Thanks to everyone who participated in tonights worship service, it was really beautiful. The service was inspired by John O Donohue’s take on ancient Christian practice The Examen, and asked a series of questions which invited the individual to reflect on their day. Each person had found a different way to present their question and invite a response to it. So Summer presented the question “What dreams did I create last night?” by setting up a tent with cushions and blankets where you could lie down and think about your dreams, and a big sheet of paper outside where you could write them down or draw a picture of them. Lily presented the question “Where did I allow myself to receive love today?” by providing a life size poster of a person onto which we could stick post it notes saying where we had experienced love and how it made us feel. There were so many creative ideas – including origami from Charlie and bread making from Gwyn – it was really rich and varied.

Gwyn introduced us to a book about the Examen entitled ‘Sleeping with Bread’. It begins with a story about the many children who were made homeless and orphaned in the war. Their carers discovered the children could not sleep at night because they were afraid that they would wake up to discover they were homeless and there was no food for the day. Eventually they came up with the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to take to bed. It reminded them that they had been fed that day, and guaranteed they would have food for tomorrow. Thus reassured, the children were able to sleep again.

Fears often hold us back in life – physically, emotionally, spiritually. As adults we don’t always find the reassurance that enables us to move forward. So this is my question for you: Where is fear holding you back in life? And what might be the ‘bread’ that enables you to put that fear aside?

I love stories! They inspire me, illuminate my path, teach me, draw me and encourage me!

Anthony De Mello, exploring the power of stories writes, “…it is a great mystery that though the human heart longs for truth, in which alone it finds liberation and delight, the first reaction to truth is often hostility and fear”. He points out that spiritual leaders like Jesus often employed stories to circumvent the opposition of their listeners. It may be common to oppose truth but impossible to resist a story, those leaders knew the power of language and ‘Once upon a time…’ are such entrancing words!

Anyway – I wondered if you had any views on stories that you would like to share? I also wondered if you had any story ‘gems’ that you would like to share… so to start the ball rolling here is one that I really like….

Penguins, coke, and God

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with chocolate Penguins and some cans of coke, and he started his journey.

When he had travelled about a quarter of a mile, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from a coke when he noticed that the old man looked hungry so he offered him a Penguin.

He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so incredible that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a coke. Once again, the old man smiled at him.

The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realised how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. The old man gave him his biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? He’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked,” Father, what did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I ate Penguins in the park with God.” But before his son responded, he added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”

Today is epiphany when we remember the wise men bringing gifts to baby Jesus. Often at this time we are asked to think about what gifts we would bring but I read this morning in sacred space the question what gifts has God given us and how do we use them. I thought this was a great question. It’s not always easy to think about the gifts we have, often we think about what we are not good at rather than what we are good at. So my question for us all today is what is you gift?

My eldest daughter came home from school on Friday having been set a challenge by their headmaster. They needed to spend some time over the Christmas holidays thinking about those who won’t have any food/ a home/ presents and to think of something small they could do to make a difference. She decided she wants to hand out mince pies to people selling the big issue on Christmas Eve.  This really challenged me to think about what thought have I given this advent to others. In our over commercial world it is so easy to be sucked into the consumerism, even when you don’t want to.

For me this advent has been as usual a busy time but also a time when I have been thinking about the year that has passed, there have been some joys, some challenges and some sorrow. I wanted to end this advent blog thinking about the year to come and to share a poem/ blessing written by Mary ,who sadly died this year.

The daily grind

May you, in your work

know joy

and a sense of purpose

May you use your talents

and feel fulfilled

May God work through you

in moments of friendship, fun

and laughter.

When the going gets tough

may you bring good

out of adverse situations

Have the courage

to denounce injustice

refrain from gossip

And the wisdom to know

when it’s time to move on

and let go.

Mary Palmer 2009

I’ve been thinking about my relationship with God a lot this Advent, and I’ve also been doing a fair amount of baking. I’m not very good at baking, or cooking for that matter, but you know what? I enjoy it. And I’ve found its a great time to pray and chat to God about the insignificant things in life. I like the fact that although my life seems so rushed, just a few moments mixing together cake or biscuit ingredients can calm me and make me smile. I love the smell in the kitchen as they bake and I love the eating bit even more!

Anyway, this week I’m encouraging you to have a go at baking or cooking something. And here’s a recipe for you try if you feel so inclined

Ingredients

200g self-raising flour
100g butter, in cubes
100g light, soft brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
1 egg, lightly beaten
12 clear boiled sweets

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Pulse the flour and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and spices, then pulse again.
2. Tip into a bowl and add the egg, stirring until a dough comes together. Knead gently till smooth. Tip onto a lightly floured work surface and roll to the thickness of a £1 coin – about 3–4mm. Cut into stars with a cutter. Lift the stars carefully with a palette knife and place, spacing them evenly, on baking sheets lined with baking parchment. (To create a glassy centre in the biscuits, cut out a shape in the centre of half of the stars and fill with a clear boiled sweet.) Make a hole in the top of each biscuit with a chopstick.
3. Bake for 10–12 minutes till golden. Push the chopstick back into each of the holes while the biscuits are still soft. Leave to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack. When cool, you can decorate the biscuits with a simple icing made from icing sugar and water; add balls or colour, and thread with ribbon to hang on the tree.

My piece is about finding God in nature and having a conversation through a natural encounter with a seal. Richard Rohr describes how a priest in Africa was explaining the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic church to the village elders. Who looked perplexed and finally commented that they as a community had thousands of ways, places, signs, rituals, symbols and gestures which spoke to them of God, why restrict this to a seven?

In asking me to write a blog on 6th December, my Dad’s birthday he would have been 90! I feel very moved  to share a poem which I wrote on retreat on Bardsey Island this June. I was there two years previous when Dad died and he taught me how to swim and love seals!!

Seal Sermons
The wildness of God came to play with me today,
Calling me to face the fear of deep places,
Guiding me over my `can’t do`s` and into my can do`s,
Face to face with the wildness of God , I was strangely silent,
So deep was the understanding between us, words were redundant
So many words blown by wind and wave into silence,
I am out of my depth and out of my element
below me another silent world
In this thin place between heaven and earth I wait suspended.
Until I find myself held in a curious unapologetic gaze
I am bobbing on the surface
Caught in a moment
I stare in wonder,
And with a splash of a tail
I am invited to dive out of my element and into theirs
where silently they move with such eloquence
and speak to me of God
who calls us into his presence
by leaving our space and entering his.

One thing that has really inspired me recently has been listening through the entire “Message” Bible translation on CD while driving around.

I’m just in the middle of all those St Paul letters at the moment, and there is an urgency and radiant hope to his manner of expression which is almost shocking.

That bit about how if Christ wasn’t raised from the dead then we are all wasting our time hits home.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t seem to spend much time thinking about resurrection from the dead, and yet it is central to our faith.  I believe it, but I’m often in moods that make it feel extremely unlikely.  What we forget is every moment of our life is already a miracle; we are pummelled by the ordinary and often the downright depressing, so we narrow our horizons to get through, but something is always waiting around the corner to shock us awake and make us ask basic questions of ourselves and God once more.

for those of you, who like the opportunity to meet and talk, here’s a Bristol venture starting soon.

THE CULTURE CLUB

A Sanctuary/FOTK Joint every SECOND FRIDAY until the SECOND COMING!

What is the culture club?
Basically, once a month we will be getting together to chew the fat on our contemporary culture.

There will be a stimulating film with discussion one month and a topical presentation and discussion on the alternate month.

There will be a program for the six months ahead with dates, times and locations. (See inside this leaflet).

I hope it will be an activity that people find stimulating, challenging, entertaining and occasionally educational.

Jim Tickner
jimlougabs@hotmail.co.uk

Please feel free to bring snacks & drinks
START TIME IS 8pm
If you can confirm attendance for a film night that would be helpful as space is limited!

Advent is here, and we have famously marked this season on the Sanctuary blog, with some moving contributions So once again, please let us know if you would like to take part in this year’s seasonal musings

As Advent marks those Crunch Time moments in the life of Joseph & Mary, Caesar, the Wise Men and the Shepherd’s, I’d like to ask you to open your heart to us, and share some of your own pivotal experiences, -when you were faced with loosing a relationship, stepping out in God against well meaning advice, or finding yourself yearning to follow a something outside of your previous experience

As this is short notice, lets go skinny, and brief, lets write a couple of lines and leave the rest to others imagination, you can be as alusive and cheeky as you like, just email me to let me (tandsbowman@blueyonder.co.uk) know your up for it, and if you’d like to write for the 29/11/09, 6/12/09, 13/12/09 or 20/12/09

It just remains to wish you a very happy advent, and say am looking forward to hearing from you, God Bless. Su

I have been able to pick up Sue’s suggestion to look at this sooner than expected – couldn’t sleep! So I am writing this short article based on a longer article found at http://norprov.org/spirituality/ignatianprayer.htm a very helpful web site.
I am writing this with no direct experience of the examen but with the deepest respect and admiration for those who practice it. I have many friends amongst the Franciscans (who do practice) and they are characterised by a centred calm and earthy relevance that I find rare in others. So perhaps the challenge is for me to give it a go!
This is a form of Ignation prayer that explores the movement of the Spirit in our daily lives as we reflect on our day. There are five simple steps to the Examen, which should take 10-15 minutes to complete. Through this method of praying you can grow in a sense of self and the Source of self; you can become more sensitive to your own spirit with its longings, its powers, its Source; you will develop an openness to receive the supports that God offers.
Before you start: Try to be in a place where you are least likely to be disturbed, and where there is the least amount of external noise. Perhaps you might light a candle to symbolise the start of this activity. Sit comfortably and still yourself; relax, be aware of your breathing, your body and how you are feeling.
1. Recall that you are in the presence of God. As you quiet yourself, become aware that God is present within you, in the creation that surrounds you, in your body, in those around you. Ask the Holy Spirit to let you look on all you see with love.
2. Spend a moment looking over your day with gratitude for this day’s gifts. Be concrete and let special moments or pleasures spring to mind! Give thanks to God for favours received. Also look at your permanent gifts that allow your participation in this day. Recall your particular strengths in times of difficulty, your ability to hope in times of weakness, your sense of humour and your life of faith, your intelligence and health, your family and friends. As you move through the details of your day, give thanks to God for His presence in the big and the small things of your life.
3. Ask God to send you His Holy Spirit to help you look at your actions and attitudes and motives with honesty and patience. The Spirit gives a freedom to look upon yourself without condemnation and without complacency and thus be open to growth. Ask that you will learn and grow as you reflect, thus deepening your knowledge of self and your relationship with God.
4. Now review your day. This is the longest of the steps. Recall the events of your day; explore the context of your actions. Search for the internal movements of your heart and your interaction with what was before you. Ask what you were involved in and who you were with, and review your hopes and hesitations. As you daily and prayerfully explore the mystery of yourself in the midst of your actions you will grow more familiar with your own spirit and become more aware of the promptings of God’s Spirit within you. Allow God to speak, challenge, encourage and teach you.
5. The final step is our heart-to-heart talk with Jesus. Here you speak with Jesus about your day. You share your thoughts on your actions, attitudes, feelings and interactions. Perhaps during this time you may feel led to seek forgiveness, ask for direction, share a concern, express gratitude, etc. You might like to finish your time with the Lords Prayer.
Once you’ve done the Examen a few times, you will find your own rhythm and method. Cover all five points daily with freedom to dwell more on one than another. You might also like to add some music, candles or images to help you pray.
Well – over to you/us! Do add any thoughts or share any experience if you have tried the examen, either in the past or perhaps as a result of reading this.