I Will Remember Them …
Reply
Monthly Archives: April 2008
How Long, O Lord .. How Long?
I have been watching the events surrounding the elections in Zimbabwe with great concern for some time. The following is from the News Corporation website tonight:
Post-election violence in Zimbabwe could reach genocidal proportions without intervention from the international community, the country’s church leaders have warned.
"We warn the world that if nothing is done to help the people of Zimbabwe from their predicament, we shall soon be witnessing genocide similar to that experienced in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and other hot spots in Africa and elsewhere,” leaders of all denominations said in a joint statement.
"To the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union and the United Nations to work towards arresting the deteriorating political and security situation in Zimbabwe.”
A recount of ballots is under way in Zimbabwe in the wake of the March 29 elections, amid allegations that longtime leader Robert Mugabe, 84, is trying to steal the outcome and cling to power.
There are two basic things that concern me about this situation besides the obvious destruction of a nation:
APRIL Breathing Space this Saturday
This is just a quick reminder that our April quiet day, now known as Breathing Space, is coming up this Saturday, 26th April, 2008.
Our registration facility is presently offline for a few days, so if you’re planning on joining us, please let me know as soon as possible by clicking HERE.
This month’s Breathing Space will have a theme around Pentecost, in preparation for Pentecost Sunday on 11th May, 2008. We’re looking forward to a special time in the presence of God and in community.
We hope you can join us.
Kerry
The Margins of a Spiritual Wilderness
Along the margins of the mountain ranges of North America, where unmanageable fortifications and regal satellites of rock surrender to low plains, lies a series of lesser ridges. They are known as the ‘outer range’, and winding through these barren lowlands is what the Native Indians call ‘The Trail’ – the pilgrimage to go beyond the here and now, and on toward the colonies of heaven. To many indigenous cultures ‘the trail’ is widely regarded as the most precious gift we have, and during the autumn of 1994 I remember sitting in the bar of a small town due south of the Adirondack Mountains with an old Indian. That night he told me the story of the ‘coal holders’.
As the seasons changed, when winter would eventually arrive, the tribe would have to move camp. Each tribe would designate coal carriers, and as the fire burned low, when the time came to move on, someone would have to carry the last hot coal to start the next fire at the new campsite. The old man explained that the community needed this fire to cook with, to sleep near, but most importantly this fire was the place of communication. It was the sacred place of storytelling, of dance and song. In short it was the heart of community. For many a weary pilgrim today it may feel like the fire has gone out completely. For those spiritual refugees who have connected to something they know to be true but no longer know where to go to explore and develop that connection our current spiritual climate may seem very cold.
We stand at the dawn of a dysfunctional transitional time in which Westerners seem able to express their doubts but not yet their sustaining beliefs; their lack of belief in the way things are but not yet their commitment to change. Our world is beginning to groan and toil for something beyond the inadequate patterns it has experienced and knows. Humanity is tired and longing for a life liberated by a spirituality that offers hope and gives rise to a world of justice and peace. Our common task, it seems, is to discover a new way of being human. It is this new way of being which intrigues me. I find it unfortunate that ‘church’ has become a by-word for the hypocritical and the insipid. Is it possible that a place can be found where spiritual refugees are able to be heard, can believe and belong without conforming in some way to an institution which makes us feel fraudulent, masking who we really are?
Pauline’s Impressions of Breathing Space
NOTE FROM KERRY: Pauline Loughhead is a member of the pastoral care team at St Paul’s Anglican Church, Chatswood, NSW and is in the midst of intense training for hospital chaplaincy. She has been at almost every quiet day since they first began and has been a real blessing to us all. I’m sure you will enjoy her impressions of Breathing Space.
I am trying to get used to using the new ‘handle’ for the quiet days away at Winbourne. These are something that I have written in my diary for the whole year [in indelible ink!]. Other than the birth of a grandchild or death itself, my intention is to be there, and yes, I can in fact relate to the new title, for they are indeed a ‘breathing space’ in my busy schedule.
March’s Breathing Space took a slightly different form, and one that I found helpful. We are evolving as we are ‘getting used to one another’ I do not really know any of the participants in this community (other than a friend who travels with me), yet we are there with the same intent and this itself brings with it a sense of community; common-unity; one-mindedness; a oneness in spirit. The focus for this, and very special to me, is the mid-day Eucharist. As we humble ourselves before God together and regard the symbols of bread and wine; body and blood; broken and shed on our account … in fact to clear our account, pay our debt … I find this service a great leveller. We are all equal in blessing before God as we share in this together.
This month, after our morning prayer and period of personal quiet reflection and listening to God, we shared in the Eucharist together and then had a more monastic style lunch than we have had in the past. Rather than all the chattering and sharing our lives with one another, we sat in silence to eat our simple shared lunch whilst Kerry read to us from a book called ‘The Ladder of Monks’. This was a new experience and one that took a little getting used to. I am a chatterbox and love words in all their forms, but I found this easy to accommodate and far less disturbing to my whole day than the social lunch we have had before.
Pauline’s Impressions of Breathing Space
I am trying to get used to using the new handle for the quiet days away at Winbourne. These are something that I have written in my diary for the whole year [in indelible ink!] Other than the birth of a grandchild or death itself my intention is to be there and yes, I can in fact relate to the new title, for they are indeed a breathing space in my busy schedule.
March’s Breathing Space took a slightly different form and one that I found helpful. We are evolving as we are ‘getting used to one another’ I do not really know any of the participants in this community (other than a friend who travels with me) yet we are there with the same intent and this itself brings with it a sense of community, common unity, one mindedness, a oneness in spirit. The focus for this and very special to me is the mid day Eucharist. As we humble ourselves before God together and regard the symbols of bread and wine, body and blood, broken and shed on our account, in fact to clear our account, pay our debt, I find this service a great leveller. We are all equal in blessing before God as we share in this together.
This month, after our morning prayer and period of personal quiet reflection and listening to God we shared in the Eucharist together and then had a more monastic style lunch than we have had in the past. Rather than all chattering and sharing our lives with one another, we sat in silence to eat our simple shared lunch whilst Kerry read to us from a book called The Ladder of Monks. This was a new experience and one that took a little getting used to. For all that I am a chatterbox and love words in all their forms, I found this easy to accommodate and far less disturbing to my whole day than the social lunch we have had before.