Reflections and Poems
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A Reflection by Catrin Hubbard
Sheila Morris Lay Reader - The Bolero Sometimes all we need is a singing teddy 😊❤️ thanks Sheila Morris (Lay Reader BTP) 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Fm5xhwL6nPZ7kQzkuZBbjexM7uA2qtcT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The church is different now The church I knew vanished The church I trained for Offered my life for Offered my all for Different, hidden, house-bound Absent, frightened, anxious Needy, vulnerable, waiting The capable, intelligent flock Who offered skills and love Now gone, behind closed doors No longer there to care But needing care
The church is different now The buildings I know so well, closed The liturgy, so familiar, unread The elements of Eucharist lifeless The hymn books gathering dust The collection plate empty The people have all gone home As I prepare mentally for some 'going home' I'm the carer of their souls I am told I may have to bury them sooner than I thought
The church is different now I am starting from scratch A new approach, one I hadn't trained for New liturgy, new technology, online, virtual Foreign, strange, changing every day New advice from Bishops Who like us are having to imagine and create
As I recognise my exhaustion and anxiety As I acknowledge my fear, my responsibility for my family and friends My aching tired body that may be carrying symptoms I turn to Christ, the head of the Church And I see
My God is the same now The God I know present The God I trained for Offered my life to Offered my all to Is calling me to be me Only me As I step into the unknown with God by my side Blessings on you as you are church in a different way How do we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? Psalm 137 Liz Reverend Liz England Team Rector-in-charge of Buxton, with Burbage and King Sterndale - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jesus when I grow discouraged, and the clouds alone I see (Taken from a a prayer card) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This pause... Is allowing a focus On the purely Spiritual. Forget the meandering shop, The commute, the bicker, Step back from the Material, Hear the birdsong, the wind, Notice the buds, Revel in the Natural. Most of all... Hear God’s voice within – The ‘Internal Beautiful’ – The Hope, the Companionship Within His heart-held Community, The Ever Bountiful. Gilly Thompson, St. Johns' - - - - - - - - - - - - Beatitudes for a global pandemic written by Jayne Manfredi Blessed are those who stay indoors for they have protected others. Blessed are the unemployed and the self-employed, for their need of God is great. Blessed are the corner shopkeepers, for they are the purveyors of scarce things. Blessed are the delivery drivers and the postal workers, for they are the bringers of essential things. Blessed are the hospital workers; the ambulance crews, the doctors, the nurses, the care assistants, and the cleaners, for they stand between us and the grave, and the Kingdom of Heaven is surely theirs. Blessed are the checkout workers, for they have patience and fortitude in the face of overwork and frustration. Blessed are the refuse collectors, for they will see God despite the mountains of waste. Blessed are the teachers, for they remain steadfast and constant in disturbing times. Blessed are the church workers; the deacons, priests and bishops, for they are a comforting presence in a hurting world as they continue to signpost towards God. Blessed are the single parents, for they are coping alone with their responsibilities and there is no respite. Blessed are those who are alone, for they are children of God and with Him they will never be lonely. Blessed are the bereaved, for whom the worst has already happened. They shall be comforted. Blessed are those who are isolated with their abusers, for one day – we pray - they will know safety. Blessed are all during this time who have pure hearts; all who still hunger and thirst for justice; all who work for peace and who model mercy. May you know comfort. May you know calm. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all. Amen. Shared with permission - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This is a photo that I took on 18th January 2014, on the Derby Diocese Curates’ Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, just after a Eucharist service in the Crusader church which is attached to a Benedictine monastery at Abu Gosh. It is one of 4 sites with a claim to being Emmaus (the only one with a spring), and the figures on the chalice (which we were allowed to use in our service) are of Jesus flanked by the 2 disciples whom he met on the Emmaus road. Revd John Overton
- - -- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - From someone from the Parish On The chicks are now out of their box and in their next temporary home, which is warm, dry, airy and big enough for them to look at a larger world. Amazing - a time to say goodbye and to be ready for the new beginnings, which the chicks from their eggs give to us. |
Friday evening my son came home with a surpise - a box with 27 of the tiniest chicks you’d ever seen, all chirping happily. I can't describe the joy I felt to see them. iI was so appropriate at Easter, and even more so this year - an Easter full of sadness but also of hope! I found myself thinking "Yes, this is Easter; sadness and hope."  Printable Version |