
may He shepherd you the length of all your days,
and in your heart may He receive the praise:
this is my prayer for you.

And despite how simple it may sound,
I pray that His grace will abound
and motivate everything you do;
and may the fullness of His love be shared through you.

May His Spirit comfort you, and make you strong,
may He discipline you gently when you are wrong,
and in your heart may he give you a song:
this is my prayer for you.

May Jesus be Lord in all your ways;
may He shepherd you the length of all your days,
and in your heart may He receive the praise:
this is my prayer for you.
- A prayer from the Northumbria Community’s 'Celtic Daily Prayer Book'

Another celtic prayer

  "Father, bless to me this day,
And Jesus, bless to me this night,
Spirit, bless each hour of life,
Bless me, God of grace we pray.
Bless the path on which I go,

Bless the earth beneath my sole,
Bless me God and give Your love,
Bless my rest and my repose.
Father, keep me in Your eyes,
Jesus, keep me in Your love,
Spirit, keep me in Your Truth,
Bless me, God of grace I pray."

- Celtic prayer

Image courtesy of prozac1/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

prayer

"Almighty God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
to me the least of saints,
to me allow that I may keep even the smallest door,
the farthest, darkest, coldest door,

the door that is least used, the stiffest door.
If only it be in Your house, O God,
that I can see Your glory even afar,
and hear Your voice,
and know that I am with You, O God."
- A prayer attributed to Columba of Iona

Blessing

"You are the peace of all things calm
You are the place to hide from harm
You are the light that shines in dark
You are the heart's eternal spark
You are the door that's open wide

You are the guest who waits inside
You are the stranger at the door
You are the calling of the poor
You are my Lord and with me still
You are my love, keep me from ill
You are the light, the truth, the way
You are my Saviour this very day."
- Old Irish Blessing

Celtic blessing

"The love and affection of heaven be to you,
The love and affection of the saints be to you,
The love and affection of the angels be to you,
The love and affection of the sun be to you,
The love and affection of the moon be to you,

each day and each night of your lives,
To keep you from haters, to keep you from harmers,
to keep you from oppressors."
- Celtic blessing

St Columba's prayer

My dearest Lord.
Be Thou a bright flame before me.
Be Thou a guiding star above me.
Be Thou a smooth path beneath me.
Be Thou a kindly shepherd behind me.
Today and evermore.
- A Prayer attributed to Columba of Iona

Love itself by Leonard Cohen

Love Itself

The light came through the window now
straight from the sun above,
and so inside my little room

there plunged the rays of Love.

In streams of light I clearly saw
the dust you seldom see,
the dust the Nameless makes to speak
a Name for one like me.

And all mixed up with sunlight now
the flecks did float and dance
and I was tumbled up with them
in formless circumstance.

I’ll try to say a little more:
this Love went on and on
until it reached an open door -
Then Love itself was gone.

The self-same moment words were seen
from every window frame,
but there was nothing left between
the Nameless and the Name.

—Leonard Cohen, born today, September 21st, 1934

Celtic prayer for peace

Peace between nations,
peace between neighbours,
peace between lovers,
in love of the God of life.
Peace between man and woman,

peace between parent and child,
peace between brother and sister,
the peace of Christ above all peace.
Bless, O Christ, my face,
let my face bless everything.
Bless, O Christ, my eyes,
let my eyes bless all they see.
-Celtic prayer from Iona

Celtic prayer based on St Patrick's breastplate

Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield
overshadow me.
Christ under me;

Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
- Celtic prayer

Carmina Gadelica blessing

"May God make safe to you each step,
May God make open to you each pass,
May God make clear to you each road,
And may He take you in this clasp
to keep you safe, keep you warm and
protect you and yours from all harm."
- Celtic blessing from Carmina Gadelica

Blessings through the day by Andrew Greeley

"May the God of the dawn awaken you
May the God of sunrise stir you up
May the God of morning bless your work
May the God of noon renew your strength
May the God of sunset bring you home

May the God of dusk soothe your soul
May the God of night bring you rest."
- Adapted from a blessing by Andrew Greeley

Old Irish Prayer

"Give us, Lord, a bit o sun,
A bit o work and a bit o fun,
Give us in all the struggle and sputter,
Our daily bread and a bit o butter.
Give us health our keep to make

And a bit to spare for other's sake.
Give us, too, a bit of song
And a tale and a book to help us along.
Give us, Lord, a chance to be
Our goodly best, brave, wise and free,
Our goodly best for ourselves and others
Till all men learn to live as brothers."
- Old Irish prayer

Irish blessing

"May the God of the misty dawn waken you,
May the God of the rising sun stir you up,
May the God of morning sky send you on your way,
May the God of noon-day stillness renew your strength,
May the God of afternoon bring you home,

May the God of sunset delight your eye,
May the God of twilight calm your nerves,
And may the God of dusk bring you peace.
And may God bless you,
The rising and the setting sun,
The Alpha and the Omega,
The Beginning and the end,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
- Irish blessing (Fr. Andrew Greeley)

Silence

"Silence lies at the heart of all great spiritual traditions and pilgrimages. It is the vehicle that encourages us to dive beneath words, ideas, chatter and concepts. To discover the unspoken truths and the unfathomable mystery of being. The variety of forms of contemplation, prayer and meditation meet together in their reverence for the act of silence. Through them we learn to still the clamor of our hearts and the competing voices that cascade through our minds and discover a place of profound stillness and receptivity."

–Christina Feldman

Religious freedom

"The only way to ensure your own religious liberty remains strong is by advocating for the religious liberty of all, including those with whom you may passionately disagree."

 

I don't know who said That but I think it is true...

Celtic prayer for start of day

"As this day begins Christ be with us,
Be in our hearts and in our minds,
Be in our souls and in our spirits,
Be in our thoughts and in our desires.
As this day begins Christ walk beside us,

Show us the love only you can give,
Show us the light only you can provide,
Show us the wholeness only you can reveal.
As this day begins Christ surround us,
Circle us with your presence,
Keep protection near and danger far,
Bring us the assurance of your love."
- Celtic prayer

Celtic benediction

"Blessed are you, O Child of the Dawn,
for your light that dapples through creation
on leaves that shimmer in the morning sun
and in showers of rain that wash the earth.
Blessed are you

for the human spirit dappled with eternal light
in its longings for love and birth
and its pain-filled passions and tears.
Blessed are you, O Christ,
for you awaken me to life.
Blessed are you
for you stir me to true desire."
- From "Celtic Benediction: Morning and Night Prayer"

A prayer from Lindesfarne

"Leave me alone with God as much as may be.
As the tide draws the waters close in upon the shore,
Make me an island, set apart,
alone with you, God, holy to you.

Then with the turning of the tide
prepare me to carry your presence to the busy world beyond,
the world that rushes in on me
till the waters come again and fold me back to you."
- St Aidan of Lindisfarne

Another Celtic prayer

"Life of God be with you this day,
Love of the Creator fill your heart,
Light of the Saviour guide your steps,
Hope of the Sanctifier teach your minds,
Life of the Three sustain you,

Love of the One encircle you,
Now and always, this day and forever."
- Celtic prayer

Celtic prayer for the new day

"Let us walk into this day
God’s light before us,
God’s shield behind us,
God’s friends beside us.
Let us be filled

With the music of God’s world,
With the wonder of God’s love,
With the glory of God’s presence."
- Celtic prayer

Gentleness and strength

“Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength.” 

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (August 28, 1749 - March 22, 1832)

Love

 

"Spread love everywhere you go:
first of all in your own house.
Give love to your children, to your wife or husband,
to a next door neighbor....
Let no one come to you without leaving better or happier.

Be the living expression of God's kindness;
kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes,
kindness in your smile and kindness in your warm greeting."

- Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997)

   Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A modern Irish blessing

‎"May God protect you…
From scary nights,
from hasty flights;
From too much food,
from a somber mood;

From ringing bells,
from self-made hells;
From sickish pains,
from dishonest gains;
From excessive needs,
from tricky deeds;
From foolish quarrels,
from resting on laurels;
From silly fears,
from idle tears;
From forgotten lines,
And from all bad times.
We pray, Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
- Irish blessing (by Fr. Andrew Greeley)

Wise words from Thomas a Kempis

"We would have much peace if we would not busy ourselves with the sayings and doings of others." - Thomas à Kempis

A Jewish proverb

"If you always assume the person sitting next to you is the Messiah waiting for some human kindness,
You will soon come to weigh your words and watch your hands. And if he/she so chooses not to reveal him/herself in your time - It will not matter." -  A Rabbi's proverb

Another celtic prayer

"You are the peace of all things calm
You are the place to hide from harm
You are the light that shines in dark
You are the heart's eternal spark
You are the door that's open wide

You are the guest who waits inside
You are the stranger at the door
You are the calling of the poor
You are my Lord and with me still
You are my love, keep me from ill
You are the light, the truth, the way
You are my Saviour this very day."
- Celtic prayer (oral tradition)

Thomas Merton Quotation

"The only true joy on earth is to escape from the prison of our own false self, and enter by love into union with the Life Who dwells and sings within the essence of every creature and in the core of our own souls." - Thomas Merton

Celtic prayer

"I am bending my knee
in the Eye of the Father, who created me,
in the Eye of the Son, who purchased me,
in the Eye of the Spirit, who cleansed me.
By your own Anointed One, O God,

bestow upon us fullness in our need.
Love towards God, the affection of God, the smile of God,
the wisdom of God, the grace of God, the fear of God,
and the will of God to do on the world of the Three
as angels and saints do in heaven;
each shade and light, each day and night,
each time in kindness, give us your Spirit."
- Paul F. Rack, from 'Celtic Connections'

Celtic prayer

O Being of life !
O Being of peace !
O Being of time !
O Being of eternity !
O Being of eternity !

Keep me in good means,
Keep me in good intent,
Keep me in good estate,
Better than I know to ask,
Better than I know to ask !

Shepherd me this day,
Relieve my distress,
Enfold me this night.
Pour upon me Thy grace,
Pour upon me Thy grace !
- Celtic prayer from 'Carmina Gadelica'

The best...

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up!

The best time to repair your roof is when the sun is shining.

Alan Paton's prayer

"O Lord, open my eyes
that I may see the need of others,
open my ears that I may hear their cries,
open my heart so that they need not be without succour.
Let me not be afraid to defend the weak

because of the anger of the strong,
nor afraid to defend the poor
because of the anger of the rich.
Show me where love and hope and faith are needed,
and use me to bring them to these places.
Open my eyes and ears that I may, this coming day,
be able to do some work of peace for you."
- Alan Paton

Aristotle's wisdom

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

Seen on facebook

A friend put this as their facebook status today and I liked it....

Our faith may waiver. Our hope may stumble. But love, the DNA of God himself, will never fail us. It's God's love that renews our faith and our hope in our weakness and times of need. "Come - all who are weary - come into God's love and you will find rest for your soul."

  Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Dogma and mysticism

I saw the following quotation on the Christian Century: 

Poet Christian Wiman says that “mystical experience needs some form of dogma in order not to dissipate into moments of spiritual intensity that are merely personal.” On the other hand, “dogma needs regular infusions of unknowingness to keep from calcifying into the predictable, pontificating, and anti-intellectual services so common in mainstream American churches.” Practically, this means that “conservative churches that are infused with the bouncy brand of American optimism one finds in sales pitches are selling shit. It means that liberal churches that go months without mentioning the name of Jesus, much less the dying Christ, have no more spiritual purpose or significance than a local union hall. It means that we—those of us who call ourselves Christians—need a revolution in the way we worship”

trees and roots...

"He who has more learning than goodness is like a tree with many branches and few roots, which the first wind throws down; whilst he whose works are greater than his knowledge is like a tree with many roots and fewer branches, which all the winds of heaven cannot uproot." - The Talmud

An inspiring quote

Desmond Tutu the influential African bishop said:          

"You and I are created for transcendence, laughter, caring. God deliberately did not make the world perfect, for God is looking for you and me to be fellow workers with God."

wisdom

"The best preacher is the heart; the best teacher is time; the best book is the world; the best friend is God." - The Talmud

Deep peace

deep peace of the rushing wind to you,

deep peace of the rolling wave to you,

deep peace of the prince of peace to you.

Celtic blessing

Morning prayer

"As the sun scatters the mist
at the dawning of a new day,
So you calm our fears and anxieties
if we trust you.
You give us strength and courage
to live our daily lives
knowing you are with us
and we do not walk alone.
As the midday sun warms us,
we feel your protecting arms around us

and sense your loving presence.
As the sun sinks in a kaleidoscope of colour
you give us hope and renewal."
- Celtic prayer

Love

When you love people, you see all the good in them, all the Christ in them. God sees Christ, His Son, in us and loves us. And so we should see Christ in others, and nothing else, and love them. There can never be enough of it. There can never be enough thinking about it.

Dorothy Day

Celtic prayer for the morning

"As the sun rises, Lord, Let your light shine on me.
Destroy the darkness about me, Scatter the darkness before me, Disperse the darkness behind me, Dispel the darkness within me. Let your light shine on me.
As the sun rises, Lord, Let your light shine on me.
The warmth of your Presence, The brightness of your love, The radiance of your joy, The shining of your hope. Let your light shine on me.
As the sun rises, Lord, Let your light shine on me. Your light to guide, Your light to lead, Your light to direct, Your light to brighten.
Let your light shine on me."
- David Adam, 'Power Lines: Celtic Prayers About Work'

Rowan Williams writes to a six year old...

A six-year-old Scottish girl named Lulu wrote a letter to God: “To God, How did you get invented?” Lulu's father, who is not a believer, sent her letter to various church leaders: the Scottish Episcopal Church (no reply), the Presbyterians (no reply), and the Scottish Catholics (who sent a theologically complex reply). He also sent it to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who sent the following letter in reply:

Dear Lulu,

Your dad has sent on your letter and asked if I have any answers. It’s a difficult one! But I think God might reply a bit like this –

‘Dear Lulu – Nobody invented me – but lots of people discovered me and were quite surprised. They discovered me when they looked round at the world and thought it was really beautiful or really mysterious and wondered where it came from. They discovered me when they were very very quiet on their own and felt a sort of peace and love they hadn’t expected. Then they invented ideas about me – some of them sensible and some of them not very sensible. From time to time I sent them some hints – specially in the life of Jesus – to help them get closer to what I’m really like. But there was nothing and nobody around before me to invent me. Rather like somebody who writes a story in a book, I started making up the story of the world and eventually invented human beings like you who could ask me awkward questions!’

And then he’d send you lots of love and sign off. I know he doesn’t usually write letters, so I have to do the best I can on his behalf. Lots of love from me too.

+Archbishop Rowan

Now that's what I call real theology! Isn't this exactly why we need theological specialists: not to make the faith more complicated and obscure, but to help us grasp how simple it really is?

Collateral damage

If a bomb is deliberately dropped on a house or a vehicle on the grounds that a "suspected terrorist" is inside . . . , the resulting deaths of women and children may not be intentional. But neither are they accidental. The proper description is "inevitable." So if an action will inevitably kill innocent people, it is as immoral as a deliberate attack on civilians. And when you consider that the number of innocent people dying inevitably in "accidental" events has been far, far greater than all the deaths deliberately caused by terrorists, one must reject war as a solution for terrorism.

Howard Zinn

A prayer from Kenya

From the cowardice that dare not face new truth,

From the laziness that is contented with half truth,

From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth,

Good Lord, deliver us.

Kenyan prayer

Today and me...

There will never be another now -
I'll make the most of today.
There will never be another me -
I'll make the most of myself.
(Helen Keller)

Welcome to our church

“Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Community” has a very special welcome sign at their church. This is what welcome is about....

We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, yo no habla Ingles. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying new-borns, skinny as a rail or could afford to lose a few pounds.

We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our pastor who can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s Baptism.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like “organized religion,” we’ve been there too.

If you blew all your offering money at the dog track, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.

We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!

thought for the day

The "job" of the church is not to convert the world, but to love and serve the world as Jesus did. This would also indicate that our "job" is not primarily to "get new members," but to love and care for people in our communities.  ( Anon.)

Meister Eckhart.

A pear seed grows into a pear tree, and a hazelnut seed grows into a hazelnut tree and a seed of God grows into God.  God does not ask anything else of you but to let yourself go and  let God be God in you.  
Meister Eckhart (c.1260 – c. 1327)

What is the church?

Meanings of the word church from book: A A New Pocket Dictionary (A dictionary of thoughts and meanings according to everyone but Webster)  by Lindy Black

1.Not a rapport with the status quo. - Harvey Cox; 

 

2. A hospital for sinners, not a sanctuary for saints, 

3. The church is YOU; - Lindy Black

4. A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, - 1Pet.2:9  

 

5. Church is a work of faith (not a plan for success ) - Tom Vanderstadt);    

 

6. The body of Christ Christian theology  

7. The Church is an organism that grows best in an alien society. - Stacey Woods  

8. A community of walking wounded.  

9 What you have left when the building burns down and the preacher leaves town. 

 

10. Haven in a heartless world.   -  Coffin  

11. Not  a moral exterminator. 

12. The great lost and found. 

13 The Church is for the perfecting of the members not a rest home for the perfect.  - Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004), 

14.  The conscience of the state…  - Martin Luther King Jr. 

 

15. Provides opportunities for people to touch the infinite center of all things and to grow into all they are destined to be.  -  Spong

Sin

"Jesus claims to provide an adequate respose to human dastardliness - that sneaky wickedness that is corporate and individual, conscious and unconscious, seen and unseen.

There is something alluring about the word dastardly. I use the word dastardly instead of the much simpler word sin. I do this because the word sin has little resonance in a secular society, but the failure to recognise sin does not mean that it has no impact. As we puzzle how to pivot, to turn ourselves around and turn the issue...  around we are confronted by sin - dastardliness, our own, other peoples and the dastardliness that runs adeep and furtively through our world. Jesus provides a path through this dastardliness. For those who are Christians this way through is secured through Jesus' death and resurrection, but Christians and non Christains alike will be interested in how, by showing us how to live, Jesus also provides a path through dastardliness."   - Ann Morisy

Wise words...

Today give a stranger one of your smiles. It may be the only sunshine he sees all day!

Old celtic prayer

Thanks be to thee for the gifts thou givest me

each day each night on land and sea

Each weather fair, wild or calm

For thine eye to keep from harm

For each hour , its ebb its flow

For thine arm around me so

for each gift thanks be to thee

The best gift is thyself to me. 

Amen.

Niebuhr

“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.”

 - Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 - June 01, 1971)

This amused me!

Little Johnny was in church with his mum for the service when he felt he was about to throw up. "Mum, I think I'm going to throw up!" She told him, "I want you to run outside as fast as you can. Run across the lawn and go behind the bushes. You can throw up behind the bushes and nobody will see you." So Little Johnny sped for the door. Less than a minute later, he returned to his seat. He had the look of obvious relief on his face. "Did you make it all the way to the bushes, Johnny?"
"I didn't have to go that far. Just as I got to the front door, I found a box that had a sign on it: FOR THE SICK."

Helping others

"Never look down on anybody unless you are helping them up"  Anon.

Wholeness now in paperback

My book is now available on Amazon in paperback as well as a Kindle download.

To see the amazon page in the USA click here

or to see the Amazon page in the UK click here.

Curiosity

"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." 

Albert Einstein

Work

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."

Confucius.

Light

"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle"  Roy Dickson.

Quote of the day

Plato said:

" A wise man speaks because he has something to say, a fool because he has to say something!"

Spiritual awakening

I don't know the source of this - I found it on Facebook!

Christianity misrepresented

The passage below is a quotation from a blog written by Rev Sally Coleman

Only recently I heard someone say - "if we truly lived as Jesus wanted us to then we would be a strange buttoned up, straight laced group of people that would confuse and repel others....."

How could anyone who has read the Gospels believe that? When I hear things like this I want to weep with frustration and anguish and anger, yes anger that we have told ourselves such lies, that we have loaded one another with so many burdens of how to and what to that we stumble around under the weight of them, and in the midst of all this confusion and stumbling we wonder amongst ourselves why we are not attracting new members! Then we feel bad and so we plan and scheme and work and strive and frankly we wear ourselves out, we take on new initiatives and struggle to keep them afloat....

Good point Sally.

Intelligence and doubt

"The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence." - Charles Bukowski

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Five Star review

Wholeness and the Fruits of the Spirit [Kindle Edition]

by Pastor John (Author)

May 24, 2012   Review By Karen  * * * * *

I have enjoyed this book. It is a look at the fruit of the Spirit that we all can use in our daily lives. 

 (Copied from Amazon)

Thank you Karen for your five star review of my book. I am pleased you found it helpful. 
God Bless 
Pastor John

All age worship

Yesterday I led worship in a church which is not my usual one. The tunes for some of the hymns were new to that congregation. There was concern from the person I spoke to when discussing the music as their pianist is over 90 years old and had arthritis in her fingers. I was therefore a little nervous when we started as to how it would go!
But I need not have worried. She was not perfect but she showed signs amidst the occasional shaky bits of the greatly talented musician that she had been. She didn't just thump out the tunes but added delicate twiddly bits to the notes and played with expression to match the emphasis of the verses.
It is good when people are able to use their talents at whatever age and are given an opportunity to be useful rather than being put away in storage because they have had too many birthdays. We saw this when we were at Oxford for the graduation ceremony last weekend where the dean of degrees for the day from our daughter's college was an emeritus fellow well into her seventies.
I hope that when I get into my advanced years there will still be useful things that I can do. I also hope that my wife or some close friend will tell me when I get to be past it and it is time to put my feet up.