Quiet Space February 2022
Springtime and hope
Welcome and introduction
Anxiety and hopefulness are like two sides of the same coin, reality can be hard and can feel overwhelming at times. It’s helpful not getting bogged down in fear and losing ourselves and yet important not being over optimistic in difficult situations. More of a groundedness in God so that the external events may bluster and buffet us but God’s abiding love somehow holds us in the turbulence. In the natural world, we see images and reminders of God’s steadfastness.
Nature carries on throughout the seasons – the fragile snowdrops appear each year and the birdsong can lift our spirits in the hopefulness of the continuing cycle of the natural world.
So let us still ourselves and become more aware of God with us and in each other, connecting us. Being held in God’s abiding love.
Stilling - The Celtic wheel of the year by Tess Ward p 48
Collected in quiet I come to you.
My twilight spirit enters slowly.
In the stillness,
In the silence,
You look on me and love
And say it is enough.
To be here,
At this moment,
Is enough.
Silence
Re-awakener of the earth,
By bright celandine and charm of catkin,
Your promise is there to be seen, this day,
Reminding me that your Spirit is always generating.
Even in the desertscape days when I cannot feel the juice of your presence,
Be the inhale and exhale of my breath,
The rhythm of the present moment.
Be in the sole of my foot and palm of my hand as I touch the world today.
Midst the off-colour drudge and drear, the virus and infection,
be the care that creates the world and renews in apparent barrenness.
For I know that buds will burst from their hard shell, and spring will follow winter,
And so may I know your unseen hand, in the fact of this day as I set forth.
Silence
Bible reading – Romans 15 v13 read twice
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Silence
David’s Crown by Malcolm Guite – Psalm 91
He shares our grief and wipes away our tears
And even in this life he shelters us
Beneath the shadow of his wings. Our fears
And hopes are known to him. His faithfulness
Will be our shield and buckler. We can trust
His constancy and know he will be with us;
With us through the best and through the worst.
I may be threatened by the passing harm
Of outward pestilence, but still I trust
He gives his angels charge, and with his arm
He shelters and embraces me. No power
Can separate me from his love. His name
Is my protection and delight. I pour
My heart and soul to him in songs and psalms,
And he will bring me through my darkest hour.
Silence
As I end this day in your safe-keeping
I silently name three blessings before my sleeping
Silence
Blessing - An ancient celtic prayer for peace and sleep
May the peace of the tallest mountain
And the peace of the smallest stone be your peace.
May the stillness of the stars watch over you.
May the everlasting music of the wave
Lull you to rest.
Unmute and bless each other with the Grace