The métier of blossoming
If humans could be
that intensely whole, undistracted, unhurried,
swift from sheer
unswerving impetus! If we could blossom
out of ourselves, giving
nothing imperfect, withholding nothing!
From Denise Levertov, The métier of blos
Christmas prayers for those in Pain
Posted on by James Woodward
Lord God,
whose Son, Jesus Christ,
understood people's fear and pain
before they spoke of them,
we pray for those in hospital;
surround the frightened
with your tenderness;
give strength to those in pain;
hold the weak in your arms of love,
and give hope and patience
Christmas prayers for Syria
Posted on by James Woodward
A Prayer for Peace in Syria
Spirit of wisdom and grace,
the power of truth and judgement;
we pray for all who are working for peace
in the tangled conflict of Syria today.
For international leaders holding a thread of control,
for the politicians holding a thread of power
Christmas prayers for the homeless
Posted on by James Woodward
God of compassion,
your love for humanity was revealed in Jesus,
whose earthly life began in the poverty of a stable
and ended in the pain and isolation of the cross:
we hold before you those who are homeless and cold
especially in this bitter weather.
Draw near and comfo
Christmas prayer for reconciliation
Posted on by James Woodward
Lord God of compassion,
whose will is for peace built on righteousness,
we pray for peace in Gaza:
for an end to hostilities,
for comfort and help for all who suffer,
and for reconciliation between Palestine and Israel,
through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Amen.
Christmas makes a diffrence
Posted on by James Woodward
People often complain that religion doesn't make a difference - that people aren't better because of it. So what difference does worship this morning make to our lives? Does Christmas mean anything?
Yes - today makes a world of difference. For in the message of this Christmas
Light on our Lives
Posted on by James Woodward
Last month I travelled to Paris for a short break and spent some time with in the Louvre. It was good to catch this wonderful painting by George de la Tour ' the Adoration of the Shepherds'. I captured some fragments of photographs and have been dwelling on it in these last hou
Advent: Light and Darkness – knowing and not knowing
Posted on by James Woodward
where the moon lives
From the tawny light
from the rainy nights
from the imagination finding
itself and more than itself
alone and more than alone
at the bottom of the well where the moon lives,
can you pull me
into December?
The black m
Advent: and our thirst.
Posted on by James Woodward
water
Like the water
of a deep stream,
love is always too much.
We did not make it.
Though we drink till we burst,
we cannot have it all,
or want it all.
In its abundance
it survives our thirst.
In the evening we come down to the shore
to drink our fi
Advent :Life and Death
Posted on by James Woodward
sweet day
SWEET day, so cool, so calm, so bright!
The bridal of the earth and sky—
The dew shall weep thy fall to-night;
For thou must die.
Sweet rose, whose hue angry and brave
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye,
Thy root is ever in its grave,
And thou must die.
Sweet s
Advent and our hope of salvation?
Posted on by James Woodward
In our postmodern culture self-fulfilment has become a matter of individually self-chosen goals. Freedom - in the sense of the absolute autonomy of the individual - has become the single, overarching ideal to which all other goals are subordinated. I must be free to be
Advent and our need for Patience
Posted on by James Woodward
patience
An absolute
patience.
Trees stand
up to their knees in
fog. The fog
slowly flows
uphill.
White
cobwebs, the grass
leaning where deer
have looked for apples.
The woods
from brook to where
the top of the hill looks
over the fog, send up
no
What makes for Good Church?
Posted on by James Woodward
Perhaps 'good' Church has a few essential things in common?
1. They share a deeply incarnational view of the world, the recognition that matter is the scaffolding of spirit, the two deeply entwined; each Church knows that the commonplace, when seen with the ey
Advent :Longing and Desire
Posted on by James Woodward
climb the stair
Turn from that road's beguiling ease; return
to your hunger's turret. Enter, climb the stair
chill with disuse, where the croaking toad of time
regards from shimmering eyes your slow ascent
and the drip, drip, of darkness glimmers on the stone
to s
Lord help us to see
Posted on by James Woodward
Vision is quite simply about seeing.
In religious terms it means seeing the world as God's world. It means refusing to conform to the world's standards and values, or to go along with that cynical pessimism which some call realism but is in fact a terrible, destructive
Seeds
Posted on by James Woodward
seeds
You come to fetch me from my work to-night
When supper's on the table, and we'll see
If I can leave off burying the white
Soft petals fallen from the apple tree.
(Soft petals, yes, but not so barren quite,
Mingled with these, smooth bean and wrinkled pea;)
Advent and contemplating our mortality ?
Posted on by James Woodward
coins
When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox:
when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder
A Lack of Soul?
Posted on by James Woodward
AGEING AND CARE OF THE SOUL
Thomas Moore has described the fundamental psychological problem of contemporary life as
a lack of “soul.” As Moore understands the problem, “soul” is not exclusively a religious term but rather
“a quality or a dimension
Yellow
Posted on by James Woodward
A yellow flower
(Light and spirit)
Sings by itself
For nobody.
A golden spirit
(Light and emptiness)
Sings without a word
By itself.
Let no one touch this gentle sun
In whose dark eye
Someone is awake.
(No light, no gold, no na
Where do our lives point?
Posted on by James Woodward
Matthew 3 The Proclamation of John the Baptist
3In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’* 3This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
‘The voice of one