Reflections for half term

 

...On 31st October the Church remembers Martin Luther. A few years ago, I carved this pumpkin to celebrate that remembering. 

And this All Hallowstide, saints of all kinds will be remembered too... those featured in church windows, and people who have lived with us, and loved us...

Saints who are symbols of hope

Saints who have known us as closely as it is possible to do so

Saints who remind us of the message of the angels, 'do not be afraid'

Saints who show us there is no Resurrection without death

As we remember them, why not reflect, too, on these questions...

- who has been a saint to you, in your life?

- what might you be able to do at the moment to be, in some way, a saint to others? 

[Photos show pumpkins, carved with - Martin Luther, Noah's ark, Jesus, A smiling angel face, and a Sacred Heart]

Monday 28th September

A new experience for us, a couple of weeks ago!

With the APCMs all completed, and the first 'round' of PCC meetings begun, we're wondering 'how can we work together to move forwards at the moment?'

Whether you're in control at the front, or perhaps nervously being carried along by the momentum (or thoroughly enjoying being able to sit back a little and just enjoy the journey, like our daughter!), that photo makes me wonder...
...how are you working with others at the moment?
...are you working together to speed along to new places, or tending to work against each other and slowing each other up? 
...do those answers change if the 'other' you're thinking about is God?



[Photo shows a tandem]

Thursday 24th September

A couple of weeks ago my daughter came home from school with a cough. We arranged for a covid test, and went into self-isolation until we received the result.

And with along with us, this blog seemed to enter self-isolation too.

And I'm still not entirely sure why... which is perhaps why my plans to restart the blog over the last week or so haven't quite made it to an actual post until now.
(I'll keep reflecting on it, and hopefully work out the answer soon!)

This blog... life more generally... seemed to freeze, in many ways.
Which has made me reflect on the times in my life when my faith, and relationship with God, has done similar.
About a dozen years ago I went to a service in a different place to usual (as it happens, it was the first time I ever worshipped at Westcott House), and I surprised myself by finding myself saying, as I walked home, 'I remember why I'm a Christian.' 
My relationship with God had frozen, slowly but definitely, in many ways. And that service thawed things suddenly, and completely.

It's an experience, and a feeling, that has stayed with me ever since. It showed me, powerfully, the importance of trying to keep faith 'warm'. And that is some of the prayer that I have put into the hats I've been making recently, to keep people warm more literally:

[Photos are of four crocheted woollen hats - two completed, two in the process of being made.]


...Which makes me wonder, today...

...How do you keep your faith 'warm'?
...Do you have different 'hats' to do this at different times of the year?
...What 'hat' might you like to make and/or 'put on' to warm your faith at the moment?

Photo of the day - 97

A reminder of a wonderful walk.



I wonder, today...

...what memories, full of wonder and hope, do you have?





[Photo shows a rainbow over a golden field, with part of a metal kissing gate in the foreground.]

Photo of the day - 96

The verse from the icon at Westcott House...

A source of comfort for many Westcott ordinands.

I wonder, today...
...where in the Bible do you find comfort and confidence?




[Photo shows a close up of the Westcott House icon, with the bible showing the words 'Ye have not chosen me but I have chosen you'.]

Photo of the day - 95

A flower that reminds me of childhood family holidays in Scotland.


I wonder, today...   what flowers have significance for you?




[Photo shows a close up of a thistle.]

Photo of the day - 94

'Rest day trousers'

I wonder, today... what do you do to relax, and in your free time? ...why is it relaxing?




[Photo shows a close up of denim fabric from a pair of jeans, with two rows stitching across the middle]

Photo of the day - 93

We're reopening some church buildings, but this pandemic is far from over. I wonder, today...

What can the Church learn from these last few months?
We've got a pretty unique opportunity to re-examine some things that we perhaps would never have considered changing before...   What 'blue sky thinking' comes to your mind?



[Photo shows silhouettes of birds sitting on telegraph wires, against a blue sky background]

Photo of the day - 92

I wonder, today...

What is being 'made new' in your life at the moment?



[Photo shows a green and white 'recycling' symbol]

Photo of the day - 91

Fire. Gold. Flowers. Sunshine. Happiness. Custard.

Something else?

I wonder...    What does 'yellow' bring to mind for you the most?



[Photo shows a yellow flower]

Photo of the day - 90

There are some incredibly colourful displays of flowers on the edges of the fields nearby at the moment.


I wonder, today...
What draws your attention to places where things are, metaphorically, growing in your life at the moment?



[Photo shows orange flowers amongst other wild flowers on the edge of a field.]

Photo of the day - 89

A splash of red from cooking today's dinner.

Nothing particularly special - pasta and a tomato sauce; something I had *loads* as a child.

It made me wonder, though... what everyday things can I underappreciate, or not see the true beauty of?


[Photo shows a purple cooking spoon with red pasta sauce on it.] 

Photo of the day - 88

A new addition!

This is Rosa.

(Named for the pink on her leaves, and after Rosa Parks)

She's a 'prayer plant' - at night the leaves move to point up, almost like traditional 'praying hands'.

I wonder, today...
...what are you praying for at the moment?


[Photo shows a 'Prayer Plant']

Photo of the day - 87

I took this photo in Ely Cathedral while I was on 'BAP' - the 3 day selection panel to be recommended for training for ordination.

It's shaped like a path, as well as being a cross.

I wonder...what kind of path do you think it might be suggesting? Where are you, on that path?



[Photo shows the cross on the wall just inside Ely cathedral]

Photo of the day - 86

A head and a couple of eyes seem appropriate for today!!

Given those large eyes, I wonder, today...

...what can you see (not just literally) when you look at the world?




[Photo shows the 'koala head' hood of a koala onesie]

Photo of the day - 85

The Shema, which Jewish people have attached to their doorframes, comes from Deuteronomy.

This is what we have at our front door... a stoup for holy water, that we can use to remind ourselves of our baptism as we leave and enter the house.

I wonder, today...
...what reminds you of your faith, each day?




[Photo shows our holy water stoup next to our front door.]

Photo of the day - 84

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Photo of the day - 83

Slightly tenuous link for the 'boredom buster'. Here, it's a pun.

Leviticus talks a lot about Holiness.

Here's something with lots of holes...

It makes me wonder...
Where are the 'holes' for you, at the moment, in your life and faith?
...Are they there because something's missing, or are they letting something wonderful shine out?


[Photo shows a simple metal candle holder with stars cut out of it, casting star shapes on the wall nearby]

Photo of the day - 82

I wonder, today...

...where are you heading at the moment?




[Photo shows a footprint on a muddy track.]

Photo of the day - 81

The beginning of a tomato.

I wonder today...

...what is getting bigger, clearer, and will soon 'ripen', in your faith at the moment?

[Photo shows a close up of a tiny, green, tomato growing]