Sabbatical musings from Keele and beyond

Sitting in the presence Sitting Waiting Listening Feeling Bodies arriving Reluctant and expectant Ready and unprepared Dwelling in near stillness Stillness…but for the patter of prayerful feet. Candles are lit Peace is descending Here, now is the moment, the time. 4 th July Written in St Beuno’s Chapel awaiting the start of the Eucharist. The dragonfly darts Dashing this way and that In and up and round and down. Gentler flies the damselfly Resting on the smallest of leaves Basking in the sun Then softly soaring Skirting the surface Dancing elegantly into the sky.

Rainbow God Rock Chapel Prayer 4 th July 19 Rainbow God Creator of the deep blues of the sea and the colours of the sunset. God of the sparrows chirp and the cows moo God of all people made in your image and likeness; Trans and straight, black and white, Child and aged. You are the God of all And I can call your names: Yahweh, Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer I AM And you, you the God of all Gently call my name, With words of love With tones of tenderness Calling me, Calling me, Drawing me closer Unfolding your perfect promises Revealing your holy will. Reminding me of your faithfulness. Rainbow God of covenant promise You love and mercy gush and pour out in creation Pour out your grace in me this day. Unlock Unlock my heart to love you, Unlock my mind to know you. Unlock my soul to live in you. Open the depths of my being to the depths of yours. Unlock me Unlock me, source of my being Unlock my hea

The Poppy 12 hours tightly shut Many moments of waiting; paused in preparation Sunlight shines signalling the time! Time to unfurl the closely closeted joy. Not purposely placed Or carefully curated Not singled out in a special place But strewn, lost or abandoned. But the poppy does, what a poppy should, In poor path-land soil It’s perfect place is born Its blossom bursts forth After the waiting, The slowly growing, as pilgrims wander by waiting, preparing, for this bright and glorious morn This morning I walked past one random isolated poppy growing by the side of a less well trodden path, I past it last night with the pod tightly encapsulating the flower then this morning saw it blooming with joy!

What joy shall fill my heart? God of love and life Joy giver, pain bearer, peacemaker: work within me your good purposes, then your joy shall fill my heart. Bless and praise your holy name, Holy God - Alleluia

Some initial reflections from day one at St Beunos as I experience a few days of silent prayer and reflection based on the richness of Jesuits and the Ignatian tradition. A sound of sheer silence  (1 Kings 19:11-13 NRSV) An extrovert, a people person, a chatter, a doer, a ‘want to help ya’, a door holder… me Retreat, creative yes, reflective yes, alone (maybe) with others, ‘yes please’ Silent, still, slowed down… well for a while, but for how long? (You do know me God don’t you!) In what way or ways will the silence speak? What might the sound of sheer silence say? Silence is primordial: it is the beginning – noise comes after, noise fills the silence… the silence is always there. What does the silence whisper? The wind gusted and blew, but God was not in the wind. There was a mighty earthquake but though land moved and rocks fell… God was not to be heard. A fire flickered, burning, consuming, enveloping… yet not the flames of G

The following poem and images/video come from an afternoon walk stumbling through the local area... Abandoned As the dusty track drifts by, there confronts a site for the eye, A rainbow of colour of shape and form, a teddy bear perched alone, forlorn. Disregarded, dumped amassed in heaped abandonment. What story, what stories could be told, of streets skated and parties paraded, Maybe well-meaning donation to cause or call? What story of the one who tipped it, leaving it… surrendering to nature’s call. A little distance and a further sight, A historic tombstone, a shed of shit, a towering wheel now but a bird’s lonely perch. remnants of mining and industry long lost. Tired tyres adorn the fence line finishing the boundary with a blackened mar, ‘Fire started deliberately – call for information’ ,  police - BEWARE! Fun or frolics, malicious madness? Youthful experiment or adult indulgence. Yes what grows there, what shoots