Quiet Space: 20th June 2021
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Quiet Space 20th June 2021
The Irish sea at Portstewart
Ordinary time Welcome and introduction Noticing the small, ordinary things and being aware of God’s presence in the everyday. Sometimes when we’re in large difficult situations that threaten to overwhelm us, noticing the small signs of God’s love can somehow remind us that we are being held and are anchored in God’s love. The small signs give us a glimpse of God’s presence and remind us that God is our stronghold.
Stilling (slide of sea) Tess Ward ; the celtic wheel of the year Let me trust God’s presence in the silence Let me not be distracted by the clamour of every thought But let my heart be still, my mind unlearned, My face unmasked. Empty me of all I think I can offer. Let me not be afraid of all I know I cannot be. Let me trust that I am enough That just to be here is enough Just as I am And to trust that you look on me with eyes that see With eyes that love.
Silence 5mins
Bible readings – read twice Psalm 9 v 9-10 NIV The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. 1 Kings 19 v 12 Message version God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire, a gentle and quiet whisper. Silence – 5 mins
Small things by Anna Kamienska; The Paraclete poetry anthology (slide of kitchen sink) It usually starts taking shape From one word Reveals itself in one smile Sometimes in the blue glint of eyeglasses In a trampled daisy In a splash of light on a path In quivering carrot leaves In a bunch of parsley It comes from laundry hung on a balcony From hands thrust into dough It seeps through closed eyelids As through the prison wall of things, of objects Of faces, of landscapes It’s when you slice bread When you pour out some tea It comes from a broom, from a shopping bag From peeling new potatoes From a drop of blood from the prick of a needle When sewing a button on a familiar shirt It comes out of toil, out of care Out of immense fatigue in the evening Out of a tear wiped away Out of prayer broken off mid-word by sleep.
It’s not from the grand But from every tiny thing That it grows enormous As if Someone was building eternity As a swallow its nest Out of clumps of moments. Silence
Tess Ward in the celtic wheel of the year writes (slide of insect on flower) Spirit in all things You see with fine detail each moment of my day You see the speck of insect that crawls across my table You have noticed the nuances of my mood And the brushes of the world against my soul today. You have paid more attention to me than I have to you dear God And for that I am thankful As I lay down to sleep, I ask your open- eyed care on us Sustain and protect us this night and make us ready to greet you As another new day dawns full of tiny opportunities to love. Silence
As we end this day in your safe-keeping, let us silently name three blessings before our sleeping. Silence
The blessings of God in ordinary time be upon me. Blessings when I take a bath or take the bin out. Blessings when I am doing nothing in particular. Blessings on the little things that catch my eye. Blessings on the quirkiness of the thoughts that belong to me That you alone know and love this day. May I rest in you at this day’s end that was both special and ordinary. Pause Blessing – Jan Richardson, Circle of Grace In the Leaving In the leaving In the letting go, Let there be this To hold onto At the last:
The enduring of love, The persisting of hope, The remembering of joy,
The offering of gratitude, The receiving of grace, The blessing of peace.
Let us un-mute ourselves and finish by blessing each other with the Grace
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