THE TREES are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine and fifty swans.
The nineteenth Autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count;
I saw, b
Blog: Pictures-Books-Reflections
Never Mind about Living what about dying?
Posted on by James Woodward
A Sermon preached at Emmanuel College, Cambridge Chapel 18 November 2012
Joy and Woe are woven fine
A clothing for the soul divine
Under every grief and pine
Lies a joy with silken twine
It is right it should be so
Man was made for joy and woe
And when this we rig
Imagining Age?
Posted on by James Woodward
Here is the opening to my lecture in Southwark Cathedral last night
In a science museum, there is one exhibit in particular which attracted long lines of children: "Face Ageing". A child sits down in front of an automatic camera and has their portrait taken. They wait and their
The space between wanting to be right and knowing we are wrong!
Posted on by James Woodward
When we discover that we have been wrong, we say that we were under an illusion, and when we no longer believe in something, we say that we are disillusioned. More generally, analogies to vision are ubiquitous in the way we think about knowledge and error. People who possess t
Silence
Posted on by James Woodward
Silence is the language of God, and the only language deep enough to absorb all the contradictions and failures that we are holding against ourselves. God loves us silently because God has no case to make against us. The silent communion absorbs our self-hatred, as every lover kn
Back to Basics (part one) : forget the trappings – what about language?
Posted on by James Woodward
Ordinary Christians are constantly being invited to forget their language. Clergy are also tempted to dilute the force of the language we represent in an attempt to be relevant. Yet paradoxically the pluralist character of our society offers us, once again, the space to embody
Defining Leadership?
Posted on by James Woodward
“Leadership is about articulating visions, embodying values, and creating the environment within which things can be accomplished.” Richards and Engle (1986)
“Leadership is the process of making sense of what people are doing together so that people will understand and be
MICHELANGELO: The Art of Old Age
Posted on by James Woodward
Did Michelangelo really believe that his life had been
wasted because he failed to pursue a spiritual goal? Yes, he
did believe that and wrote about in his journal in later
life. Nonetheless, his later works are an astounding example
of
patience
Posted on by James Woodward
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
not one bird.
So absolute, it is
no other t
THE RIPENING IN US
Posted on by James Woodward
When grapes turn
to wine, they long for our ability to change.
When stars wheel
around the North Pole,
they are longing for our growing consciousness.
Wine got drunk with us,
not the other way.
The body developed out of
Writing your life honestly?
Posted on by James Woodward
The autobiography of Jack Straw - an MP for thirty-three years and at the heart of government throughout the longest-serving Labour administration in history
As a small boy in Epping Forest, Jack Straw could never have imagined that one day he would become Britain's Lord Chance
What makes you happy?
Posted on by James Woodward
There are two kinds of happiness - the temporary pleasure derived primarily from material comfort alone and another more enduring comfort that results from the thorough transformation and development of the mind. We can see in our own lives that the latter form of happiness is
Thinking about Death on All Souls Day
Posted on by James Woodward
Some of you may well remember that I spent a good deal of 2011 as part of a working group looking into the present law in this country regarding assisted suicide. The report, published at the beginning of this year, argued coherently (I think) that the present law is unsatisf
made of light
Posted on by James Woodward
salt rose, topaz, archery, carnations,
the birth of fire. You are none of these.
You are the holy secret darkness, that space
between shadow and soul. There, where love is.
You are the flower that only blooms
within; hidden, but made of light.
A tactile fragrance, an
All Saints
Posted on by James Woodward
O Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one Communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord: Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those indescribable joys which thou hast prep
Martin Luther
Posted on by James Woodward
Martin Luther was born on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben. His father was a copper miner. Luther studied at the University of Erfurt and in 1505 decided to join a monastic order, becoming an Augustinian friar. He was ordained in 1507, began teaching at the University of Wittenberg
Control
Posted on by James Woodward
‘Control’ in this context( of death) has two distinct meanings, both equally crucial.
In the first place, ‘control’, as you would expect, means priority and ability to manage, not to force, the compliance of others, to determine what others think or do. In the second
Love’s Like A Shoestring
Posted on by James Woodward
It feels that our love is more like a shoestring
although it appears to be such a good thing,
and all that we have now which is readily seen
may either be too loose or tight for us between.
If we continue on the path that we are both going
and it still seems little of
Changing Expectations of Death
Posted on by James Woodward
HERE IS SOME ADVANCE PUBLICITY ABOUT A CONFERENCE
A Cumberland Lodge residential conference
Changing Expectations of Death
Friday 23rd November
17.00 Arrival, Registration and Tea
17.30 Welcome by Dr Alastair Niven, Principal, Cumberland Lodge
17.4
looking within
Posted on by James Woodward
When you are engrossed in thoughts of anger, hatred, envy, resentment or disgust, notice the way your horizons shrink and your creativity diminishes. I find it impossible to write well when I am churning with resentment.
In the grip of these hostile pre-occupations, we becom