"In the midst of death, life persists. In the midst of untruth, truth persists. In the midst of darkness, light persists.” - Mahatma Gandhi
In my last blog, I shared some thoughts about a recent retreat at Fairacres in Oxford.
https://www.jameswoodward.online/blog/not
What shall we make of a frail old age ? On watching Allelujah
Posted on by James Woodward
If I had taken any notice of the reviews then I should certainly not have parted with £12 for a cinema ticket to see this film. Based on the play by Alan Bennett, this slow, intentional and warm the film explores age and care and human nature in the face of pandemic, N
A Day that left its imprint on us all – The Funeral of HM The Queen
Posted on by James Woodward
On the day after the funeral I write this feeling a certain kind of disorientation. Bank Holidays often bring that disruption to the week that leaves one wondering what day it is but this ‘day after’, might we experience a deeper shift that brings some quest
Spirituality in Hospice Care
Posted on by James Woodward
Spirituality in Hospice Care
How Staff and Volunteers Can Support the Dying and Their Families
Edited by Andrew Goodhead and Nigel Hartley Jessica Kingsley Publishers
2017, 240pp (pbk) ISBN: 9781785921025 £19.99
The concepts of spirituality and spiritual care a
Embracing our Mortality ?
Posted on by James Woodward
Marion Carter
Helping children and adolescents think about death, dying and bereavement
Jessica Kingsley publishers 2016
£16.99
ISBN 9781785920110
Carlo Leget
Art of Living, Art of Dying
Jessica Kingsley publishers 2017
£14.99
ISBN 978178592
Easter eve
Posted on by James Woodward
Glorious Collect for Easter Eve
Grant, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of thy blessed Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
so by continual mortifying our corrupt affections we may be buried with him;
and that through the grave, and gate of death, we may pass
who died?
Posted on by James Woodward
who died?
When death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,
I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?
And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I l
Long Dark Days
Posted on by James Woodward
fall, leaves, fall
Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a dreari
Befriending Death
Posted on by James Woodward
MOTHER MARY CLARE SLG (1906-1988)
LIVING THROUGH THE DYING
Any Christian whether living in the world or in the Religious Life, active or enclosed, is being called as was St Antony of old to go down into the most frightening places of world history. If we are really trying to
Ways into death and its narratives
Posted on by James Woodward
Quietus: The vessel, death and the human body
An exhibition by Julian Stair Winchester Cathedral Autumn 2013
FB friends will have seen some (not very good) photographs of Winchester Cathedral caused in part by a failure to take my specs on my journey ! However the mai
Learning about Loss – Book review
Posted on by James Woodward
The Essential Guide to Life After Bereavement
Beyond Tomorrow
Judy Carole Kauffmann and Mary Jordan
Paperback: £12.99 Jessica Kingsley Publishers
2013, 176pp
ISBN: 978-1-84905-335-8.
In pastoral ministry there are many encounters that remain in the memor
decline
Posted on by James Woodward
one day a day woke up and
was sky, air, light
and itself. Later, evening
tapped my shoulder:
a reminder, a privilege,
a job to do. Record, it said
the elegance of the day's decline,
and the perfect curves
of all that is left
of a tulip.
Denise Levertov
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
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
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
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
The Right to Die?
Posted on by James Woodward
Sometimes life moves at such a busy pace that it's easy to think of it as just one thing after another. I think we probably spend too little time processing things, though I was glad to be warned by a friend that too much self-introspection is not entirely healthy!
Las
Go straight to terminal one! Further musings…
Posted on by James Woodward
I think that some of you know that for much of last year I was involved in the Falconer Commission on assisted dying.Itwas a fascinating year and one not without its measure of controversy.Much is made about my dissension from the main recommendations to change the law to all
Who understands Death?
Posted on by James Woodward
Following a conversation yesterday about the narratives of death and particularly our own relationship to death I turned to that extraordinary narrative by Gillian Rose that asks us all whether we have faced our mortality
Gillian Rose LOVES WORK Page 72 & 73
With a
GRACE APPROACHING
Posted on by James Woodward
There is a grace approaching
that we shun as much as death,
it is the completion of our birth.
It does not come in time,
but in timelessness
when the mind sinks into the heart
and we remember.
It is an insistent grace that draws us
to the edge and beckons us surrender
safe te
